Ideal Kiss with driver George Napolitano Jr. (Photo: Curtis Salonick)
Summertime fled The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in a hurry – it was 59 degrees when the races started on Saturday evening -- but the change in temperature made no difference to the American Ideal gelding Ideal Kiss, who won for the fifth time in his last six starts when he won the $20,000 claiming handicap pacing feature in 1:50.4 over “good” going.
Ideal Kiss made the lead before the first turn for driver George Napolitano Jr. despite beginning from the outside post seven, “and he improved his position from there,” responding to mild stretch rocking to keep pocketsitting Big N Bad at bay by 1¼ lengths at the finish. The win was the third of the night for “George Nap,” giving him 16 over the last five Pocono cards, and his second of the evening teaming with trainer Hunter Oakes. Northfork Racing Stable the owner of the winner of $170,630, with almost half of that, $80,930, won in just over eight months this year.
Music Is Art and JJ Flynn accounted for the $17,500 co-featured conditioned paces, though their styles of racing – and margins of victory – couldn’t have been more different. First up was Music Is Art, a son of Art Major who swept four-wide on the far turn from third-over, then – aided by some tight quarters in traffic inside of him spinning for home – drew away by seven lengths in 1:52.1. The winning race favorite, who raised his earnings to $162,240, was guided by Anthony Napolitano as he won for trainer Mike Deters and owner Rick Berks.
In the other division, driver Marcus Miller had the Western Ideal gelding JJ Flynn in high gear from the start, cutting all the pace then holding off pocketsitter Feeling Cam Lucky by a neck in 1:51.2. Now with a career bankroll of $326,608, JJ Flynn is trained by Josh Green, who is a co-owner of the winner with Richard Lombardo and Charles Cochran III.
Music Is Art and JJ Flynn accounted for the $17,500 co-featured conditioned paces, though their styles of racing – and margins of victory – couldn’t have been more different. First up was Music Is Art, a son of Art Major who swept four-wide on the far turn from third-over, then – aided by some tight quarters in traffic inside of him spinning for home – drew away by seven lengths in 1:52.1. The winning race favorite, who raised his earnings to $162,240, was guided by Anthony Napolitano as he won for trainer Mike Deters and owner Rick Berks.
In the other division, driver Marcus Miller had the Western Ideal gelding JJ Flynn in high gear from the start, cutting all the pace then holding off pocketsitter Feeling Cam Lucky by a neck in 1:51.2. Now with a career bankroll of $326,608, JJ Flynn is trained by Josh Green, who is a co-owner of the winner with Richard Lombardo and Charles Cochran III.
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