A rather predictable development occurred in the personal pursuit by Joe Pavia Jr. of 5,000 lifetime winning drives on the Monday evening program at Pompano Park
. The accomplished horseman unveiled yet another promising three-year-old prospect.
Three-year-old pacing filly Arodasi was set to roll after a trio of February qualifiers. Pavia kept the filly well back of a fast early pace set by RM Mornin Sunshine and You Cant Fool Me. When asked for final half pace in the $4,000 conditioned test she was all business when blasting by the winded front end combatants leading up to a life's record clocking of 1:53.3 in her 2012 debut under the lights.
Arodasi, by Western Terror-Do Me Justice, competed at two last year in the Equinox Series and a division of the Simpson Stakes at Pocono Downs. She was originally sold by the name of Sunday Justice as hip 246 at Harrisburg in 2010 for $37,000. Ownership is held by Pavia along with Steven Held, John Barbera, and AGC Stables. Pavia now stands at 4,994 lifetime wins in the bike, in addition to 590 training wins for over $6.7 million in lifetime training purses.
Also on the Monday evening program, the top event on track was a mares conditioned pace for a $6,100 purse. Bryans Ideal charged hard off the gate with Dan Clements in tow and tracked the pace before skimming through on the pylons to score in 1:53.1 for a slim decision over Six Mile Annie and Runaway Tray. Jim Mattison owns and trains Bryans Ideal, a six-year-old daughter of Western Ideal-Diamond Mil. Emile Johnson Jr. of Maine share ownership in the career winner of over $162,000.
Clements, the track's leading driver in the month of February, accomplished a natural hat trick by following up that effort with wins teaming claiming pace mare Thaacretheeso and claiming trotter Tamarack Hanover.
A large ceremony was held at Pompano before the Monday evening program to honour the memory of recently deceased prominent horse people Lynn Proesel, Brian Bellamy, Bruce Wiltsie and Fred Reitberger. Pompano's Hall Of Fame staffer, John Berry, delivered a speech which detailed the accomplishments of those being honoured along with anecdotes from their lives in racing. From the Pompano backstretch, Jim McDonald, Mike Deters, Rick Plano, Miriam Toland, and Gaston Lareau lead a large contingent into the winner's circle for the tribute.
(Pompano Park)