A number of familiar faces -- some for the first time this season -- were on the track during qualifying action on Saturday morning at Pompano Park.
After a handful of starts in January, speedster Duc Dorleans was in back in action for trainer Jacques Dupont. In rein to Wally Hennessey, the seven-year-old son of Shanghai Phil fronted the field through all fractions en route to a 1:55.1 score -- seven lengths the best, with a :28.1 closing quarter.
Owned by Quebec's Gestion C Levesque 2005 Inc. and Les Ecuries Dorleans Inc., Duc Dorleans boasts 36 lifetime wins, more than $665,000 in purses and a mark of 1:48.4 taken as a five-year-old at Mohawk Racetrack.
Another seven-year-old with an affinity for the South Florida oval is Panocchio, making his first appearance since a vet scratch in late February. Hennessey guided the son of No Pan Intended to a facile 1:56.2 victory over a pair of familiar faces from the Gregg McNair stable -- Magnum J (Kevin Wallis) and O'Brien Award finalist Solar Sister (Brandon Arsenault).
Owned by Emile Johnson Jr., of Massachusetts and trainer Jim Mattison of Pompano Beach, Panocchio has made 81 consecutive starts against open competition while competing exclusively at Pompano and Saratoga -- a streak that dates back to June 2014. He's banked more than $521,000 and picked up 52 wins for his connections while taking a mark of 1:48.3 at Pompano as a five-year-old.