Wilkes-Barre, PA – Trainer Per Engblom, second in this year’s North American trainers statistics behind perennial runaway leader (and current Pocono leader) Ron Burke in both the wins and earnings column, has had the care of the Always A Virgin three-year-old colt Luxury Virgin entrusted to him for three starts, and the pacer scored his second victory for his new conditioner in the $14,000 pacing feature on Tuesday (Aug. 12) afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
Simon Allard was able to sit third with the sophomore as Heaven Needs Me set fractions of :27, :56.4, and 1:25.1, then moved him briskly into contention on the far turn and wound up winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.2, pacing his own back fractions in :56 – :27.4. Pacesetter Heaven Needs Me lasted for a dead-heat for second with hard-charging Summit Seelster behind the winner, who is owned by Evans Nation, Hickory Hollow Stables, FAC Racing LLC, and Joseph Di Scala Jr.
Pocono’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, brought home five first-place finishers on the card, giving him twelve tallies during this four-day racing week, eighteen in seven cards of Pocono competition in August, and 28 through the first twelve days of the month overall.
Next on tap at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania is the biggest card of the year this Saturday (Aug. 16) afternoon, the $2.3M Sun Stakes Saturday, featuring the first-ever showdown between super fillies Miki And Minnie and Chantilly, along with many of the other top 3-year-olds and Invitational horses, several in the weekly Top Ten poll of harness racing’s superstars. There will also be four multi-race bets with guaranteed pools, including a $10,000 bounty ensured in the four top races for three-year-olds, and a carryover into the last race High 5 pool. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.