Increditable, fresh off trotting the second fastest mile in Pompano Park history one week ago in the Open -- 1:53.1 -- proved that his victory was no fluke as he led every step of this week's $10,000 Open Handicap event (April 22) before stopping the tele-timer in 1:55.2.
Trained by Norm Dessureaut for owner Denis Goyette, this six-year-old altered son of Credit Winner was, once again, handled superbly by Kevin Wallis, pushing the Hummer Gate out of his way at the bell and clocking panels of :28.3, :57.4 and 1:27 before a romp home in :28.2 left him unscathed the entire route.
Its Payday Friday, back in action after a brief two week vacation, finished second for Dan Clements while R G Rocket, making a first up bid entering the backside and just a length away turning for home, was third for Dave Ingraham. Jailhouse Jessica and Highland Yankee completed the classy quintet, respectively.
In a post race interview, Wallis said, "Norm has him just so sharp right now that he hardly needed any reminders tonight. He seemed to be just coasting along the whole mile."
In achieving his fifth win of the year in 14 starts, Increditable sent his seasonal bankroll to $34,665 and lifetime earnings to $148,164.
Off at 1-2 on the toteboard, Increditable paid $3.00 to win.
In the $8,000 co-featured Open (2) Trot, Wayne Laviolette's Ontario-bred Ramzan was given a splendid drive by Joe Pavia Jr. as he eked out a narrow decision in a three-horse photo over the late-surging Gold Savage (Dan Clements) and My Revenuer (Tom Sells). Ramzan equalled his lifetime mark of 1:55.2, with the winning margin a neck over the two others in the picture.
Beginning from the outside nine post, Pavia sent Ramzan leaving and looking before settling in fourth back of the favourite Goldstar Classic, Gold Savage and Keystone Wyatt. With Goldstar Classic (Wally Hennessey) getting rated through panels of :28 and :57.2, Ramzan tilted out right at that second marker and began putting the tourniquet on the leader, reaching his saddle-pad at the third station in 1:26 before wearing that one down in the lane and then holding off Gold Savage and My Revenuer, with On The Tab a late-surging fourth and Goldstar Classic fifth in the octet.
The win was the fifth of the year in 10 starts for the six-year-old son of Kadabra. He's banked $25,300 this season and $107,850 lifetime.
Off as the fifth choice in the wagering, Ramzan paid $22.00 to his faithful, kicking off the track's Pick-4, with a pool of $38,449, the second largest in history at Pompano Park.
In the next event, Paul and Patricia O'Neil's Verdi, also beginning from post nine, extended his winning streak to three with a sharp 1:56 victory for Wally Hennessey. His margin was two and a half lengths over Naughty Not Nice (Joe Pavia Jr.), with Iaintnomomaluke (Kevin Wallis) third.
Verdi, a four-year-old and also a son of Kadabra, was sent winging from the get-go, taking the lead just a couple of strides past the :28.4 opener and going on to post subsequent panels of :58.2 and 1:27 -- the only minimal threat coming from Naughty Not Nice around the final turn -- before sealing the issue with a :29 finale.
Trained by Dan Hennessey, Verdi, himself, is a perfect six-for-six, but officially, his scorecard reads five-for-six after a disqualification negated the win in his third start.
Verdi was 4-5 at the bell and paid $3.80 to win.
Another favourite, Corner A Virgin, driven by Dan Clements, took the third leg of the Pick-4, holding off Abreathofreshart (Kevin Wallis) in a stirring stretch duel with a nostril separating the two at the wire in 1:53.2.
The Renaldo Morales III-trained four-year-old son of Always A Virgin led at every pole during fractions of :27.3, :56.3 and 1:26 before needing every ounce of his :27.2 finale to claim the win, only his second of the season in 13 starts.
At 3-5 on the board, Corner A Virgin paid $3.40 to win.
The Pick-4 finale was won by Wishin Iwas Fishin, scoring for Clements in a lifetime-best 1:55.4, besting his previous plateau by more than a second.
Owned by John Wasco, along with trainer Chet Poole Jr., Wishin Iwas Fishin left, yielded and then sat patiently in the garden spot before tilting out turning for home to score the handy win -- his second of the year and 10th lifetime.
Off at 7 to 2, Wishin Iwas Fishin returned a mutuel of $9.00 and set up a Pick-4 payoff of $452.30.
In the very next event, Clements completed a natural "hat trick" by guiding his own Oho Diamond to an easy win in a condition trot in a new lifetime-best 1:54.4. The lightly raced daughter of Ken Warkentin, fresh off a lifetime-best 1:55.1 performance in her last start, eclipsed that mark handily, taking command just short of the :27.3 opener and then reeling off panels of :57 and 1:26.3 before leaving no doubt in the minds of her 3 -5 backers with a final quarter of :28.1.
Oho Diamond is also trained by Morales III, giving him a training double for the night and capping a Pompano Park season for both he and Clements where his UTRS was over .530 in 75 starts.
Finally, in Pompano Park's Super Hi-5 finale, Tom Bigler's Oil Magnet, driven by Aaron Byron, rallied to nail the favourite, American Gold, in the final strides to set up a 3-7-2-1-8 combo worth $146.94 for the 20-cent investment.
The carryover going into Saturday's program is over $155,000. Post time is 7:30 p.m.
(With files from Pompano Park)