Wilkes-Barre, PA – After enjoying spectacularly fast miles from two very promising 3-year-olds, the rains came to northeast Pennsylvania and Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania midcard on Monday afternoon, and with the heavy downpour and more similar weather along the way, track management and horsemen agreed to the cancellation to the final five races of the scheduled 13-race card. Among the lost races were a $25,000 fast-class distaff pace and two $15,000 events for up-and-coming horses.
The two $15,000 races that were held, one for pacers and one for trotters, saw superlative efforts by the winning 3-year-olds.
The pacing contest that went was for females (the males had their race washed out) and it was taken by the Papi Rob Hanover 3-year-old filly Champagne Room, who roared home in a new mark of 1:48.4 – only a fifth off Kiss Me Onthebeach’s 2016 track record and only two-fifths behind the world mark for five-eighth-mile tracks set by Odds On Hail Mary at Philly in 2023.
The Jack Pelling-driven, Noel Daley-trained distaff went faster in each quarter — :27.4 in getting away third, then brushing to the lead with :27.1 speed to hit the half in :55. A :27 third quarter got the filly to the three-quarters station in 1:22, and then she threw a haymaker :26.4 at her opponents to leave them far behind. Champagne Room stamped herself as a horse to watch for the ownership of Patricia Stable, L A Express & Sjoblom Inc., and Michael Dolan.
The 1:51.2 victory by The Rogue Prince in the only division of the two carded trots that got to go certainly deserves plaudits as well, as that clocking is the fastest trot mile of the year recorded over the Pocono strip. The son of Walner-Check Me Out was content to bide time midpack for driver Tim Tetrick as Camera Man laid down fractions of :27.3, :55.3, and 1:23.2, getting underway nearing the last-named station. Camera Man gave a good fight to the wire, but The Rogue Prince pushed on relentlessly to win by a length, his own last fraction :27.2.
One might wonder what is in the minds of trainer Lucas Wallin and the ownership of Wallin Racing Stable Inc., Karin Walter-Mommert, Arden Homestead Stable, and Solfrid Myhre concerning their plans for a couple of upcoming Saturdays.
The racing week concludes at Pocono on Tuesday at 1 p.m. – and Pocono held its inaugural card 60 years ago from that day, July 15, 1965. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.