Wilkes-Barre, PA — The Father Patrick gelding Pisces Rising completed a sweep of his three preliminary rounds of the Game Of Claims Trotting Series at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pocono with a 1:53.4 win on Tuesday afternoon (May 19), and will likely be among the favorites in next Tuesday’s $35,000 series final.
The track’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, gave Pisces Rising a heady drive from post 7 in a bulky field of nine, leaving just enough to secure the pocket while there was a front-end duel. When favored You Got It swept three-wide up the backstretch to the lead, no outer-tier horse could stay with him, so Buter backed Pisces Rising out of the pocket to follow the brusher. The two battled through the lane, and Pisces Rising prevailed by a neck for trainer Richard Johnston and owner Guy Gemore. The prelim sweeper also managed to escape being claimed from each of his wins.
The Napolitano brothers, Anthony and George Jr., equally divided the remaining four divisions of the GOCTS, including Anthony with the only other horse to win more than once, the Mister Anson gelding Sir Maverick, who was absent for the first leg but now has won two straight, including Tuesday’s 1:55.1 tally for trainer Frank Calcagni and owner Anastasia Meshkova. George got the mile of a lifetime from Golazo, a 1:53.2 career best for trainer/owner Jill Roland.
Each brother also handled a winner who took their only series prelim start: George behind another son of Father Patrick, the gelding Novel, who posted a lifetime best 1:54; and Anthony with the Pocono veteran P L Quinella, a Kadabra gelding who won in 1:55.3.
The Melander brothers – driver Mattias and trainer Marcus – won with a pair of well-bred horses who had fetched a combined $855,000 at yearling auction, both of whose sires were stars for the Melander stable: Noble Encore, a Greenshoe out of 2017 Horse of the Year Hannelore Hanover who broke his maiden in 1:56.1; and Art Of State (Gimpanzee-Amour Heiress, and thus a half-brother to Periculum), who set a new mark of 1:54.4.
Anthony Napolitano had four winners in all on the day to lead the drivers; Tyler Buter, Matt Kakaley, Mattias Melander and George Napolitano Jr. had doubles. Conditioners Marcus Melander and Marta Piotrow sent out two winners apiece.
Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday (May 23) at 1 p.m., with four $30,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars contest for 3-year-old trotting fillies. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.