For the first time since April, temperatures for evening harness racing at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono dropped down into what we'll call the chilly range. Winds also picked up, often blowing at flag-whipping speeds, which meant that drivers once again had to be concerned with weather other than rain messing up their game plans. It made for a fascinating week of racing, and the best performances of the week gone by are now immortalized with our Weekly Awards.

PACER OF THE WEEK: DR C'S Z TAM

When you win once in surprising a fashion, it can be a fluke. When you do it twice in a row, it just may be the start of a trend. On October 1 in a $20,000 claiming pace at Pocono, Dr C's Z Tam stunned the field with a rallying victory at 21-1 in a career-best 1:51:2. As impressive as that win was, it didn't quite convince the betting public that this ten-year-old gelding from the Alex Kavoleff barn was bound for better things, which is why he went off at 8-1 against the same $20,000 claiming class on Saturday night.

In the race on Saturday night, Dr C's Z Tam stayed relatively close to a sizzling early pace set by Nathan Feelsgood. The 3-5 favorite Mighty Peruvian N attempted to take the engine away but couldn't get past. It looked for all the world as they rounded the final turn that Nathan Feelsgood would go all the way on the front end for the victory.

But driver Eric Carlson swung Dr C's Z Tam wide around the final turn, and the fact that he had stuck around near the lead meant that he had a deficit that was surmountable. With a sudden surge Dr C's Z Tam sped by and upended Nathan Feelsgood in a thrilling finish by a head. Not only was it the veteran gelding's second straight win, but it came in a sizzling time of 1:49:3, which reset his career best by nearly two full seconds.

Other top pacers this week include: Somewhere In L A (Anthony Napolitano, Ron Burke), who arrived from Yonkers and tore up the track on Saturday night in a condition win in 1:48:4, a new career-best time and the fastest pacing time of the week at Pocono; Rockin Rambaran (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), who blitzed a claiming handicap field for a win in 1:50, giving him three wins in a row, the last two of which were at Pocono; and Yes You Can (Jim Marohn Jr., Tony Dinges), who captured the featured condition pace for mares on Tuesday night in 1:51 for her second straight victory in the class.

TROTTER OF THE WEEK: DOUBLE L LINDY

When the Pocono faithful last saw Double L Lindy before his return on Sunday night, he was going gate to wire to handle a field of non-winners of three trotters on August 30, winning in a career-best time of 1:55:1. His travels in September took him to the Meadowlands and Yonkers, and he was victorious in a start apiece at those venerable tracks.

That meant that the three-year-old gelding from the Ake Svanstedt barn returned on a three-race winning streak to face the non-winners of five on Sunday night. It also meant that he had the target on his tail as the 1-5 favorite. But if there was any pressure on Double L Lindy, he certainly didn't seem to show or feel it. From the very first step of the race he took the lead, and then steadily lengthened that advantage as the race progressed.

By the time the field rounded the final turn, Double L Lindy had forged a huge lead, which he fortified throughout the home stretch. Driver Anthony Napolitano could relax as the gelding came home in front by a stunning 19½ lengths. He also managed to set a new lifetime mark of 1:53 in the process. That winning streak, now at four, just may continue, but something tells me that Double L Lindy will be hard-pressed to notch a win as impressive as this romp was in the future.

Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Bourbon Bay (Anthony Napolitano, Ake Svanstedt), whose victory over a condition field on Saturday night in 1:52:3 was the fastest trotting time of the week; Crazy Smart (Anthony Napolitano, Michael Sinclair), a two-year-old filly who notched her second straight condition win on Monday night, this one coming in a career-best 1:57:2; and What A Peach (Simon Allard, Pierre Paradis), who notched his third consecutive condition victory on Tuesday night in 1:55:4.

LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: LOW CARD

The chalk did most of the talking this week, meaning that the victory by this condition pacer driven by Jim Marohn Jr. at 9-1 on Monday night takes the title with a modest $20.80 payout on a $2 win ticket.

DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANTHONY NAPOLITANO

It was another red-hot week for A-Nap, as he ripped through a three-night stretch on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with 11 driving victories.

TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ANDREW HARRIS

With each passing week it seems like Harris makes more of an impact on the Pocono proceedings; this week he notched three more training wins, including a double on Saturday.

That will do it for this week, but we'll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at jbeviglia@mohegansunpocono.com.