Driver Wally Hennessey had a fine night at the Isle Pompano Park Saturday, scoring five wins on the card.
Actually, Hennessey had an 'Im Fine' night as he guided the two-year-old gelded pacer to a lifetime mark of 1:55.2 in winning one of four divisions of the final round of the Florida Sunshine State Stakes.
In the third race $7,331 division it was Time To Scoot (Dan Clements) that shot to the early lead with Tough Chip (Mickey McNichol) sitting the pocket seat, but by the opening quarter mile in :28 driver Joe Pavia, Jr. had Tough Cassidy on the move and in command by the half mile marker in :57.2.
As the field entered the backstretch, Hennessey came first over with Im Fine and started to grind it out, but it was not until mid-stretch that they were able to collar Tough Cassidy and then nip him at the wire. Time To Scoot was third.
Trained by brother Dan Hennessey, who had four training victories on the night, Im Fine is sired by Matts Amore and is owned by Don and Shirley Heck of Carmel, Indiana.
In the first division, after two lead changes Storming Howard and driver Bruce Ranger took command and never looked back, winning by three and three-quarter lengths in a lifetime best 1:55.1 over the pocket-sitting Gavino (Joe Pavia, Jr.) and R I P Spanky (Mickey McNichol).
Trained by Michile Lorenzo, it was the fourth straight win for Storming Howard. Ron Lorenzo, William Hancock, Jr., Ciro Gentile and the Pomtambo Stables own the gelded son of Mannart Howard.
There were also two divisions for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings, each for a purse of $7,518.
The second race saw Mc Ryan Michael and driver Joe Pavia, Jr. wire the field with ease, winning by four and one-quarter lengths in a lifetime mark of 1:52.4 over October Sun (Dan Clements) and About Me (Wally Hennessey).
Owned by Jay and Kim Sears and Russell Peavyhouse, Mc Ryan Michael is a gelded son of Mannart Howard and trained by Kim Sears.
The second division fourth race saw Wally Hennessey win again with Alligator Alley in 1:52.1. Also a lifetime mark, Alligator Alley sat a two-hole trip to pacesetter Sodys Moonshine (Joe Pavia, Jr.) and then was also able to hold off a late charge by McFlash (Dan Clements) to win by one and one-half lengths. Sodys Moonshine was third.
It was the second straight win and third victory on the year for the gelded son of Raging Glory. Mark Rorabeck of Nutrioso, Arizona owns Alligator Alley, who is trained by Mike Deters.
Next week will feature the $14,000 finals of the series for two and three-year-old Florida sired trotters and pacers.
(With files from Pompano)