from harness publicists across North America

Friday’s (Oct. 2) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Vernon Downs.

Fancy Desire wins Friday feature at Pocono

Wilkes Barre, PA — Fancy Desire, a 4-year-old pacing mare who had won the $300,000 Lynch final on June 28 of last year at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono but who had fallen on hard times since, seemed to relish the rain, 48-degree chill and sloppy track offered at The Downs Friday and won the $24,000 distaff pacing feature in 1:52.1.

Curtis Salonick photo

Fancy Desire was a narrow winner in the Pocono feature.

The daughter of Real Desire, trained by Daniel Renaud for owner Robert Di Nozzi, won only twice more in 2014 after the Lynch and hadn’t won at all in 2015 prior to this race, and she sported a 23-race losing streak coming in.

But a second-over trip after relatively fast fractions allowed Fancy Desire to rally from fifth, catching Ooh Bad Shark, who had gained the lead mid-stretch in the Pocono Pike, while posting a neck decision. Fancy Desire gave driver George Napolitano Jr., who also piloted her in the 2014 Lynch final, his fourth win of five on the night at The Downs at press time.

Mach It So, coming off a dramatic sweeping victory in the Quillen Memorial at Harrington last week, will be among the favorites in the $30,000 Open Pace headliner at The Downs Saturday. The winner of $1.08 million, who took his mark of 1:48 locally, will start from post five, with driver Andrew McCarthy listed by trainer Jeff Bamond Jr.

— PHHA/Pocono

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Super Soph (Admirals Galley) set a lifetime mark while wiring the field in the $17,900 Winners Over Pace for Fillies and Mares on Friday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. The Jackie Rousse-trained mare won the local feature for the first time back in August while coming from off the pace. On Friday night, driver Frank Coppola Jr. wasted no time putting the public’s 6-5 betting favorite on the front end and the mare cruised to a career best victory in 1:52.3. It was win number seven on the season for the 5-year-old distaffer who bested pocket sitting Eyemajet (Shawn Gray) by 1-1/4 lengths while La Fiesta (Bruce Aldrich Jr.) earned the show spot. Live racing continues on Saturday night at Saratoga with a first post time of 6:45 p.m.

Vernon Downs
While Richard Keys’ Big Chocolate overcame a loss of cover on the far turn to take Friday evening’s $7,000 top-level conditioned trot at Vernon Downs, a pair of war horses now with 117 wins and more than $1.2 million in career earnings between them stole the show in a $4,000 claiming event. The evening’s ninth race featured a septet of claiming pacers, with I Scoot For Cash (Ben McNeil) wasting no time securing the pacesetting role in the initial stages. After sprinting clear of Team Edward (Truman Gale) and Majo Just Do It (Claude Huckabone III), I Scoot For Cash backed down the tempo through a reasonable :56.4 first half-mile while proven veterans Veal Marsala and My Fella kicked into gear from the back of the pack. Jimmy Whittemore angled Veal Marsala off the pegs on the backstretch to flush the cover of King Of Kings (Frank Davis), while Fern Paquet Jr. tipped My Fella third-over on approach to the far turn. As King Of Kings worked to the lead in a :29 third quarter, Veal Marsala kicked cover, striking the front in mid-stretch — but he wasn’t home free. The 11-year-old Real Artist gelding subsequently staved off the late charge of 14-year-old My Fella, holding sway by a neck in 1:54.4 over fast going. Dennis Whittemore owns and trains Veal Marsala, whose fourth consecutive victory brought him to 54 career wins and more than $570,000 in career earnings. Runner-up My Fella remains a 63-time winner, having earned in excess of $660,000. Veal Marsala returned his backers $4.30 to win. The younger Whittemore also prevailed in the evening’s featured trot, establishing a second-over trip with Big Chocolate on the backstretch, tracking the cover of Yankee Manny (Chris Lems) in pursuit of Grey Ice (Dan Daley) through the far turn. Despite a loss of cover when Yankee Manny broke stride, Big Chocolate continued to make inroads, taking over from a beleaguered Grey Ice in upper stretch. Much like Veal Marsala would do just 20 minutes later, Big Chocolate dug in to stave off the beneficiary of his cover, Drinksforthehouse (Truman Gale), by three-quarters of a length, prevailing in 1:55.1. Homer Hochstetler trains the 6-year-old Chocolatier son who returned his backers $5.60 to win. Earlier in the evening’s 10-race program, Margaret and Amy Butler’s J A T O scored his third open-length win in as many starts, capturing a $5,600 conditioned trot in 1:54.4 by 9-1/2 lengths over Proud Flag and Lucky Ten K. Fern Paquet Jr. drove the 3-year-old Big Apple Deli colt, who tallied 19 wins on the New York fair circuit before making a remarkable transition to pari-mutuel racing. William Okusko handles the training duties of the 22-time winner. Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday evening, with the first of 11 races due off at 6:45 p.m. (EDT).