On an evening (Sunday, October 16) where the track condition at Pompano Park shifted from ‘fast’ to ‘good’ to ‘sloppy’ to ‘good’ to ‘sloppy’ during the racing program, Kevin Kelly's grand filly, Gold Star Briana, remained perfect for her career – now 12-for-12.
Gold Star Briana – a sophomore filly by Basil trained by Dan Hennessey and driven by brother Wally Hennessey – toured the ‘sloppy’ oval in a lifetime-best 1:57.3. She scored by six and a quarter lengths over Trotting Missmissy (driven by Marc Major) and All Star Fame (Sergio Corona). Trottime Fool and Im For Sale completed the roster in what was the fifth leg of the Sunshine State Stake for three year-old trotting fillies.
Away carefully in her event, ‘Briana’ stormed to the front from five lengths back once they straightened away after the :29.1 opener and proceeded to clock panels of :58.3 and 1:28.2. She sealed the deal with a :29.1 final quarter.
The filly now has career bounty of close to $75,000 with about six weeks of the lucrative stakes season ahead.
"You know, this is the first time she has faced conditions like this, so I thought I'd be careful early and wait 'til we straightened away to send her,” Hennessey said after the race. “She had to have trotted :28 and a piece (actually :28.2) to make the lead and was a perfect lady all the way. I am proud of the way she performed in those conditions!"
For the second straight week, Gold Star Briana was 1-20 and returned $2.10 to win.
Also on the card was the Sunshine State Stake for three year-old trotting colts and geldings, and it was Thundercrest, a son of Crest, who scored in 2:03.4 after very crafty handling by Dustin Ingraham.
Thundercrest pinned a one and three-quarter-length defeat on the late-charging Fifty Fifty Ninety (Jason Mac Dougall) with Savin Rock (John Campagnuolo) next. Last Chance Fame and Rexamillion were four-five in the sextet.
At the outset, Thundercrest was in a brief war with Rexamilion but put the latter in the pocket before putting on the brakes and waltzing over to the opener in :32.2 and half in 1:04.
On the backside, Rexamillion left his cozy pocket, but made a miscue three-eighths out and Thundercrest sprinted clear by six with a :29.3 third panel with Fifty Fifty Ninety in pursuit. Thundercrest coasted home from there, which prompted Dustin Ingraham to say, "I really didn't want to be on the front end, but he (Thundercrest) was a bit headstrong leaving and I didn't want to shut him down early. He's still very green – he didn't race as a two year-old – and he's learning but, once I got over to the half in ‘4,’ I felt confident that he could go all the way. He not only battled the competition, he handled the elements, which just may have been the biggest competition."
Thundercrest paid $3.00 as the 1-2 favourite.
Two other Sunshine State Stakes events were held off the betting card and highlighted two- year-old trotters. Azzaro and Atlantic Crest were the ones that reached the winner's circle.
Azzaro, driven by Wally Hennessey for Jay and Kim Sears, led every step of his mile. He pinned a half-length defeat on Im Done (Tom Lehmann) in 2:04 – :29 off fractions of :30.3, 1:02.4 and 1:35.
The Proud Bushy colt now has a 5-3-2-0 career scorecard against ‘arch-rival’ Im Done, whose record is 5-2-3-0.
After the event, Hennessey said, "I guess it's become quite a rivalry between these two, and both seem to have equal talent."
The second non-wagering event was contested in a driving rainstorm, and, despite the demanding conditions, Sergio Corona's Atlantic Crest was a gate-to-wire winner in a lifetime best 2:01.1. Her margin of victory was almost 10 lengths over Prairie Pixie (Mike Deters). Bonnie Blue Banker (Rob Hoffman) finished third in the trio of juvenile fillies.
The daughter of Crest completed her journey off of fractions of :29.3, 1:00 and 1:30.3, as she notched her second straight win and improved on her previous-best winning mile of 2:01.4.
In Pompano Park's Open I Handicap Pace, Sing For Me George picked up his third straight win – this one in 1:52.4 – after having exploded in the final sixteenth to score by three and three-quarter lengths over All Steinam (John Mac Donald). Winyard Hanover (Brad Kramer) was next after a rugged first over journey where he stuck his head in front at mid-stretch.
Team Captain and Safe Harbor earned the minors in the sextet.
Trained by Paul Bernardo for owner Joseph Martinelli Sr., Sing For Me George was driven by Kevin Wallis and left with alacrity to take an early lead before yielding to All Steinam prior to the :28 opening panel.
After a :57.1 half, Winyard Hanover went first up on the backside to engage All Steinam in war, reaching the third station in a picked up 1:25, leaving Sing For Me George bottled up in third.
In the lane, Wallis found a seam, swung widest of all and blew by with a :27.3 finale of his own.
Sing For Me George, a seven-year-old gelded son of Bettors Delight, was winless in 16 starts before coming to Pompano Park, but won an Open 3 event – handily – in 1:53.1 and then an Open 2 event in 1:53.2 before stepping up to the top rung of the ladder.
Sing For Me George now has a lifetime bankroll of $396,086.
As the 4-5 toteboard favourite, Sing For Me George paid $3.80 to win.
Finally, in the Super Hi-5 finale, one lucky patron had the 7-4-1-8-5 winning combo, which paid $10,286.62 for the 20-cent investment.
Racing will continue on Tuesday night with Open trotters in the spotlight.
First-race post time is set for 7:20 p.m.
(Pompano Park)