A trio of series finals were contested at Pompano Park on Wednesday evening, and the lion’s share of the $20,000 purses went to Whosgoinwhosstayin, Bettor Thantherest and Docs All Class
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Whosgoinwhosstayin and Docs All Class took new lifetime marks, while Bettor Thantherest equaled his personal best.
The action started off with Whosgoinwhosstayin turning in a sharp score in the final of the Aime Choquette Trotting Series. The lone three-year-old in the group marched to the front and laid down panels of :28.1, :58.2 and 1:28.3 for driver Mickey McNichol before kicking home to defeat his elders in 1:57.2. Super Lotto was second and G W Gracie finished third.
It was the second straight win and 14th victory in 15 lifetime starts for the son of Basil. He was a Florida Sire Stakes champion in a rookie campaign that saw him go a perfect 12-for-12. The gelding was bred and is co-owned by Sophia & Chris Valkanoff with trainer Linda Kakaley of Pompano Beach, Florida.
“He is a much better horse this year.” McNichol said. “Tonight he had plenty left over at the finish.”
The race is named after Aime Choquette, a longtime veteran horseman at Pompano Park, who was Hall of Famer Delvin Miller’s second trainer for 50 years. Choquette, 94, comes to the races each night and to the backstretch every day.
“I am so honoured to have a series named after me,” Choquette said. “And what a great final it was tonight to see this good three-year-old beat older horses.”
In the final of the Springboard Pacing Series it was a clean sweep for Bettor Thantherest. The four-year-old gelding by Bettors Delight came from off the pace for trainer/driver Bruce Ranger en route to posting the 1:53.4 decision. Ben Magic was second and The Boss finished third.
Owned by the Fred Monteleone Stable of Pompano Beach, FL and Salvatore Promuto of New Rochelle, NY, it was the third straight win and fifth victory of the year for Bettor Thantherest. He has found his way to victory lane in four of his last five starts, and all four of those victories were clocked in 1:53.4.
“It’s scary how he is so super consistent in time,” said Bruce Ranger. “He was hurt at age two and sore at age three, but we were patient with him and it is now paying off.”
Ranger came right back to the winner’s circle with Docs All Class in the final of the Spring Fling Pacing Series for $8,000 claimers. The pacer led through fractions of :28, :57 and 1:27.1 en route to freezing the teletimer in 1:56.3. Streetwise Hall was second and Magicstar Prescott finished third.
It was a clean sweep in the series for the seven-year-old son of Robespierre. The gelding is trained by Mike Deters and is co-owned by Deters of Coconut Creek with K.W. Burch of Springboro, OH and the Fishman Stables of Tavernier, FL. It was his eighth win in thirteen starts for Docs All Class, who also has four second-place finishes on his resume.
“He [Docs All Class] sort of takes you around the track,” said Bruce Ranger who was referring to the fact that the horse usually tries to lead from start to finish each time he races. “Tonight he was really strong on the front end.”
(Pompano Park)
To view Wednesday’s results, click here.