Fire Start Hanover lights up in feature pace

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The three harness racing favorites in the $25,000 fast-class pace for distaffs during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono were all sent off at odds of 9-5, with a spread of $48 covering the most-favored to the least-favored. But it was the “longshot” of the three, Fire Start Hanover (Somebeachsomewhere), who took the victory in 1:51.1.

Drama Act went away quickly to the front in a :26.2 opener, but then she was passed in turn by favored Majorca N and then Fire Start Hanover on the way to a :55.1 half.

The other fancied horse, Easy To Please, made a sustained bid first-over through and past the 1:23.3 three-quarters, but in the end, Fire Start Hanover proved too much, with pocketsitter Majorca N a length behind at the wire and Easy To Please another length further back.

Nifty Norman trains the $1,234,865-winning mare and Tyler Buter drove her for the ownership of Pinske Stables, David Hoese, and Lawrence Means. The winner paid $5.80.

FIRE START HANOVER REPLAY

Tony Beltrami won the $15,000 Summer Series Trotting Final for the American Harness Drivers Club amateur horsemen, guiding Innisfallen (Explosive Matter) to victory in 1:55.3. Beltrami sent the gelding to a three-quarter-pole lead of ten lengths, then saw favored Silvermass Volo steadily eat into that margin, but in the end Beltrami and Innisfallen were two lengths clear with the Paul Fusco and Bramdeo Singh-owned winner.

INNISFALLEN REPLAY

Winning the AHDC Final made Beltrami hardly in need of consolation, but nonetheless he also drove the winner of the $11,000 AHDC Consolation Trot, All Rise, a Conway Hall gelding he also owns, to victory in 1:57.2 – though this race’s style couldn’t have been more different than the Final’s.

Beltrami had the Edwin Quevedo trainee on the lead nearing the three-quarters with company close by, and then in the blink of an eye a short lead became almost a double-digit lead, as the pocketsitter and first-over got tangled up and scattered those in behind, with All Rise/Beltrami winning by seemingly half the length of the stretch.

Pocono continues its racing week with cards at 1:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available by clicking here.

For complete race results, click here.

From the PHHA/The Downs