WILKES-BARRE PA – The team behind the Captaintreacherous ridgling Trente Deo – trainer Bill Adamczyk, owner William Emmons, and driver Jim Morrill Jr. – showed just the right amount of patience with the four-year-old pacer, and they were rewarded by earning the throne after winning the $50,000 Championship of their Game Of Claims Series on Saturday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Owner Emmons saw the pacer won his first start in the series, then took him out of his second Game Of Claims start, paying $33,000 (with the 4YO allowance, the base price slightly elevated through all the GOC prelims), which he also won. Emmons and Adamczyk, knowing the horse had enough points to make the final already, kept him out of the third leg, avoiding losing him to a claim, and their foresight paid off after Morrill gave the winner a second-over trip in the final, making a strong far turn move with him that carried him to a 1:52.3 victory on a northeast Pennsylvania night where the mercury stayed in the mid- to low-20s.
The Allards had the best night at Pocono on Saturday, with Simon winning four races and Rene conditioning three winners.
The $17,500 pace for fast-class horses saw the two horses handicapped with the outside posts, Twin B Tuffenuff and Atta Boy Dan, turn in a fierce stretch battle, with the former nosing out the latter in 1:52.3. Twin B Tuffenuff took early command, got a 29.2 breather on the cold night, then sprinted home in :56 - :27.2 to withstand the unrelenting grind of Atta Boy Dan, last year’s Pocono Pacer of the Year. The victorious son of Rock N Roll Heaven was driven by Matt Kakaley for Burke Racing Stable LLC / Weaver Bruscemi LLC and trainer Ron Burke – ironically, the same owner/trainer partnership for whom “Dan” had made consecutive starts in all but one in 115 races, with 41 wins and $659,026 in earnings, from 2014 until being claimed at Pocono last May.
FINISHING LINES – The Saturday/Sunday action at Pocono goes to its usual 7 p.m. post time starting tomorrow. Monday is added to the 2020 schedule this week, with first post at 4 p.m.