Pompano Park offered a pair of $17,000 memorial trotting races on Wednesday night (March 14) honouring the memory of two longtime horsemen, Fred Cohen and Paul Bernardo.
Ironically, both events, carded at the added distance of one and a quarter miles, were won by residents of the Mike Deters Stable – Second Sister and Prairie Fortune – with both driven to victory by ‘The Cardiac Kid,’ Jim Meittinis.
Second Sister, a six-year-old daughter of Deweycheatumnhowe, was given a picture perfect drive by Meittinis to score a win which measured two and a quarter lengths over Vicki All, handled by J.D. Yoder. Diamond Dagger, who was last turning for home, rallied for third under the direction of Andy Shetler. Celebrity Artemis finished fourth while Explosive Jet picked up the minor award in the classy septet.
At the outset, Shes All In burst off the wings from Post 6 for the early lead while Post 5 starter Second Sister left well and settled in the garden spot.
With tepid panels of :28.2, :58.4 and 1:28, Meittinis vacated the cozy pocket to take command on the backside the final time. After reaching the mile marker in 1:57.3, Meittinis used a :29.4. final panel to score the handy win.
About 25 minutes later, Prairie Fortune, the six-year-old gelded son of Arapa Victory, went behind the starting gate with The Cardiac Kid in his bike and, at the end of his 10 furlong event, found himself the victor by one and three quarter lengths over the late-charging Boli, handled by Wally Hennessey. The even-money favourite, Born To Thrive (driven by Rick Plano) was a fast-closing third but made a miscue deep in the lane and was placed last, which then left Foundonabeach third for John MacDonald. Lucid Thoughts and Zoraze picking up the minors in the octet.
Foundonabeach was first away with Zoraze a cozy second. Uncle Hanover was third early and Boli was fourth after having found a good spot after a Post 6 start. Meanwhile, Prairie Fortune dawdled near the back of the pack with Meittinis, who was questioning his own strategy after tepid opening panels of :29.2 and 1:00.
"Yeah," Meittinis said, "when I saw the half in a minute, I thought I was in trouble."
But the tempo quickly quickened with a :27.4 third panel as Robbie Hoffman sent his Overnight Shipper on a speed binge to take command.
At that point, Prairie Fortune was in high gear from the back and on a double-bubble binge of his own. At that point he reached fourth, less than three lengths off the lead.
Straightening away for the drive home, Prairie Fortune sprinted on by and held off Boli, who only found racing room when it was too late to do damage to the winner.
"He raced great," Meittinis continued, saying, "He (Prairie Fortune) can sprint forever and I thought the added distance would help his cause. But, like I said, I was worried about that 1:00 half.
"As for Second Sister, well, there wasn't much happening leaving the gate so I thought I'd try and get her in a good spot early. It was a dream trip for her.
"By the way, credit must be given to trainer Mike Deters because he always has them ready to compete at the highest level. And those caretakers he has are absolutely fantastic. Donna (Horly) takes care of Second Sister and Debbie (Gray-Gagnon) and Richard (Young) take care of Prairie Fortune and, believe me, you won't find any better."
Trainer Mike Deters was especially gratified with the wins saying, "I was choked up with tears in the winner's circle with these two races. Fred (Cohen) and Paul (Bernardo) were both close friends of mine and this, indeed, is a night I will never forget. I miss them!"
Summarizing, Second Sister won for the second time this year in eight attempts. Her 2-1-2 seasonal scorecard has been good for $21,000 for owner Jerald Hawks. She's banked $384,299 lifetime. Off at 8-5, she paid $5.40 to win.
Prairie Fortune won for the 40th time in his career in what was his 93rd start. His earnings now stand at $311.360 ($23,320 this year, one in which he has accumulated a 3-1-1 record from eight starts). Deters co-owns with Laurie Poulin. Off as fourth choice at 7-1, Prairie Fortune rewarded his faithful with a $17.00 mutuel.
Pompano racing will continue with a four-night per week schedule – Sunday through Wednesday – with the Sunday card featuring a carryover in the Super Hi-5 of $29,330.30.
Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.
(Pompano Park)