by James Beviglia, for Pocono Downs

Cheeriam pulled off an upset at 11-1 in the $37,200 final of the Duke-North Carolina pace late closer series on Saturday afternoon at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

Jack Q, the 1-9 favorite, was attempting a sweep of the series but faded all the way to last in the final after failing to get by pacesetter Strad Hanover with a first-over move. Meanwhile, Cheeriam waited patiently in the pocket before exploding past Strad Hanover in the stretch for the win in 1:53:2 with Greg Grismore in the bike. My Secret Weapon rallied for 2nd and Two On The Ace picked up 3rd.

It was only the second win of the year for Cheeriam, a 4-year-old gelding sired by Final Cheers. He hails from the barn of Carmine Fusco, Pocono’s leading trainer, and is owned by Thomas Franchino of North Haledon, NJ.

In the $48,550 final of the Army-Navy trot late closer series, No More Gold N also parlayed a pocket trip into a victory. Guided by trainer/driver Keith Kash Jr., No More Gold N sat 2nd behind Tom’s Ok Lady until making his move up the passing lane to win in 1:55:3. The other half of the Kash-trained entry, Kami’s Call, came up late for 2nd while Glide Patern managed 3rd.

No More Gold N, a 3-5 favorite, won for the 12th time this year and pushed his earnings into six figures for the season. Sired by Evander’s Gold, the 9-year-old gelding is owned by The Inquisitive Stable of Ohio and Melinda Kash of New York.

The two finals complete the Great Rivalries late closer series that had been held over the last four weeks at Pocono.