Wilkes-Barre, PA — The Windsong Espoir gelding Clarion Hall made a successful debut for the barn of Gilbert Garcia-Herrera, the leading trainer at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, on Monday (May 17). Driver Anthony Napolitano found enough room up the inside to reduce the trotter’s mark to 1:54.4 in winning the $12,800 claiming handicap trot.

Clarion Hall came up the far inside to win a contested finish in 1:54.4. Curtis Salonick photo.

Clarion Hall got early position, then stayed inside and found himself shuffled back through quite a few lead changes, entering the stretch in the difficult fourth-inside position. However, the pace had been hot, and Napolitano was able to rally his charge up the Pocono Pike to catch the pacesetting Stop Resistin right on the money.

Clarion Hall, who is owned by the trainer’s son, Gilbert Garcia-Owen, actually carries some blueblood breeding as his sire was an O’Brien Award winner at two, and he is a half-brother to the champion Cantab Hall. Although he had not won in 25 starts prior to Monday’s triumph, he has 21 victories in 82 lifetime trips to the gate.

In the $11,200 co-featured fast-class trot, the Trixton gelding No Drama Please was reserved off a fast pace, then narrowed in through the last quarter to catch pacesetter Blenheim in 1:54. No Drama Please has now won both starts since coming back from a three-month respite, with Matt Kakaley handling him here for trainer Tom Fanning and owner Joseph Smith.

Good younger horses will contest three $15,300 features on the Tuesday card at Pocono, which starts at 12:30 p.m. In addition, the Rainbow Pick-5 carryover will be $61,677.50.

When the track resumes racing Saturday, there will be three $30,000 Pennsylvania All-Stars divisions for 3-year-old trotting colts, with quality sophomores such as Inaminute Hanover, winner of three straight and from the connections of 2019 Hambletonian winner Forbidden Trade, and Whiskey Blu, unraced at two but with nine wins and two seconds in 11 2021 starts for trainer Ron Burke. Program pages will be available at the PHHA website.