The Windsong Espoir gelding Clarion Hall made a successful debut for the barn of Gilbert Garcia-Herrera, the leading trainer at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with driver Anthony Napolitano finding enough room up the inside to reduce the trotter’s mark to 1:54.4 in winning the $12,800 claiming handicap trot Monday (May 17).
Clarion Hall got early position then stayed inside and found himself shuffled back through quite a few lead changes, entering the stretch in the difficult fourth-inside position. However, the pace had been hot, and Napolitano was able to rally his charge up the "Pocono Pike" to catch the pacesetting Stop Resistin right on the money.