With the Florida-bred stakes season in full swing it was the pacing fillies turn to shine at Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park on Wednesday night.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the beach areas on the east coast of south Florida for Thursday and Friday, but it seemed like the threatening weather was arriving sooner than expected when a severe tropical rainstorm threatened to end the mid-week racing program almost before it got started. In the end, a heavy deluge with accompanying high winds only lasted about fifteen minutes between the second and third races and after a brief 24-minute delay the program was finished without further incident.
A compact field of five contested the $21,350 Florida Stallion Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies with Quail (driven by Bruce Ranger) pulling a mild upset by going gate-to-wire in 1:55 to narrowly defeat Prairie Lee (Tom Sells) and Gold Star Gidget (Walter Ross Jr.). Favoured Diamond Amber paid the price for a parked-out first quarter mile in :27 and finished fourth, two and a half lengths back at the wire.
Jay and Kim Sears own Quail, a homebred daughter of Six Of Diamonds, who was winning for the tenth time over her first two years of racing.
The two-year-old distaff pacers split into two divisions. Dont Spank Me (Kevin Wallis) won the first $16,138 split, which was raced as a non-betting event prior to the program, beating I Spy A Gator (Tom Sells) and ICU Misty (Walter Ross Jr.) in 1:58.3. Wayne and Jean Carter own the daughter of Capital Request.
The second $16,638 division was captured by heavily-favoured Dona (Bruce Ranger) in 1:58 over Seven Ariea (Deshawn Minor) and Tashia (Wally Hennessey). James Brown conditions the Tough Sir lass that is owned Tom Lehmann.
The state-bred pacing colts will be featured in Stallion Stakes action on Saturday night when racing resumes at Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park at 7:05 pm.
(With files from Pompano)