  Photos: Curtis Salonick |   |
By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – T C I became the first male trotter in the 31-year history of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes to win his divisional Championship at ages two and three, purposefully marching to the front in front of the stands and then maintaining his lead to the wire in the finale, like the other Championships for three-year-olds this day at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania worth $252,000.
David Miller, the only doubling driver in the PaSS Championships this year, sat outside midpack early with the Cantab Hall colt, then rushed up to challenge leader Blackhawk Hanover past a :27.3 quarter. He made the lead under the wire the first time, reached the half in :57.2 and the three-quarters in 1:24.4, then appeared to draw off at will late in 1:53, finishing three lengths to the good of Usain Hanover, who photoed Blackhawk Zette for second.
A record moneywinner at two with overall earnings of over $1.2M in earnings, T C I led the Sire Stakes in prelim points and took his Championship. This season, he won both of his Sires prelim appearances, then came back to win the big money as a big favorite for trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Hatfield Stables, and Knox Services Inc.
His division’s consolation race, like the others worth $50,000, was won authoritatively by the Father Patrick gelding Memorynimagination, taking a new mark of 1:55 for driver Anthony MacDonald, trainer Tim Twaddle, and the partnership of Thestable Memrynimaginatn (no misspelling) and Hutchison Harness LLC.
David Miller’s other Sire Stakes Championship came behind Elista Hanover, with the International Moni miss coming back to the track where she started her 10-race win streak earlier this year and making the most of her return with a 1:52.3 win for trainer Annie Stoebe, co-owner with R. Lynn and Philomena Curry.
Tim Tetrick did his best to put favored Elista Hanover in a bad spot, making a sweeping move with second choice Paulina Hanover after contested fractions of :26.4 and :56 to be surging to the lead at the 1:24.1 three-quarters. The pair cleared to the rail and tried to open some distance on “Elista,” who was racing on their bumper, but that filly rode her cover much of the way around the dying one-wide and two-wide tiers and had a clear path in the lane, from which she worked by for a half length triumph, adding the Championship to her prelim points leadership.
This group’s consolation saw the driver (Braxten Boyd) and trainer (Don Wiest) with the biggest age disparity around (Boyd is 24; Wiest will be 94 on October 1) again team successfully with the Andover Hall filly Tuis Angel, here in 1:54.3 for the ownership of trainer Wiest, his son David, Pamela Kimmel, and James Rappold.
It was thought that pacer Captain Albano might accomplish a feat of even bigger merit than T C I – become the first male of either gait to be a divisional pointleader and then a Championship winner at both two and three. Last year’s Dan Patch winner looked to be authoring such a script, brushing after a :25.4 quarter to the lead before the half of :54.2.
But meanwhile, Pocono’s leading driver Matt Kakaley came streaking uncovered from seventh with the Sweet Lou gelding Sweet Beach Life, with no one pulling out in front of him, to be headbobbing for second at a 1:22.1 three-quarters and still advancing. Captain Albano still looked in good position approaching midturn, but then, with $252,000 up for grabs, he picked a bad day to do something he had not done in nineteen previous career starts – he made a break. Sweet Beach Life zoomed by and kept on going, winning by five sweet lengths in a lifetime best 1:50 for trainer Travis Alexander and A Sweet Beach Life Stable.
The collective stunned silence soon turned to cries of surprise after the prices were posted. Sweet Beach Life: $101.00, $76.80, $76.60; Rush In (who like Captain Albano was undefeated in three PaSS prelims but was let go at 84-1): $280.80 and $169.00; third place Solid Character: $29.60. The $2 exacta paid $5078.80; the 50-cent Trifecta paid $3036.10 for the reduced investment; and the Superfecta with fourth-place Timeisonmyside: well, there weren’t any tickets sold on that combo, resulting in a carryover.
A bit less surprising of a winner was 9-2 shot Armada Hanover, a Stay Hungry gelding who came from the pocket to pass favored Vengeance Blue Chip by a head in 1:49.3 while taking the group’s consolation for driver Tim Tetrick, trainer Brett Pelling, and owners David Mc Duffee, Rojan Stables, and Pelling Racing LLC.
My Girl EJ, another offspring of Sweet Lou and right at the top level of her pacing filly class through her brief racing career, bounced back from a second in last year’s PaSS Championship with a 1:49.2 victory, starting trainer Ron Burke on a consecutive double that was completed by T C I. The powerful filly also raised her lifetime earnings to $1,039,560 for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Ron Burke (as an owner), and Elizabeth Novak.
Dexter Dunn kept My Girl E J in third behind pacesetter Dandy’s Mercy and pocketsitter Sweet Gal behind early splits of :26.4 and :54.3, then moved to challenge late on the backstretch, before the 1:21.1 three quarters split. With the leader holding firmly and the two-holer threatening in the Pocono Pike, the favored winner had to be good, and she showed her class late to win by a length over Dandy’s Mercy, with Sweet Gal just another neck back in third.
This group’s consolation winner was also sired by Sweet Lou: 1-5 favorite Sarasota Hanover moved early to the top and won as expected, pacing in 1:50.4 for driver Scott Zeron, trainer Linda Toscano, and Jablonsky Held Stable, Camelot Stable Inc., John Fodera, and South Mountain Stables.
Pocono will race Tuesday at 1 p.m., then be dark the following Saturday and Monday for an Oktoberfest celebration; the next racing will be a week from Tuesday, September 17. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.
