by PHHA/Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — The temperature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday (March 24) was not very warm, but the battles for early and late supremacy in the co-featured $17,500 races were at a fever pitch, with pacesetters Home ‘n Dry and Good Living overcoming both the high price they paid for the top and good foes coming back at them in the lane.

Curtis Salonick photo

Good Living wins one of the co-featured events on Saturday evening at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

They were four-deep to the eighth pole in the trotting headliner, with the Credit Winner gelding Home ‘n Dry three-wide at that point, eventually working his way to two-wide by the :27.4 quarter and then onward to the lead in front of the stands.

Home ‘n Dry went on to post middle splits of :55.4 and 1:25, then found the two horses who had had the lead before him, first-on-top Upfront Billy and Golden Son, gaining on him in the Pocono Pike. But the Jim Morrill Jr.-driven winner, trainer by Robert Bresnahan Jr. for J L Sadowsky LLC, still had enough in reserve to post a three-quarters of a length victory in 1:54.1, with Golden Son a neck better than Upfront Billy for second.

Good Living, a winner on 2018’s local opening night last Saturday, made it two straight despite a small class step-up, tripping the timer in 1:50.4 for trainer Tom Cancelliere and owner John Cancelliere.

The well-bred son of Western Ideal made the lead early inside of Somewhere Fancy, but with Ideal Cowboy keeping the pocket closed, the two quickest starters hit the quarter in :26 flat. Somewhere Fancy was out to almost the three-eighths pole before taking the lead, only to yield to the retaking Good Living, with the next two splits being rung up in :54.2 and 1:22.1.

In the stretch Anthony Napolitano, the track’s leading driver, asked Good Living for his all as Somewhere Fancy fought back, and he was able to maintain a three-quarter length margin over his game foe to the finish.

Pocono will have its first Sunday card tomorrow (March 25), with two $17,000 trots sharing the spotlight with many horses getting in a final preparatory mile for their Bobby Weiss Series action. The Weiss contests start a week from this Sunday (March 25), Easter Sunday, (April 1), a card which will have a special holiday post time of 5 p.m.