Wilkes-Barre, PA — The longest shot on the board in her first lifetime start, Abbess won the fastest of three $30,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Tuesday afternoon (July 8) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
A daughter of Father Patrick-Dew Can Dew who showed only a second-place finish in a qualifying line for trainer Chase Vandervort, 25-1 outsider Abbess was kept near the back of the field as several of the favorites argued fractions of :28.2, :58.4 and 1:27.2. The light bulb went on for Abbess around the far turn, as she completed an individually timed :57 last half and closed from fifth at the stretch call to garner a neck victory over Contrition, who photoed Litt Up for place. Tim Tetrick drove Abbess for owners Arden Homestead Stable.
Abbess scored a 25-1 upset in Pennsylvania All-Stars competition Tuesday at Pocono. Curtis Salonick photo.
After winning a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes 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 and 1:00.2, Ginger Tree Lex went first-over with a :27.3 brush that saw her pass Lainey W to the lead at the 1:28.2 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, equaling her mark. Matt Kakaley drove for trainer Steve Cook and owners Sam Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures LLC, Knollview Stable 2 and Robert Reber Jr.
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. The latter sat in the pocket as Shoestrings set splits of :29, :59.1 and 1:28.4, then closed a little into a :28.1 last quarter, but not enough to defeat Shoestrings, whom Jim Marohn Jr. drive for trainer-owner D.R. Ackerman.
Though he won no stakes events, trainer Åke Svanstedt drove three horses from his barn to victory, by a combined 17-3/4 lengths, to lead the Pocono horsepeople in both categories on Tuesday.
Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday (July 12) at 1 p.m., and an instant possible bonanza awaits fans: there will be a $1,389.50 carryover into the first-race superfecta. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.