Last week the Western Ideal gelding Freeneasy Hanover debuted for the barn of the meet's leading trainer, Chris Oakes, and he was sent three-wide in front of the stands by the meet's leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., to take an advantage that no one could take away from him. Terror Time A, mired with post eight, was a fast-closing third after traffic trouble, and with "Terror" moving from PP8 to PP4 tonight, the crowd sent him off as the 3-10 favorite, with Freeneasy Hanover (PP4 last week, PP3 tonight) again held at 2-1 odds.
And again, an early move to the lead was the route to victory for Freeneasy Hanover, who moved after the 26 opening quarter to get the lead before the 54.2 half, then posted a 1:22.2 third clocking along the way to winning by 1½ lengths. Terror Time A, not noted for his early speed, again had to come from seventh at the ¾, but this week he did get up for second, a neck ahead of Always N The Money, behind the sharp winner, who is owned by Susan Oakes.
Oh – did we mention that the claiming handicap feature was the first race on Pocono's Saturday night card? Pocono fans certainly consider that worthwhile information – as "GNap" and Oakes have now won the first event on six of the last nine cards at Pocono, and on three of the last four Saturdays (on the other occasion, the duo had to "wait" until race two to click).
Speaking of race two, George Napolitano Jr. came back to sweep the Double behind the Mark Ford trainee Mariner Seelster. It was George's 351st local victory of the season – and the first in which he paid more than $50+, just nudging over that line with a $50.80 win return. The GNap Double returned $107.00.
At Pocono, the motto is that one longshot win deserves another quickly, and 89 minutes later Eric Carlson guided Keystone Dylan to a late rallying victory, paying $61.80 on the front end. For Carlson, it was his third $50+ winner at Pocono in the last five cards; for trainer James De La Rosa, it was perhaps an even more memorable occasion, as it was his first trip ever as a trainer to Pocono's winners circle. The two bombers also marked the 14th occasion that Pocono has had a pair of $50+ horses on one card this season–11% of the time.
Carlson set the pace in the $15,500 tenth race conditioned pacing co-feature with 13-1 shot Bestjetyet, but they were caught by ¾ of a length by the favorite and "pocket rocket," Dreams Beach Boy, who is owned by Crawford Farms Racing and who after his 1:51.2 victory (it was 37o by then) now has a career bankroll of $152,124. The guidance behind the Sombeachsomewhere gelding Dreams Beach Boy? Driver George Napolitano Jr. (his fifth win of the night , 20th during November's six cards at Pocono, and 36th overall in the first 12 days of the month) and trainer Chris Oakes (his third tally of the evening, all with GNap).