Wilkes-Barre, PA — Pacer Casual Cool and trotter P L Notsonice beat out some tough opposition to take the $18,500 features on their respective gaits on Saturday (June 17) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.

The American Ideal gelding Casual Cool, whose last victory came on May 7 in a second-level conditioned event, defeated today’s top-level field with a gritty 1:49.2 effort. Ridge Warren sent the winner of $628,790 frontward early, enduring some time three-wide before circling favorite Ultimaroca to get the top in :26.1. Casual Cool put up middle splits of :54.2 and 1:21.4 then braced for a two-pronged stretch charge — Maximus Miki rallied off cover to his right, Ultimaroca up the inside to his left. Casual Cool was game and got the job done by a head over Maximus Miki with Ultimaroca only a neck behind the winner, who is trained by Daniel Renaud for Dune Road Stables LLC.

Casual Cool held off a host of charging foes to win the Saturday pacing feature at Pocono. Curtis Salonick photo.

On the trotting side, the Kadabra mare P L Notsonice broke a string of four straight second-place finishes by winning emphatically in 1:52.3. The winner of $381,291 set fractions of :27.2, :56.1 and 1:24, then beat Pocono Pike-shooting Robbie Pev by 2-1/2 lengths for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Steven Brabrook, and Elite Harness Racing LLC.

Code Cracker and Aflame Hanover both won in 1:50 on the card; the latter surpassed $500,000 in career earnings with the victory.

Many of the top 3-year-old trotting fillies in North America will be racing in two $70,649 second-round Pennsylvania Sire Stakes divisions during Pocono’s 6 p.m. card Sunday (June 18). Recent stakes winners include Pennsylvania Sire Stakes success stories Sheer Faith and Railee Something, and Pennsylvania All-Stars winners Angelpedia and Bond. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available on the PHHA website.