Saturday evening's feature event at Pompano Park was the $8,500 Isle Mile Open Pace, which saw Avantage used hard to make the lead after a :26.3 quarter and survive third quarter and stretch duels to stop the clock in 1:53.1
.
It was the second start from the care of Mickey McNichol, who also handles the driving duties on the six-year-old Electric Stena-Eclatante gelding for Elizabeth Zimmerman of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The win was the 20th lifetime for Avantage, as he held off the pocket-sitting Waldy Jimmy, in rein to Dan Clements, and the hard-closing Red Star Paylater, with Walter Ross Jr. in the bike. Avantage is now a lifetime winner of $138,529.
Other outstanding performers under a remarkable full moon and eighty degree evening in South Florida included three-year-old Florida stakes eligible colt Keemosabe with Bruce Ranger in tow scoring under wraps in 1:55.2 over non-winners of two company.
The night's fastest mile was a life's mark performance of 1:51.2 by Prairie Jaguar. Tom Sells was in the bike to guide the rapidly improving four-year-old gelding by Spy Hard-Cat Lady to a wide open victory in the $7,500 purse Isle Mile-2 Open Pace for trainer Mike Deters owner Laurie Lee Poulin of Okeechobee, Florida.
When the top weekly pacing event for Open Mares turns to the starting gate in the sixth race on Monday evening, May 7 at Pompano, the focus of much of the attention will be Bombilla Hanover. She'll be making the first start of her four-year-old campaign.
Last year on the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes trail when racing under the care of Bill Fahy and later in Florida from the barn of co-owner Peter Blood, Bombilla Hanover amassed almost $64,000 in season's earnings. Her greatest accomplishment was a stunning 1:51.4 tour of the Pompano oval last November, which bested the previous category track record of 1:52.1 established by Special Sweetheart two years earlier. Lew Whitaker of Schnecksville, Pennsylcania co-owns the daughter of The Panderosa from the Matts Scooter mare Bet Me Hanover.
Bruce Ranger has been hired for driving duty on Monday evening for Bombilla Hanover to square off against the cast of South Florida's sturdy veterans including Nillabomb, Major Trap, Shes A Pegase, Looney Dune and Angela.
(With files from Pompano Park)