Pocono: Real Cool Sam, Big Oil share top billing in PA All-Stars

Six $30,000 divisions of Pennsylvania All-Stars stakes action for 2-year-old trotting males were featured Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with enough pedigree and precociousness showing that fans of the mountain oval may have seen a starter or two in the 2020 Hambletonian, a race 13 months to the day in the future.

Two of the winners set season’s records in 1:55 2/5; the one with the more adventurous journey was the gelding Real Cool Sam, whose sire Muscle Hill had four stallion credits in the six All-Stars races and whose mother Cooler Schooner set a 1:51 3/5 world record at Pocono as a freshman. David Miller settled the winner, who won his purse bow in 1:56 at Philly, in fourth early as double purse winner and favored (both were 4-5 on the board) Paulie Walnuts went down the road in 28 1/5, 57 4/5, and 1:26 2/5, with the winner moving right to him approaching the three-quarters.

Real Cool Sam was working by Paulie Walnuts late on the turn when he suddenly bore out three-wide nearing headstretch, where the Pocono paddock is located, and Paulie Walnuts found himself back on a clear lead. But Miller soon straightened out the Jim Campbell-trained freshman, and despite the detour, “Sam” won in 1:55 2/5, within two-fifths of a second of the world record for the division (Correctamundo, Mississippi Storm, White Tiger) – on July 9 -- and a season’s record for baby geldings on any size of track. Paulie Walnuts could not respond to Real Cool Sam’s resurgence and made a late break, finishing second, 5 3/4 lengths behind the budding star, owned and bred by Fashion Farms LLC.

The other 1:55 2/5 mile fell to Big Oil, a son of Pocono freshman track record-holder Father Patrick and out of the half-million-dollar-winning Cee Bee Yes. Big Oil also took the tuck-then-first-over route for driver Andy Miller, but he was the recipient of good fortune when Legion Of Honor, who moved to the lead after a 27 4/5 opener and set middle fractions of 57 4/5 and 1:26 2/5, made a break nearing headstretch fighting against the winner. Big Oil took a 2 1/4 length margin over favored Expectations under the wire in his purse bow for trainer Julie Miller and owners Joseph, Douglas, and Ronald Allen while also rewriting the North American season’s standard for colts.

Trainer Marcus Melander, who has been dominating the 3-year-old colt stakes, won the first two divisions of this freshman action with Muscle Hill colts making their purse bows. One was with Rome Pays Off, who is out of the mare Order By Wish – which makes him a full brother to Marseille, who ironically defeated Melander’s big gun Greenshoe at Pocono in the recent Beal Championship. Mattias Melander raced Rome Pays Off in the pocket behind pace-setter Vinny De Vie, then went to the Pocono Pike and overhauled that rival by three-quarters of a length in 1:58 1/5, closing into a 58 2/5 back-half for the S R F Stable.

Marcus Melander then teamed with driver Brian Sears (the Greenshoe combo) to win with Swedish-bred Hellbent For AM, out of the mare Nalda Nof, who came first-over, made the lead in the lane, then held off the horse on his back, Patriarch Hanover, by a neck in 1:56 1/5 for Courant Inc. The time was a season’s record for 18 minutes until Big Oil came along, and a tick shy of the time he recorded in a dead-heat qualifying win.

The Explosive Matter colt Can’t Say No, a $78.60 shocker winning his purse debut at Pocono, saw the crowd back him Monday to favoritism, and he and trainer/driver Ray Schnittker responded with a wire-to-wire win in 1:55 4/5, a new mark. Steel Schooner was good in the pocket but at the finish could get no closer than 1 1/4 lengths behind Can’t Say No, who is co-owned by Schnittker in partnership with Steven Arnold, Arden Homestead Stable, and Fred Hertrich III.

The other of Muscle Hill’s winning sons was Mister Walker, the first foal out of world champion mare D’Orsay, who was successful in his first start for a purse in 1:57 1/5. Corey Callahan got the youngster going quickly raw out of fifth down the back, and Mister Walker gobbled up the ground (his own last half in 57 3/5) to reach pace-setter Dublin, then overhauled that rival by three-parts of a length for trainer Jonas Czernyson and Consus Racing Stable Inc.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--