from the PHHA/Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — During the third preliminary leg of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for 2-year-old trotting colts on Monday (Aug. 22) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the main spotlight fell on drivers named Miller, who won four races, and sire Explosive Matter, who had three progeny return to Victory Lane, including one of the three winners, all maidens, who went in 1:57.4 for fastest clocking in the stake.

Curtis Salonick photo

Equestrianconxtion was a 1:57.4 winner for driver Marcus Miller.

The third winner in 1:57.4 was also the longest price returned by the six division winners, which means — at Pocono — that there’s a good chance the colt was driven by Marcus Miller. And it was Marcus in the sulky behind Equestrianconxtion, who had shown good form recently, with a fourth in a Sire Stake, a second in an Arden Downs division, and last time a third upon coming to Stallion Series company.

Miller guided Equestrianconxtion to the lead past the quarter, rated the pace, then ripped home in :28.3 in overcoming the outside post seven and non-winner status (likely the reasons he wasn’t bet more than 12-1) for trainer/father Erv Miller and the ownership of Paymaq Racing and Louis Willinger.

The other two winners in 1:57.4 were Cantab Hall colts trained by Jimmy Takter. The first to parade back a winner was Brown Bear, who made a quarter-move to command and rolled home by 8-3/4 lengths for driver Brett Miller and the ownership of Diamond Creek Racing and Christina Takter.

Then Takter and driver Yannick Gingras scored with an unusual (for them) 11-1 shot in Live For Greatness, who had been second from post seven in his Stallion debut, then improved on that finish by one in his second Stallion Series start from that same post. He won by a half-length over fast-closing DD’s Comet, with Fashion Winner, the only horse to win in the first two prelims, settling for third, another three-quarters of a length in back of the race winner, who is owned by SRF Stable.

Marcus Miller had a second winner with a son of Explosive Matter, the gelding Larson Hanover, who now has taken both of his Stallion Series starts after nosing out his division’s other previous winner, Common Parlance, in 1:59.2 on Monday. This horse, trained and raced under lease by Clifton Green, paid only $4.60 (he still wasn’t the favorite, being 13-10 to Common Parlance’s 9-10), but in the first victory of his current three-race win skein, Marcus and Larson tilted the toteboard at $154.20 at The Downs.

The third Explosive Matter to win was the gelding Almirola Hanover, who lowered his mark by over two seconds to 1:58 under the guidance of David Miller, the fourth success for sulkysitters with Miller surnames. Almirola Hanover caught pacesetter Meteoric to win by a neck and with two wins and a second in the series, is the leading point winner after three rounds for trainer Bill Zendt, also co-owner with Gary Saul and J. Patrick Huber.

The final Stallion Series winner Monday was the Donato Hanover colt Backstage Pass, who now has two straight series successes, three wins in a row, and a four-for-five lifetime record after stopping the timer in 1:58.1 for driver Tony Hall, trainer Jimmie Ritter Jr., and owner Jessica Smith.

These horses will have their final Stallion Series prelim at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday (Aug. 31) and then come 100 miles back up the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for their championship here on Monday (Sept. 12).