Four of the five winners in Tuesday afternoon’s $27,397 second prelim divisions of the Bobby Weiss Trotting Series for sophomore fillies at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania were repeat winners from last week.
In five $23,973 third and final prelim cuts of the Game Of Claims Trotting Series for $41,096 base-tagged horses, driver Simon Allard and trainer Mark Akins teamed for three winners, including a pair of prelim sweepers – but only one of those horses will be coming back for them in next Tuesday’s series championship.
Team Orange Crush -- the husband and wife duo of driver Andy Miller and trainer Julie -- sent out two of the misses winning in the Weiss. One of them was the Walner filly Tove Palema, who tied for fastest Weiss cut of the day while setting a new mark of 1:54.3 for Andy Miller Stable Inc., Patrick Hoopes and Mortgage Boys Stable. They also combined on the one non-repeater, the Muscle Hill filly Bikini Model, who broke in the first leg but was on perfect behaviour this time out to put up a new mark of 1:55.1 for Frederick Hertrich III.
Two more Weiss double winners were guided by another Miller, but of the Ohio not Illinois variety – U.S. Hall Of Famer David Miller. The International Moni distaff Elista Hanover turned in a 1:54.3 mile, a lifetime best, to tie for fastest Weiss time for trainer Annie Stoebe, co-owner with R. Lynn and Philomena Curry. Just a tick behind in earning a new speed badge was the Tactical Landing filly Tactical Lori, now three-for-three in 2024 for trainer Nifty Norman and the ownership of Melvin Hartman and Enzed Racing Stable Inc.
Also perfect after three seasonal starts and two Weiss races is Kinesiology, who gave sire Walner a second credit when she won in 1:54.4 for driver Todd McCarthy, trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable LLC, Beasty LLC, Lawrence Karr and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby.
In the Game Of Claims, the one horse earning his way through for Allard and Akins was Kinnder Thinktwice, who was an easy third-time winner in 1:54.1. Fight Song, who was claimed out of a 1:53.1 divisional speed mark last week, won Tuesday in 1:54.3, but he was the only horse claimed out of the day’s Game Of Claims events and will change barns for the final as he seeks a fourth straight victory. And Chief Rocco, the fastest of Tuesday’s Game Of Claims winners in 1:53.2, missed the first leg of the series, and the rules of the Game Of Claims state that a finalist must start in all three legs.
Other winners among the claiming trotters were successful in the series for the first time: Keystone Apache, a 1:56.1 winner with the driving success allowing David Miller to tie Allard for the day’s sulky honours, and Jula Magician, a 1:55.2 winner for driver Ridge Warren but another horse absent from the first leg and thus not a finalist.
Racing at The Downs resumes on Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m., with sophomore pacers going for $20,000 USD a division in their final Weiss Series action before their finals seven days afterwards. There will be four sections of males and three of females bidding to ensure themselves a spot in their rich championship payday.
(PHHA / Pocono)