Pocono: Sophomore trotters battle in PA Sire Stakes action

Dandy became a double Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner in his 3-year-old trotting colt and gelding division, while Double Deceiver showed equal gameness and a faster time as these two won their $66,554 sections of the PaSS second prelim for the group Sunday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

In Double Deceiver's 1:53 victory, Kosher Mahoney went to the lead ahead of That Ole Bar Stool (a Sires winner in the first leg) and Ducasse, then saw those two briefly ponder moving early and then going back in after the 28 second quarter. This gave Kosher Mahoney a chance to get a breather to a 57 2/5 half, but then it was time to accelerate as the Cantab Hall gelding Double Deceiver came out uncovered before the five-eighths and trotted his own third panel in 27 seconds to be up to challenge the leader just past the 1:25 three-quarters.

Double Deceiver appeared to get a head ahead mid-far turn, but Kosher Mahoney fought back to equal terms in early stretch. However, David Miller was able to get more out of Double Deceiver late, and the pair crossed the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Kosher Mahoney. It was only the second start of the season for the winner of $281,498, who is trained by Carter Pisnke for Pinske Stables and Makenna Lynn Pinske.

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A rain shower passed over the track during the warmups of the second division, but the wetness did not dampen the determination of Dandy, who gave sire Cantab Hall a Sires double as he won by a neck in 1:54 1/5, a new mark.

Driver/owner Jacquie Ingrassia held Dandy mid-pack early as Donzel Hanover set fractions of 27 2/5 and 57 1/5, nearing the latter fraction moving her colt to the outside. She picked up cover in the middle of the backstretch from S I P, last year's Pennsylvania 2-year-old champion who upped the tempo to 1:24 4/5 at the three-quarters with his challenge, with Dandy hustling to stay with his cover (his own third quarter was 27 1/5) and then tipping wide into the lane.

Dandy and S I P had a big battle through the stretch, and the one-mindedness of Dandy, who digs in all the way to the wire in every race, served him well here as he beat the defending champ by a neck. Pour Mea Double, weaving through stretch traffic in tight quarters, just missed in the picture for second.

Dandy had a 5-1-0-2 scorecard for $9,027 and a 1:59.4 mark at two, but the development and pluckiness of the Frank Ingrassia trainee is reflected his seasonal log: 7-4-2-0, with earnings approaching six figures before the halfway point of the season.

--press release (Pocono/PHHA)--