Wilkes-Barre, PA – The Bar Hopping filly Ginger Tree Lex marked herself as a freshman trotter to watch for in upcoming major races by winning her fifth consecutive start, all stakes and three of them Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, with a lifetime-best 1:54.3 in a division of her third preliminary PASS round Sunday night at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania during $217,154 of PA-sired stakes competition.
Matt Kakaley was out wide from post six and two-wide most of the :27.2 quarter, but then he and Ginger Tree Lex got a breather to the :57.2 half. The three-quarters came and went in 1:26.1, and through the last panel the (slight) favorite increased her margin to triumph by four lengths without looking hard-pressed.
Steve Cook is the trainer of Ginger Tree Lex, who is owned by the partnership of Sam Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures LLC, Knollview Stable 2, and Bob Reber Jr.
The other Sire Stakes division was also won by the chalk, the Captain Corey miss Islandgirl Hanover, who also used engine tactics to record a 1:55.4 win. After a :28 opening quarter, trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer got to steal a :58.1 middle half, and then his filly could not be caught while flashing home in :28. Islandgirl Hanover has won three of five lifetime trips behind the gate for Purple Haze Stables LLC.
There were two major contrasts between the Sire Stakes and the five divisions of the Stallion Series racing Sunday at Pocono: while favorites took both of the top-level races, only one chalk won in the five StS races, and no StS horse has more than one win after three rounds, though fifteen different horses now have a single victory. (The final prelims at The Meadows on Aug. 28 should be exciting.)
One “repeat winner” was sire Greenshoe, who fathered three of Sunday’s five winners, including the fastest, who was also the longest shot of her race at 21-1: the maiden-no-more Rina Labelle (dam Absynthe Hanover), who moved smartly out of the pocket to win in 1:56 for driver Ron Wrenn Jr., trainer Vernon Beachy, and owners 518 Group, Ryan Smith, and Gitup Racing.
The other two credits for Greenshoe were Nuance (dam Hillarmbro), who took a new mark of 1:56.1 for trainer Marcus Melander, and Berry Good News (dam Poof She’s Gone), who broke her maiden in 1:56.3. The latter is a Nifty Norman trainee who was driven by Tyler Buter, Pocono’s leading driver for the meet and for the day with three. Buter also brought home AJ Hall (Cantab Hall-Aela Jamieson), trained by Noel Daley, to her first win in 1:58.1 as the only StS favorite to win.
And finally, 79-years-young Roger Hammer is the breeder-owner-trainer of the Fordham Road-A Little Laid Back miss Little Road, who broke her maiden in 1:56.3 with driver Brady Brown doing a good Hammer imitation while getting through a tiny hole on the inside to be up on the money.
After starting of the week with a sensational Sun Stakes Saturday card that generated a handle of over $1 million, and excellent 2-year-old racing on Sunday, Pocono continues its racing week with Monday and Tuesday programs beginning at 1 p.m.
Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.