You Got Me an easy winner at Pocono

WILKES-BARRE PA – You Got Me (Chapter Seven) raced to a strong 1:54 engine harness racing victory in the $15,500 featured claiming handicap trot Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.

All of the five outermost starters were away briskly, with You Got It, a four-year-old, parked with cover well past the :27.4 quarter, then going on to the lead approaching the second turn and a :56.3 half. Once on the point the winner left no doubt he was going to be best this day, passing the three-quarters in 1:25.1 then stretching a two length stretch margin to six lengths at the wire for driver George Napolitano Jr.

YOU GOT IT REPLAY

The only negative note for the horse’s connections, trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and owners Vincent Ferriero Jr., Jeffrey Glenn Hess, and Pint Size Racing Stable LLC, is that they are no longer the horse’s connections, as the winner was taken on a $31,250 claim. At least You Got Me departs leaving a $7750 winner’s check behind.

The Tuesday subfeatures were a quartet of $15,000 events for classclimbing younger horses, with two races for each gait. The pacing males were led by Yankee Clout, a Sweet Lou gelding who won by a nose here in his last start in 1:52.2, then here doubled his winning margin – to a head – while tying his newly-established best. The pocket rocket caught pacesetter Always B Elvis for Team Whelan – driver Michael and trainer Walter – and owner Christopher Nicol.

In the distaff pace, the Roll With Joe three-year-old filly She’s Got It (no relation to feature winner You Got It, starting with the gait) had finished second in a photo in her last three starts, but here she was on the winning side of the picture while lowering her mark four seconds to 1:52.4. Matt Kakaley raced the winner on the lead, shook off the outer tier opposition, then withstood a late burst by 48-1 shot Big City Daisy to win by a nose for trainer Cory Stratton and owner James Crawford IV.

The trotters were not divided by sex. In one section, the Ready Cash sophomore gelding Big Ben Pellini S, who authored a 1:52.1 mile here on a 91-degree day in July, didn’t need to go as much during Tuesday’s 48-degree climes, working up to the lead past the first turn and winning fairly comfortably in 1:55.3. Ridge Warren handled the three-year-old, unraced at two and a winner in half his eight starts, for trainer Åke Svanstedt and Order By Stable AB.

In the other subfeature trot, the Alarm Detector mare Shiny New Penny saved every bit of ground, then had enough late to defeat Kelly’s Greatest by a neck in 1:55.4. The winner, owned by Jaypaul Hoover, was driven by Ridge Warren and trained by Anthony Faulkner, who both appear in the next paragraph.

Tyler Buter posted four driving victories on the day; Ridge Warren had three. Trainer Anthony Faulkner sent out two winners, after just rejoining the ranks of conditioners after twelve years away; Robert Cleary also harnessed a pair of winners.

Racing resumes on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a solid band of overnight horses across many classes. On Monday’s and Tuesday’s cards, both of which also begin at 1 p.m., there will be Simpson Series stakes action for freshman fillies and sophomore pacers, with in excess of $450,000 scheduled to be on the line in the stakes competition.

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