Limelight, smartly handled by 'Mr. 10,000' Kevin Wallis, overcame a very tough beginning to wind up in the 'limelight' in Tuesday’s Open Pace for mares at Pompano Park.
The five-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Cracking Light, trained by Jake Huff for the Beauty in the Bridle Racing Stable, closed with tenacity to pin a defeat measuring three-quarters of a length on Heart Major, with Joe Pavia, Jr. in the sulky. De Valeria finished a fast-closing third for John MacDonald.
As the Hummer left the station, Limelight left with verve from post five, as did both Heart Major, leaving from post one, and Artful Impulse, from post four. That early scuffle left Limelight double-bubbled for much of the opening quarter with Artful Impulse able to emerge with the lead at the opening panel in a hot :26.4 and Limelight finding a spot right behind with an anxious Heart Major next, but on the move.
Three-eighths into the mile, Heart Major gained the top spot as Artful Impulse willingly yielded for the garden journey with Limelight now third past the half in a lively :54.4. Positions remained stagnant for the top three during a :28 third panel with Limelight leaving the pocket from third turning for home and beginning to gnaw in on the leader. A sixteenth out, Limelight breezed on by Heart Major and held off De Valeria with the mile in 1:53.2.
After the race, driver Kevin Wallis remarked, “Well, we got there but it sure wasn’t the easiest of trips.
“We were three wide for the first quarter and I was lucky enough to find a spot close up. She really didn’t take the opening turn all that well and that did concern me.
“She took the final turn a lot tighter and I think the fast early fractions took something out of the leader and we were able to get by. She raced very tough considering the trip she had tonight.”
For Limelight, it was her third win in 15 tries and pushed her seasonal bankroll to $19,695. Lifetime, the gutsy mare has 16 lifetime wins adding up to $143,839. Limelight paid $3.80 to win.
The secondary feature for the mares went to Dreas Good Powow for Dave Ingraham in a seasonal best clocking of 1:52.4.
This six-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Squaws Fella, known for her stout closing punch, changed tactics this night by going “down the road” in posting fractions of :27.3, :56.2 and 1:24.4 before a :28 sprint home. She won by 1-1/4 lengths over Hot Chica Boomba (John MacDonald) with Della Bea (Wally Hennessey) third.
In a post-race interview, a jovial Dave Ingraham said, “Pat (owner Pat Connor) said I should put a GPS system on the sulky to help me steer her in the right direction. Down the road she went tonight in a very strong effort.”
Trained by Kelly Case for Pat Connor, Dreas Good Powow now has a 3-2-2 scorecard in 16 starts and $18,956 in bounty. It was the 15th career win for Dreas Good Powow, who now has a career bankroll of $105,947. She paid $3.80.
Also of note on Tuesday night, owner-trainer Mark Winacott’s Pacific Date, handled by Wally Hennessey, scored her 11th win of the year—tops in North America—in a claiming event for mares.
The eight-year-old daughter of Panspacificflight scored a handy gate-to-wire win in 1:54.3, pushing her 2016 earnings to $27,534 and $234,039 lifetime. Pacific Date returned $2.10 across the board.
Live racing continues on a two night per week--Sunday and Tuesday—schedule at Pompano Park throughout the month of May with wagering on the Kentucky Derby available at the track on Friday and Saturday.
Post time for the live Sunday card is 7:30 p.m.
(Pompano Park)