Harness: Pocono's Weiss Series provides some fillies to watch for 2021

Put the snow shovels away, shed one layer of clothing, and turn the page. Spring is upon us, and to me it's the most glorious season for harness racing, as it brings forth the first wave of potential talent in the 3-year-old ranks. The unveiling in the Northeast arrived this last week as The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono commenced April with the Bobby Weiss Series that offered more than a fair share of talent spread out among the four divisions of gait and sex for the sophomore set.

What the Weiss, and no doubt other competitive races, will accomplish in the next few weeks is quite important for a list of owners that spent the long winter hoping that last year's freshmen might indeed turn into more useful, perhaps stakes caliber, horses with some maturity.

It's important not to get too high or even too low at this point of the year when attempting to quantify what's witnessed on the racetrack. As the first three months of the year have shown, many horses can look very sharp and talented while dominating lesser competition. Only when faced with a strong challenge can anyone determine whether a horse will have the capacity to defeat tougher or not.

On Monday (April 5) the Weiss attracted a solid group of pacing fillies, and anyone that studies pedigrees even a little had to notice the presence of first-crop fillies from Always B Miki, out of broodmares by the late champion Somebeachsomewhere. You don't have to be a snob to like this cross and certainly with the "Beach" no longer available for stallion duty, his direct influence on the breed can be expected to come from a bevy of broodmares with his name attached.

That Always B Miki sired three of the four Weiss-winning fillies on Monday may not have come as a surprise since the victors looked to be standouts when the entries were drawn. Still, past performances can only tell you so much, as many of the fillies would be tested for toughness over the five-eighths-mile track. Always B Dancing and So Irresistible last dueled at the Meadowlands, where the latter scored a neck victory over the former on March 26 in a 1:54 mile. The pair of "Miki" fillies captured separate divisions on Monday, with Always B Dancing's 1:53 1/5 mile the faster, but So Irresistible's 1:54 tally requiring a bit more effort and a willingness to do so for the Bruce Saunders trainee.

Driver Marcus Miller captured the other pair of $17,500 first-rounders with a couple that showed a certain raciness that could tip off big things to come. Milieu Hanover, a $35,000 Harrisburg-sold daughter of Betting Line, showed a good amount of courage by decisively wearing down a pacesetter that had backed down the half in her 1:53 3/5 score. Milieu Hanover won just once in 10 starts at age 2, but has shown improvement now with her two straight sophomore triumphs without defeat.

"She was first-over," said Miller of the trip, "But I was lucky and was able to wait to pull her on the backstretch. She's a very nice filly."

Milieu Hanover is the first foal out of the $300K winner Mayhem Seelster. Looking a few generations back on the dam side, Capelo Rose, a daughter of the $750K-winning transcontinental mare Tupelo Rose N, has been extremely productive, with five of her first seven foals earning six figures. In that elite group is the multiple 2021 MGM Borgata Pacing Series division winner Rockapelo.

Miller appeared to know what he was sitting behind for the first time in driving Incaseyoudidntknow to victory in the fourth and final division on Monday.

"She's a tall and gorgeous filly," said Miller of the Les Givens-trained daughter of Always B Miki who posted the fastest (1:52 4/5) Weiss clocking in what appeared effortless fashion.

Incaseyoudidntknow made five starts as a freshman, but they all came from mid-November through December at Dover Downs, not exactly the time or place to prove what was in the tank. Nevertheless, Incaseyoudidntknow won four of those five juvenile starts, with the loss likely attributed to road trouble. Still, it was hard to know what to expect from the $55,000 Harrisburg yearling that hadn't shown a whole lot of early speed in her 2-year-old arsenal.

Miller found out quickly that Incaseyoudidntknow could in fact accelerate at the start, as he powered out quickly through the 27 4/5 opening quarter for the front. Miller yielded the point readily, but the pace continued hot, with Jane Diamond on the lead and being pressed by Carrington. The action led to a 55 3/5 half and Miller in a three-hole, but that didn't last very long as Anthony Napolitano pulled the pocket almost immediately after the half and went right back to regain the lead from Carrington. That left Miller without cover, and Incaseyoudidntknow went up to engage the leader through a 1:24 2/5 three-quarters. At that point it would have been no disgrace for the dueling leaders to pack it in, but Incaseyoudidntknow stormed home in 28 2/5 and looked well within herself (something Miller suggested) in a career-best mile.

From a pedigree perspective, there is a lot to like going back a few generations in Incaseyoudidntknow's family tree. She's out of In Deep Thought, a near $300K-winning daughter of Ponder that was a standout freshman on the PaSS circuit in 2010. She had previously had three foals, all by Art Major, prior to moving to champion Always B Miki. In Deep Thought was the lone foal out of Adoration, a half-sister to trainer Jack Darling's outstanding freshman from 1996, Decor. This could be a filly family, if such exists, as Decor's first foal was the $747K-winning mare Northern Sky.

It's spring, and it is early in the 3-year-old season, but there's a lot to get excited about when pacing fillies can take air and continue to charge hard through the finish line. The Weiss Series is certain to reveal some fillies we'll see in bigger stakes down the road.