By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – 2021 Harness Horse of the Year Test Of Faith won her first racetrack appearance of 2022 during Tuesday morning qualifying at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with a neck victory in 1:57.3 on a cold day.
 
David Miller kept the four-year-old daughter of Art Major – Cannae Cammie in the two-hole as She Knows It All put up crawling fractions of :30.1, :59.4, and 1:28.3. 1½ lengths down at the stretch call, Test Of Faith had enough in her first start back to hold off a late burst by Virgo, with High Minded another neck back in third.
 
Brett Pelling trains the winner of $1.57M for owners Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable, and Eddie Gran. Pelling has indicated that his planned first start for the mare is in the Graduate Series on Kentucky Derby Day, Saturday, May 7, so there may be another qualifier in the works next week before Test Of Faith goes into a race.
 
Two other quality Pelling distaff trainees also raced in the Tuesday Philly qualifiers. The veteran trotting mare When Doves Cry was third in her qualifier behind the $500G+ winner Swan For All and the ageless FFA Melady’s Monet, who finished in that order, separated by a neck, in a brisk 1:55.3. Three-year-old pacing filly Treacherous Dragon finished second in her qualifier to sophomore colt Born To Be Country, a 1:56 winner in his debut for Team Orange Crush.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Despite temperatures below 50oF and rain affecting the second half of the Monday card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, there was some bright light during the dank afternoon, generated by successful sophomore fillies racing in their final preliminary of the Bobby Weiss Series. Each of four divisions on both gaits went for $20,000.
 
The Captaintreacherous miss Silent Crossing became the only filly of either gait to win three prelim races by setting the pace then withstanding the pocketsitting Jacana by a neck in 1:53.4 over good going. Mark MacDonald piloted the pacer to her fourth straight win overall for trainer Jessica Fallon and the partnership of Huff Racing Stable and Blake MacIntosh. Jillian B Miki, the other pacer to win in the first two prelims, had to settle for fourth from an outer draw.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr 
CHESTER PA – 2021 Harness Horse of the Year Test Of Faith returns to the racetrack to begin her 2022 campaign in a qualifying race at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.
 
The now-four-year-old daughter of Art Major – Cannae Cammie won 14 of 16 starts in 2021, finishing second in the other two, and won $1,069,739 against one of the more talented group of sophomore pacing fillies in recent years. She took her mark of 1:48.3 at Lexington, and won her division’s Breeders Crown for owners Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable, and Eddie Gran.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Sophomores All Or Nothing and Lanjo Lee notched their second victories in as many preliminaries of the Bobby Weiss Series Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with $20,000 on the line in each of four sections of the second prelim for pacing males and for each of three divisions of the third and final preliminary for their trotting counterparts.
 
Both of these winners were beyond impressive, and you can’t really use their times as a guide to a possible/eventual head-to-head matchup. All Or Nothing won in 1:51 in 60-degree temperatures over a fast track, and while Lanjo Lee’s 1:52.4 doesn’t look as formidable, he achieved it in a rainstorm over a sloppy track, with the temperature having dropped 17 degrees in just over an hour midcard.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Somebeachsomewhere gelding Random Hanover, who paid $49.20 rallying for the win upon coming in from Dover in his last start, stepped up in class in the $16,200 featured fast-class pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia Friday, but another strong late burst enabled him to lower his mark to 1:51 – and return $52.60 to his scattered backers.
 
8-5 co-favorites Lyons Steel, from the rail, and Groovy Joe, from post four, had a long argument before the latter took the top nearing a :26.1 quarter; when Lyons Steel moved to soon regain command, their drivers discussed racing tactics before Lyons Steel got back the top before a :55 half. Shake That House, sitting just off these fireworks, blasted out first-over and got the lead at the 1:22 three-quarters, with Gumption, Random Hanover, and eventually Groovy Joe joining in the wide action.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Guccio mare Skyway Bebop has now won four of five starts since hooking up with trainer Tim Crissman after capturing the $15,300 featured trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia Thursday.
 
Driver Tony Morgan, who has guided the winner in all of her Crissman starts and who himself is only five wins shy of the 17,000 victory milestone, settled Skyway Bebop in midpack on the first turn then followed the cover of Big Bad Swan as Lasix-adding Tequila N Roses cut fractions of :27.2, :57.2, and 1:25.2. Morgan and his mare tipped three-wide midturn and trotted strongly to the line to defeat the pacesetter by a length in 1:55 for owner Niss Allen Inc.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES=BARRE PA – 2021 Messenger winner American Courage took the first step of this season’s campaign by coming home in :27 to post a 1:52.2 victory in a Wednesday qualifying race at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Teaming with the hottest combination at the track, driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Mike Spaccarelli Jr., the son of American Ideal easily overcame his outermost draw to set the pace and was never threatened. The winner of 12 of 19 races, who took his mark of 1:49.4 here at Pocono last year, is owned by Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC.
 
The sponsorship behind American Courage won three races during the mountain morning session, including with the four-year-old Credit Winner gelding Dee’s Red Delicious. A winner of the Kindergarten Final at two, Dee’s Red Delicious came out of the pocket and won in 1:55.1.
 
Another stakes performer to tally on Wednesday was the Walner filly Brickhouse Babe, second to Venerable in last year’s Doherty Final despite starting from post ten. Here she took advantage of a two-hole journey while winning in 1:56.1 for driver Mark MacDonald and trainer Ray Schnittker, the latter co-owner with Mary Kinsey Arnold, Steve Jones, and Paul Bordogna.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Several quality performers, including several promising three-year-olds, were on display during Tuesday morning qualifier at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
Andy Miller drove three of the winners, including one for wife/trainer Julie – and this filly might have the best potential story even if she won in only 2:00 in first career charted line. Elegant Charm, a daughter of Father Patrick out of Graceful Kelly, she a full sister to Muscle Massive and Muscle Mass, trotted her own last half in 57.2 to win by three lengths – no financial return on the $300,000 spent on her as a yearling perhaps, but a nice debut to build on for owners Brittany Farms LLC, Marvin Katz, and Al Libfeld.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The $20,000 divisions of the second round preliminaries of the Bobby Weiss Series for three-year-old fillies on Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono had a driving star on each gait – Tyler Buter won three of the trotting sections, and Andrew McCarthy won three of the pacing cuts.
 
Buter was perfect with his Weiss series trotting drives, and he handled the most impressive winner of the day, the Bar Hopping filly Mimi Ocean Hanover, who bounced back from a break in the first prelim, trotting to a new mark of 1:55.1 and posting the largest win margin of any Weiss section, 1¾ lengths, for trainer Annie Stoebe and owner R. Lynn Curry. After guiding “Mimi” to her second win in three seasonal outings, Buter was on the road to Yonkers to drive free-for-allers on their evening card.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – For the second straight Sunday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, pacesetting Tempura Hanover held off the challenge of pocketsitting Alta Madeira N, winning the $17,000 distaff feature in 1:53.1.
 
Driver Mark MacDonald buzzed the daughter of Captaintreacherous around her main foe early, getting to the quarter in :26.4 to secure the top, then taking a breather to the :56.3 half. First-over Shadow One joined the top two by the 1:25 three-quarters, but the race boiled down to the leading two, with Tempura Hanover proving stronger late to win by a length over Alta Madeira N, with Shadow One doing well at 39-1 for third. Gilbert Garcia-Herrera owns and trains the developing winner.