WILKES-BARRE PA – A trio of $15,300 contests for horses winning their way up the class ladder were the features on a Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono that turned stormy late in the card.
Mankat controlled the throttle from his rail starting position in the feature division for pacing males, posting fractions of :27.4, :56.2, and 1:23.3. Pocketsitting Cigar Smoking Tony tried to catch him in the Pocono Pike, but Mankat was able to overcome that late threat by a neck in 1:51.2 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Christen Pantaleano, and owner Matthew Morrison, who has seen his son of Somebeachsomewhere win two straight and three of his last four.
A son of Kadabra, Beyond Ordinary, had to overcome a tough two-move journey in the top trotting sector, yet he could move to the lead at the three-quarters and then stay strong to the wire to win in 1:54.4. Jenny Melander trains the skillful trotter for Melander Racing Inc. and Noonan Harness Racing LLC.
Beyond Ordinary’s driver, Marcus Miller, was certainly beyond ordinary this four-day local racing week, with the four victories he notched Tuesday boosting him to thirteen visits to Pocono’s Victory Lane in the Saturday-Tuesday period.