Photo: Curtis Salonick
By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Ron Burke, going for his fifth training title in the last six seasons at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, sent out the winner of the $17,000 features on both gaits Saturday afternoon, with Ordained winning the top trot and Solid Character home first in the headlining pace – both by the smallest possible margin.
The Father Patrick gelding Ordained is undefeated in two 2025 starts and has won five of his last six races, but after leading past the quarter poles in :27.3, :58, and 1:26.2, he had to dug in hard to just withstand pocketsitting Esmeralda Trio IT in 1:54.4. The meet’s leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., combined with the meet’s leading trainer for the win with Ordained, a winner of $232,781 owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Beasty LLC, and Frank Baldachino.
The Sweet Lou gelding Solid Character likewise had to be good to withstand a potential pocket rocket, favored Hungry Angel Boy, in 1:52.4. The winner, now with a career bankroll of $261,922, rattled off mild splits of :27.2, :56.4, and 1:24.3. then preserved his advantage to the wire for driver Matt Kakaley and the partnership of Burke Racing LLC, Robert Jackson, Timothy Sullivan, and Tom Wilson.
The other Burke-trained winner was a Weaver/Bruscemi horse undefeated in four starts since coming from Great Britain, the Kakaley-driven Foreclosure N gelding Borninlockdown GB, unthreatened in his 1:52 engine tally a level below the feature class.
There were two divisions of the $16,500 top claiming class for pacers, The quicker of them was won by the Stay Hungry gelding Lyons Surfing, last the first half but displaying his prime closing kick to win in 1:51 for driver Ridge Warren, trainer Gareth Dowse and P T Stable while winning for the fourth time in his last five trips behind the gate.
The other cut of the top claimers saw different tactics used by the winner, as Sun Of A Show led most of the way before stopping the timer in 1:51.4, his second straight success. The Sunfire Blue Chip gelding was guided by Simon Allard for trainer Herbert Lux III and owners William “Moon” Mullin and Howard Taylor.
Anthony Napolitano earned the driving honors for the card with four visits to Victory Lane.
Game Of Claims Pacing Series action returns for both Monday’s and Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card. Monday’s feature is the $20,000 Championship for horses with a $15,000 base tag – there were no three-time winners in the preliminaries, but half the eight-horse field won twice in the GOC prelims, and the other half visited Victory Lane once. Tuesday will feature ten $9000 divisions of the third and last preliminary of the series for horses priced at $15,000 for that card, including two-time winners Captain Terminator and Stick With Cramer. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Ron Burke, going for his fifth training title in the last six seasons at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, sent out the winner of the $17,000 features on both gaits Saturday afternoon, with Ordained winning the top trot and Solid Character home first in the headlining pace – both by the smallest possible margin.
The Father Patrick gelding Ordained is undefeated in two 2025 starts and has won five of his last six races, but after leading past the quarter poles in :27.3, :58, and 1:26.2, he had to dug in hard to just withstand pocketsitting Esmeralda Trio IT in 1:54.4. The meet’s leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., combined with the meet’s leading trainer for the win with Ordained, a winner of $232,781 owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Beasty LLC, and Frank Baldachino.
The Sweet Lou gelding Solid Character likewise had to be good to withstand a potential pocket rocket, favored Hungry Angel Boy, in 1:52.4. The winner, now with a career bankroll of $261,922, rattled off mild splits of :27.2, :56.4, and 1:24.3. then preserved his advantage to the wire for driver Matt Kakaley and the partnership of Burke Racing LLC, Robert Jackson, Timothy Sullivan, and Tom Wilson.
The other Burke-trained winner was a Weaver/Bruscemi horse undefeated in four starts since coming from Great Britain, the Kakaley-driven Foreclosure N gelding Borninlockdown GB, unthreatened in his 1:52 engine tally a level below the feature class.
There were two divisions of the $16,500 top claiming class for pacers, The quicker of them was won by the Stay Hungry gelding Lyons Surfing, last the first half but displaying his prime closing kick to win in 1:51 for driver Ridge Warren, trainer Gareth Dowse and P T Stable while winning for the fourth time in his last five trips behind the gate.
The other cut of the top claimers saw different tactics used by the winner, as Sun Of A Show led most of the way before stopping the timer in 1:51.4, his second straight success. The Sunfire Blue Chip gelding was guided by Simon Allard for trainer Herbert Lux III and owners William “Moon” Mullin and Howard Taylor.
Anthony Napolitano earned the driving honors for the card with four visits to Victory Lane.
Game Of Claims Pacing Series action returns for both Monday’s and Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card. Monday’s feature is the $20,000 Championship for horses with a $15,000 base tag – there were no three-time winners in the preliminaries, but half the eight-horse field won twice in the GOC prelims, and the other half visited Victory Lane once. Tuesday will feature ten $9000 divisions of the third and last preliminary of the series for horses priced at $15,000 for that card, including two-time winners Captain Terminator and Stick With Cramer. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
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