Wilkes-Barre, PA – The Cantab Hall gelding Breezy Hall, still showing a victory for a $15,000 tag at the bottom of his lines, stepped all the way up to $40,000 claiming country in the $18,500 featured fast-class trot at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania Monday (Oct. 12) afternoon, and he made every pole a winning one with a 1:53.4 mile, just two fifths off his lifetime best.
Anthony Napolitano got the driving call as trainer-owner Mark Akins had two horses in the class, one he co-owns with Simon Allard (A 1 Racing), so Allard had to drive that one. “A Nap” reached the quarter in front in :27.4, then despite a stretch tailwind was able to back off the half to :57.1, a very helpful breather. The three-quarters came and went in 1:25.2 with Breezy Hall in control, and the potential pocket rocket Cassius Hanover (now 28-1-11-11 for the year) could get no closer than 1-1/4lengths at the finish as Breezy Hall dug down and showed gameness to the wire. Allard and Sapphirerainstar took third after an uncovered journey.
The $16,000 second-level fast-class trot was also captured by Anthony Napolitano, as the International Moni gelding Sainthood notched his second win in three starts, this one in 1:53.4, for trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and owner Bay Pond Racing Stable. Sainthood started a pace-controlling move at the quarter, made the lead nearing the second turn. then was able to maintain his advantage to the finish, finishing three parts of a length in front of 29-1 One After Nine (one of two last choices in the tote that Jim Pantaleano guided to second place on Monday; more on the other in a minute).
There were two divisions of a $15,500 class for developing horses. The trotting section went to the Googoo Gaagaa sophomore filly R Perfect Goo, starting from post one and putting up a “picket fence” in the wire-to-wire 1:54.3 victory for trainer John Butenschoen and lessees M & L DE / Armitage Farm. Second, 1¼ lengths back, was Pantaleano and the 226.50-1 bomber Double Arch, who paid $108.40 to show after a show pool bridgejumper saw the favorite come fourth.
The other race for up-and-coming horses, restricted to pacing females, went to the Heston Blue Chip three-year-old Andiamo, who also used engine tactics while finishing her mile three quarters of a length ahead of House Blend and equaling her mark of 1:52.3 for driver Braxten Boyd, trainer Robert Cleary, and the partnership of Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Lawrence Rosen.
Boyd won the last race and Ron Cushing the first; the intervening eleven races went to only three drivers: Anthony Napolitano (five) and Tyler Buter and Ridge Warren (three each). Peter Pellegrino was the only doubling trainer on the day.
The Pocono racing week closes on Tuesday (Oct. 12) with a 1 p.m. card, featuring three $30,000 divisions of the Super Bowl, the two-year-old trotting male event in the John Simpson Sr. stakes series. There will also be a carryover into the fourth race Pick 3 wager. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.