from the PHHA/Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Celebrity Bugatti put himself into the driver’s seat of Bobby Weiss Series action for trotting males Monday night (April 25) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, running his record to three-for-three in the series while posting the fastest clocking (1:54.3) among the $15,000 third leg prelims.

Curtis Salonick photo

Celebrity Bugatti was a 1:54.3 winner in Weiss Series action.

Driver George Napolitano Jr. had the Muscle Massive stallion in front at every call and felt no pressure at all, with a :27.3 opener and a :57.4 back half that left him 3-1/4 lengths clear at the finish. Chris Oakes has taken over local care of the speedy trotter for owners Herman Hagerman, Johnny Yoder and Dan Rawlings.

Two other horses besides Celebrity Bugatti had won in each of the first two legs, but Steed did not enter the third leg and Dominus Hanover, 1-10 in the betting, finished worse than second for the first time in 11 seasonal starts when he came up third in Taxed To The Max’s 1:56.2 victory.

Dominus Hanover had a soft :59.1 lead to the half, but he didn’t have the necessary 57.1 sprint home, as the Yankee Glide 4-year-old gelding Taxed To The Max slid up the Pocono Pike from the pocket, grabbed command, then held off Explosive Leggs late for trainer Neal Ehrhart and owners Keystone Trotters LLC while lowering his mark by 2-2/5 seconds.

Taxed To The Max’s driver was Anthony Napolitano, who fashioned seven winners (to brother George’s six) on Saturday here, yet still often gets away at high prices. Despite a Weiss second last week, Taxed To The Max paid $18.20 to win, joining other recent “A Nap” winners who paid $20.80 in another race Monday night, $26.20 and $20.80 in his two wins Sunday night, and $69.80 among his seven Saturday winners, only one of which was favored.

The other Weiss winner Monday, the Cantab Hall sophomore gelding Elysium Lindy, lowered his speed badge by an even greater margin (4-1/5 seconds) as he parlayed a pocket trip to a neck victory over Apostles Creed in 1:55.2. Driver Jim Marshall III, trainer Donna Marshall, and owner George Beck saw their developing 3-year-old put himself in a good position to make the May 9 Weiss championship for this group, as he now has two seconds and a win in series competition.

Something will have to give in the fifth race division of the fourth and final preliminary leg of Weiss action for female trotters Tuesday night. South Side Hanover (post one, trainer/driver Todd Schadel) and Stirling Debutant (Anthony Napolitano driving for trainer Christie Collins from post six) are both three-for-three so far in the series, and whoever takes the Tuesday contest will stamp herself as the one to beat in the $30,000 championship a week from Tuesday. Races three and four Tuesday are also part of the distaff Weiss action.

Burke trainee pays $169.40 to win

Ron Burke has dominated the training statistics of North American harness racing like no other horseman before him has done. He has broken the 1,000-win mark in a season twice, and two years ago his trainees earned more than $28 million.

But Ron Burke has a hunger for trying to learn and do more, and in the last race Tuesday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Burke showed the harness public a new trick as he sent out the Conway Hall sophomore filly Time To Talk for her 2016 bow, and at the mile’s end, the filly had a new mark of 1:57.2 and anyone who backed her to win with $2 had a $169.40 windfall.

Downs track announcer Jim Beviglia picked right up on it, noting in the winner’s circle ceremony, “It’s not very often you’re going to get 80-1 on a Ron Burke trainee.”

Time To Talk was thought of enough at two by her connections (Burke Racing, Our Horse Cents Stables, and J&T Silva Stables) that she made her career debut in a New York Sire Stakes event, and did have a third in a New York Excelsior Series race as the highlight of her five-start campaign.

Qualifying back evenly in 1:59.1 for her 2016 bow, she drew post nine (but started in post eight due to a scratch), and certainly was no lock — but still, with Burke and driver Matt Kakaley, former Pocono dash champion, this year the leading driver at The Downs not named Napolitano and fourth in the North American drivers earning derby 80-1 does seem generous, acknowledging 20-20 hindsight.

Time To Talk did have to earn the victory, even though she was aided by three of her seven rivals going offstride. Last among the non-breakers at the five-eighths, she was hustled outside by Kakaley and steadily made a grinding gain on the leading Broadway Jo Ell. Through the stretch the two battled hard and Time To Talk was gritty enough in her 2016 debut to hang a nose loss on her pacesetting rival and return the huge mutuel price.