from the PHHA/Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Lyons Snyder, the beaten favorite in the recent Pennsylvania Classic final at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, showed his bounce-back abilities on Sunday night (May 22) at The Downs, taking his $54,787 division of the first leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings in an impressive new mark of 1:49.4 over “sloppy” going.

Curtis Salonick photo

Lyons Snyder held off Adrian Hanover by a nose in their Sire Stakes division.

Scott Zeron, handling the son of Well Said for trainer Mark Silva, sent his colt to the front past the :27 quarter and past early pacesetter Adrian Hanover. Zeron and Lyons Snyder then carried on to middle splits of :55.2 and 1:22.3, then got a major passing foe late in the upstart Adrian Hanover, who only five days ago had triumphed in an overnight pace locally.

Adrian Hanover even put a nose to a head up approaching deep stretch, but Lyons Snyder dug deep and found more to give, taking back a nose advantage on the money, with Settlemoir third, just ahead of favored JK Will Power, second in the Classic final.

Lyons Snyder is now three-for-five on the season for owners Jeffrey Snyder and Geoffrey Lyons Mound.

The Ron Burke stable, which had finished 1-2-3 in the Pennsylvania Classic final, won the other two divisions, including a $54,387 cut with Classic winner Check Six in 1:52.3.

Check Six, a Somewheresomebeach colt driven by Yannick Gingras, went around early leader Sapient Hanover before a :28 quarter, then saw his stablemate Manhattan Beach brush to the lead in front of the stands and hit the middle poles in a relatively soft :56.3 and 1:24.1. Check Six vacated the pocket on the far turn, and then sailed by in the stretch, with a four-way battle for second showing Arthur Pendragon, the longest shot in the race, ahead of Manahttan Beach for the place.

But Check Six retained his spot in the sophomore spotlight, undefeated in four 2016 starts and now a winner of $328,443 this year and $443,332 lifetime for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, William Switala and James Martin.

Burke charges were 1-2 in the other $54,787 Sires cut, but it was the lesser-fancied one who wound up in Victory Lane, as Fernando Hanover nipped his favored stablemate Big Top Hanover by a head while taking a new personal best of 1:51.2 despite the slop.

Matt Kakaley positioned the Dragon Again gelding directly behind Big Top Hanover and the pair swung wide in the lane to try to catch pacesetting Another Daily Copy, doing so only in the last few strides, with Big Top Hanover never in front as Fernando Hanover had the strongest steps late.

The Burke/Weaver-Bruscemi team own this new member of the $100,000 club with Frank Baldachino and the JJK Stables.

For the night, Team Burke went 6-2-1-1-1 ($81,929) in the Sire Stakes.

In an $18,000 supporting trot, Armor Hanover overcame post nine to win his fourth start in five outings since being claimed by trainer Doug and co-owner Leslie Berkeley, winning easily in 1:54.3. His driver was not one you normally link with $97.60 win prices — Yannick Gingras — although remember Gingras is a primary driver for Ron Burke, who currently leads the Pocono training colony in $50-plus scores this year.

After four scores at Harrah’s Philadelphia and five at Pocono Saturday, George Napolitano Jr. took those nine victories and added six more on Sunday, equally split between the two eastern Pennsylvania tracks.

Five $20,000 divisions of the PA Stallion Series event for the sophomore colt pacers will be featured on the Monday night card.