The four $12,500 divisions of Sunday’s (March 27) third and final preliminary in the Game Of Claims Series for $15,000-base price trotting claimers at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono had several commonalities: all four favourites won, and all four winners would be starting for different stables in next Sunday’s $25,000 Championship – just as the four winners have changed barns after every start they made in the preliminaries.
Fastest of the four victorious trotters was Buzz, who went down the road for driver Jim Pantaleano, holding off Matts Muscles by a neck in 1:56.4. A first and a second in his only two series starts seems to be enough to get Buzz into the Championship.
George Napolitano Jr. navigated two winners to their second Game Of Claims victories: first came Sundancediamond in 1:57, and then R Herbie Chip in 1:57.2. These two were the only double winners in the preliminaries of this branch of the Game Of Claims. (As for Napolitano, perennial top gun at Pocono, he has been eclipsed a bit by Matt Kakaley early in the meet, but he had three winners on Sunday to tie Tyler Buter for the twilight card’s honors, and now has 33 victories in but thirteen cards this year, fine driving over anyone’s racetrack.)
The other third-round winner was Banzai As, who also was the only successful horse not to use front-stepping tactics on a generally speed-favouring night: he was put into grind mode by Marcus Miller and kept on going for a victory in 1:57.
Monday’s (March 28) 1:30 p.m. card at Pocono will feature two more Game Of Claims Championship: a $20,000 contest for horses who started with a $10,000 base price, and a $15,000 finale for horse valued at $7500, with P L Leeroy and Sammy The Bull N the early favorites in their respective Championships. Program pages are available on the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Pocono)