WILKES-BARRE PA – T C I became the first male trotter in the 31-year history of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes to win his divisional Championship at ages two and three, purposefully marching to the front in front of the stands and then maintaining his lead to the wire in the finale, like the other Championships for three-year-olds this day at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania worth $252,000.
David Miller, the only doubling driver in the PaSS Championships this year, sat outside midpack early with the Cantab Hall colt, then rushed up to challenge leader Blackhawk Hanover past a :27.3 quarter. He made the lead under the wire the first time, reached the half in :57.2 and the three-quarters in 1:24.4, then appeared to draw off at will late in 1:53, finishing three lengths to the good of Usain Hanover, who photoed Blackhawk Zette for second.
A record moneywinner at two with overall earnings of over $1.2M in earnings, T C I led the Sire Stakes in prelim points and took his Championship. This season, he won both of his Sires prelim appearances, then came back to win the big money as a big favorite for trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Hatfield Stables, and Knox Services Inc.
His division’s consolation race, like the others worth $50,000, was won authoritatively by the Father Patrick gelding Memorynimagination, taking a new mark of 1:55 for driver Anthony MacDonald, trainer Tim Twaddle, and the partnership of Thestable Memrynimaginatn (no misspelling) and Hutchison Harness LLC.
David Miller’s other Sire Stakes Championship came behind Elista Hanover, with the International Moni miss coming back to the track where she started her 10-race win streak earlier this year and making the most of her return with a 1:52.3 win for trainer Annie Stoebe, co-owner with R. Lynn and Philomena Curry.
Tim Tetrick did his best to put favored Elista Hanover in a bad spot, making a sweeping move with second choice Paulina Hanover after contested fractions of :26.4 and :56 to be surging to the lead at the 1:24.1 three-quarters. The pair cleared to the rail and tried to open some distance on “Elista,” who was racing on their bumper, but that filly rode her cover much of the way around the dying one-wide and two-wide tiers and had a clear path in the lane, from which she worked by for a half length triumph, adding the Championship to her prelim points leadership.
This group’s consolation saw the driver (Braxten Boyd) and trainer (Don Wiest) with the biggest age disparity around (Boyd is 24; Wiest will be 94 on October 1) again team successfully with the Andover Hall filly Tuis Angel, here in 1:54.3 for the ownership of trainer Wiest, his son David, Pamela Kimmel, and James Rappold.
It was thought that pacer Captain Albano might accomplish a feat of even bigger merit than T C I – become the first male of either gait to be a divisional pointleader and then a Championship winner at both two and three. Last year’s Dan Patch winner looked to be authoring such a script, brushing after a :25.4 quarter to the lead before the half of :54.2.
But meanwhile, Pocono’s leading driver Matt Kakaley came streaking uncovered from seventh with the Sweet Lou gelding Sweet Beach Life, with no one pulling out in front of him, to be headbobbing for second at a 1:22.1 three-quarters and still advancing. Captain Albano still looked in good position approaching midturn, but then, with $252,000 up for grabs, he picked a bad day to do something he had not done in nineteen previous career starts – he made a break. Sweet Beach Life zoomed by and kept on going, winning by five sweet lengths in a lifetime best 1:50 for trainer Travis Alexander and A Sweet Beach Life Stable.
The collective stunned silence soon turned to cries of surprise after the prices were posted. Sweet Beach Life: $101.00, $76.80, $76.60; Rush In (who like Captain Albano was undefeated in three PaSS prelims but was let go at 84-1): $280.80 and $169.00; third place Solid Character: $29.60. The $2 exacta paid $5078.80; the 50-cent Trifecta paid $3036.10 for the reduced investment; and the Superfecta with fourth-place Timeisonmyside: well, there weren’t any tickets sold on that combo, resulting in a carryover.
A bit less surprising of a winner was 9-2 shot Armada Hanover, a Stay Hungry gelding who came from the pocket to pass favored Vengeance Blue Chip by a head in 1:49.3 while taking the group’s consolation for driver Tim Tetrick, trainer Brett Pelling, and owners David Mc Duffee, Rojan Stables, and Pelling Racing LLC.
My Girl EJ, another offspring of Sweet Lou and right at the top level of her pacing filly class through her brief racing career, bounced back from a second in last year’s PaSS Championship with a 1:49.2 victory, starting trainer Ron Burke on a consecutive double that was completed by T C I. The powerful filly also raised her lifetime earnings to $1,039,560 for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Ron Burke (as an owner), and Elizabeth Novak.
Dexter Dunn kept My Girl E J in third behind pacesetter Dandy’s Mercy and pocketsitter Sweet Gal behind early splits of :26.4 and :54.3, then moved to challenge late on the backstretch, before the 1:21.1 three quarters split. With the leader holding firmly and the two-holer threatening in the Pocono Pike, the favored winner had to be good, and she showed her class late to win by a length over Dandy’s Mercy, with Sweet Gal just another neck back in third.
This group’s consolation winner was also sired by Sweet Lou: 1-5 favorite Sarasota Hanover moved early to the top and won as expected, pacing in 1:50.4 for driver Scott Zeron, trainer Linda Toscano, and Jablonsky Held Stable, Camelot Stable Inc., John Fodera, and South Mountain Stables.
Pocono will race Tuesday at 1 p.m., then be dark the following Saturday and Monday for an Oktoberfest celebration; the next racing will be a week from Tuesday, September 17. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.
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