Wilkes-Barre, PA — The Winter Is Coming Series for trotters had its first preliminary Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 4) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and if the times of the winners of the three $12,500 divisions mean anything – 1:55.3, 1:55.4 and 1:55.4 – there should be some excellent competitive trotting on tap right up through the $20,000 series final on Nov. 18, the penultimate card of the year at the northeast Pennsylvania track.
The fastest mile of the opening leg of the series went to the Andover Hall mare Tuis Angel, who went out to early command and never surrendered the lead in the 1:55.3 victory. Braxten Boyd guided Tuis Angel to victory for trainer David Wiest, who shares ownership with Pamela Kimmel and James Rappold.
Boyd posted another Winter Is Coming victory with the Muscle Mass gelding Jacked, who was parked past the quarter for the front end and then maintained that position to the finish, winning by a length over determined first-over challenger and favorite Sainthood. Tee Wine conditions the winner, who took a new mark with the 1:55.4 victory for Wine Stable and Michael Holland.
Also a 1:55.4 winner, and also controlling the pace en route to Victory Lane, was the Andover Hall gelding One After Nine, who won by over five lengths. Jim Pantaleano drove the winner, who eclipsed $250,000 in career earnings with the win, for trainer Bucky Angle and owners Howard and Joshua Kauffman.
The richest race of the day, a $15,500 trot for developing horses, also went in 1:55.4, and emerging victorious was the Green Manilishi S sophomore gelding Wendell Blue Chip, winning for trainer Jared Bako and the partnership of Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc. and Daniel Zucker. Atypically for the day, driver Colin Kelly was successful with off-the-pace tactics, beating out favored Rothko by three-quarters of a length.
Kelly, who began campaigning semi-regularly at Pocono mid-season, was the only winning driver Tuesday who isn’t among the track’s eight winningest drivers, and the only one who had a single win. Braxten Boyd and Anthony Napolitano had three wins, and meet leader Tyler Buter, George Napolitano Jr., and Jim Panatleano each won twice on the 13-race card.
Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 1 p.m. with strong groupings of many divisions of top overnight horses; there will also be a carryover into the High-5 wager in the last race. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.