Three $30,000 Championships in the Bobby Weiss Series for the different sexes and gaits will be the highlights of the coming week’s racing at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with both male and female pacing Championships on Monday night and the trotting females set for Tuesday.
The trotting males began their preliminary Weiss action a week later, so they will have their fourth and final prelim this Tuesday, and then go in their $30,000 Championship next Tuesday.
No Weiss horse in any division will be able to pull off a “sweep” – wins in all four preliminary rounds and then a capturing of the Championship. But the prelim action has certainly marked several horses as likeliest to get the major share of the respective Championship purses.
In Monday’s Championship for pacing males, Highalator has been made the 5-2 morning line favourite from post four for driver Victor Kirby after taking an unusual path to the final: he paced to easy wins in the first two Weiss prelim legs, then skipped the third week and raced last week in an overnight rather than bump heads with the tough Weiss crew, posting his eighth straight victory in easy fashion.
One horse who looked like he may have been in a position to “sweep” was Dash Of Danger, who had three wins to start his Weiss campaign, but then last week was caught by Talent Soup in 1:51.1, fastest of all Weiss prelims.
Dash Of Danger will look to get back on the winning trail Monday (post one, driver Matt Kakaley, 3-1); Talent Soup, who had only a win and a fourth to his Weiss credit, stood “on the bubble” in tenth in this division’s standings, but a couple of defections above him finds him coming back for the Weiss Championship (post five, driver David Miller, 6-1).
Among the pacing females, another long winning streak will be on the line as Cousin Mary looks for her eighth straight victory. To be driven by Anthony Napolitano from post four and 5-2 on the morning line, Cousin Mary did not compete in the first Weiss prelim, but has raced strongly since coming to the mountain oval, winning last week in 1:52.3, fastest prelim clocking in her section.
Her major rival may be her stablemate in the shedrow of Andrew Harris, Itty Bitty (post one, George Napolitano Jr., 7-2), who won twice in the Weiss prelims.
On Tuesday in the Weiss Championship for trotting females, Sunrise Avenue, starting from post one for driver Eric Carlson, had the best Weiss prelim record with three wins and a second, but it seems likely she’ll be second choice to Checkmate Time (post four, driver John Campbell), who in her first start of 2017 and only her fourth lifetime outing, trotted effortlessly in 1:53.3, over a second faster than any other Weiss prelim in this category.
In the trotting male side’s two last round prelims Tuesday, two of last week’s three winners, Tech Titan and Uncle Leroy, are back in to go, as are all three horses who won their first two Weiss starts in this section but couldn’t stretch their win streaks last week – Hilarious Hero, Bend In The River and Ooh Rah.
Fast overnight horses dominate the Pocono cards on Saturday and Sunday. “Starting off the racing week” on Saturday, that day’s $20,000 pacing feature finds a well-matched field of eight headed by Book Binge, Phil Your Boots, and Barimah A, all of whom have won in sub-1:51 time already this year.
Sunday’s $18,000 featured pace features the return of the three-year-old Miso Fast after having qualified in 1:52.2 at Harrah’s Philly; Miso Fast was third in his Breeders Crown Championship at two en route to winning over $250,000 as a freshman.
(PHHA/Pocono)