Twin features held at Pocono Downs

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Cant Help Myself (Helpisontheway) and Hankins Hanover (Walner) were the winners of the twin $15,000 featured harness racing trots at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon (June 10).

Cant Help Myself, who had been close when maintaining gait in his last few starts, turned a few heads when reducing his mark by nearly three seconds to 1:54 in one feature. Matt Kakaley sent Cant Help Myself to the lead in front of the stands, and from there he repulsed a first-over challenger and drew clear to win by 3¾ lengths for trainer/owner Don Niccum.

CANT HELP MYSELF REPLAY

The other feature section went to the three-year-old gelding Hankins Hanover, who set the pace and came home in :57.3 – :28.3 to keep G Load a neck away at the end of the 1:56.4 mile. Tyler Buter handled sulky duties behind Hankins Hanover, who got good money in several Grand Circuit stakes last year, for trainer Nifty Norman and owners Pinske Stables and David Hoese.

HANKINS HANOVER REPLAY

Driver/trainer Åke Svanstedt unleashed a pair of nice sophomores in lower-level trots. First came Big Ben Pellini S, a Ready Cash gelding unraced at two but now perfect in two 2024 starts with a 1:56.3 – :56.2- :27.4 victory for Michael Friesen and Order By Stable AB. Svanstedt came back to win with the Walner colt Amazing Catch, second in the Peter Haughton and third in the Wellwood last year, who had to rally very swiftly into a :28.2 kicker to catch Duke Of Walner by a neck, posting a lifetime best of 1:53.4 in his seasonal bow. Al Libfeld, Marvin and Lynn Katz, and Al Goldband own the promising youngster.

Anthony Napolitano drove three winners to lead the sulkysitters colony for the day.

The racing week concludes Tuesday with a 1 p.m. card; featured will be a $16,000 pace for a developing class that can flirt with the 1:50 mark under the right conditions. There will also be a carryover into the last race High-5 wager. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

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

From the PHHA / Pocono Downs