Wilkes-Barre, PA — The claiming box was the hot spot Tuesday afternoon (June 10) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with the first three finishers in the $16,000 claiming handicap trotting feature changing barns, and the division reserved for claimers of the two $15,000 co-feature trots seeing three horses also going to “new” homes, including the first two finishers.
The action on the racetrack is easier to follow than the paperwork trail: Quiksilvr Bluechip spotted third in a field of five as MacMorris Hanover went to the lead and Chamba followed along in the pocket through fractions of :27.1 and :56.4, with Quiksilvr Bluechip starting his uncovered move before the 1:24.4 three-quarters. The Credit Winner gelding sailed right by in the stretch for his fourth straight victory, this one tying his lifetime mark of 1:53.1, with Chamba following him in the lane to get second around MacMorris Hanover.
The first three horses — 60% of the field — were claimed, and the winner’s recent movements are especially interesting: In the last three weeks, he has been claimed from Carmen Iannacone (Hunter Oakes is his trainer) by Rocco Stebbins (who uses Brandon Presto as trainer), by Iannacone (Oakes) from Stebbins before Tuesday’s win, and out of Tuesday’s race by Stebbins from Iannacone. Tyler Buter has been aboard for all four wins in Quiksilvr’s current streak, which began with a conditioned win, and he won five more races on the Tuesday card to widen his lead at the top of the Pocono standings.
The $15,000 claiming co-feature just about mirrored the feature, except that the first-, second- and fifth-place finishers were claimed. The American Eagle, a son of Trixton who used the Pocono Pike for a 1:55.1 victory for driver Simon Allard and trainer-owner Josue Garcia, was claimed for the sixth straight time, and second-place Hunting As, the pacesetting favorite, was haltered for the seventh race in a row. Even Rose Run Elegant, who tired and finished fifth, has now been purchased in four of his last five races.
The total amount paid for the six claims today was $137,000.
The $15,000 trotting feature for developing horses went to the Tactical Landing filly Truly Authentic, who has now won two races in her last three starts (bridging last year and this) and Tuesday lowering her mark to 1:55.1. Åke Svanstedt trains and drove the improving miss, and his Åke Svanstedt Inc. owns her with Holm Hastgarden AB and Anne Siljamaki.
Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday (June 14), with the 1 p.m. card headlined by a $25,000 fast-class pace; Sunday’s (June 15) 6 p.m. card will find top Pennsylvania-sired sophomore trotting fillies in the second preliminary of their Sire Stakes and Stallion Series competition, plus recent Maxie Lee winner Aetos Kronos S in a $25,000 fast-class trot. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.