‘Charging’ To The Wire At Pompano
All Charged Up, perfectly handled by trainer John MacDonald, used a late power surge to take top honors in Pompano Park's $11,000 Open Handicap Pace for mares on Monday night (February 12) in 1:52.3.
The seven-year-old daughter of Ponder bolted through along the pylons once they straightened away for home to score by one length over Wild Wanda, driven by Ricky Macomber Jr. Ubetterbeturlife, with Brett Miller making a rare Florida appearance, finished third, while Strings finished fourth. Embassy Seelster finished fifth.
Wild Wanda and All Charged Up both left hard. The latter took command early before quickly yielding to Wild Wanda at the opening station in :27.2.
A well-rated second panel left Wild Wanda with the lead halfway through in :56.4. The pace then quickening on the backside, as Wild Wanda tried to shake loose from her foes.
With three quarters on the board in 1:24.3, Wild Wanda turned for home with a one and a half-length lead, but drifted out a bit, which allowed All Charged Up to surge on through along the pylons to score the win – her third of the year from five starts.
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All Charged Up, handled by John MacDonald, surged through late to capture Pompano Park's feature for mares on Monday night. (Skip Smith Photo)
In a post-race interview, driver John MacDonald said, "my mare (All Charged Up) lives up to her name when the wings fold. She likes to join the party early and tonight was no exception. It was kind of a blessing when Ricky's (Macomber) mare made that early move because my mare likes the cover. In the lane, the inside opened up a bit and she pounced on the opportunity. Lots of traffic last week, not so bad this week. That's the story in a nutshell."
All Charged Up, owned by J P Stables, now has 35 career wins in 124 starts, good for lifetime bounty of $295,212.
As the slight favourite at 3-2, All Charged Up paid $5.00 to her many faithful.
A pair of $7,500 co-features for mares also highlighted the Monday program with Galarina and Iced Out winning those.
Pompano racing will continue on Tuesday night. The carryover in the Super Hi-5 finale has ballooned to $185,469.
Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.
(With files from Pompano Park)