Racing Roundup: Whiskey Pete stays hot with Open win at Pocono
April 9, 2011,from harness publicists across North America
Saturday’s (April 9) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Scarborough Downs, Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Buffalo Raceway.
Whiskey Pete stays hot with Open win at Pocono
Wilkes Barre, PA –— Whiskey Pete continued his torrid tour of Eastern tracks with an impressive win in Saturday night’s featured Open Handicap pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Whiskey Pete, who followed up wins in two out of three starts at the Meadowlands with a win in an Open pace at Chester in his last race, shipped into Pocono as the 5-2 second choice. Leaving from post position #8 in a field of nine, the 4-year-old gelding from the Nat Varty barn settled third in the early going. Driver Pat Berry sent him to the outside first-over around the clubhouse turn, and he wrested the lead away from 3-5 favorite Golden Receiver just past the 5/8 mark. He never relinquished the lead from there, finishing 1-1/2 lengths in front of Golden Receiver in 1:50.3, the fastest time at Pocono so far this season. Presidential Order picked up the show.
With the win, Whiskey Pete, sired by Art Major, now has 6 victories in 13 tries this season. It was his 13th career win, and his lifetime earnings surged over $291,000.
— James Beviglia
Scarborough Downs
Malek Hanover scored top honors in Scarborough’s $5,400 Free-For-All on Saturday fresh off the heels of last week’s robust second-place finish to the upward bound Johnny Z. So impressive was Malek Hanover’s performance that he in fact equaled the fastest clocking of the young State-of-Maine harness racing season, circumnavigating the Seaside Oval twice around in 1:55.1. Malek Hanover, a 7-year-old son of Western Hanover, is owned by the Estate of Allison Derrah of Ontario, and was driven to victory by Rob Dinning. The win was one of two on the program for trainer Bo Sowers. The battle for supremacy in the driver’s colony remains heated in the early portions of the Scarborough meet with 2009 leading driver Drew Campbell, and 2010 leading driver Shawn Gray, each recording driving triples on Saturday’s card.
Saratoga Casino and Raceway
The Battle of Saratoga #4 pacing series got underway on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway and featured three divisions for 3 and 4-year-old colt and gelding pacers. In order to be eligible, horses must be non-winners of three races or $25,000 lifetime. Leg one was a good one for the favorites. Dan Cappello Jr enjoyed success in the first leg of the series piloting two of its three winners, including T L Six Shooter (Six Of Diamonds), who was making his local debut on Saturday night. The Paul Kelley trainee proved up to the task as he held on in the stretch for a 1:56 victory, matching the fastest time for the series’ first leg. Cappello also sat behind heavily favored Rock Holiday (Rocknroll Hanover) who hung on while proving worthy at odds of 1-5. Rock Holiday, who is trained by Scott Mongeon, stopped the timer in 1:56.4 en route to his second consecutive win. The final division of the first leg was won by Master Of Desire (Real Desire) who, like T L Six Shooter, made his local debut a winning one on Saturday night. Stephane Bouchard was at the controls for trainer Mark Ford as the 4-year-old flew home in the stretch before registering a 1:56 win time, matching T L Six Shooter for fastest of the first leg. Leg two of the series will take place next Saturday night (April 16), with the third leg contested on April 23 as the colts and geldings earn points towards the $20,000+ April 30 final.
Buffalo Raceway
Spender Hanover, a 5-year-old Cam’s Card Shark gelding, out of the Rustler Hanover mare Special Beauty, won the $10,000 Open Pace in a seasons best 1:55.3 for owners Betty Tauber, Vogel, and the Wags N Nags stable here at Buffalo Raceway Saturday night (April 9). It was the third win in nine starts for Spender Hanover, whose winning time establishes a new 2011 mark for pacers, here at the Raceway. Spender Hanover ($3.30), leaving from post two in the field of seven, and driven by reinsman Chris Page, received a perfect garden spot two-hole trip, as Oh Gee Whiz (John Cummings, Jr.) cut all the fractions in the race, :28.1, :57.2, and 1:26.4. It was a well bunched field at the top of the stretch, but a :28.3 last quarter-mile and the passing lane was all that was needed for Spender Hanover to beat second place finisher Spode To Be Black (Jim McNeight) by 1-1/2 lengths at the wire. Low And Right (Ray Fisher, Jr.) came in third. “It’s not the way I thought the race would go”, said Page. “But it worked out OK, and a pocket trip is always a nice trip, as long as the leader takes you to the top of the stretch”. Trained by Sherri Holliday, the $5,000 share of the winning purse put Spender Hanover’s seasons bankroll at $20,094, and $135,928 lifetime.