by James Beviglia, for Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Fresh Idea saved her first win of 2011 for a good time, as the filly surprised a field of 3-year-old filly stars in the $250,000 James Lynch Memorial Pace on Saturday night (June 4) at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

Leaving from post position three as a 9-2 shot in a field of nine, Fresh Idea, trained by Tony Alagna and driven by Dave Palone, took over the lead for the first time from Foxy Lady at the three-eighths-mile marker. At that point Palone controlled the pace nicely, and the filly was still on the lead heading into the final turn.

It was at that point that Foxy Lady went off-stride in the pocket, which scattered the field bunched up behind her, eliminating any chance for closing pressure on the leader. Fresh Idea was able to coast from there, rolling to a win by 2-3/4 lengths in a career-best time of 1:51.3. Foxy Lady crossed the line second but was placed last by the judges for her interference, meaning that Some Girls Do got the place and Hasty Pulse earned the show.

Palone was one of the few at the track not surprised by Fresh Idea’s performance.

“My filly is a good filly with a lot of pedigree and she showed it,” he said after the race about the daughter of Western Hanover. “She makes my job easy.”

Fresh Idea, owned by Brittany Farms of Versailles, Ky., had second-place finishes in all three of her starts this season coming into the race. She won both of her starts as a 2-year-old in 2010, but the Lynch was her first stakes experience. The winner’s share of the purse pushed her lifetime earnings to $148,300.