Wilkes-Barre, PA — A pair of $15,500 trotting events for horses looking to ascend the class ladder was featured at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania as the local betting racing week concluded on Tuesday (June 16).
The Tactical Landing colt Southwind Alamo won the faster feature division in a new mark of 1:53.2. Johnathan Ahle moved the Ron Coyne Jr. trainee to the lead after the quarter and the sophomore was fully in control from there, sprinting home in :27.3 while showing no exertion. The partnership behind Southwind Alamo is Coyne & Pachuta Stable, Blair Corbeil, Richard Carney, and Mike McAllister.
The other section of featured trot saw driver Braxten Boyd get Skydiver out of a bad shuffle on the far turn, whereupon the son of Greenshoe angled wide and launched a furious rally from fifth at the top of the stretch to win in 1:56. Laura Angle trains Skydiver for Howard and Joshua Kaufman.
George Napolitano Jr. drove three winners, two of them for the only trainer to double on Tuesday, Marc Mosher. The meet’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, also reported home first three times. Simon Allard had a driving double.
The Wednesday morning (June 17) marathon at Pocono continues tomorrow with 19 qualifying races, 16 of them for freshmen preparing for the stakes season just around the corner. The next Pocono pari-mutuel card will take place Saturday (June 20) at 1 p.m., with Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action for 3-year-old pacing fillies, including Loua Dipa, last year’s 2-year-old Dan Patch champion and winner of the Fan Hanover final in her last start. Also entered is Miss Jum Jabber, winner of seven straight and conqueror of Loua Dipa in an earlier Sire Stakes division; the two have drawn into separate divisions Saturday. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.