WILKES-BARRE PA – The longest shot on the board in her first lifetime start, Abbess won the fastest of three $30,000 closely-contested harness racing divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for two-year-old trotting fillies on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.

A daughter of Father Patrick – Dew Can Dew who showed only a second in a qualifying line for trainer Chase Vandervort, Abbess was kept near the back of the field as several of the favorites argued fractions of :28.2, :58.4, and 1:27.2. The light bulb went on for Abbess around the far turn, as she completed a personal :57 last half and closed from fifth at the stretch call to garner a neck victory over Contrition, who photoed Litt Up for place. The remainder of Abbess’s connections are not ones you would associate with 25-1 odds but would with stakes success: driver Tim Tetrick and owners Arden Homestead Stable.

ABBESS REPLAY

After winning a Pennsylvania Sire Stake event in her last start, the Bar Hopping – Perfect Chance miss Ginger Tree Lex added another stakes credit to her burgeoning resume with a defeat of a game Lainey W by a nose.

After fractions of :29.4 and 1:00.2, first-over Ginger Tree Lex went first-over with a :27.3 brush that saw her pass Lainey W to the lead at the 1:28.2 three-quarters. But the former leader was not finished and narrowed back in gamely, with Ginger Tree Lex proving just a nose more photogenic in 17.1, equaling her mark.

Matt Kakaley was the driver for trainer Steve Cook and owners Sam Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures LLC, Knollview Stable 2, and Robert Reber Jr.

GINGER TREE LEX REPLAY

The Greenshoe – Tricky Sister filly Shoestrings, third in a Sire Stakes event  in her purse debut, had the “easiest” All-Stars victory, by three parts of a length over French Echo in a new mark of 1:57.1. The latter sat in the pocket as Shoestrings set splits of :29, :59.1, and 1:28.4, then closed a little into a :28.1 last quarter, but not enough to defeat Shoestrings, who was driven by Jim Marohn Jr. for trainer-owner D. R. Ackerman.

SHOESTRINGS REPLAY

Though he won no stakes events, trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt drove three horses from his barn to victory, by a combined 17¾ lengths, to lead the Pocono horsemen in both categories on Tuesday.

Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday at 1 p.m., and an instant possible bonanza awaits fans – there will be carryover into the first race Superfecta. 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 Downs