Photo: Curtis Salonick
By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – The leading horsemen (and defending champions) in the statistical categories at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, driver Tyler Buter and trainer Ron Burke, combined to win Tuesday’s $20,000 featured fast-class trot at the mountain oval with Southwind Coors, who boosted his lifetime earnings to $752,456 with a 1:52.2 victory.
The Walner gelding was content to sit in the pocket behind the pace set by Super Duper Cooper, who got away with really-mild fractions of :27.3, :56.3, and 1:25. Buter got Southwind Coors into high gear midway on the final bend, and he trotted his own last quarter in :27.1 to defeat the pacesetter by two lengths for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phil Collura.
Up-and-coming trotters gathered for a $15,500 co-feature, with Buter again the winning driver as the Gimpanzee filly R Zee lowered her lifetime best to 1:54.2. The John Butenschoen-trained winner took early control from the poll and set the pace, ten saw off a couple of threats in the final quarter to earn the victory for lessees M And L DE / Armitage Farm.
With the Pennsylvania stakes season just around the corner, there were pacing races carded for both sexes. The two male winners, both making their pari-mutuel bows after double qualifying victories and both making frontstretch moves to command, were the Huntsville – Onassis Blue Chip colt Babylon Blue Chip in 1:55 - :55.3 - :27.2 for driver Buter, trainer Hunter Oakes, and Exceed Stables LLC; and the American Ideal – Preeminence colt Primary Station, home in :56.1 - :27.4 while finishing in 1:55.2 for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Travis Alexander, and the partnership of Alexander Racing Stable LLC, C M T Farms, EVM Racing, and James Scarpias.
The one freshman pace for fillies was captured by Buter with the Papi Rob Hanover – Happy Hannah miss Happy Papi, a winner in her only prep race and here winning in 1:57.2 - :56.4 after picking her way through far turn traffic difficulties. Nicholas Devita conditions the promising miss for David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
In all, Tyler Buter paraded back five winners Tuesday; doublers included drivers Matt Kakaley and Anthony Napolitano and trainer Travis Alexander. (In the story about Pocono’s Monday races, it should have been mentioned that driver Kakaley was also a three-time winner.)
Pocono’s PHHA sister track Harrah’s Philadelphia has canceled its Thursday and Friday racing because of the expected heat, so the next scheduled eastern Pennsylvania pari-mutuel action is Pocono’s 1 p.m. card Saturday (with the weather expected to cool a bit by then). On that day, the Pennsylvania All-Stars series for two-year-olds will get underway with three $30,000 divisions for male trotters. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
WILKES-BARRE PA – The leading horsemen (and defending champions) in the statistical categories at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, driver Tyler Buter and trainer Ron Burke, combined to win Tuesday’s $20,000 featured fast-class trot at the mountain oval with Southwind Coors, who boosted his lifetime earnings to $752,456 with a 1:52.2 victory.
The Walner gelding was content to sit in the pocket behind the pace set by Super Duper Cooper, who got away with really-mild fractions of :27.3, :56.3, and 1:25. Buter got Southwind Coors into high gear midway on the final bend, and he trotted his own last quarter in :27.1 to defeat the pacesetter by two lengths for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phil Collura.
Up-and-coming trotters gathered for a $15,500 co-feature, with Buter again the winning driver as the Gimpanzee filly R Zee lowered her lifetime best to 1:54.2. The John Butenschoen-trained winner took early control from the poll and set the pace, ten saw off a couple of threats in the final quarter to earn the victory for lessees M And L DE / Armitage Farm.
With the Pennsylvania stakes season just around the corner, there were pacing races carded for both sexes. The two male winners, both making their pari-mutuel bows after double qualifying victories and both making frontstretch moves to command, were the Huntsville – Onassis Blue Chip colt Babylon Blue Chip in 1:55 - :55.3 - :27.2 for driver Buter, trainer Hunter Oakes, and Exceed Stables LLC; and the American Ideal – Preeminence colt Primary Station, home in :56.1 - :27.4 while finishing in 1:55.2 for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Travis Alexander, and the partnership of Alexander Racing Stable LLC, C M T Farms, EVM Racing, and James Scarpias.
The one freshman pace for fillies was captured by Buter with the Papi Rob Hanover – Happy Hannah miss Happy Papi, a winner in her only prep race and here winning in 1:57.2 - :56.4 after picking her way through far turn traffic difficulties. Nicholas Devita conditions the promising miss for David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
In all, Tyler Buter paraded back five winners Tuesday; doublers included drivers Matt Kakaley and Anthony Napolitano and trainer Travis Alexander. (In the story about Pocono’s Monday races, it should have been mentioned that driver Kakaley was also a three-time winner.)
Pocono’s PHHA sister track Harrah’s Philadelphia has canceled its Thursday and Friday racing because of the expected heat, so the next scheduled eastern Pennsylvania pari-mutuel action is Pocono’s 1 p.m. card Saturday (with the weather expected to cool a bit by then). On that day, the Pennsylvania All-Stars series for two-year-olds will get underway with three $30,000 divisions for male trotters. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
RSS Feed
