Pocono: Laterza thrilled with the results of his Weiss Series standout

When Braylon Mullins sank a 35-foot shot to propel Connecticut to the Final Four on March 29 over Duke, somehow I got the feeling we'd seen this ending before. No matter the exquisite drama, basketball over time has evolved and with it the aspect of freshmen in college hitting big shots has become more commonplace than I would have ever imagined. Even the distance the shot was taken from, while deep, has been attempted and converted many times in games with less meaning.

Just a few days after the game at a sporting event in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, a 3-year-old put on a performance I thought more remarkable. Twin B Thriller, making his first start of the year after just two 1:55 qualifying miles, scorched the Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania five-eighths oval in 1:49 4/5 to capture a division in the first round of the Bobby Weiss Series.

While Mullins was a high recruit, the same could not be said for Twin B Thriller, a horse that proved unwanted by his owner late last year and found a new home with Dennis A. Laterza following an exchange at the Harrisburg Mixed sale. The price, just $27,000, was a fraction of what most people would pay for a horse following the Weiss victory, but a bit of a gamble on the purchase day.

"There was a reason," said Laterza when asked about the price paid for the son of Always B Miki. "He hit his knees really badly."

So, despite four wins in six tries as a freshman and a 1:52 4/5 record taken at Pocono in September, Laterza was able to walk away from Harrisburg and bring the then 2-year-old to Yonkers to train and prepare for a 3-year-old season for very little money.

"What I was looking for was a horse that could race in $30,000 claimers at Yonkers," Laterza said, suggesting he hadn't set his sights very high in the early days following the purchase. "We made some shoeing changes and he was better, but he still does hit his knees."

Twin B Thriller trained down nicely over the winter with Laterza, who is stabled at Yonkers, using the half-mile track to get him conditioned in advance of his 2026 debut. "He qualified well both times at Pocono, and I felt he was ready when we put him in the Weiss," said Laterza.

Still, it was hard to imagine that Laterza or anyone from his camp expected Twin B Thriller to go sub-1:50 at first asking.

"George (Napolitano Jr.) had other choices in the race and he took our horse," said Laterza of the confidence he had going in. "The time surprised me a little, but I thought he was fit going into the race and George drove him to win."

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Twin B Thriller was under pressure for most of the first-half in his April 4 debut, cutting fractions of 26 4/5 and 53 4/5 while parking the 2-5 favorite Stingman mercilessly. A 27 2/5 third quarter gave him some separation, but when Southwind Galvestn, a horse trained by Kevin Lare, the former conditioner of Twin B Thriller, came up on the final turn it appeared Twin B Thriller was in trouble. It turned out to be the opposite as the colt marched on to a victory with his rival spent from chasing and weaker in the end.

Laterza had spoken to Lare following the purchase and since and was grateful for the input. "He's been a true gentleman," Laterza said of Lare. "After the race he came right over to congratulate me."

Obviously the opening-leg victory was just race one in a 3-year-old season that could prove a lot more lucrative for Laterza and the owners should success continue.

"He was a bit tired after the race, but he cooled out fine and was full of himself the next day," said Laterza, who perhaps in the past might have been concerned that the race was too much to ask of a young horse. Yet, just as basketball has evolved into a three-point shooting contest, so has racing when it comes to preparing for a first race and recognizing that the 1:50 barrier is no longer the end point but in fact the starting point to the season.

The good news for Laterza and company was that Twin B Thriller didn't bounce off his opening-week performance, but he did get a nice breather as the 3-10 favorite on April 11. In the Weiss second round he got all of the respect of his rivals and was able to cut more sensible fractions, hitting the half nearly three full seconds slower in 56 3/5 this time and racing a back-half in 55 seconds flat for a second straight victory.

"He's eligible to the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes," said Laterza, only looking briefly down the road to imagine what could be next for Twin B Thriller following the Weiss Series.

Next right now will be this Saturday's third round of the series. With Twin B Thriller already assured a spot in the final, he'll face five others in the eighth race, a $17,500 contest from post two.

A virtual unknown coming into the series, Twin B Thriller now must try to prove that he can deal with hitting a knee here or there and still march on successfully. He looked to do that in the second leg of the series briefly on the final turn with Napolitano chilly in the bike. While just a $7,000 yearling with conformation that may have been an indication of future issues, it should be noted that Twin B Speed Dial, a half-brother to Twin B Thriller's dam Twin B Captivating, went on to race 252 times (including five in 2026) with 43 wins. Twin B Speed Dial had a very similar 2-year-old season.

The third round of the Weiss drew just 18 horses, with three $17,500 divisions carded as races four, six and eight on the 14-race program. Twin B Thriller will again meet Stingman (post six), a gelded son of Perfect Sting that had captured his first four starts at The Meadows prior to the Weiss and has gone down as beaten favorite in the two legs. First-leg winner Magic Monarch (post four) has three wins in seven starts this year.

In the opening Weiss division (race four), Vizcaya hopes to visit the winner's circle for the first time in the series, having won the first leg but getting disqualified and then coming up a neck short following a solid pace-setting mile in the second round on April 11. Vizcaya (post one) faces second-leg winner Northern Attitude (post 5).

Barrow, a winner in four of five starts this year, could be a lukewarm choice in the sixth race division from post six. Barrow paid the price of attempting to leave in last week's effort against Twin B Thriller. He was put up in the opening leg following a second-place finish and looks to rebound for trainer Brett Pelling.

The $50,000 Bobby Weiss series final for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers is slated for April 25.