by PHHA/Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Ariana G, Mel Mara, and Downbytheseaside were impressive in victories in the Sun Super Stakes eliminations Saturday (June 24) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in a night with a healthy dose of favorites and a sprinkling of longshots as victors. Each of next week’s (July 1) championship events on the $2 million Sun Stakes Saturday card – the $500,000 Ben Franklin Free-For-All Pace, the $500,000 Earl Beal 3-Year-Old Trot, the $500,000 Max C. Hempt 3-Year-Old Colt Pace, and the $300,000 James Lynch 3-Year-Old Filly Pace – had enough entrants to necessitate three elimination divisions on this Saturday’s (June 24) card, with the top three finishers returning in seven days for their respective championship event.

This summary reviews the action in each of the three eliminations for the four events. of the four events.

Mel Mara strode home a powerful winner in his Franklin Pace elimination (1:48.4) on Saturday evening.

BEN FRANKLIN PACE
Mel Mara looked as impressive as anyone on the card, drawing clear through the stretch to win his elimination in 1:48.4. Luck Be Withyou, the 2015 Franklin winner, left like a rocket and made the lead well before a stunning :25.3 opening quarter, then yielded to a strong brush from Mel Mara in front of the stands. This situation carried him to the half in a demanding 53. Rock N’ Roll World moved first-over but could get no closer to the winner than joint-second by the 1:21.2 at the three-quarter pole. Through the lane the only questions were the winning margin which was 3-1/4 lengths and the two other finalists. Rockin Ron rallied up the inside for second, while Rock N Roll World kept on going to just nip Luck Be Withyou for third. Mel Mara, a son of Lis Mara, now has three wins and a second in four seasonal starts, with earnings of $751,464. Corey Callahan was in his usual perch in the sulky for trainer Dylan Davis and the ownership of Robert Cooper Stables LLC and J&T Silva Stables LLC.

The fastest 3-year-old of 2015 was Dealt The Winner, who went 1:47.2 in upsetting Wiggle It Jiggleit and others in the Cane Pace. Saturday the altered son of Cam’s Card Shark went probably his best mile since that outing, dusting a good field by 3-1/2lengths in 1:49.1. Soto went out and set early splits of :26.4 and :55; at the half David Miller moved the Dealt A Winner first-over and he responded by pacing his third quarter in the vicinity of :26 flat, going by the three-quarters in 1:21.3 and widening his margin as they approached the wire. Boston Red Rocks, who gapped the winner’s cover down the back, went on steadily for second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Shamballa, who rallied from last to make the Franklin final. Mark Silva trains the winner of nearly $750,000 for owner Jeffrey Snyder. Split The House was scratched from this elimination.

McWicked and Freaky Feet Pete, the two favorites in their Franklin elimination, will not be racing in the final, as they finished fourth and fifth respectively. Their conqueror was the 2016 Pocono Horse of the Year, the evergreen 9-year-old who set a season’s record of 1:48.3. Freaky Feet Pete moved to the lead around Mach It So to the :26.4 quarter, then went on to post aggressive splits of :54 and 1:20.3 in his seasonal debut, with All Bets Off and Keystone Velocity first-and second-over respectively. In the stretch Freaky Feet Pete tired, with Mach It So getting a brief lead to mid-stretch, only to surrender it to All Bets Off. But Keystone Velocity was still determined and managed to go by for a neck victory; All Bets Off was game to hold for second, with Mach It So third. McWicked, who sat in third, wheeled out for clearance in the stretch but could only recover for fourth, with Freaky Feet Pete falling back to fifth. Simon Allard drove the son of Western Hanover (from his last crop), with brother/trainer Rene conditioning the winner of $908,971 for Allard Racing Inc., Kapildeo Singh, and VIP Internet Stable LLC.

EARL BEAL MEMORIAL TROT
Perhaps the most respected thing a harness horse can be is a 3-year-old trotting filly taking on and defeating colts. If that’s true, Ariana G is the most respected harness horse racing, as the superstar filly raced against colts in a Beal elimination and couldn’t have been more impressive, or an easier winner. The daughter of Muscle Hill worked her way to the lead before the time of :27.3 went up for the first quarter and such was the respect, she engenders that she was allowed a :57.4 half. Bill’s Man came up to challenge uncovered before the 1:26.1 three-quarters, but driver Yannick Gingras looked over unconcerned, letting his filly trot home in :27.3 to complete a 1:53.4 mile. Bill’s Man held gamely for second, 1-1/2 lengths off the winner, with Moonshiner Hanover rallying to nip Muscles Jared for third and a spot in the final. What The Hill was scratched from this elimination. The Jimmy Takter trainee is perfect in three starts this year and is 12 for 14 lifetime with earnings of $818,967 for owners Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. Though she’ll face the best of the elimination horses next week, it’s hard to see her as anything but a big favorite.

Long Tom buries his rivals in his respective elimination.

Long Tom was two-wide past a :27.1 quarter in going to the top in front of the stands, then went on to put up fractions of :55.3 and 1:24 on the lead. When first-over Sortie broke on the final turn and pocket-sitter Giveitgasandgo ran out of gas at that point, Long Tom was long gone, winning by 6-1/4 lengths in 1:52.3, a seasonal record. Sortie and Lucky Matter rallied off cover to grab the other two spots in the Beal championship behind the victorious son of Muscle Hill, driven by Tim Tetrick who his now three-for-3 in 2017 after sweeping New Jersey Sire Stakes competition for trainer Marcus Melander and Amg Stable Oy.

