from the PHHA/Pocono
Wilkes-Barre, PA — The father/son team of driver Marcus and trainer Erv Miller accounted for half of the six divisions of a $180,000 Pennsylvania All-Stars event for state-sired 2-year-old pacing colts on the first Friday card of the season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, while driver Dave Palone and trainer Ron Burke bookended the action.
Curtis Salonick photo
He’s Marvalous was driven to a 1:53.3 score by Marcus Miller.
The fastest of the three wins for Team Miller was the 1:53.3 triumph of He’s Marvalous, a son of Delmarvalous-Selinas’s Joy. He’s Marvalous made every pole a winning one while closing in :56 –:27.1 for the combine of Badlands Racing LLC and L. A. Express Stable LLC.
Also flying the Miller colors in Victory Lane were the McArdle-Southwind Piper colt McDave, longest price of the six at 7-1, as he rallied from the pocket into back splits of :55.1–:27.2 to score in 1:53.4 for owners Ronald Michelon and David and John Prushnok, along with Ideal Jimmy, an altered son of Western Ideal-Armbro Nectarine who was a “pocket rocket,” gaining into a :27.4 kicker to stop the clock in 1:54 for owner D R Van Witzenburg.
Palone/Burke got the evening’s stakes action underway with a victory with the Well Said-Ru Girl colt Genovese, who made a backstretch brush of :26.4 in going from fifth to the lead and then on to victory in 1:53.2. Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Jack Piatt III, and The Panhellenic Stable Corporation own Genovese; the first two share ownership with the JJK Stables LLC and Lawrence Karr of the other Palone/Burke winner, the Yankee Cruiser-Santastic’s Filly colt Allie’s Cruiser, who made a quarter-move and then sped home in :27.1 to complete a 1:53 victory.
The 1:53 time of Allie’s Cruiser equaled the fastest clocking of the stakes sextet, which was earlier put up by a colt sired by The Panderosa and out of Braggin’ Yankee, Bank Shot Hanover, in familiar style for driver George Napolitano Jr. — on the engine — trainer Daniel Renaud and owner Robert DiNozzi.
Saturday night is of course the $2.2 million Sun Stakes Saturday supercard, with the $500,000 championships of the Ben Franklin free for all pace, the Max C. Hempt 3-year-old colt pace, and the Earl Beal Jr. 3-year-old colt trot, along with the $300,000 championship of the James Lynch 3-year-old filly pace. Also sure to attract a lot of interest is the $75,000 Sun Invitational Trot, marking the Pocono and 2015 return of Sebastian K, who recorded the fastest trotting mile in history, 1:49, here last year. The first post for Sun Stakes Saturday is set for 6:30 p.m.