The Downs feature to Pond Jumper

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Pond Jumper, the only horse to enter the $11,200 featured trot on Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono with the optional $20,000 claiming price, held off his opposition as the favorite in 1:56 on a hot day.

George Napolitano Jr. had the altered son of Honeycomb Hanover between horses early, getting the lead, yielding to Conquest AS, and immediately reclaiming the lead. Pond Jumper maintained an advantage to the finish against several tough closers, with the nearest, Explosive Breakaway, in his first starts since January 11, only a half-length back on the far outside.

Pond Jumper won for the fourth time in his last seven starts and for the seventh time in 2021 with the year only half-over – in no previous season had he posted more than four victories. Darren Taneyhill trains the game trotter for owner Eric Prevost.

POND JUMPER REPLAY

There were also three races set aside for two-year-olds on the card, and all three winners had hit the board in their debuts, then moved up to victory here in their second betting starts.

Trainer Ray Schnittker and driver Mark MacDonald took down both of the events for pacers. The division for males was taken by Etbauer, owned by Schnittker, setting the pace and holding off a late charge by favored What About David (in his bow) in 1:54.2. Etbauer is a colt by Captaintreacherous – Wild West Show, which makes him a three-quarters brother to the noted racehorse and budding sire Huntsville …

…who happened to sire the winner of the baby filly division, Twenty Grand (dam Up Front Katie Jo), gaining victory by racing up to the lead going past the grandstand the first time and going on to a 1:55 maiden triumph. Schnittker co-owns this one with Steven Arnold and Mark Ford.

ETBAUER REPLAY

In the contest for trotting males, Theresnolimit S (Nuncio – What’s Your Limit) also claimed command in front of the stands and came away a 1:56.4 winner. Mattias Melander drove the baby for trainer/brother Marcus and Stall TZ Inc.

There was a two-year-old trotting filly winning on the card – the Chapter Seven – Jewels In Hock miss Prasiolite. A winner in 1:59 in a purse race for her baby group last time, Prasiolite dropped back in, but that race did not fill, so an AE of “2YOs nw 2 races, draw inside” was added to a maiden event for older females. And Prasiolite mastered this group as well, lowering her mark to 1:57.2 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer John Butenschoen, and the partnership of Crawford Farms Racing, Mortgage Boys Stable, and James Crawford IV.

The newly-installed Tuesday “traditional” features, $15,300 contests for “nw 8 races,” expand to three for this Tuesday’s card: pacing distaffs in race eight, pacing males in race ten, and trotters in race thirteen. 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