Karinchak sets lifetime mark in Bobby Weiss Series

WILKES-BARRE PA – Three-year-old trotters were spotlighted in $20,000 preliminary harness racing divisions of their respective Bobby Weiss Series at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday, with males going in their third and final preliminary before next Monday’s $50,000 Championship, while the distaffs contested their second prelim. There were three divisions for each sex.

 The Chapter Seven colt Karinchak became the only horse among the male contingent to double within the three prelims when he set a new lifetime mark of 1:55.1. Matt Kakaley (who later left Pocono to drive at Yonkers Monday night with 6998 career triumphs before his Gotham sojourn) put his horse on the lead, got a breather to the half, then came his back half in :56.3 to win over Te Quiero Lindy for trainer Ray Schnittker, also co-owner with Ted Gewertz, Arden Homestead Stable, and Steven Arnold. Karinchak, who got home first by three-quarters of a length, suffered interference in his first series start but has been perfect thereafter.

KARINCHAK REPLAY

It looked like Bondsman was going to join Karinchak as a double Weiss winner, but as he got past pacesetting Big Shot by a head at the end of a 1:56.2 mile he went offstride and was placed second for a lapped-on break. So the Propulsion gelding Big Shot, second in both his series starts including to Karinchak last time out, was elevated to the top spot, and the alert Pocono judges determined that according to PA rules Big Shot would get to take the time as a new mark for driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer Nicholas Devita, and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.

Also lowering his mark, the Greenshoe gelding Green Mel won the other cut for males in 1:55.3 following a third and a second in his earlier prelims. Team Orange Crush – driver Andy and trainer/wife Julie – are the braintrust behind Green Mel, who is owned by Willow Oak Racing LLC and Michael Anderson.

GREEN MEL REPLAY

Halfadozen and Admiring are now both undefeated in two Weiss starts on the filly side: both won in 1:55.4, and both rated the half then outsped their rivals home.

The Six Pack filly Halfadozen took a new mark as she won by a neck over Entertaining Me – the same margin by which she defeated that rival in the first leg. Daniel Dube, co-owner with Jean Claude Dessureault, was in the sulky for trainer Pierre Paradis.

HALFADOZEN REPLAY

As close as was Halfadozen’s race, the win by Admiring was a romp, as the Walner miss was ten lengths ahead at the end of her mile. David Miller got the job done convincingly with Admiring for trainer Nifty Norman and owners Tony Holmes and June Zent.

A sweep of the filly action by betting favorites came about when Dearly Beloved, who did not race in the first Weiss round, won by seven lengths while lowering her mark to 1:56.1. The Greenshoe filly used the same rate-then-go on tactics as did her fellow first-place fillies for trainer Jenny Melander and owner Donald Bartling. We mentioned Matt Kakaley’s 6998 wins earlier – the win behind Dearly Beloved was career score #6997.

DEARLY BELOVED REPLAY

Both the leading driver and trainer at the Pocono meet widened the lead atop the standings – Tyler Buter had four trips to the winners circle, including bookending the card with Ron Burke trainees, as Burke sent out three successful horses overall.

The racing week concludes on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. card, highlighted by eight $16,000 divisions of the second prelim of the Game Of Claims Trotting Series for horses base-tagged at $25,000, with two first-round winners squaring off in both races six and ten. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From the PHHA / Pocono Downs