Freshman impressive at The Downs

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Two-year-old harness racing colts were spotlighted in a pair of $11,700 contests during the Monday afternoon card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

In the baby colt trot, Aggiornamento started his career with two straight victories after setting the pace and

then holding off the debuting pocketsitter Backstreet Player by three-quarters of a length in a “career”-best-equaling 1:58.1.

These two were the two favorites in the race, and raced like it – the third-place horse was almost another fifteen lengths behind them – with Aggiornamento, a Nuncio – Tuonela gelding driven by Tom Jackson for trainer Fred Grant and owner Russell Williams, having enough left late to make his advantage stand up.

AGGIORNAMENTO REPLAY

The freshman male pacers were headed by the Heston Blue Chip – Restive Hanover gelding Flip My Chip, whose 1:54.3 time matched the clocking he posted in a recent baby race.

Marcus Miller guided the winner to the lead in front of the stands and rated the pace, then sprinted home in :27.1 to retain firm control and take his first purse race for trainer/father Erv Miller and the partnership of Ervin Miller Stable Inc. and Sara Miller.

FLIP MY CHIP REPLAY

The Artiscape gelding Spanish Art became the only horse to pay boxcar win prices at both Pocono and sister track Harrah’s Philly in 2021, with his $84.60 return on a $2 ticket joining his $62.40 upset of May 27 a hundred miles south of the mountain track. Spanish Art also has a $25.00 triumph at Pocono this year, but the Pompano fans weren’t fooled in his other two victories this season – he paid $4.40 and $6.40 when racing there.

The springboard “non-winners of eight races” class goes in two $15,300 divisions on the Tuesday card at Pocono, with pacing males in race ten and trotters in the last of the day’s fourteen contests. Program pages for the 12:30 card are available at www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

For full race results, click here.

From the PHHA/The Downs