PROMISING TWO-YEAR-OLDS AGAIN IN POCONO SPOTLIGHT

Photo: Curtis Salonick

By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA --  Just as they were the day before in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championships, two-year-olds were the name of the game on Tuesday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with five $16,000 events for two-year-olds the central attraction.  Matt Kakaley drove three of trainer Lucas Wallin’s trotting babies to victory amidst a five-winner day for Matt.
 
Wallin had the impeccably-bred Greenshoe – Cee Bee Yes fily Shoobie ready to go in her first lifetime start, making two moves for the lead yet still able to coast away for Kakaley in 1:58. Jason Allen is the owner of the very promising miss.
 
That was not the end of the Kakaley-Wallin freshman trot fillies who won, however. The stakes-placed Walner-Mazzarati filly Caught Speeding, racing against older company, was not caught speeding after setting most of the pace, breaking her maiden in  1:57 for Weisman Farms LLC, Harbor Racing Stable LLC, Wallin Racing Stable Inc., and Christoffer Pihl-Svensson.
 
There were two divisions of the feature event for freshman trotting males, and Wallin-Kalaley clicked in that action as well, with another firster, the Fourth Dimension-Sheismydream SS colt Whatachapter SS S (the “SS” referring to the breeder, Norway’s Skele Stable AS). The winner was second-over down the back, then came on late to catch a stubborn pacesetter in Kountry Infusion by a neck in a quick 1:55.3 for Wallin Racing Stable Inc. and Mjolby Fastighets AB.
 
The other event devoted to baby male trotters went to the debutant Celtic Ri in 1:58.1. After the pacesetter made a break on the far turn and Ice Wall took over, Tyler Buter and his Alrajah One IT – Abbie’s Celticlass gelding steadily narrowed in, also winning by a neck for trainer Nifty Norman and his Enzed Racing Stable Inc.
 
Neck decisions in the two-year-old colt races even carried over to the pace, where the Papi Rob Hanover-Barefoot’npregnant gelding Barefoot Papi captured his third race in his last four outings, keeping Doc’s Del Mar at bay by that neck margin in 1:54.3. Ridge Warren had sulky duty for trainer Richard Dunn, co-owner with MBC Stables LLC.
 
The Huntsville – Tequila Monday pacing filly Wine Down Wensday was sent right to the lead by driver Brian Sears, who then held her together to defeat two tough challengers in pocket horse Wish For A Captain and first-over Spider Claire while breaking her maiden in 1:54. Hunter Oakes is the conditioner for Flying A Racing Stable and Chuck Pompey.
 
In addition to Kakaley’s quintuple, multiple winning drivers were Tyler Buter, Brian Sears, and Ridge Warren – who just happened to win the three highlighted two-year-old races that Team Kakaley/Wallin did not. Wallin was the only trainer on the day with more than one win.
 
The dates of the next two regularly-scheduled cards at Pocono, this coming Saturday and Monday, will be dark as Pocono observes its annual end-of-summer minibreak; the next card of racing will be on Tuesday, September 15 at 1  p.m., with that card to be drawn this Wednesday (September 9). On that card, there will be a carryover into the first race Superfecta, as no one solved the last Super on this card; there will also be a carryover into the last race Hi 5. Free Pocono program pages will be available at www.phha.org.