The wind reversal noted earlier may have made the difference as 23-1 shot Perfect Spirit shot the inside to catch 2-5 favorite Devious Man by a head in 1:54.1. Dover Dan moved to the top around Perfect Spirit in the vicinity of the :28 quarter, trotted on to reach the half in :56.4, then went into the wind and faced a challenge from Devious Man, who had enough to clear to the front by the 1:25.1 at the three-quarters. But the swift quarter into the wind may have been Devious Man’s undoing, for while he held off third-place Dover Dan’s comeback attempt by 1-1/4 lengths, he could not sustain his advantage against the up the rail charge of the winning son of Andover Hall, whom Yannick Gingras catch-drove for trainer Ake Svanstedt and owners SRF Stable. King Of The Hill was a scratch from this elimination.

MAX C. HEMPT PACE
Downbytheseaside continues to show a one call at all of his three-quarter calls, but never did he have to work harder to get this one, as he went a tough first-over trip then still prevailed in 1:49.2. Photobombr Hanover barreled away around Eddard Hanover for the early lead, forcing Downbytheseaside and driver Brian Sears, set for Hall of Fame induction on July 2, to tuck third before the :26 quarter. Photobombr Hanover continued to lead past the half in :54.1, but he was soon joined by Downbytheseaside and the two went a :26.4 third quarter, with the Brian Brown trainee getting a short advantage around the turn but not able to clear to the inside. The victorious son of Somebeachsomewhere showed gameness in the lane, as Pennsylvania Stallion Series champion Donttellmeagain cleared between horses in the lane and came with a head of steam, only to miss by a half-length. Eddard Hanover rallied from the pocket to be third behind the winner of $875,606, owned by Country Club Acres Inc., Joe Sbrocco, Richard Lombardo, and Diamond Creek Racing.

Downbytheseaside returns from a third place in the North America Cup to capture his elimination for the Max Hempt Memorial final.

The division without a Brian Brown colt saw a major upset after two of the three favorites were out of the race past the eighth of a mile marker, with Blood Line making a break and Every Way Out also going off-stride nearing the quarter-mile pole. Avoiding the trouble, though right behind Blood Line, was the Bettor’s Delight colt Santafe’s Coach, who worked out a second-over trip behind pacesetter Boogie Shuffle’s fractions of 26, 54.3, and 1:22.2, swung wide in the final turn, and then just out-footed potential pocket rocket Ozone Blue Chip by a neck in 1:51.1, with Boogie Shuffle holding for third and advancing to next week’s rich championship. The 21-1 winner took a new mark with the triumph for driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer Leo Iordan, and owners Ed De Rosa, who is also the breeder, Matthew Iovaldi, and Ralph Woythaler.

Fear The Dragon, 1-9 after opening 2017 with five straight victories, was fair and square outpaced by the mile of his life from Miso Fast, who paced his back-half in a stunning :53.3 – 26.4 quarters first into, then with the wind, opening a huge lead and then withstanding a comeback bid by that rival safely in a personal best of 1:49.2. Summer Side took advantage of the rail to take the early lead, putting Miso Fast in the pocket, then past the :27 quarter Fear The Dragon moved out and up to get the lead at the three-eighths, reaching the half in :55.4. Off that turn Miso Fast and driver Matt Kakaley unleashed a frightening brush that carried him to the lead before the five-eighths and to a tremendous lead to the three-quarters and around the turn. Fear The Dragon was game and rallied back in the stretch but came up shy, with Funknwaffles winning a photo for third over Summer Side behind the never-better winner, who is a son of Roll With Joe trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Our Horse Cents Stables, and J&T Silva Stables LLC.

JAMES LYNCH PACE
The card opened with a bang in the very first race, the first Lynch elimination, as the American Ideal filly Tequila Monday took control from the pole right away, with Idyllic Beach keeping the pocket closed. Tequila Monday set fractions of :26.3, :55.3, and 1:22.4, then had to dig in as Idyllic Beach came out in the lane to challenge and inched up, but Tequila Monday went on to gamely to hold off her rival by a nose, equaling her lifetime best of 1:50.4 and posting a season’s record. Inverse Hanover was not able to stay with the top pair but held third to advance to the championship. Brian Sears, set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday (July 2), guided Tequila Monday to the hard-fought victory for trainer Chris Oakes and owners Susan Oakes and Chuck Pompey.

Curtis Salonick photos

Tequila Monday rebuffed Idyllic Beach to win her elimination for the James Lynch Pace.

The Bettor’s Delight filly, Brazuca, quarter-moved after a :26.1 opening panel in her elimination, put up middle splits of :55.1 and 1:23.1 under Corey Callahan’s handling, then survived stretch threats both inside and outside to emerge first by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.3. The inside threat was Big City Betty, who found room up the Pocono Pike; the outside threat was Misqued, who started a challenge uncovered nearing the final turn – these two finished behind Brazuca in that order (Big City Betty a neck in front of Misqued) and also advanced. Brazuca is undefeated in three seasonal outings for trainer Thomas Cancelliere and owner John Cancelliere.

Agent Q, who missed a nose to Bettor’s Up in the Fan Hanover last week, set the fractions to her own liking seven days later, coming home to leave Bettor’s Up 1-1/2 lengths up the track while winning in a new mark of 1:51.1 as a drizzle started. After Caviart Ally shot to the early lead and the quarter was reached in :27.2, the Western Hanover miss, Agent Q, moved to the lead, hit the half in :56.1, then put on her closing sprint. Bettor’s Up beat out Caviart Ally for second; both will advance to the Championship, along with the winner, who was driven by David Miller for trainer Aaron Lambert and the ownership of Martin Scharf, Rochetti Cassar Racing, and Robert Muscara.