Hempt elims held at Pocono

One More Laugh and Fred And Ginger appear headed for a showdown in next weekend’s Max C. Hempt Stakes for 3-year-old pacers after the two heavy favorites picked up elimination wins on Saturday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.  The eliminations each carried a purse of $37,500.

 

In the first elimination, One More Laugh, leaving from post position five in a field of seven as the 1-9 favorite, quickly paced to the early lead.  Despite the fact that he hadn’t raced in over six months, the gelding, well-rated by driver Tim Tetrick for trainer Ray Schnittker, controlled matters on the front end to win by three parts of a length in 1:51:3.  Europan Union finished second while Shark’s Legacy got the show.

 

One More Laugh, sired by McArdle, now owns 10 wins in 13 starts in his career.  With the win, his career earnings soared over $613,000.

 

In the second split, it was Fred And Ginger’s turn to dominate on the front end.  Fresh off a near-miss second-place finish at the Meadowlands in the Berry’s Creek final, the colt, leaving from the inside post in the seven-horse field as a 1-5 sure shot, was sent for the lead around the first turn by driver Dave Palone and cleared just shy of the 3/8-mile marker.  From there on out, the standout from the Mickey Burke barn kept everyone at bay to win by 1 ¼ lengths in a career-best 1:50:4.  Pang Shui picked up second while Indelible Hanover was third.

 

Fred And Ginger, sired by Real Artist, won for the second time in four tries this year and earned his fourth career victory.  The winner’s share of the purse pushed his career earnings over $157,000.

 

In addition to the top three finishers in each division, three other horses qualified for the $300,000 final next Saturday at Pocono.  Lap Hanover and Philanthropist qualified by finishing fourth in their splits while Sand Savage earned the last spot in the field by posting the faster fifth-place time of the two divisions. (Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs)