Pocono: Allegra Hanover best in her Bobby Weiss Series final

Allegra Hanover went into the $50,000 Bobby Weiss Series Championship for 3-year-old pacing fillies with two wins and a nose loss in the preliminaries; the filly who beat her was Strutsville, who was the only horse who won all three of her prelims.

But Allegra Hanover drew the inside for Monday's Weiss finale at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania and Strutsville had post seven - quite the reverse from their last meeting. The wagering public flocked to Allegra Hanover, and they were rewarded when the daughter of Papi Rob Hanover came away with a 1:52 2/5 victory over her archrival.

Sweet Odds (also a two-time prelim winner) and Strutsville were fastest away from the gate, with the latter claiming the point, but Allegra Hanover was already out and moving frontward for Dexter Dunn by the 27 4/5 quarter. Allegra Hanover got command, and nobody was eager to challenge her through mid-splits of 56 2/5 and 1:24 1/5. Strutsville (to the outside) and Sweet Odds (to the inside) took their shot in the stretch, but Allegra Hanover won by a length over the potential pocket rocket, with Sweet Odds another 1 1/2 lengths back.

Allegra Hanover posted only one victory at two, but that win gave her her career best clocking of 1:51 3/5. The filly is now four-for-five (plus the nose loss) this year, and that lifetime standard may not be standing much longer for the filly, trainer Gareth Dowse, and the ownership of Martin Valentic, T G Stable LLC., and Bill Boyce.

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A $20,000 Weiss Consolation saw the Tall Dark Stranger filly Beckoning Yankee reduce her speed badge to 1:53 2/5 after taking control in front of the stands, then holding off the late-charging Milagro by a head. Nifty Norman trains the successful filly for Pinske Stables, Yankeeland Partners LLP., and Lawrence Means.

Red-hot driver Tyler Buter, the Pocono leader who was the pilot of Beckoning Yankee, added four winners on the Monday afternoon program; when added to the six-bagger he posted on Sunday night, Buter had ten visits to the winner's circle within a 24-hour period.

Tuesday racing at 1 p.m. closes out the current four-card-a-week schedule; the $16,000 tenth race claiming handicap trotting feature marks the return of the remarkable Chapolier, who is eight-for-eight at the Pocono meet but will have to overcome the outside post eight if he is to continue his undefeated status in 2025 at the mountain oval. On Saturday, the Pennsylvania All-Stars will mark the start of the state-bred stakes season with five $30,000 divisions for the "glamour boys," the 3-year-old pacing males.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--