MILLER AIMS FOR WEISS TITLE WITH DEVELOPING PAIR
Julie Miller will hope to see a couple of late bloomers continue their growth Monday (April 21) when they go behind the starting gate for the $50,000 Bobby Weiss Series final for 3-year-old male trotters at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs ...
HIGHTSTOWN, NJ -- April 20, 2025 -- Julie Miller will hope to see a couple of late bloomers continue their growth Monday (April 21) when they go behind the starting gate for the $50,000 Bobby Weiss Series final for 3-year-old male trotters at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs.
Miller-trained Green Mel, coming off a 4-1/4 length win in a division of last week’s third round of the series, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the final. His stablemate Te Quiero Lindy, who had a 5-1/4 length victory in a division of the event’s second round, is the 4-1 third choice.
Both trotters are eligible to the 100th edition of the Hambletonian Stakes in August at The Meadowlands, as are Weiss finalists Karinchak — the 3-1 second choice for trainer Ray Schnittker — and Luvutothemoonanbak, trained by Blake MacIntosh.
Te Quiero Lindy will leave from post one with Tyler Miller in the sulky. Green Mel will start from post four with Andy Miller driving.
“It’s a good final,” Miller said. “It should be interesting. Both of mine are late bloomers. Te Quiero Lindy needed time to mature at (age) 2 and it was kind of the same with Green Mel, where we had to wait on him at 2.
“We drew well. I’d like to be 1-2, that’s the plan. If that ends up being what happens, that would be great.”
Green Mel made his career debut in December at Harrah’s Philadelphia, where he won by 10-1/4 lengths in 1:57.1. He added a seven-length victory at Philly before the calendar turned to 2025, prompting Miller to stop with him and point toward the Weiss. The series is open to non-winners of two extended pari-mutuel races or $30,000 lifetime by Feb. 1.
In the Weiss, Green Mel made a break in his opener but came back to finish third. In the second round, he was second by a neck. His 1:55.2 victory in the third round equaled the time for the third-fastest race mile of the season by a 3-year-old trotter on a five-eighths-mile track.
“He’s got a really good gait, he doesn’t wear hobbles, and he tries,” Miller said. “The time he made the miscue, he kind of had some road trouble, but other than that he’s been pretty handy.”
Green Mel, a son of Greenshoe-Flyer Mel, is owned by Willow Oak Racing, Michael Anderson, and Andy Miller Stable.
Te Quiero Lindy, unraced last year, has four wins and two seconds in eight races this season. In addition to his victory in the second round of the Weiss Series, the son of Walner-Adios Lindy has two second-place finishes in the event.
He won three times at The Meadowlands before heading to Pocono for the Weiss. His only off-the-board finishes came in races when he went off stride.
“We raced him over the winter at The Meadowlands to give him some experience, and we thought this would be a good spot for him,” said Miller, who trains Te Quiero Lindy for owners Andy Miller Stable, Patrick Hoopes, and Lindy Farms of Connecticut. “Hopefully, he minds his manners. That’s what he’s been doing, so hopefully we can get a good chunk of this.”
As for the future, Miller is taking it one step at a time with her two late bloomers.
“First things first, it’s the Weiss,” she said.
Schnittker-trained Karinchak heads to Monday’s final off back-to-back wins, the most recent last week in 1:55.1 to equal the second-fastest race mile of the season by a sophomore trotter on a five-eighths. He will leave from post five with Matt Kakaley in the sulky.
Luvutothemoonanbak, who won his opener in the series, will start from post eight with driver Jim Marohn Jr. and is 12-1 on the morning line.
Racing begins at 1 p.m. (EDT) at Pocono Downs. For free TrackMaster past performances for Pocono, visit the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association website here.
