Fillies and mares will have the spotlight shine on them during the early-week cards at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, as pacing distaffers will contest the fourth and final preliminary leg of the Bobby Weiss Series on Tuesday, and their trotting counterparts going on Wednesday.
The Weiss Series, honouring the recently-retired trackman who honed the Pocono five-eighths-mile oval into a top surface acclaimed by one and all, holds four $15,000 preliminaries as an early-closer for developing horses. The top horses emerging from the prelims come back to contest a $30,000 championship.
In Tuesday’s pacing action, slotted for Races 10 through 12, R Journey Together and Envious Hanover both hope to bounce back after winning their first two prelims but suffering defeat in the third leg. Envious Hanover goes in Race 10 from Post 5 for the familiar Kakaley/Burke team, with her main rival looking like A And Gs Delight, who won for the first time in the Weiss last week.
If R Journey Together hopes to regain her winning ways, she’ll have to do it from Post 8 in the 12th race for driver George Napolitano Jr. while facing three other fillies that have won in the ‘Weiss.’ The middle division is headed by Prime Dragon (PP3, Brett Miller), who posted the fastest clocking for this section last week while winning in 1:52.1.
The redoubtable Perfect Alliance will look to keep her 2014 record perfect in her eighth seasonal start as she headlines the two Weiss divisions for diamondgaiters Wednesday. Starting from Post 1 for ‘Team Miller’ in Race 10, Perfect Alliance posted crushing prelim victories in 1:53 and 1:54 (tilting the tote board with a huge Place following) before sitting out the third prelim, but this miss, who may have names like Maven and Bee A Magician on her dance card in the future, seems tons the best of her gathering.
In the other split, Race 8, two-time series winners Take The Money (PP2, ‘Team Miller’) and Dough Dough (PP5, Mike Simons) should attract most of the play.
The Weiss colt pacing championship will be held this Saturday (April 19). Pocono will be dark on Easter (April 20), so both the trotting colts and pacing fillies will contest their championships a week from tomorrow (April 22), with Perfect Alliance ‘set for coronation on Wednesday, April 23.
(PHRC)