Pocono: Abbess engineers Pennsylvania All-Stars surprise

The longest shot on the board in her first lifetime start, Abbess, won the fastest of three $30,000 closely-contested divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for 2-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 4/5, and 1:27 2/5. The light bulb went on for Abbess around the far turn, as she completed a personal 57 second 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.

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 4/5 and 1:00 2/5, Ginger Tree Lex went first-over with a 27 3/5 brush that saw her pass Lainey W to the lead at the 1:28 2/5 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 1:57 1/5, 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.

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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 1/5. The latter sat in the pocket as Shoestrings set splits of 29, 59 1/5 and 1:28 4/5, then closed a little into a 28 1/5 last quarter, but not enough to defeat Shoestrings, who was driven by Jim Marohn Jr. for trainer-owner D. R. Ackerman.

Though he won no stakes events, trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt drove three horses from his barn to victory, by a combined 17 3/4 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.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--