Breezy Hall leads the way as Napolitano lands five

WILKES-BARRE PA – The Cantab Hall harness racing gelding Breezy Hall, still showing a victory for a $15,000 tag at the bottom of his lines, stepped all the way up to $40,000 claiming country in the $18,500 featured fast-class trot at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania Monday afternoon, and he made every pole a winning one with a 1:53.4 mile, just two fifths off his lifetime best.

Anthony Napolitano got the driving call as trainer-owner Mark Akins had two horses in the class, one he co-owns with Simon Allard (A 1 Racing), so Allard had to drive that one. “A  Nap” reached the quarter in front in :27.4, then despite a stretch tailwind was able to back off the half to :57.1, a very helpful breather. The three-quarters came and went in 1:25.2 with Breezy Hall in control, and the potential pocket rocket Cassius Hanover (now 28-1-11-11 for the year) could get no closer than 1¼ lengths at the finish as Breezy Hall dug down and showed gameness to the wire. Allard and Sapphirerainstar took third after an uncovered journey.

BREEZY HALL REPLAY

The $16,000 second-level fast-class trot was also captured by Anthony Napolitano, as the International Moni gelding Sainthood notched his second win in three starts, this one in 1:53.4, for trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and owner Bay Pond Racing Stable. Sainthood started a pace-controlling move at the quarter, made the lead nearing the second turn. then was able to maintain his advantage to the finish, finishing three parts of a length in front of 29-1 One After Nine (one of two last choices in the tote that Jim Pantaleano guided to second place on Monday; more on the other in a minute).

There were two divisions of a $15,500 class for developing horses. The trotting section went to the Googoo Gaagaa sophomore filly R Perfect Goo, starting from post one and putting up a “picket fence” in the wire-to-wire 1:54.3 victory for trainer John Butenschoen and lessees M & L DE / Armitage Farm. Second, 1¼ lengths back, was Pantaleano and the 226.50-1 bomber Double Arch, who paid $108.40 to show after a show pool bridgejumper saw the favorite come fourth.

The other race for up-and-coming horses, restricted to pacing females, went to the Heston Blue Chip three-year-old Andiamo, who also used engine tactics while finishing her mile three quarters of a length ahead of House Blend and equaling her mark of 1:52.3 for driver Braxten Boyd, trainer Robert Cleary, and the partnership of Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Lawrence Rosen.

Boyd won the last race and Ron Cushing the first; the intervening eleven races went to only three drivers: Anthony Napolitano (five) and Tyler Buter and Ridge Warren (three each). Peter Pellegrino was the only doubling trainer on the day.

The Pocono racing week closes on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. card, featuring three $30,000 divisions of the Super Bowl, the two-year-old trotting male event in the John Simpson Sr. stakes series. There will also be a carryover into the fourth race Pick 3 wager. 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