Wilkes-Barre, PA — You Got It raced strongly to a front-end 1:54 victory in the $15,500 featured claiming handicap trot Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 15) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
All of the five outermost starters were away briskly, with You Got It, a 4-year-old son of Chapter Seven, parked with cover well past the :27.4 quarter then going on to the lead approaching the second turn and a :56.3 half. Once on the point, the winner left no doubt he was going to be best, passing the three-quarters in 1:25.1 then stretching a two-length stretch margin to six lengths at the wire for driver George Napolitano Jr.
The only negative note for the horse’s connections, trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and owners Vincent Ferriero Jr., Jeffrey Glenn Hess and Pint Size Racing Stable LLC, is that they are no longer the horse’s connections, as the winner was taken on a $31,250 claim.
The Tuesday sub-features were a quartet of $15,000 events for class-climbing younger horses, with two races for each gait. The pacing males were led by Yankee Clout, a Sweet Lou gelding who won by a nose in his last start in 1:52.2 then doubled his winning margin – to a head – while tying his newly-established best. The pocket rocket caught pacesetter Always B Elvis for Team Whelan – driver Michael and trainer Walter – and owner Christopher Nicol.
In the distaff pace, the Roll With Joe 3-year-old She’s Got It, aftering finishing second in a photo in her last three starts, was on the winning side of the picture while lowering her mark four seconds to 1:52.4. Matt Kakaley raced the winner on the lead, shook off the outer=tier opposition, then withstood a late burst by 48-1 shot Big City Daisy to win by a nose for trainer Cory Stratton and owner James Crawford IV.
In one trotting section, the Ready Cash sophomore gelding Big Ben Pellini S, who authored a 1:52.1 mile locally on a 91-degree day in July, worked up to the lead past the first turn and won fairly comfortably in 1:55.3. Ridge Warren handled the 3-year-old, unraced at 2 and a winner in half his eight starts, for trainer Åke Svanstedt and Order By Stable AB.
In the other sub-featured trot, the Alarm Detector mare Shiny New Penny saved every bit of ground then had enough late to defeat Kelly’s Greatest by a neck in 1:55.4. The winner, owned by Jaypaul Hoover, was driven by Ridge Warren and trained by Anthony Faulkner.
Tyler Buter posted four driving victories on the day; Ridge Warren had three. Trainer Anthony Faulkner sent out two winners after just rejoining the ranks of conditioners after 12 years away; Robert Cleary also harnessed a pair of winners.
Racing resumes on Saturday (Oct. 19) at 1 p.m. with a solid band of overnight horses across many classes. On Monday and Tuesday afternoons (Oct. 21-23), there will be Simpson Series stakes action for freshman fillies and sophomore pacers, with over $450,000 scheduled to be on the line in the stakes competition. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.