Count Speed, sent postward at 4-1 and deftly handled by driver Wally Hennessey, pinned a half-length defeat on the 1-10 favourite, Increditable, driven by Kevin Wallis, in Pompano Park’s $10,000 Open Handicap Trot on Wednesday night (April 29) in a 1:55 mile.
Jailhouse Jessica, with Bruce Ranger in the bike, finished third, while the only other starter, Ramzan, pulled up halfway through the mile and did not finish.
Count Speed, a six-year-old gelding by Majestic Son, began from Post 3 and out-maneuvered Increditable, who started from Post 4, as the Hummer sprung its wings and took the field to an opener timed in :27.4.
At that point, Wallis pulled on Increditable’s right line, but Hennessey thwarted the idea of the favourite, moving to the top and had to settle back behind the leader.
Hennessey kept his charge on the lead through a perfectly rate half of :57.3 and, on the backside, let Count Speed change gears, keeping Increditable a length-and-a-half away and Jailhouse Jessica two and a half lengths back through the three-quarters of a mile pole in 1:26.
In the lane, Increditable tried yet another rally and got within a half-length of Count Speed, but no closer, as a :29 finale quarter sealed the victory, his third in a row and 22nd lifetime.
In a post-race interview, Hennessey related, “The difference in this race was a few days ago at the draw. When we drew a spot inside of Increditable, I thought that, if I was on the front end, I could kind of control what was going on. We timed the gate just right and had things our way. He got a good-rated half and he trotted a bit faster the second half than the opening half. Let’s not take anything away from Increditable — he’s really sharp now, too, but, as I said, the draw made all the difference tonight.”
Trained by Dan Hennessey for owners Paul and Patricia O’Neil, Count Speed sent his seasonal earnings to $12,220 in five starts and $210,620 lifetime.
As second choice on the tote board, Count Speed paid $10.80 to win in picking up the major portion of the $10,000 ‘pie.’
Pompano's Pick-4, which had a $25,000 guarantee on Wednesday night, returned $28,009.45 for a 50-cent investment to those that successfully handicapped the 8-2-6-8 combination. The Super Hi-5 had multiple 20-cent winners on the 2-4-1-3-5 combo, sending the carryover to Saturday's program vaulting over the $180,000 mark.
First-race post time for Saturday's card at Pompano is 8 p.m.
(With files from Pompano)