CHESTER PA – The Explosive Matter mare Pat Matters ran her record to 4-for-5 since joining the Nifty Norman barn in winning the $17,500 featured trot in 1:52.2 on Sunday evening at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
George Napolitano Jr. was on the move after a :26.4 opening quarter with the four-year-old to gain the top, and she rolled on to midrace fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.1. In her last start at Philadelphia, a 1:52.2 clocking enabled her to draw away from her competition; here Scioto shipper What’s The Word made her stay to task to record a 1¼ length victory, with Henderson Seelster, who made a break early, came from far out of it to be only another neck back at the finish.
In the trotting division of $17,000 co-features, Explosivebreakaway, a sophomore altered son of Explosive Matter and a full brother to Phaetosive, regained his winning ways with a good two-move victory from the outside post eight in a lifetime mark 1:54.1. Tom Jackson rallied the three-year-old wide off the final turn and went on to a length victory over Captain Morgan for trainer Fred Grant, also co-owner with Janice Rubin, Steve Katz, and Murray Brown, as Explosivematter won for the seventh time in fourteen career starts.
In the pacing section, the American Ideal gelding JK Musicman was involved in tough early fractions, but he had enough capacity to maintain his advantage and lower his mark to 1:51.2, staying 1½ lengths ahead of rallying favorite Trump That. Eric Carlson drove the Gilbert Garcia-Herrera trainee for owner Gilbert Garcia-Owen.