Yes, it was raining 'cats and dogs' and, yes, the $828,000 winner Precocious Beauty was lurking in the shadow and, yes, Pertty Music was back in town after her winning debut one week ago.

But none of those obstacles could stop Mach It A Par from winning her second straight Open Pace for mares on Tuesday night.

The five-year-old daughter of Mach Three, given picture perfect rating by owner Dan Clements led from first step to last in scoring a handy 1:52.3 win measuring 2-1/4 lengths over Pertty Music (Ed Hensley) with Classic Carpet (Wally Hennessey) third in a photo over Precocious Beauty with Wild Wand fifth in the field of eight.

Off as the 4-5 favourite, Mach It A Par opened the festivities with a :28 quarter, strolled over to the half in :57 and, when some pressure started to develop from Wild Wanda going first up, turned on the afterburners a bit early this time around and settled the issue with a pair of :27.4 quarters to stop the timer in 1:52.3.

A muddied up Dan Clements remarked after the race, "with the track a bit off from the rain, I thought it best to keep the mud out of her (Mach It A Par's) eyes. She knows how to leave--that's for sure--and the five post is the perfect spot for leavers here. Actually, I shouldn't take the credit for her leaving like that because it was really HER idea to keep the mud out of her own eyes!

"She sharp right now and that was the difference tonight--that plus Pertty Music with the outside post and McNair's mare (Precocious Beauty) maybe needing a start over the track."

Mach It A Par, trained by Renaldo Morales III for the owner-driver, won for the 13th time this year in 29 starts vaulting her 2015 earnings to $88,047.

Also on Tuesday night, Late Closer action continued with two divisions of The Optimist for claiming pacers and one division of The Interloper claiming trot.

The first division of The Optimist went to the 10-year-old war horse No Shenanigans, scoring his 36th career victory with a 1;55.1 score over the track rated sloppy.

This altered son of Matts Scooter, handled by Wally Hennessey for Erin and (trainer) Leonard Poger, made a sweeping backside brush to the lead and held on valiantly late to post a photo finish victory measuring a neck over Dr Flamingo (Aaron Byron) with Flak Jacket (Rick Plano) third, three-parts-of-a-length away.

No Shenanigans now sports a 6-1-1 scorecard in 16 starts, good for $13,414 this season and $156,212 lifetime covering 201 career starts. He paid $16.20 to win.

The second division went to Ashley Johnson's Cherokee Ranger, extending his winning skein to three with a 1:54.1 win for trainer-driver Dustin Ingraham.

This four-year-old gelded son of Palone Ranger swept up from fifth halfway through the mile and collared the pacesetting Clive Hanover (Mike Micallef) in the final stages to score by just short of a length.

Cherokee Ranger won for the ninth time this season in 36 starts, good for seasonal bounty of $26,403. He paid $5.40.

The lone division of The Interloper went to the favoured Frenchmen, stopping the timer in 1:58.1 after a quarter move to the top (:28.4) and on to post subsequent panels of :58 and 1:27.4--his margin two lengths at the wire over Time For Explosion (Joe Pavia, Jr.) with Berkshire (John MacDonald) another neck back in third.

Frenchmen paid $3.60 to his multitude of followers.

Finally, with Thats Mara pulling off a 15-1 upset for Tim Maier in the final leg of the Pick-5, the 4-2-2-1-7 produced nary a single winner with a carryover of $3,422 on tap for Saturday's program.

Post time is 7:30 p.m.

(Pompano Park)