Wilkes-Barre, PA – The theme of a Wednesday morning (June 25) baby race session at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, which started at 9 a.m. to beat the coming stifling heat (it was already 86 degrees by 10 a.m.), was indeed “hot stables” in the respective divisions.
Driver Matt Kakaley and trainer George Ducharme combined with a trio of first-time trotting colts who now all show a win on their first charted line while taking all three of that section’s races. Quickest was Navigator One (Walner – Bee The Queen), who came home out of the pocket in :58.2 – :29 to win in 1:58.3 for owner Alfred Ross. The other pair in Team Kakaley / Ducharme’s three-of-a-kind were False Dogma (Captain Corey – Sister Christina) in an engine 1:59.3 – :59.2 – :29.3 tally, and the Tactical Landing – Red Wies And Blue baby Tactical Red, also a leader throughout in 2:00 – :58.3 – :28.4.
Steve Salerno is a five-time Pocono title winner over his distinguished career, but in semi retirement he hadn’t won even a qualifying race in over four years when he took the sulky seat behind two Emily Bost two-year-old trotting fillies by Greenshoe and kept their winning streaks going in a divisional sweep.
Alexandriabluechip (dam Queendom) now has three wins, one at Saratoga and two here, after she was the quicker, front-ending in 1:59.4 – :59 for owners Frank Salino Jr., Bruce Potter, Guy Roemer and Theresa Naylor. Ms Bojangles (dam Explosive High) also has done the Saratoga – Pocono double after coming back quarters each in :29.2 on the lead for a 2:01.2 win.
“Sweeps” certainly weren’t confined to the trotting action. The two pacing colt sections were both captured by Travis Alexander pupils, with the faster the Perfect Sting – Little Miss K colt Everlast Sting Deo, owned by Morrison Racing Stables and coming from third to win in 1:55.3. – :56.3 – :28 for driver Braxten Boyd as the barn was 1-2-3 in this contest. Matt Kakaley was the driver for the Sweet Lou – Life Is A Beach colt Sweet Joel, who won his first start controlling the throttle in 1:58.1 – :57.4 – :28.4.
Alexander / Kakaley also won a pair of the four sections for pacing fillies, but the fastest winner was Say Goodnight (Papi Rob Hanover – One Last Kiss). In her first start, she came from way back to win; here she vacated the pocket past the half and sped her own last half in :55 to stop the timer at 1:54.3 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nicholas Devita, and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
The winning baby fillies under the Alexander / Kakaley banner were Big Weekend (Captaintreacherous – Tica Hanover), who opened the session with an engine win in 1:55 – :56.2 – :27.1, and the Huntsville – All On Top Hanover miss Odds On Monetary, coming home in :56.2 – :28 in a 1:56.1 success story. The fourth frosh pacing filly added a local win to an earlier Monticello victory: Ev Does It (Roll With Joe – Tesla Hanover), a 1:57.3 – :58 winner for driver Braxten Boyd and trainer Mark Ford.
Live racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday with a 1 p.m. card. Replays of the baby races can be found at www.phha.org.