Wilkes-Barre, PA – Stakes action worth a total of $217,966 was featured at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania during a Sunday twilight card, as Pennsylvania-sired 2-year-old pacing males contested the second preliminary leg of the Sire Stakes (in two divisions) and Stallion Series (in four cuts).
Three stallions dominated the night, each siring two stakes winners, with Stay Hungry successful in the two Sire Stakes divisions.
The only two-time PaSS winner in this group is Frantic Hanover (dam Francessa), who capped a big night for driver Ron Wrenn Jr. and trainer Ron Burke with a 1:51.4 victory. Wrenn left from the outside and was willing to pay a :26.4 price to get to the lead over the other first-round winner entered, Superchamp Hanover. Frantic Hanover got a very soft second quarter to the :56.3 half, and wasn’t pressed terribly to the 1:25 three-quarters, but when the dash for the cash grew serious, the talented baby gave another :26.4 quarter to maintain a 1-1/2 length lead to the wire over his stablemate Al Papi, who himself came home in :26.3 to photo Superchamp Hanover for second.
The winner, who also has a PA All-Stars victory in his undefeated three-race career, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Brad Grant, and Knox Services Inc. He was part of Wrenn’s four winners on the card and one of Burke’s pair of successes. (The ubiquitous Burke had stakes scores at three tracks Sunday – Pocono, Lexington, and the Erie County Fair in Wattsburg, Pa.)
Ain’tplayinnice (dam Play Nice) was the other Stay Hungry progeny to win in the PaSS, and the gelding took a new mark of 1:51.3 with a two-length score over Melillo and Thai Hanover, who dead-heated for the deuce. Three-time defending Pocono driving champion Matt Kakaley was last mid-first turn with Ain’tplayinnice and did not relish coming from way back in a likely sprint home, so he moved at the :28 quarter and had the lead well before the :56.2 half. He then reached the three quarters in 1:24.2 en route to victory for trainer Brian Brown and owners Milton Leeman, William Calvert, and Mark Kantrowitz.
Captaintreacherous and Tall Dark Stranger each sired two Stallion Series winners, with the Captain’s successful colts including the only repeat StS winner and also the fastest Stallion Series success story of the night. Another C Note (dam Kate Can’t Wait) wired his field in 1:54.4 – :55.4 – :27.2 to notch a second series win for Team Wrenn/Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Let It Ride Stables Inc., and Scott Dillon, while Ringin The Captain (dam Bettorputaringonit) lowered his mark to 1:53.4 with homeward speed of :55.2 – :27.2 for driver Ridge Warren, trainer Aaron Lambert, and owner Anthony Licastro.
Tall Dark Stranger’s pair of winners included the gelding Really Bright (dam Economy Terror), who came home in :27 to earn the most-slender victory over the night, a nose, over Loumelo Ball in 1:54.1 (equaling his mark) for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Hunter Oakes, and owners Howard Taylor and Chuck Pompey. The other was the colt Southwind Spencer (dam Sansovina Hanover), on the engine in 1:54.4 – :56.3 – :27.2 in his maiden win, for driver Mike Wilder, trainer Doug Snyder, and owner Geraldine Poerio.
Pocono will close out its racing week with 1 p.m. (EDT) cards on Monday and Tuesday; a $25,000 fast-class pace for tough distaffs is the Monday feature. And every day Pocono gets closer to its biggest card of the year, the $2 million-plus Sun Stakes Saturday highlighting both 3-year-olds and invitational horses. This year’s edition is to be held on Saturday, Aug. 16, with a special post time at 2:30 p.m.
Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.