Developing younger pacers had a $16,000 feature race for each sex conducted over off going on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
The males were led by the Stay Hungry sophomore gelding Im Hungry (pictured above), a three-quarter brother to millionaire Beach Glass, a PA Stallion Series winner and now triumphant in three consecutive starts after a 1:51.4 mile over a “sloppy” oval. The track’s leading driver, Matt Kakaley, tucked in third with the winner as Oak Grove shipper Bay City led the field past the quarter in :27.2, then brushed to command in front of the stands and reached the half in :56.3 and the three-quarters in 1:24.3. Bay City came out of the pocket to give good chase down the stretch in the :27.1 kicker, but he came up a neck shy of Im Hungry, who is trained by Travis Alexander and owned by Brent McGrath of Somebeachsomewhere fame.
The same basic storyline was followed in the section for distaffs, with the Lazarus N three-year-old filly Annas Wish equalling her mark of 1:52.2 over a surface upgraded to “good” before the race. Tyler Buter had a post inside all the main leavers and put them all in behind early, enabling him to guide his filly through fractions of :27.2, :57 and 1:24.1. Sweet Home swung wide from second-over in the stretch and was doing nicely late, but Annas Wish was able to keep that one at bay by a half-length for trainer Jenn Bongiorno and owners Robert Weinstein and Jordon Sklut.
The two feature race-winning drivers, Buter and Kakaley, also tied for the day’s honours with three victories.
Racing will be held throughout the Fourth Of July weekend at Pocono, going at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday (July 4) and on Sunday at 6 p.m. A special “Hot Summer Fun Kickoff Party,” including (non-pari-mutuel) ostrich and camel races, will be held throughout the Saturday card. Program pages for all Pocono races will be available on the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association website.
(PHHA/Pocono)