Drachan Hanover, driven by Wally Hennessey, took top honours in Pompano Park's featured $11,000 Open II Handicap Pace on Sunday night (December 3), as he stopped the clock in 1:51.1.
The classy five-year-old son of Jeremes Jet led from his first long stride out of the gate to his last and scored a handy two-length win over the late-charging Pointsman (driven by Mike Simons). Uncmprmising Z Tam (Ricky Macomber Jr.) finished third. Bestinthebusiness finished fourth and Dees Rocket Man finished fifth in the eight-horse field.
After an opening panel in a sharp :26.2, Drachan Hanover enjoyed a :29.2 breather during the second quarter to reach the half in :55.4.
Along the backside, Drachan Hanover put a damper on the field closing in by sprinting up the backside in :26.4. He reached the third station in 1:22.3 while enjoying a comfortable two-length advantage over Pointsman and Uncmprmising Z Tam on the outside.
Turning for home, Drachan Hanover stretched the lead to three lengths and coasted home in :28.3 to earn his first fall success at Pompano Park.
In a post-race interview, driver Wally Hennessey related, "I drove him in his qualifier a few weeks ago and he was really fleet-footed out of the gate. Post 5 here is the perfect spot to do that here, so when the gate sprang, I was ready and so was he. He almost pushed the car away from him and he was strong all the way. He was very sharp tonight."
Trained by Marcel Barrieau for owners Lloyd Maclean and Kenneth Rankin, Drachan Hanover pushed his 2017 scorecard to 5-3-1 in 23 starts, good for $44,338. Lifetime, the five-year-old has earned $388,315 to go along with his 1:50.1 mark set at Pompano Park last year.
As the even-money tote-board favourite, Drachan Hanover paid $4.00 to his many faithful.
The Florida Amateur Driving Club made its presence on the Sunday night program especially meaningful by pushing its charitable contributions well over the $185,000 with a sizable contribution to the Nova Southeast University Equestrian Team.
President Dein Spriggs echoed the sentiments of the club by saying, "It is an honour for our group to participate in this team's future success and we wish them well as they tour the state promoting equestrian activity. Horses play such an important role in our world – from the healthy up-bringing of our youth to health benefits for anyone two to 92!"
Crazy Ponda (Jamie Marra) and Explosive Jet (‘Sky’ Walker) won their respective events with the Nova Equestrian team members, led by coaches Jackie George and Allie George, in the winner's circle as Jessica Hallett received the ‘large’ cheque.
Racing at Pompano will continue on Monday night with post time pegged at 7:20 p.m.
(Pompano Park)