On Sunday evening (June 11), Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania featured three-year-old trotting males in the second preliminary of the state-sired program, two $71,274 divisions of the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) and four $20,000 divisions of the Stallion Series.
For those who owned a winner, they were especially happy, as all six stakes races produced lifetime marks. For those who bet the favourite, not much fun was had at all, as the chalk went 0-for-6 in the stakes contests.
Last year’s PASS champion Once In A Lifetime benefited from a clever drive by Tim Tetrick to run his 2023 record to three-for-four in 1:53.1. Trying to overcome the outside post eight, Tetrick slid the Father Patrick colt into fourth early as three battled for the lead, then saw that tuck turn into the pocket as the middle battler broke and the three-wide challenger took back to find a pylon spot. So Once In A Lifetime could sit the two-hole behind favoured Saint Louie, a first-round PASS winner, through fractions of :27, :57.1 and 1:25, then rallied up the Pocono Pike to gain a three-quarter-length victory over the late-closing French Wine, with Saint Louie settling for third. Once In A Lifetime, who had won a PA All-Stars event at Pocono two starts back, is trained by Jim Campbell for Sad Frog Farms.
The other division went even faster, with the International Moni gelding Khaosan Road (a street in Bangkok for the geographically-minded) coming home in 1:52.3 despite a hard trip. Trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt got a tuck third behind fractions of :26.4 and :56.1, then was on the attack first-over on the backstretch, reaching pacesetter Kenobi nearing the 1:24.3 three-quarters and going strongly to win over that foe by 1-1/2 lengths. The winner of the Dexter Cup, the Bunker Hill and now a PASS contest in 2023 is owned by Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Little E LLC.
Two first-round Stallion Series winners made it two-for-two in the Keystone competition. They were the Bar Hopping gelding Twilight Buzz, home in 1:55 for driver Mark MacDonald, trainer Tim Twaddle and Thestable Tailgate Buzz; and Grizz Wyllie, an altered son of Father Patrick who has won in the Stallion Series by a head and now a nose, tallying Sunday in 1:54.3 for driver David Miller, trainer Nifty Norman and the ownership of Kovach Stables LLC, Tony Holmes, Walter Zent and Enzed Racing Stable Inc.
Sire Father Patrick picked up another Stallion Series credit, and a third stakes winner on the evening, when Lloyd Wright angled wide and completed his designs on the winner's circle with a 1:55 success for driver Tim Tetrick (who had six wins on the day, three each at Philly and Pocono), trainer Randy Bendis and the partnership of Pollack Racing LLC and Jeff Cullipher.
The other Stallion Series winner was the quickest of the quartet -- a 1:54.2 mile -- and was the longest-priced winner on the card at 13-1: the Southwind Frank gelding Express Man, who scored for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Scott Betts and the combine of Tar Heel Racing, Stephen Moss, Gabrielle Hritsko and James Chambers.
Pocono will be racing on Monday and Tuesday afternoons at 1 p.m. (EDT).
(PHHA / Pocono)