WILKES-BARRE PA – The Jereme's Jet gelding Alta Jerome N, who won his last start at Yonkers, shipped back to the "home track" of his harness racing trainer Chris Oakes and promptly made it two in a row, taking the $20,000 featured conditioned pace Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in 1:50.3.
Top driver George Napolitano Jr., noted for his aggressive steering of horses, played a well-timed waiting game in the feature, sitting just behind pacesetting favorite Bushwacker, who led through early splits of 25.4 and 55.1, and Archangel Three, who popped the pocket to challenge the leader in a huge third quarter, with the third marker reached in 1:22. "George Nap" kept his pacer to the inside, ducked into the famed Pocono Pike, and went on to get a half-length decision over Bushwacker while equaling his lifetime best (North American, anyway). Alta Jerome N went over the quarter-million dollar lifetime earnings plateau for Northfork Racing Stable and Sam Dalia.
On a generally-bad night for chalk at Pocono, two favored horses owned at least in part by the VIP Internet Stable LLC won the $16,500 co-featured paces, with both cuts going faster than the feature event. First out, in the very first race, was the Four Starzzz Shark gelding Allstar Partner, who never looked back for driver Anthony Napolitano while lowering his lifetime mark over two seconds to 1:49. Andrew Harris trains the winner $543,126, and VIP owns him outright.
In the other feature, the Sportswriter gelding Maxdaddy Blue Chip was a pocket rocket, getting home first in 1:50 for the brother team of driver Simon Allard and trainer Rene Allard. The late-developing speedster is co-owned by VIP with Allard Racing Inc., Alycon Stable, and How's That Stables Inc.
PHHA / Pocono