Wilkes-Barre, PA — Though the World Cup does not come to North America for 16 more days, there already has been a “golazo” (Spanish for “amazing goal”): a trotter named Golazo, who, on Tuesday afternoon (May 26) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, won the $35,000 Game Of Claims Trotting Series championship in 1:53.3.
With Tuesday’s first nine winners (and 12 of 14 on the day) on the lead at the half, there was quite a land rush for forward positioning out of the gate. Preliminary sweeper Pisces Rising tried to overcome the outside post 8with an early expenditure of energy, and he put a head ahead of Abruzzo at the :27 quarter. Golazo left but settled behind the cover of the early challenger, then commenced his surge to the front under the handling of George Napolitano Jr., reaching the half in :55.3 and firing on to a 1:23.3 three-quarters.
The torrid pace had reduced the contest to the three betting choices on the far turn: Golazo; first-over favorite LMC Wagon Wheel, who had gotten a pocket tuck on the turn after Pisces Rising faded; and Abruzzo, who had backed out to follow LMC Wagon Wheel and went on raw after he ducked in. Golazo showed true grit in the dash to the wire, winning by three-quarters of a length over Abruzzo, who won the photo for second over LMC Wagon Wheel.
A son of International Moni trained and owned by Jill Roland, Golazo finished fourth and second in preliminary action before winning by 5-1/2 lengths in 1:53.2 in last week’s final prelim, and he continued his run of peak form in the final.
The day’s co-feature was a $15,500 conditioned trot, which was captured by Geronimo Trio IT, an altered son of Manofmanymissions who went right down the road in 1:55.3. He triumphed by 1-1/4 lengths over Mysterious Frank for driver Braxten Boyd, meet-leading trainer Per Engblom, and Tar Heel Racing.
Boyd won four of the day’s first seven races and wound up with five victories in all to top the sulky colony. Anthony Napolitano triumphed three times; Matt Kakaley and George Napolitano Jr. visited the winner’s circle twice each.
Pocono now switches to its early summer four-card-a-week lineup, with the regular Saturday-Monday-Tuesday 1 p.m. schedule being supplemented by a 5 p.m. card each of the next nine Sundays. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.