Karpathos, named for the famous Greek island, rewarded his backers at odds of 7-1 in capturing the $16,000 Open Trot on Monday at the Isle Pompano Park.
The fifth race feature saw Karpathos and driver Denis St. Pierre out duel K M Sweet Dreams (Joe Pavia, Jr.) and Carries Credit (Anthony Napolitano) for the early lead to the opening quarter mile in :27.3.
It was then that Gale Warning, seeking his third straight win in the top trot, came first-over for driver Wally Hennessey, pressuring Karpathos to the half mile marker in :57.3, and then clearing to the lead.
Down the backstretch, Gale Warning led the field as Carries Credit started advancing on the outside, with Guy Gets Girl (Bruce Ranger) following the flow second-over to the three-quarters in 1:26.2.
Then on the final turn, Pierre pulled from the pocket with Karpathos to challenge Gale Warning. As they started down the stretch, Gale Warning went off-stride and Karpathos was able to hold his lead through the wire to win by a half-length in 1:56.3 over Guy Gets Girl, with Catamount N (Dan Clements) closing for third place.
Owned and trained by Geoff Howles of Pompano Beach, it was the eighth win this year for Karpathos ($17.40), a seven-year-old gelding by Balanced Image.
(Pompano Park)