Mankat was out most of the quarter in one of the three $15,300 feature races during a sweltering Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, but from there the four-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere was never threatened while lowering his mark to 1:50.4 in the division for male pacers.
Mankat, starting from post three, was kept outside most of the :26.3 opener by Horse to his immediate inside, but after using his horse to control the throttle, driver Jim Pantaleano was able to back off the half to a moderate :55.4. Mankat had to speed up again as favoured Tell Them Lou made a steady charge up to and past the 1:22.4 three-quarters, but though the chalk did well he had to settle for second, a length behind the Christen Pantaleano trainee, now a winner of two of his last three (and with two more races of eligibility in this class) for owner Matthew Morrison.
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The four-year-old Bolt The Duer gelding Blank Stare, a winner in his New York Sire Stakes Championship last season, finally broke through after a series of close finishes to post his first 2021 victory, a 1:51.3 win in the pacing half of twin $15,300 features on Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
The track was still listed “sloppy +1” after morning rains (which had stopped) when the feature field took to the track, with Im A Gigolo N taking the field past the quarter in :27.3 and then yielding to Tell Them Lou before the :55.3 half. Blank Stare remained fourth, directly behind Cigar Smoking Tony, as that one would start out first-over past mid-backstretch and would challenge the leader by the 1:24 three quarters. In the stretch Cigar Smoking Tony grinded down Tell Them Lou, but then could not resist the inch-by-inch relentless gain of Blank Stare, who got by Cigar Smoking Tony by a head, with Tell Then All missing it all by only a half length.
Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino played host to a stakes filled card on Friday, May 21 and with it officially kicked off the 2021 Indiana Sires Stakes season.
The Hoosier State’s top sophomore trotters and pacers were on display and served notice that the 2021 stakes season would deliver plenty of excitement. The 2021 Indiana Sires Stakes program will feature eight legs throughout the season and culminate with the $250,000 Super Finals on October 15.
It was a big night on the track for trainer Erv Miller who scored three stakes victories on the evening’s 13-race card. The most notable score of the evening for Team Miller was produced by the rookie three-year-old trotting colt Mallard Hanover who turned in a 1:52.4 effort to romp in the opening division of the Indiana Sires Stakes for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings.