Drivers Dan Clements and Wally Hennessey combined to win all but two races on the 10-race card in South Florida on the Friday, April 30 program
. Each man returned for four winner's circle poses.
Hennessey won both $6,500 splits in the second round of The Spring Training late closing trotting series. Like A Gator, a three-year-old Like A Prayer-Las Ventanas gelding trained by Kim Sears for Jay Sears, Mary Birkhold and George Birkhold, held off Thierry and Frode Fladen in a narrow 1:58.4 decision. Hennessey also reined three-year-old CR Excalibur-Claremont gelding Nearly Uncle to a 1:59.2 upset of Borga Crash, also driven by Fladen, in the other division. Nearly Uncle thus earned a life's mark for owner-trainer Ted Berry of New York.
Hennessey's other Friday nights winners were with claiming pacer All Ameripan in 1:55 for Ft. Lauderdale owner-trainer Enio Barrera, and with maiden pacer Buckeye In Charge in 1:56.1, trained by his brother Dan for Edmarc Stables of New Jersey.
In his final weekend of at the meet before departing for Ontario, Dan Clements also partnered four Friday night winners. He guided Flip For Love to a dominant 1:53.4 tally in the $15,000 Mares Open Handicap Pace over Im Just Special, driven by Kevin Wallis. In addition to bringing home maiden pacer Hendrick Hanover, who is eligible to the 2010 Pepsi North America Cup, in 1:56.3 for trainer Jim McDonald, Clements teamed up with trainer Peter Blood to capture the $10,000 Mares Open-2 Handicap Pace with M A Jackie in 1:54.2 and the Mares Open-3 Pace with Eve in 1:55.3.
$4,000 Claimer In 1:52.3 At Pompano
Horsepeople and track officials are still buzzing about what is believed to have been a precedent setting performance this week at the Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park.
"Certainly for my 11 years here and probably in the track's entire 46 year history there has never been a $4,000 claimer win in a time of 1:52.3 like Rare Bunny did on April 28," says the track's Director Of Racing Operations, John Yinger. "I would have thought a mile that fast might have only been possible for a bottom level claimer at a track configured something like Colonial Downs," he added.
Absolutely everything fell into place perfectly for the blazing mile by Rare Bunny. The seven-year-old Precious Bunny-How Rare pacer got a perfect pocket trip behind fast fractions. He'd also been dropped in class recently after racing with pricetags in the $8,000-$10,000 for the entire month of March.
"The weather was perfect, the wind was calm, it was almost 80 degrees and humid and the track surface couldn't have been any better," said winning trainer-driver Ray Vizzi. "What really helped set it up was that Kevin [Wallis] cut the mile with such a fast half in 55:2 and I didn't have to come out until we were almost halfway down the stretch. It was the first start he was making for me since Bruce Ranger shipped out and I was surprised at what a really nice horse he is," Vizzi added.
In the remarkable performance Rare Bunny was owned by Pomtambo Stable of Boca Raton. He was claimed from that April 28 race by new owner-trainer Stan Whittemore, who is expected to enter the pacer back for a slightly higher pricetag for the Wednesday, May 5 program at the Isle.
(With files from Pompano Park)