Hey Dont Tell Me stretched his winning streak to four on Monday night (Dec. 6) at Pompano Park as the famed South Florida track hosted four divisions of the Tom Audley Memorial for three-year-olds, honouring the memory of one of the most revered and respected horsemen in the Sunshine State.
For Hey Dont Tell Me, it took a lifetime best performance in the pace for the boys to reach the winner’s circle. He used a :27.4 closing kick home to collar Theflyingrock (Joe Chindano Jr.) by aa neck in 1:52.1 for trainer/driver Dale Hiteman. Gold Star Artie (Braxten Boyd) was third, 5-1/2 lengths away while his stablemate Gold Star Baron was another neck back, edging Lucky Ramsey by a nose in the field of seven.
With three tough miles in his previous trio of wins in Sunshine State Stakes competition, “trainer” Hiteman decided to give Hey Dont Tell Me a couple of weeks off and, keeping this in mind, “driver” Hiteman, after leaving from the five post to take an early lead, yielded to Mister David C around the opening turn and through a hot :27 quarter.
Mister David C continued to lead past the half in :56.1 and then, on the backside, decided to sit chilly with Hey Dont Tell Me as Theflyingrock blitzed his third quarter from third in :27.1 to take charge, opening up a sizeable lead turning for home as Hey Dont Tell Me wiggled out of the pocket from third to begin gnawing away after the third station was reached in 1:24.
Theflyingrock and Hey Dont Tell Me dueled to the wire after a breakaway from the field with Hey Dont Tell Me just up for the win near the wire.
"We have been fortunate to win here but this really is a very competitive group in this division," said Hiteman. "This was evident last week when we weren't in and there were four of 'em right there on the wire. I really didn't want to go first-up on the backside and was just hoping I'd get some clearance one we turned for home. So, with a little bit of luck, we found some clearance around the final turn and we got the chance we were looking for. The horse did the rest!"
Owned by the DTM Stable, Hey Dont Tell Me vaulted his seasonal earnings to $23,142. As the 2-5 favourite, he paid $2.80 to win.
The remaining three Audley Memorial events went to Milleniums Girl, Ifnotmewho and Ifnotnowwhen.
Milleniums Girl, with Dave Ingraham in the sulky subbing for the injured Mike Simons, closed fastest of all in her pace for the fillies to score in 1:55.2, using a :28.3 punch home for the knockout blow over Prairie Sweetness (Wally Hennessey) with Rocks Stormyd (Braxten Boyd) third. Sparkyfareyouwell, the longest shot on the board, rallied from last to finish fourth while Prairie Dutchess picked up the nickel.
At the outset, it was the outside three fillies from posts seven, eight and nine all searching for the top spot as KKs Dream Girl (post eight) zoomed off the wings to take charge before yielding to Prairie Sweetness (post nine) at the :28 opening bell with Rocks Stormyd (post seven) finding a cozy spot in third...but not for long, as that filly rushed up to take command three-eighths into the mile before clocking a half in :57 and three-quarters in 1:26.
Meanwhile, Milleniums Girl, sixth halfway through, picked up some live cover on the backstretch and then surged widest of all as that cover stalled around the final bend.
Once they straightened away, Milleniums Girl achieved full flight and rolled on by for the win measuring 1-1/4 lengths.
After the race, the always low-key Ingraham said, "...She's just a nice, handy filly that gives it a go every start. She was really strong at the end of her mile last week and I felt she could be right with them this time. She has been giving hints and tonight she got it done. Happy for Mike [Simons]!"
Trained Simons for Richard Marsh, this daughter of Royel Millennium now owns a 3-5-1 scorecard in 11 starts with $15,882 on her card. As the ever-so-slight 2-1 favourite, she paid $6.00 to win.
The Audley Trot for fillies went to Ifnotmewho, handled by Wally Hennessey for trainer Jake Huff and owner Herman Brewer.
The daughter of Credit Winner led at every pole -- :28.1, :1:00.3 and 1:30.2 -- before a :28.4 was just good enough to hold off the furious late surge of Prairie Virtue (Corey Braden) by a nose. Prairie Trinket (Ingraham) was third while Prairie Ginger and Ciao Bella completed the top five in the septet.
In reflecting on the win, Hennessey said, "Well, to tell you the truth, I really didn't know what to expect tonight. She had been off for a couple of weeks and I didn't know if she might be a little short, but then I remembered that she had been off a couple of weeks before her first race here and Jake [trainer Huff] always has his ready to go! She got a good breather during the second quarter, which helped and she sprinted home pretty good -- :28.4."
The win was the third this semester for Ifnotmewho and pushed her career bankroll to $92,840. Off as the 3-1 second choice, Ifnotmewho paid $8.20 to win.
The Hennessey-Huff-Brewer combo actually had a double in the Audley Memorial events as Ifnotnowwhen rallied late to score a one-length win in the (non-wagering) trot for colts and geldings.
This altered son of Muscle Massive was first out of the gate, yielded to Shulda Hada Drink (John MacDonald) after the initial :31.2 quarter and stalked that one through subsequent panels of 1:00.3 and 1:30.4 before collaring that one a sixteenth from home to score in 2:01. Seeking Matthew (Alessandro Spano) was third while Jo Jo Jet completed the quartet.
Ifnotnowwhen has swept through the Florida Stakes season unscathed this fall and is five-for-six since his arrival here. He now sports a lifetime bankroll of $45,242.
Pompano Park's Pick-4 was unsolved on Monday night and, with a $16,398 carryover, the guaranteed pool for Tuesday night has been set at $75,000. The Pick-4 will be contested on races six through nine. The Pick-6 has a carryover of $2,570 and the Super Hi-5 jackpot has a $3,637 carryover. Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.
(With files from Pompano Park)