Wilkes-Barre, PA – The Stay Hungry sophomore gelding Snack Attack equaled the fastest mile ever paced in a Pennsylvania Stallion Series Championship event, 1:50, and his filly counterpart, the Tall Dark Stranger miss Ballast, equaled the fastest StS Championship win for her sex, 1:50.2, as on Monday afternoon (Sept. 8) as Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania hosted eight $40,000 Championships of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series, for horses just a notch below the level their world-class Sire Stakes classmates occupy.
The freshman filly trot was taken by another horse closing from second-over, the Bar Hopping – Frisky Magic filly Intisaar Mil, who came home 1¼ lengths ahead of Sister Wine (second in a four-way picture) to win in 1:55.4 for driver Ron Wrenn Jr., trainer Vernon Beachy, and the partnership of 518 Group, Ryan Smith, and Gitup Racing.
The two pacing 3-year-old record producers, along with their trotting counterparts, had two things in common: all the winners were the betting favorites, and all of them stayed in control of throttle from before the half-mile pole right through the wire. In the case of Snack Attack, Jason Bartlett sent him right to the lead, rated the half, then got him to step home in :53.3 – :26.3, and the pair needed every inch of speed as pocketsitter Waffle Blue Chip closed to within a nose of taking it all (trainer Brett Pelling did have the 2-3-4 finishes here). But Snack Attack dug in and delivered the victory for trainer Joe Bongiorno and owners Philip Steinberg, Joe Sbrocco, and JAF Racing LLC. The time equaled the record clocking of Flash Move, achieved at The Meadows in 2023.
Ballast, who was the highest pointearner in the prelims for any of the eight StS groupings, yielded to Sammy Jo Hanover but then retook the top before a quick half, and the sidewheeling distaff withstood the pocketsitter’s late charge by a length while equaling her section’s record, first set by Odds On Whitney at Philly in 2021, for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Travis Alexander, and EVM Racing LLC.
The only other divisional pointleader after the prelims who went on to take an StS title was the Greenshoe trotting gelding Lefties Righties, who opened the Championship Day with an early pacecontrolling move that he used as the path to victory in 1:53.3, a half-length ahead of Messenger Hanover. Braxten Boyd drove the Jenny Melander trainee for the ownership of Chuck Sylvester, Charles Stansley, Lenavitt Investments LLC, and John Licausi.
The only sophomore champion who did not set a new mark was the Cantab Hall filly Tadbone, and that may have been caused by driver-trainer Trond Smedshammer stealing a :30.3 second quarter with the wind at their backs. Tabdone had enough late in the 1:55 mile to post the biggest stakes victory margin of the competitive day, 1-1/2 lengths, over Princess Jackie for Purple Haze Stables LLC.
The 3-year-olds saw all races won by the favorites, but the chalk delivered in none of the two-year-old events. And while speedy tactics got the glory among the sophomores, only one freshman frontender won, and that one in the latest baby StS final on the card, when the front end had more success – Really Bright, an altered son of Tall Dark Stranger – Economy Terror (she a repeat Sire Stakes champion) who caused an early lineup from the pole then withstood the inside charge of Mchungry by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:51.3. Tyler Buter drove the winner for trainer Hunter Oakes and owners Howard Taylor and Chuck Pompey
Tall Dark Stranger sired the sophomore pacing filly and freshman colt winners, so if Stay Hungry sired the sophomore colt winner, it would be honors equal if he sired the freshman filly champion as well, and he did – Lyons I Wanna Chip (dam Zellweger Blue Chip), who came from second-over to win in 1:53.2, a tick off her record and thus making her the only two-year-old not recording a new mark. Threelyonsracing owns the winner, who comes from perhaps the ideal pacing distaff “dream team,” driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim King Jr.
Rounding out the PaStS Champions for 2025 was the only “pocket rocket” winner of the day, the Cue Hall – Happy Everything gelding Bayside Cue, who stalked dawdling pacesetter Harlem Hanover until late then gained a half-length margin by the wire in 1:57.3. Driver Brandon Givens and trainer Les Givens teamed for the victory for J M B Ventures, and Bayside Cue was the longest-priced winner on the entire card at $13.60.
FINISHING LINES – You may have noticed that eight different drivers and trainers won the eight Stallion Series Championships. … None of the eight divisions had a “sweeper” of all four StS prelims; in fact, only winner Ballast and 2PC Another C Note won as many as three prelims (Another C Note had to settle for third in his finale). … Conditions on the day saw a Pocono-atypical backstretch headwind, which affected tactics … Ironically, only Snack Attack, new speed co-champion of the Stallion Series, did not win a preliminary round in the PaStS among the eight 2025 finale winners. …
Dave Palone and Tim Tetrick started the day with twelve StS victories in the program launched in 2009, and Matt Kakaley had eleven; with Tetrick and Kakaley both winning a stake once, Tetrick is now on top of this list at 13, with Palone and Kakaley tied at 12. … The racing week concludes Tuesday (Sept. 9) with a 1 p.m. card. After that, Pocono will be off for the next week (Saturday-Monday-Tuesday) for annual track maintenance; the next local card after tomorrow’s will be Saturday, September 20. … Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.