Photos: Curtis Salonick
By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Miki And Minnie, last season’s Dan Patch Award-winning two-year-old pacing filly and coming off a win in last Saturday’s $288,600 Fan Hanover Final at Woodbine Mohawk that earned the #3 ranking in the season’s first Top Ten poll, will be racing on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. She is set to go in one of two divisions of the second preliminary leg of her group’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action, which combined with six divisions of Pennsylvania Stallion Series racing that day will find the fillies racing for an aggregate $222,240.
Miki And Minnie, a daughter of Always B Miki racing for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo, and Lawrence Minowitz (thus accounting for her name), came on strongly towards the end of the season in 2024, winning the Breeders Crown and Three Diamonds to earn her Dan Patch championship. With victories in her first three starts of 2025, the newly-minted millionaire ($1,006,161), who took a mark of 1:48.3 in the Fan Hanover final, will be starting from the rail on Saturday at Pocono, with Dexter Dunn set to drive her for trainer Chris Ryder.
Her major opposition appears to be Rodeo Drive Deo, who came roaring home from eighth in the Fan Hanover to finish second, beaten only three-quarters of a length. David Miller will be in the sulky for trainer Ron Burke as the daughter of Captaintreacherous begins from post five in a field of seven.
This division of the Sire Stakes is slotted in race eight, which will be part of a Pick 5 wager beginning in race five that has a $10,000 guarantee set on it after a double carryover.
The tenth race Sire Stakes division matches the group’s first round PaSS winners, Asphalt and Good As You, both daughters of Papi Rob Hanover. Asphalt is the early favorite from post three for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Brett Pelling, with Andrew McCarthy will drive Good As You from post five as she changes over to the Aaron Lambert barn.
The six Stallion Series sections will find Always Dawn and Fancy Like Louuuuu looking to repeat their first round PaStS victories.
Another horse in the first Top Ten poll of 2025 will also be racing Saturday at Pocono. Ken Hanover, a son of Captaintreacherous who comes into this race off a win of the Battle Of Lake Erie at Northfield and was rated #8 in North America in the initial poll, will have to overcome being assigned the outside starting slot in the seventh race field of seven lining up for a $25,000 fast-class handicap pace – also a race within the guaranteed Pick-5 wager.
With hot weather predicted for Saturday, many of the races on Saturday could see the 1:50 barrier threatened many times, given the quantity of quality horses appearing throughout the card. First race on the 15-race program is set for 1 p.m.; free Pocono program pages are available at www.phha.org.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Miki And Minnie, last season’s Dan Patch Award-winning two-year-old pacing filly and coming off a win in last Saturday’s $288,600 Fan Hanover Final at Woodbine Mohawk that earned the #3 ranking in the season’s first Top Ten poll, will be racing on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. She is set to go in one of two divisions of the second preliminary leg of her group’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action, which combined with six divisions of Pennsylvania Stallion Series racing that day will find the fillies racing for an aggregate $222,240.
Miki And Minnie, a daughter of Always B Miki racing for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo, and Lawrence Minowitz (thus accounting for her name), came on strongly towards the end of the season in 2024, winning the Breeders Crown and Three Diamonds to earn her Dan Patch championship. With victories in her first three starts of 2025, the newly-minted millionaire ($1,006,161), who took a mark of 1:48.3 in the Fan Hanover final, will be starting from the rail on Saturday at Pocono, with Dexter Dunn set to drive her for trainer Chris Ryder.
Her major opposition appears to be Rodeo Drive Deo, who came roaring home from eighth in the Fan Hanover to finish second, beaten only three-quarters of a length. David Miller will be in the sulky for trainer Ron Burke as the daughter of Captaintreacherous begins from post five in a field of seven.
This division of the Sire Stakes is slotted in race eight, which will be part of a Pick 5 wager beginning in race five that has a $10,000 guarantee set on it after a double carryover.
The tenth race Sire Stakes division matches the group’s first round PaSS winners, Asphalt and Good As You, both daughters of Papi Rob Hanover. Asphalt is the early favorite from post three for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Brett Pelling, with Andrew McCarthy will drive Good As You from post five as she changes over to the Aaron Lambert barn.
The six Stallion Series sections will find Always Dawn and Fancy Like Louuuuu looking to repeat their first round PaStS victories.
Another horse in the first Top Ten poll of 2025 will also be racing Saturday at Pocono. Ken Hanover, a son of Captaintreacherous who comes into this race off a win of the Battle Of Lake Erie at Northfield and was rated #8 in North America in the initial poll, will have to overcome being assigned the outside starting slot in the seventh race field of seven lining up for a $25,000 fast-class handicap pace – also a race within the guaranteed Pick-5 wager.
With hot weather predicted for Saturday, many of the races on Saturday could see the 1:50 barrier threatened many times, given the quantity of quality horses appearing throughout the card. First race on the 15-race program is set for 1 p.m.; free Pocono program pages are available at www.phha.org.
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