Wilkes-Barre, PA – Youthful veteran driver Ridge Warren had to think twice while driving Kinnder Thinktwice in the $16,000 fast-class featured trot at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday (June 8). He made a good decision both times, and Kinnder Thinktwice got home first in 1:54.2.
The Quebec-bred Wheeling N Dealin gelding has useful gate speed, but Warren looked around him as the gate sprang and decided to take back rather than get in an early war, heading to the pylons as first favored The Hazelton and then second choice Diplomacy put up the early numbers of :28 and :56.3. Kinnder Thinktwice, having been first or second in his last three starts, brought good form to the race and Warren moved him out towards the half; no cover materialized for him, so he let his trotter ramble raw to and past the 1:25.3 three quarters.
Kinnder Thinktwice validated Warren’s judgment by going to the lead into the stretch, then holding off the Pocono Pike bud of The Hazelton by 1-1/4 lengths. Susan Marshall trains the newly-minted winner of $300,000+, and she co-owns him with John Marshall.
There was a pair of $15,500 events for horses climbing the class ladder. Warren also won the trotting division of the subfeature, getting the Bar Hopping gelding Twofisteddrinker away from the outside post eight and to the lead, going on nicely to win in 1:56 for trainer Gerald Lee Jr. and owner Maryann Rastetter.
The distaff pacing subfeature section scratched down to four horses but still provided a good finish, as the Lazarus N mare Shesgotthejack sat in the golden chair behind heavy favorite Precise N, then passed that one late by three parts of a length while stopping the timer in 1:51.3 for driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer Jacob Hartline, and Anatolia Racing LLC.
There were also three $12,000 divisions of the second leg of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series, with horses base-tagged at $17,500 this week. All three of the first round winners entered new barns via claim, but none was able to add a second GOCPS victory; indeed, no winners this Monday were claimed, and two of them didn’t even race in the first leg.
The only first leg contestant to win Monday was River Ness, who was on the wrong end of a head decision at 40-1 last week, but won the “head shot” Monday in the fastest section, 1:51.4, for driver James Kennedy. Putting themselves directly in contention for the Series Championship were GOCPS newcomers Always Rockin (1:52.3, Matt Kakaley) and Sawyer’s Desire (1:52.4, Simon Allard).
Ridge Warren had four sulky successes on Monday; in addition to his feature wins he drove a winner for trainer-father Todd. Anthony Napolitano came home first three times, twice for trainer Jacob Hartline, and Matt Kakaley tallied twice, one of them trainer Scott Di Domenico’s 2997th career win. Lou Pena also had two entrants from his shedrow tally.
The draw for Saturday’s card was conducted on Monday, and it was good to see a familiar name on the overnight sheet: Brett Beckwith. The young star, injured on April 12 at Saratoga, has not driven since the accident; the USTA shows him driving Thursday and Friday nights at The Meadowlands, and then at Pocono Saturday. One name Beckwith may not have enjoyed seeing in the Pocono entries is that of the horse next to him in Saturday’s feature – Another C Note, triple PA Sire Stakes winner and undefeated in seven 2026 starts, who wasn’t eligible to “play with the big boys” in Toronto but is keeping sharp with his Pocono outing.
Tuesday racing at 1 p.m. closes out the Pocono pari-mutuel week; a good field of fast-class trotters will contest $27,500 in a handicap event. There will also be a carryover into the first race Pick 4 and the last race High 5. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.