Oho Diamond, the four-year-old trotting mare that broke Peace Corp's 25-year-old track record on opening night, overcame her outside post and seven rivals to score a handy decision in 1:54.2 for Dan Clements in Pompano Park’s $8,500 Open Trot on Sunday night.
The daughter of Ken Warkentin, trained by Renaldo Morales III for owner/driver Clements, scored her 12th win of the season, pushing her seasonal total to $99,049, by far her best campaign ever.
Her winning margin over Elin (Andy Santeramo) was one length with Escuela (Ed Hensley) a fast-closing third. Pounce Hanover, in the garden spot most of the way, finished fourth with Verdi, last through the final turn, rallying to finish fifth in the million-dollar octet.
A few strides before the start, it looked Oho Diamond was going to try and sprint out with the gate, but it appeared she may have bumped into it a bit so Clements had to ease her out of there gently before putting her in high gear around the opening turn to assume command. She proceeded to post panels of :27.3, :56.4 and 1:25.1 before sprinting home unscathed in :29.1.
After the event, Clements said, “She was ready to push the wings of the gate herself so I had to be a bit careful with her so she wouldn’t have any problems.
“She was really good tonight. I have had her since April and she has won 10 times for me...nine of them on the engine. The only time she didn’t go wire-to-wire — or close to it — was when we had a second tier post in a long race at Yonkers.
“She’s an enthusiastic mare that loves her work.”
As second choice in the betting at 8-5, Oho Diamond paid $5.40 to win.
Other highlights on the Sunday night program included a win by Tymal Recap in the Florida Amateur Driving Club Trot and a carryover in the Pentafecta, necessitated when no bettor correctly selected the first five finishers in that same event.
Tymal Recap, a recent purchase by trainer and amateur driver Billy Muggleston, won for the first time in 41 starts stretching back to a Scioto Downs win on August 5, 2014. Also by Ken Warkentin, this seven-year-old scored in 1:59.1, pushing his lifetime bounty close to $180,000. P L Humanity (Dennis Whittemore) finished second while What About Brian (Laurie Poulin) annexed show honours.
Off as the 6-1 fifth choice, Tymal Recap paid $14.60 to his faithful followers and keyed a 5-7-10 trifecta payoff of $2,479.40. The 20-cent Superfecta of 5-7-10-3 returned $1,644.08 and, with no tickets having the 5-7-10-3-2 combo in the Pentafecta, the carryover into Tuesday night’s card is $2,192.
In other action, Dorothy Zarza’s Northern Companion, handled by Corey Braden for trainer Howard Klohr, cherished a slight dip in class to garner his 36th victory at Pompano Park, scoring a three-length win in 1:51.4.
The seven-year-old son of Cambest, roared home from five lengths off the pace mid-way through the mile with a :54.4 final half to send his lifetime bounty over the $280,000 mark -- $282,342 to be exact. Blueridge Dancer (Matt Romano) finished second while Freeneasy Hanover (Ed Hensley) picked up show honours over Lifeimitatesart and the pacesetting P L Hellcat.
Favoured at 3-5, Northern Companion paid $3.40 to win.
Pompano's $6,700 Open 2 Trot went to Count Speed, driven by Wally Hennessey -- in a romp.
The pride of owners Paul and Patricia O'Neil, Count Speed, a six-year-old son of Majestic Son trained by Dan Hennessey, took command shortly after a hot opening quarter of :26.4 and went on to card panels of :55.2 and 1:24.2 before coasting home to hit the wire in 1:54.3. Gold Savage (Mickey Mc Nichol) was second, six lengths away, while Big Valley Speed (Aaron Byron) finished third. Lugar and Shawnee Magic picked up the final two awards in the field of nine.
Count Speed now owns a 23-9-5-2 scorecard this semester, good for $45,055. His lifetime bounty is $242,348.
As the 3-5 favourite, Count Speed paid $3.20 to win.
Finally, Manhatten Benny ($4.20), coming into the action with a mark of 1:54.2 over the Monticello half-miler, found the larger Pompano oval to his liking by making a sharp quarter-move to the top for Ed Hensley and then going on to score in a lifetime-best 1:51.2. Owned by Benny Eggers, Manhatten Benny is a five-year-old son of Riverboat King trained by Dale Gilmour
(With files from Pompano Park)