Wilkes-Barre, PA — For the second time in as many starts at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Dame Good Time, a 5-year-old gelded trotter by Chapter Seven, put in a free-for-all-caliber mile, following up on his 1:50.2 world record-equaling clocking with a strong 1:51 victory on Tuesday (June 23).
Dame God Time started from post 5 in the six-horse $27,500 handicap event, just inside champion mare Warrawee Michelle, and gradually went up for driver Ridge Warren to take the lead away from Warrawee Michelle, who was sent off at 4-5 versus the gelding’s 11-10, a good bit past the :26.4 quarter. Dame Good Time continued on to post middle splits of :55 and 1:23.1 with nobody able to start an outside charge at him.
Despite the benefit of a two-hole trip, Warrawee Michelle could make up no stretch ground on the new world record holder; in fact, she wound up 3 lengths behind the powerful winner. Dame Good Time, now a career winner of $685,516, seems like he is on a course to face some of North America’s best trotters sometime soon for trainer Nick DeVita and owner John Cummins.
There were two $15,500 trotting events for horses looking to make headway up the class ladder, and both winners set lifetime bests. Caballero, an altered son of Tactical Landing, launched a second move uncovered down the back, from which he carried on to a length triumph in 1:54.1 for the hot combination of driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer Anthony Faulkner, and owner Jaypaul Hanover.
Lionheart Hanover, a Greenshoe gelding who has been a mainstay of the Pennsylvania fair circuit the last two seasons, was in form control on the lead in the other sector, stopping the timer in 1:56 for driver Tyler Buter and trainer Linda Schadel, with the latter sharing ownership with her husband, Tony.
Napolitano won four times on the Tuesday card to lead all drivers; two of them were for trainer Faulkner, the only conditioner who doubled. Also winning twice were drivers Buter and Jim Pantaleano.
There will be a doozy of a $27,500 fast-class handicap pace on the Pocono card Saturday (June 27), which begins at 1 p.m. There are three millionaires handicapped to the outside of the outstanding field: Dandy Ideal, Ruthless Hanover and Ken Hanover will begin from posts 4 through 6, respectively. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.