By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Delishka N paced to her fourth straight victory – and topped the four longest shots in the field in the Superfecta -- in posting a 1:52.1 triumph in the $15,700 distaff featured on a Sunday twilight card over a Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono surface that had been downgraded to “sloppy” by midcard rain.
 
Anthony Napolitano, who led the Pocono drivers colony on the day with four victories, hustled the daughter of Bettor’s Delight away well from the rail, pushing second choice Eclipse Me N well past a :26.2 quarter before yielding for the pocket. Favored Watch Me Now N came up first-over not that far past a :55 half, and the two favorites had a hard battle to a 1:23.1 three-quarters – helping the cause of the outsiders.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE – Jason Bartlett drove the winners of both $35,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars contest for two-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
First to visit Victory Lane was the Captaintreacherous – Sweetest Emotion filly Bermuda, who posted a 1:53.3 mark in her first lifetime purse success. Bartlett had wanted to leave from post three with his baby, but favored Jazzed from the rail and No Foolin in post two left hard to protect forward spots, so Bartlett took back to third and sat while Jazzed put up a quarter of :27.4 and then a soft half of :57.4. Bermuda and Bartlett went up first-over and paced their own third quarter in :27 to gain contention, and in the stretch the winner was able to wear down the pacesetter by a half-length for trainer Nancy Takter and Diamond Creek Racing.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
BEDFORD PA – Tiamogonedancin, a three-year-old pacing filly by A Rocknroll Dance, went the fastest mile ever recorded at the Bedford (PA) Fairgrounds, 1:55.2, on Friday, shattering the oldest all-age track record on the Pennsylvania fair circuit, the 1:56.3 posted by Keystone Famous 35 years ago in 1986.
 
The 1:55.2 clocking also equaled the fastest mile ever paced by a three-year-old filly anywhere on the state fair circuit, first recorded by R N Artist at Bloomsburg in 2003. And it is the fastest mile of the year along the Pennsylvania twicearound circuit.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – All victories are memorable, but one of the three triumphs in the $12,600 features at Harrah’s Philadelphia Friday afternoon may stand out a little bit more for one driver.
 
Michel Heijnen, a horseman from The Netherlands who usually drives only his own small stable of trotters (his previous catch-drive was four years ago), picked up the mount behind a three-year-old filly from trainer Luc Blais and owner Determination – Viva La Deo, a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere out of the $2.2M-winning Rocklamation, a $200,000 yearling. And this was his first-ever drive (in North America, anyway) behind a pacer!

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Developing horses and seasoned veterans shared the spotlight on “Trottin’ Thursday” at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
The word “developing” applies to the Trixton four-year-old gelding Gerard better than it does to most horses: he had a lifetime scorecard of 40-1-12-7 on May 1, but since then he has learned to win with four triumphs in his last eight starts, including a 1:55 mile in one of Thursday’s two $14,400 trots. Gerard went right to the top despite the outside post seven, yielded when favored Victoriana brushed to the lead, then pulled out headstretch and surged past for a 1¼ length victory. Gerard boosted his lifetime bankroll to $101,377 while equaling his lifetime best for trainer James De Lucia and This N That Stable.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The heavy favorites both took it on the chin in two divisions of the second preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting colts on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
First to fall was Global Pandemic, who had won a Tompkins-Geers stake and a Pennsylvania All-Stars contest before finishing second to early divisional leader Keg Stand in a 1:55.1 division of the first Sires leg. Here the 1-5 favorite moved to the lead after a :28.4 quarter and set middle fractions of :58.1 and 1:27, but lurking in the pocket was the Explosive Matter – Blintz gelding Kosher Mahoney, and it was that baby who proved to have the most in the stretch, going right by by 1¾ lengths while lowering his mark to 1:56.1. Tim Tetrick drove the 4-1 second choice to the victory for trainer Symon Spicer and owner Eli Beiler.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Tellitlikeitis gelding Red Power, recently joining the oversight of trainer Brian Malone and owner Peter Venturini, posted his third straight victory, and fifth of his career, with a 1:50.4 clocking in the pacing division of the twin $15,300 features Tuesday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Jim Marohn Jr. kept the Pocono invader in third until late on the backstretch, moved him out and went quickly to the lead, and then roared home in :27.1 to win despite a layoff of 40 days.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two-year-old colts were spotlighted in a pair of $11,700 contests during the Monday afternoon card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
In the baby colt trot, Aggiornamento started his career with two straight victories after setting the pace and then holding off the debuting pocketsitter Backstreet Player by three-quarters of a length in a “career”-best-equaling 1:58.1. These two were the two favorites in the race, and raced like it – the third-place horse was almost another fifteen lengths behind them – with Aggiornamento, a Nuncio – Tuonela gelding driven by Tom Jackson for trainer Fred Grant and owner Russell Williams, having enough left late to make his advantage stand up.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono featured two $35,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for two-year-old trotting fillies on its Sunday twilight card, and a most noteworthy career debut was made by Mon Cheval, who came home in :57 - :28 to stop the timer in 1:54.3. 
 
At 1-9, Mon Cheval was expected to do well for several reasons: she had won two consecutive baby races before her debut, one in 1:54.2 at The Meadowlands, and she has among the most royal of pedigrees, Father Patrick – Shake It Cerry, a pairing which earned over $5 million, a Trotter of the Year award, and four seasonal divisional honors, not to mention their post-racetrack careers. Dexter Dunn drove her as if she were the best, and she certainly was for trainer Nancy Takter (the defending Driver and Trainer of the Year combining) and the noted Solveig’s Racing Partners.