By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – With the temperature not breaking the mid-50s at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Monday, the Betterthancheddar mare Lovely Donna was held in reserve most of the race, then came on strongly to win the $17,500 distaff pacing feature in 1:52.
 
Favored Major Occasion A went to the early lead, and no one moved to challenge in the coolish temperatures during early fractions of :27.3 and :56. Past the five-eighths, Lovely Donna and driver Simon Allard was the first to go after the leader, and the winner of $185,034 rocketed out of fourth, hooked the leader past the 1:24.1 three-quarters, and then drew away easily for a two length victory over Shouldabeenatd. Andrew Harris trains the winner, who made a successful invasion from Yonkers for owner Jeffrey Williamson.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Since George Napolitano Jr. has established himself as a legend at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono with a mammoth amount of driving and training titles, it seems appropriate that a horse named Imarocnrollegend N would be the one who in winning made “George Nap” only the 26thdriver to go over the $100,000,000 plateau in career earnings.
 
Napolitano characteristically hustled the imported Rock N Roll Hanover gelding to the lead, then let Keystone Phoenix take command with an early brush. Imarocnrollegend N moved from the pocket to challenge the pacesetter in the stretch and worked his way by the leader by 1½ lengths in 1:51.3 for trainer Lorenzo DeSimone, also co-owner with Jerry Zollo. Napolitano, the winningest driver at Pocono this year for the tenth straight season, achieved the earnings milestone in his 11,052nd lifetime triumph (he ranks 12th alltime in North American successes), and he would wind up with three victories on the day, one behind Jim Pantaleano.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Always B Miki sophomore gelding Toronto sat just off of a torrid midrace battle, moved to the lead at the three-quarters, and then drew away to take a new mark of 1:49.1 in the $14,400 featured pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.
 
Toronto and driver Marcus Miller got to the front then yielded to sit in the pocket behind Tyronsbitoflemon N, who smoked the opening panel in :25.4. And the front-end battling took no respite, as Literl Lad Hanover came on a quarter-move, but was given the cold shoulder by the Kiwi import to a scorching half in :53.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Googoo Gaagaa sophomore gelding Givem The Goo took his fourth straight race on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, handling a stepup to $14,400 company and still winning the feature easily in 1:56.2.
 
Driver Russell Foster got the favored three-year-old to the lead, then let Lepanto got to the front just after a :28.3 quarter. Åke Svanstedt, the driver of Lepanto, is known for backing off the second quarter after making the lead, and thus the half was reached in :59.4, with the price of trotting increasing to a 1:27.2 three-quarters as World Bank led the two-wide charge down the backstretch and through the turn.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Artspeak gelding Bipbopnallie appeared to have a daunting task in front of him in the second half of the $17,000 tenth race featured pace Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, as he was fifth, eight lengths behind …
 
… the fourth-place horse.
 
Still 9¾ lengths off the lead at the three-quarters, Bipbopnallie was swung wide by driver George Napolitano and managed to be along in 1:51.3 in a five-across the-wire finish.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Warrawee Ubeaut, returning in October 2021 to the racetrack where she won her 2YO Breeders Crown event in October 2018, posted a strong 1:52.2 victory in the $24,000 handicap distaff feature on Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
The five-year-old daughter of Sweet Lou was away well for driver Matt Kakaley, settling into the pocket as Shes Pukka N, second choice at 2-1 to the winner’s 6-5, took control from the pole and put up fractions of :28.4, :57.1, and 1:25.1. Crazy Cute, dismissed at 7-1 despite winning three of her last four starts at this level, moved to challenge on the far turn, and while she again tried hard she couldn’t make up enough ground in the :27.1 sprint home, with Warrawee Ubeaut gaining into that to win handily by 1¼ lengths over Shes Pukka N; Crazy Cute stayed on to get third, another length back.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Driver Jim Pantaleano and trainer Christen Pantaleano combined for three victories on the Saturday afternoon card at The Downs, including a sweep of the feature races for fast-class horses.
 
Rich And Miserable was 6-5, Eurobond 8-5 in the $17,500 top trot, and that’s how close they were for the entire race. Rich And Miserable went out to the lead in :27.4, then Eurobond took over, posted fractions of :56.3 and 1:24.3, and brought the field into the stretch. Rich And Miserable moved up from the pocket and looked to get a nose up deep stretch, but Eurobond fought on strongly and win by a nostril in 1:53 for his eight success of the campaign for owner Matthew Morrison.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Bar Hopping trotting sophomore colt Arnold N Dicky was the most impressive winner during the Friday afternoon card at Harrah’s Philadelphia, taking his gait’s division of the twin $14,400 feature races in 1:53.1.
 
Still the divisional co-world record holder by virtue of his 1:54h mile at Delaware (OH) last year, Arnold N Dicky made the lead just past the :27.3 first quarter for driver Victor Kirby, then went on to very fast fractions of :56 and 1:24.1. Boom City, who had hung the winner to the quarter, gave game chase from the pocket, but came up a length shy behind the winner of $196,983, who is owned by trainer Chuck Sylvester in partnership with Amy Stoltzfus and Linda Goldman. 
 
The other co-feature was programmed for pacing distaffs, and it was taken by Dream Chaser, who came in from Lexington and won at first asking in 1:53 on the engine, with a back half of :55.3 for driver George Napolitano Jr. (who tied with Montrell Teague with most driving successes on the day with three) in defeating Wicked Ways by a neck. Tony Alagna trains the winning three-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous, who had been up against the likes of Blue Diamond Eyes at The Red Mile, for Brittany Farms LLC.
 
The Sunday card at Harrah’s Philadelphia features a $16,200 pace where Let It Ride N, one of the early-season stars of 2021, continues on the comeback trail and is installed the early 5-2 favorite. Program pages for the 12:25 card are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Father Patrick four-year-old gelding Amigo Volo, the 2020 sophomore trotting male champion, won his first race since the Matron at Dover nearly eleven months ago when he took the $13,000 fast-class trot Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
Macmorris Hanover left well from the outside post eight and got the lead in a :27.2 opener, then backed off the half to :57.2. Amigo Volo and driver Victor Kirby were three lengths back in third at the midpoint, then trotted the third split raw in :27.2 to be nose-to-nose with the leader at the 1:25.2 three-quarters. Macmorris Hanover held with commendable tenacity, but Kirby appeared to know his trotter had the measure of the leader, and went by late to win in 1:53.2, trotting his own back half in :55.2 without cover in taking a half-length victory.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Eight of the first ten races at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Tuesday afternoon were won by favorites, including Red Power ($3.40) in the first of three $17,000 feature races. But the other features were in the next two races, and they went to Chuppah On ($34.80) and then Bang Bang Boinga ($88.20).
 
The Explosive Matter gelding Bang Bang Boinga raced third-inside most of the mile, but gained up into the pocket as the two-holer moved outside to challenge approaching the far bend. It was a cavalry charge to the finish, with all five checkgetters within three-quarters of a length of each other at the wire, but Bang Bang Boinga’s charge up the Pocono Pike allowed him to get home first a neck ahead of the sweeping favorite So Long Hanover (that one’s sixth second in his last seven starts) while equaling his lifetime mark of 1:56 for trainer/driver Joe Poliseno and owner Mary Ellen Sarama.