Thunder Hunter Joe not caught in Pocono feature – US Trotting News

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – Huntsville gelding Thunder Hunter Joe had a change of scenery on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 25, at Pocono Downs in Mohegan, Pa., as the four-year-old gelding, usually a late charge, went wire-to-wire in 1 : 49.4 taking the pace of $17,000.

A first quarter of :26 didn’t faze “Joe”, as he continued with gaps of :55.1 and 1:22.2 and won by a comfortable three lengths to take his winnings to 399 $970 for David Hamm, Glenn Phillips and Christopher Giaccio. Thunder Hunter Joe rider Braxten Boyd led all Pocono riders Tuesday with four winners, and his trainer Nicholas Devita was the only conditioner to double, with both winners handled by Boyd.

Thunder Hunter Joe proved uncatchable in winning the Pocono feature on Tuesday in 1:49.4. Photo of Salonika.

There were two $15,000 competitions for horse development in the co-feature slots. On pace, Tellitlikeitis gelding Lovers Trouble recorded his second straight victory, setting most of the pace here and coming home in :55.3 to stop the clock in 1:52.1 for rider Ridge Warren, l trainer Jenn Bongiorno and owners JB Racing and Evans. Nation. On the trot, driver Mattias Melander gradually brought Greenshoe colt Luke The Spook up from the middle of the pack, proving to have the latest kick in 1:56 for trainer/brother Marcus Melander and AM Bloodstock Inc.

Pocono racing resumes Saturday at 1 p.m.; featured will be a $25,000 open pace with a field of six owning a lifetime average mark of 1:48.2, and the Pocono 2024 standard of 1:49.1 may well drop given the good weather. Sunday’s 6 p.m. card features the first stakes action of 2024 for two-year-olds, three $30,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars trotting colt. Free Pocono programs will be available at www.phha.org.