Wilkes-Barre, PA — Two-year-olds saw their first stakes action on the last day of the first half of the year at Pocono Downs at Mohegan, Pennsylvania on Sunday (June 30). There were three $30,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for baby trotting males.

Cheers Hanover makes his stakes debut a winning one, taking a PA All-Stars contest at Pocono on Sunday. Curtis Salonick Photo.

David Miller won his third type of Pennsylvania stake on the day in taking the quickest division, 1:57.1, with Cheers Hanover (Bar Hopping-Chez Lucie), adding an All-Stars win to his Sire Stakes and Stallion Series victories notched at Philly this afternoon.  The successful colt let Elan Hanover go by at the :29 quarter and was content to wait in the pocket through middle fractions of :59.4 and 1:29.1. Miller tipped him down into the Pocono Pike, and the freshman found a higher gear quickly, catching the pacesetter in the :28 kicker by a neck, with the first-over Portobarosso AS NL (Andy Miller) just another neck off in third. The first-time starter is trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Jim Simpson, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.

Tim Tetrick took full advantage of the wind and the talents of gelding Fashion Green (Greenshoe–Fashion Athena) to take a new mark of 1:57.2 to open his career with two wins. After a :29.2 opener Tetrick moved the Fashion Farms LLC-owned freshman to the lead, making his move with the prevailing air to reach the top in :58.3. With no backstretch challenger, Tetrick could back off the three-quarters to 1:29.3, then sprint home in :27.4 with the chalk to stave off Meshuggah (Scott Zeron) by a neck. The winner’s trainer, Jim Campbell, will next Sunday be 95 miles ENE of Pocono – being inducted into the Hall Of Fame in Goshen NY.

Set The Bar (Bar Hopping-Promisemethis) went right out to the lead in a :29 quarter in his division, and then driver Todd Schadel was able to give him a breather to the half in 1:01.1 even with the wind “advantage.” The gelding got to the three-quarters in 1:31.1, met the outside challenge of Arrowhead Hanover (Mark MacDonald) and the Pocono Pike challenge of The Fix Is In (Charlie Norris), and powered home in :28.2 to break his maiden in 1:59.3, a head ahead of The Fix Is In and three parts of a length ahead of favored Arrowhead Hanover. Cody Schadel handles the talented colt for his father, the driver, his mother Christine, and Rick and Regina Beinhauer.

In overnight racing, the Always A Virgin gelding Setting Sun laid off a cutthroat pace, then surged to the front late to reduce his mark to 1:51 in a $16,500 claiming handicap pace. George Napolitano Jr. drove the winner for trainer Dean Eckley and owner Ameer Major.

The Pocono racing week closes out with Monday and Tuesday cards at 1 p.m. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.