Beach Journey, craftily handled by Wally Hennessey, took top honours in Pompano Park’s $11,500 Open Pace for Mares on Tuesday night (April 13).
Edging past favoured Casies Believer in deep stretch, Beach Journey scored by one-and-a-half lengths in 1:52.4 off a :57.2 opening half. Tempus Seelster, last early on, closed to take show honours while Evas Sports Czech and Persistent Bettor earned the final two awards in the classy octet.
As the wings folded, Beach Journey (post 6) was sent in search of the lead along with Casies Believer, with the latter taking charge around the opening turn and taking the field to the first quarter in :27.2. A :30 breather brought the leader to the half in :57.2 as Roll With Angel was on the move uncovered into third and soon within a length of the leader through a :27.3 third panel.
Turning for home, Casies Believer put away that challenge, but that allowed Beach Journey room to roam and she motored by inside the 16th pole for the win.
In a post-race interview, Hennessey said, "I was hoping to hit the garden spot by leaving and figured that Joe [Chindano Jr.]'s mare [Casies Believer] would want to get into the action from her outside post, so it worked out nicely for us. Both mares raced very well but we had the better journey in the pocket.”
For Beach Journey, a five-year-old mare by Net Ten EOM, it was her second-straight win and sixth of the year in 14 starts, good for $25,322 and $78,693 lifetime for owner-trainer Cory Kresier, who claimed the mare for $6,000 a little over a month ago. She’s had three wins and two seconds since earning $17,350 since the claim.
As the 7-2 second choice in the wagering, Beach Journey paid $9.60 to win.
The $10,500 Open II Trot went to The Lionking As, with owner-trainer Kevin Wallis handling the lines. The six-year-old gelded son of Lionhunter took full advantage of a class dip from the Open I class to score a handy win in 1:54.3.
Enjoying a picture-perfect journey after leaving and yielding early, The Lionking As let BJ Lorado take charge early and cut panels of :27.3, :56.1 and 1:25.2 before leaving the cozy pocket and rolling by with an effortless :29 finale to score by a length over the late-charging Enzio, with BJ Lorado finishing third. Mighty Surf finished fourth with Aquillo next in the field of seven.
The Lionking As now has a 3-2-3 scorecard in 14 starts and $26,105 in 2021 bounty. He's banked $27,090 lifetime.
Off at 3-5 on the board, The Lionking AS paid $3.40 to his multitude of faithful.
Hall of Famer Wally Hennessey was the driving star of the 10-race program, piloting five horses to the winner's circle. Besides Beach Journey in the feature, Hennessey reached the charmed circle with She Matters ($10.20), Stick With Me Kid ($11.80), Entranced ($2.80) and Guys In The Band ($6.00)—the latter duo comprising the late Daily Double.
In the “Better for the Bettor” Department, Pompano Park’s exotic wagers provided some very healthy returns on Tuesday, including a $19,654.45 payoff for the $.50 cent Pick-5 combo of 6-5-5-7-9 and a $.20 Pentafecta payoff of $3,796.54 for the 7-2-6-1-3 ticket.
The Pick-5 finale was taken by Stick With Me Kid, driven by Wally Hennessey at 9-2 with the other four winner off at 11-1, 3-5, 4-1 and 13-1.
Racing continues on Sunday (April 18) with a pair of carryover events—the first being in the Pick-6 with a carryover of $3,523.65 and the second in the Super Hi-5 finale with a carryover of $17,497.74.
Post time is set for 7:20 p.m. (EDT).
(Pompano Park)