Snowman Hanover upsets in $50,000 Weiss final

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Snowman Hanover (Bar Hopping) showed last Sunday he appreciated his reintroduction to harness racing trotting hopples with a victory in the Bobby Weiss Series final prelim for his sophomore male group, and in Sunday’s (April 30) $50,000 Weiss Championship he again was victorious, taking his field coast-to-coast in 1:58 over a sloppy track during a rainy night.

Mark MacDonald got the 9-1 gelding to the lead before the :28.3 quarter, then backed off the half to :59.4. Bestfriend Volo, the favorite who had won both of his Weiss prelims, moved out to go after the leader through both sides of the 1:29.1 three-quarters, but Snowman Hanover dug in gamely and held off the chalk by half a length. He paid $21.80 to win. The Ray Schnittker trainee is owned by the partnership of Schnittker Bordogna, Arden Homestead Stable, Steven Arnold, and Ted Gewertz, and he helped driver MacDonald to lead the local colony on the night with three successes.

SNOWMAN HANOVER REPLAY

A $15,000 pace for developing horses headlined the action on that gait, with Beach Vibes (American Ideal) never looking back as he came within a tick of his mark with a 1:52.4 off-track victory for driver Braxten Boyd. The gelding has now won three of his last four while ascending the class ladder. Bruce Lauer conditions the sharp sidewheeler for It’s All Good Racing LLC.

BEACH VIBES REPLAY

C Is For Cookie was the only horse to win in all three Weiss preliminaries for her group, and the sophomore pacing filly will be starting from the rail as she goes for the Weiss Grand Slam in her $50,000 Championship event during Monday’s 1 p.m. card. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available by clicking here.

For complete race results, click here.

From the PHHA / Pocono Downs