Wilkes-Barre, PA — Pennsylvania-sired stakes competition for 2-year-old pacing fillies featuring purses totaling $210,455 was held during the Sunday (July 19) twilight card at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with three divisions of Sire Stakes and four of Stallion Series. The stakes action followed in the early weekend’s trend of favorites not getting the job done. This second preliminary round ended with no double winners in either division, and only one chalk was victorious.
That favorite was Aestas, a daughter of Papi Rob Hanover – Air Miles Hanover, who now has the distinction of winning at three different levels of stakes races in her last three starts upon taking a PaSS division here. After first capturing a Stallion Series division and then enjoying success in the Pennsylvania All-Stars in her previous start, on Sunday Aestas was pointed frontward by driver Corey Callahan, made the lead after the :27.3 quarter and then added midsplits of :56.3 and 1:25.1. The bay filly then throttled home in :27.2 to win in 1:52.3 for trainer Steve LeBlanc and owner Glenn Dyke; on a night of close finishes in the stakes, Aestas had the biggest winning margin 1-1/2-lengths.
Callahan also accounted for a second Sire Stakes division, this one at 17-1 odds with JK Lady Liberty, a daughter of Captain Crunch out of 2014 Horse of the Year JK She’salady. JK Lady Liberty sat third through fractions of :27.2, :57, and 1:24.3, found room when the pocketsitter moved outside into the stretch, and dashed up the Pocono Pike to edge pacesetting Positive Process by a neck in 1:52.2, the fastest division, and put up by a filly who had previously had only a second in an overnight event for trainer Nancy Takter and 3 Brothers Stables.
The Stay Hungry – Impact Zone miss Gold Impact posted an even bigger upset in the other Sires cut, winning in a lifetime best 1:52.3 at 23-1 odds. Gold Impact showed speed in the :27.3 first stanza, brushed to the lead before the :56.4 half, hit the three quarters in 1:25.1, then staved off a giant late rush from favored My Taylors Swift, gaining with every late stride but a neck shy on the money. Mike Wilder drove the winner for trainer/father-in-law Dan Altmeyer and the partnership of Altmeyer Wilder Racing, Hutchison Harness LLC, Milton Leeman, and David Wills.
In the four Stallion Series divisions, Sweet Lou had two siring credits, as did Captaintreacherous. “The Two Ronnies,” Wrenn and Burke, combined for a double with one of the stallions – but surprisingly it was the two Captaintreacherous misses they clicked with. Faster of those two winners was 9-2 proposition Wish For A Captain (dam Wishy Washy Girl), who finished with a rush to beat favored Sangiovese Hanover by 1-1/4-lengths in 1:53.4 for Zippett Racing Stable, Joseph Di Scala Jr., Michael Dolan, and Sjoeblom Racing Inc.
The “Ronnies and Captain” combine also won with 8-1 shot Saffron Station, who sat a pocket trip, came up the inside to get a stretch advantage, then held off a big charge from favored Amazing Tammy (a familiar theme) by a neck to break her maiden in 1:55. Saffron Station enjoyed the relief from Sires company to win for Scott Dillon and Craig Henderson.
Quickest Stallion Series winner was a daughter of Sweet Lou, Boardwalk Babe (dam Restive Hanover), who was another successful user of the famed Pocono Pike in a three-quarter-length tally over Odds On Wonderful (who was odds-on) in 1:53.3. Anthony Napolitano drove the winner for trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and Double The Fun Stable.
Boardwalk Babe came to Pocono off a career debut in the Tompkins-Geers at Woodbine Mohawk Park; taking the same but rarely-used path to the mountain track was Lyons Cariemontana, a Sweet Lou – Lyons Monatize miss who also utilized the inside stretch path in taking a maiden mark of 1:54.3, a half length to the good of crowd choice Gift Of Faith for driver Michael Whelan, trainer Kenneth Oliver, and Threelyonsracing.
Corey Callahan led the horsemen’s colony with three success stories – besides his PaSS wins, he drove Holt Hanover to a victory in the card’s opener in 1:49 … in a “non-winners of two races” event. Team Wrenn-Burke were the only other doublers on Sunday.
Racing is right back in action at Pocono on a Monday (July 20) card with a 1 p.m. start time; there are two $16,000 features, one for fast-class trotters and one for 2-year-old pacing fillies. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.