McKenzies Star, superbly handled by Fern Paquet Jr., pulled off a 7-1 upset on Tuesday night (October 18) in the Open Handicap Trot at Pompano Park.
The six-year-old daughter of Donato Hanover, trained by Alexandra Berube, who is part owner with Jerry Clark, pinned a two and a quarter length defeat on the 1-2 favourite, Prairie Fortune (Mike Deters), in 1:55.3. DC Flashback (Brad Kramer) finished third while Bad Angel and the pacesetting Driving Miss Crazy shared the minor awards after dead-heating for fourth in the octet.
At the outset, each of the top three finishers benefitted when Adenium, leaving from the rail, and Gold Savage, leaving alongside, both made miscues, with DC Flashback surging out before yielding shortly thereafter to Driving Miss Crazy (John MacDonald) while driver Paquet sent McKenzies Star from the coveted five post and nestled into third. Bad Angel was next, R G Rocket fifth and Prairie Fortune sixth among the early survivors.
Through the two identical opening quarters of :28.2, Driving Miss Crazy took her :56.4 half-mile journey onto the backside with the lead, but midway on the backside, Prairie Fortune began to roll from the back, forcing the hand of McKenzies Star, who brushed up past the third station in 1:26.1, getting a two-length jump on Prairie Fortune, who rallied widest of all in the lane, but eventually was no threat to the winner.
In a post race interview, driver Paquet, who enjoyed a hat trick this night, said, "Well, we benefitted when those two inside horses jumped it off early, so I figured I'd leave and see if I could find a spot a bit closer up. We were able to kinda nestle into third and we had a jump on Mike's [Deters] horse [Prairie Fortune] and that probably was the difference -- he had the outside.
"When she's in the mood, my mare can brush a little bit and she brushed tonight and kept going right to the wire. She raced a big mile.
"She's been in Alexandra's [trainer Berube] care for a little over two years and, though mares can be testy at times, she's been a consistently good performer."
The win was the eighth of the season for McKenzies Star -- 23rd lifetime -- and sent her seasonal bounty to $44,060 and lifetime earnings to $180,854.
Her faithful were rewarded with a $16.80 mutuel as fourth choice in the wagering.
In the Tuesday night feature for the mares, De Valeria, driven by co-owner Aaron Byron, used her advantageous post five to perfection, leading every step of her mile, scoring a two and three-quarter length win in 1:54. Leaveumlady (Wally Hennessey), leaving from post seven but in the the garden spot shortly after the gate opened, finsihed second while Goldstar Rockette (Kevin Wallis) finished third after trailing for much of the journey. Asset Management was fourth while Metro Glide earned the nickel in the classy octet.
De Valeria trained by Mark Winacott for Byron and co-owner Paul Kelly, earned her sixth win of the year off fractions of :27.1, :56 and 1:24.4, and sent her 2016 bounty to $46,225. She's banked $113,942 lifetime.
Second choice in the betting, De Valeria paid $7.40 to win.
Also on Tuesday night, four more divisions of the FSBOA sponsored Sunshine State Stakes were contested with Prairie Cowgirl and R Chism taking the non-wagering events while Prairie Panther and Gold Star Mysti earned top honours on the betting card.
Prairie Cowgirl, a daughter of Royal Millennium, took the event for two-year-old pacing fillies with a sharp 2:00.4 score for trainer Mike Deters. Leading gate-to-wire, Prairie Cowgirl just did hold off the late-surging Tay Tay M (Wally Hennessey) by a nostril. PF Silver Classic 9Kevin Wallis) was third in the trio, with fractions being :30.1, 1:01.1 and 1:31.1.
Deters co-owns the filly with Laurie Poulin and John "The Owosso Flash" Spindler and is now two-for-three lifetime in her brief career.
In the non-betting event for sophomore pacing colts and geldings, R Chism, driven by Fern Paquet Jr., nailed the pacesetting Conmans Dream (Corey Braden) late to score by a half-length in 1:55.4. Danza (Byron) was third after pressuring the leader the middle three-eighths of the mile. Trottime Diamonds was fourth in that quartet.
R Chism, who broke his maiden last week in 1:55, won his second straight as this altered son of Six of Diamonds rallied with a :28.1 closer. R Chism is trained by Kim Sears, who co-owns with husband Jay.
Prairie Panther, a son of Royal Millennium, led every stride of his mile, scoring by two lengths over Maybe Ned (Bryce Fenn) with Gold Star Bugsy (Hennessey) next. Gold Star Spider and Kingwiththeaxe completed that roster as Prairie Panther strode through panels of :30, :59.2 and 1:29.4 before completing his chores with a :28.2 finale.
Trained by Mike Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin, Mike was in the bike for the win -- his third straight in Sunshine State Stakes competition.
Off at 1-10, Prairie Panther paid $2.20 to win.
Finally, Marianne Audley's three year-old filly Gold Star Mysti, driven by Walter Ross, Jr., brushed to the front just short of the :29.2 opener and took her foes through fractions of :59.3 and 1:29.3 before sealing the deal with a :28 finale, hitting the line in 1:57.3. Diamond Lily (Wally Hennessey) gave futile chase in the lane to finish second, one and a quarter lengths away, while Gold Star Lovebug (Joe Sanzeri) finished third. Caitlins Romance and Jaycie Jaycie were next in this sextet.
Gold Star Mysti, a daughter of Mysticism, is a perfect four-for-for this season under the tutelage of trainer Maggie Audley, the daughter of the late Florida breeder, trainer and owner Tom Audley. Ms. Audley, who just recently achieved her trainer's license, now sports a .615 UTRS with a 15-8-1-2 scorecard.
"Mysti" paid $2.40 to win as the 1-5 toteboard favourite.
Racing continues on Sunday night with a trio of carryovers, the largest of which is $3,061.20 in Pompano Park's Pentafecta fourth. Post time is scheduled for 7:20 p.m.
(With files from Pompano Park)