WILKES-BARRE PA – The Art Major gelding Belmont Major N upped his North American record to 2-for-3 with a well-earned, hard-fought 1:49.3 mile in the male pacer division of Tuesday’s tri-$15,300 features at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Tyler Buter got the 8-5 co-favorite away fourth from post seven, then went up uncovered down the backstretch to challenge pacesetter and co-favorite Cigar Smoking Tony, who had set early fractions of :27 and :55.1. The two rivals were locked in a big battle to and past the 1:22.2 three-quarters, with Tell Them Lou and Im A Gigolo N entering the late picture to the left and right, respectively, but the photo came down to the chalk, and it showed Belmont Major N just the smallest bit more photogenic for trainer Hunter Oakes and owner Thaddeus Weir.
The trotting feature was fronted by P L Notsonice, whom Renaldo Morales III guided to the lead past a :27.3 quarter, then notched fractions of :56.1 and 1:23.2 en route to the easiest of 1:52.3 victories. The Kadabra mare, an Ontario Sire Stakes winner, has two wins and two seconds in her last four starts and here boosted her earnings over $200,000 lifetime for trainer Dale Gilmour and the ownership of Gratitude First LLC.