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Delishka N paced to her fourth-straight victory – and topped the four longest shots in the field in the superfecta in posting a 1:52.1 win in the $15,700 distaff featured on a Sunday (July 25) card over a The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono surface that had been downgraded to “sloppy” by mid-card rain.
Anthony Napolitano, who led the Pocono drivers colony on the day with four victories, hustled the daughter of Bettors Delight away well from the pylons, pushing second-choice Eclipse Me N well past a :26.2 quarter before yielding for the pocket. Favoured Watch Me Now N came up first-over not that far past a :55 half, and the two favourites had a hard battle to a 1:23.1 three-quarters – helping the cause of the outsiders.
The Captaintreacherous sophomore filly Marsala Hanover, one of the top members of her state class last year and this, took a new mark of 1:50 on Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Bucking a trend on a front-end-favouring day, Marsala Hanover sat in the pocket for driver Scott Zeron when Classicist worked to the top, getting a fine journey behind fractions of :26.3, :54.4, and 1:22.2. Classicist proved a tough rival to overhaul late, but Zeron, guiding his third winner on the day, rallied the winner of $326,438 by late to post a half length decision for trainer Linda Toscano and the ownership of Let It Ride Stables Inc., Bottom Line Racing LLC, South Mountain Stables, and Little E LLC.
A trio of $15,300 contests for horses winning their way up the class ladder were the features on a Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono that turned stormy late in the card.
Mankat controlled the throttle from his rail starting position in the feature division for pacing males, posting fractions of :27.4, :56.2, and 1:23.3. Pocket-sitting Cigar Smoking Tony tried to catch him in the Pocono Pike, but Mankat was able to overcome that late threat by a neck in 1:51.2 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Christen Pantaleano, and owner Matthew Morrison, who has seen his son of Somebeachsomewhere win two straight and three of his last four.
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.