The intrigue is mounting and the time is drawing closer to the answer to the $100,000 question in Florida...can two-year-old trotting filly Seeking Jeanie remain undefeated through the December 11 Super Night at Pompano Park?
“I’m trying not to think that far ahead. At the moment I’m just focused on getting back to the paddock with [trainer Jim McDonald] to give her the cookies and carrots she likes every night,” owner and breeder Arthur Mergenhagen said in a live TV post-race interview after Seeking Jeanie stepped to victory in the $18,800 Florida Sale Stake. “The excitement about her is building and we had family members down from Arizona and Buffalo, New York to see her for the first time. In almost 35 years in the business since I started at the Buffalo-Batavia circuit in 1976 this is the greatest ride I’ve ever had with a horse that I owned or bred,” he added. Mergenhagen now resides in Williston, Florida.
The daughter of Wesgate Storm-Sightseek was sent to the top in this event by Wally Hennessey in :30 and she controlled the tempo of the middle stages in 1:02.0 and 1:32.3. Seeking Jeanie handily put away the first over move of Brielle T, in rein to Robert Hoffman, and held safe over runner-up Little Peanut, driven by Robert Williams Jr. Following third under the wire was Trotting For Daddy partnered by Donald Dupont. The final quarter by Seeking Jeanie was in a flashy :29.4 in this life’s mark performance of 2:02.2.
Since Seeking Jeanie has swept the Sunshine State Stake, Florida Stallion Stake and now the Florida Sale Stake she’s eligible for the $100,000 bonus offered by the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (FSBOA) if she can capture the Florida Breeders’ Stake on the December 11 Super Night Championships for the state-bred program.
Bruce Ranger, the top driver in the 47-year history of harness racing at The Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park, has developed a formidable 1-2 punch in the track’s top trotting class that’s proving tough to beat.
On the November 24 program in the featured $12,000 winners over $10,000 lifetime handicap trot, Ranger worked out a perfect pocket trip for Keystone Thomas on the back of race favourite Gale Warning, in rein to Tom Sells. By mid-stretch Keystone Thomas had edged by and froze the clock in 1:54.4 for a life’s mark. Senator Hall, with Mickey McNichol in the bike, was well back in third and another newcomer to the South Florida meet, Cool Touch, was fourth for driver Chuck Connor Jr.
“I really was never sure Keystone Thomas could beat a great veteran like Gale Warning, who has almost $500,000 on his card and this is a bit of a nice surprise,” Ranger said upon his return for the winner’s photograph.
The four-year-old Revenue S-Yankee Taboo gelding thus recorded his 11th win in 24 trips this year. Stewart Nemiro trains Keystone Thomas for the Fred Monteleone Stable of Pompano Beach, Florida.
When racing resumes at The Winter Capital Of Harness Racing on Friday evening, November 26, a pair of non-wagering divisions of the FSBOA Sale Stake for two-year-old pacing fillies will turn to the gate at 6:30 p.m. EST before the 10-race regular program at 7:05 p.m.
(Pompano Park)