In a field oozing in depth and class, Pure Barre, who was making her fall debut at Pompano Park, eked out a brave 1:56.2 win for Mickey McNichol in a three-horse photo during the $10,000 Open 1 Trot on Wednesday, November 27.
The five-year-old daughter of Classic Photo was the only distaffer in the field. She made a gutsy move to the lead at the quarter pole and held off the serious late charges of both Jessesjo (driven by Ed Hensley) and Andover America (Bruce Ranger) to score by a neck.
Lugar finished fourth and Illusionsndreams finished fifth in the nine-horse race.
The victory was the eighth seasonal win for Pure Barre, who is owned and trained by Tom Gonsalves. The mare’s seasonal purse earnings now sit at $85,405.
"You know, when I was looking over the program and looking at the competition, I said, 'Hey, this is a pretty heavily stacked field ($2.6 million in combined earnings) and they had all been racing pretty good lately,' so I was just out there to get as much as I could for Tom (trainer-owner Gonsalves),” McNichol said after the race.
"She felt very strong leaving and seemed like she wanted to roll, so I gave her the chance and she just did this all on her own."
As fifth choice in the wagering, Pure Barre was sent off at post-time odds of 10-1 and returned $23.60 on a $2 Win wager.
In the $9,000 Open 2 Trot, Shes All In, owned, trained and driven by Rick Plano, found some room along the pylons in deep stretch to score a half-length victory over HP Forte (Mark O'Mara) in 1:55.3.
Surface Tension (Dan Daley) finished third. Adenium and Blushing Hanover also earned cheques.
Shes All In, a consistent daughter of Revenue S, now has a scorecard reading 8-14-2 from 38 starts, good for $72,645 in 2013 earnings. Sent off as the third post-time choice, she returned $10.60 on a successful $2 Win wager.
"She's just a tough, tough mare,” Plano said during the post-race interview. “You know, there's a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck in this sport and I was lucky enough to find some room inside. I don't think I touched her once in the lane. She did this all by herself."
Finally, in the $8,400 Open 3 Trot, Hauck Racing Stables CJs Rascal, handled by Ed Hensley, went up to take the lead right at the :28 opening quarter and led the rest of the way. He went on to score a handy 1:56 win over the pocket-sitting Spring Goal (Rick Plano). Dream Lake (Matt Romano) finished third. Thekeptman finished fourth while Zuerest, who overcame a second-tier starting position and an early miscue, finished fifth.
For CJs Rascal, a six-year-old altered son of CJs Secret, it was his fifth win of the year. The win pushed his 2013 earnings to $54,306. Sent off as the 3-5 public choice, CJs Rascal returned $3.20 on a successful Win wager.
On Saturday, November 30, the track will host the FSBOA Super Night, featuring over $425,000 in purses. A free t-shirt giveaway is also on tap (while supplies last).
Pompano Park also announced that, beginning Sunday, December 1, in cooperation with the USTA's strategic wagering program, the track will offer a guaranteed $5,000 Pick 4 pool on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday programs.
(With files from Pompano)