Matt Kakaley and Bellows Binge pushed Daamericansky much of a :26 opening quarter before yielding for the two-hole, then sat behind middle splits of :55.2 and 1:22.4. With no first-over horse lurking nearby, Kakaley had plenty of time to move the winner of $249,623 to the outside, and he went his own last quarter in :27.1 while taking a new lifetime mark of 1:50.1 with the three quarter length victory.
On the trot, trainer Åke Svanstedt sent the tough Muscle M Up to town, and despite being three-wide most of the way to the 3/8 in pursuit of the lead, the son of Muscle Hill was an easy winner in 1:53.2. Matt Kakaley, deputizing in the sulky for Svanstedt, was as still as a statue in the stretch as Muscle M Up came home in :28.1 for Knutsson Trotting Inc.
Fastest mile of the day was turned in by Stone Hanover, a son of Art Major, who sat behind a hotly-contested pace then rallied for Anthony Napolitano to lower his lifetime mark to 1:49.2. Joe Pavia Jr. trains the winner, and his Joe Pavia Jr. Stable Inc. co-owns him with Steven Held, John Whitig, and Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky.
For the second time in three days, George Napolitano Jr. had a six-winner card, following up on a sextet at Philly on Thursday with a six-bagger at Pocono Saturday. George, who had risen to fourth-place in the North American standards as of this writing, has posted a total of 61 victories during the month of September, and he’ll have many opportunities to expand that total: at The Meadowlands Saturday night, at Philly then Pocono Sunday, still at Pocono on Monday and Tuesday, and then back to Philly on Wednesday, the 30th.
The Rainbow Pick 5 carryover will be at $222,561 when Pocono hosts a twilight card Sunday starting at 5 p.m.