Wilkes-Barre, PA – Simon Says Hanover, in the Superfecta but winless in his third preliminaries of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, worked out as great trip in Monday’s (June 22) $20,000 Series Championship in taking a 1:51.1 triumph over a track officially “sloppy” but perhaps closer to “wet-fast.”
Braxten Boyd used the excellent early speed of the Captaintreacherous gelding to push the sharp River Ness (two wins and a head loss in his prelims) before yielding before a :26.2 quarter and was content to ride in the golden chair behind midsplits of :55 and 1:23. No outer tier flow carried any other challenger up into contention, so when Simon Says Hanover came out for the stretch drive to challenge River Ness, the “real race” was on.
River Ness proved his usual game self, but Simon Says Hanover had a bit more left in the tank come crunch time, with the winner of $418,880 crossing the wire a neck to the good. Herbert Lux II trains Simon Says Hanover for owners Bill Mullin and Howard Taylor.
As difficult as the victory of Simon Says Hanover proved to be, the victory of the Brad De Veluwe trotting mare Laferraridmanche S was easy, posting a five length triumph in the $20,000 fast-class trot, also with Boyd in the sulky. The Andrew Harris trainee, co-owned by Harris with Ray Lasky and Nathan Cockerman is perfect in two starts since coming here from Yonkers came first-over, went by near the three-quarters, and stopped the clock in 1:52.4, rewriting her lifetime mark. (With Laferraridmanche S dominating in the mountains and Ari Ferrari J showing good form at Philly, there may be a super matchup of horsepower between these two shortly.)
A $17,500 pace for high-caliber pacing mares saw the Tall Dark Stranger mare Ballard make every pole a winning one from the rail, although pocket horse La Miki N closed to within a nose at the end of the 1:52 mile. Ballard was driven by Matt Kakaley for Travis Alexander and EVM Racing LLC.
Matt Kakaley had five winners during the Monday program, two of them for trainer Travis Alexander. Braxten Boyd checked in first four times; Tyler Buter had a pair of triumphs, both for trainer Cote Keim.
Tuesday’s 1 p.m. program will feature an excellent $27,500 fast-class handicap trot, matching Dame Good Time, who recently tied the world record for his division with a 1:50.2f victory, against champion $1.5 million-winning mare Warrawee Michelle and four other top diamondgaiters. There will also be a carryover into the last race High 5 wager. (In looking ahead to Saturday, look at this handicap pace lineup: Odds On Wildfire, Goliath Hanover, Twisted Destiny, Dandy Ideal, Ruthless Hanover, and Ken Hanover, with its three millionaires and 1:48.2 average lifetime mark.)
Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.