New Zealand import gets first USA win

WILKES-BARRE, PA – New Zealand import, Thebeaudenblues N, picked up his first U.S. harness racing victory in the $15,000 pacing section of the featured class Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 20) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, while Bourbon Courage got back into the win column after an absence of almost two years in the trotting feature.

Thebeaudenblues N, a Betterthancheddar gelding trained by Jose Godinez for Godinez Racing Stable LLC and Jhonatan Garcia Guia, worked hard to a :27.1 quarter to get by favored Hard To Catch, then yielded to the frontstretch brush of Forward Look. The last-named pacer put up the middle splits of :55.3 and 1:23.1, with Hard To Catch on the move again on the far turn, but driver Anthony Napolitano was able to summon the needed rally in the Pocono Pike as Thebeaudenblues N to go past Forward Look by three-quarters of a length. The winner’s final time was 1:51.2.

THEBEAUDENBLUES N REPLAY

Bourbon Courage, a son of You Know You Do who was a stakes winner in Indiana and Kentucky at two but had not been able to regain that form, showed powerful strides in taking the diamondgaited feature in 1:54.4. Ridge Warren raced Bourbon Courage just off of fractions of :28.2, :56.2, and 1:25.1, then moved out to sweep to the lead nearing headstretch and drew off by two lengths over Creedmore.

Erv Miller trains the resurgent trotter for Doug Overhiser, D & M Trading II LLC, and Anthony Lombardi.

BOURBON COURAGE REPLAY

Anthony Napolitano also won both ends of the Late Double to make him leading driver on the day with four victories.

Racing resumes on Saturday at Pocono at 1 p.m., with the feature a $22,000 pace for Pennsylvania-sired three-year-old colt pacers, giving some of the entrants a race before they go to The Meadows for their final Sire Stakes/Stallion Series prelim next Friday night. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

From the PHHA / Pocono Downs