Hennessey has hat track in Florida return

Delray Beach, FL – (Nov. 13) – Harness racing continued in South Florida on Saturday as the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (FSBOA) hosted the second leg of the Sunshine State Stakes at Sunshine Meadows under the sunshine.

Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey posted a “hat trick” in his return from the north while there were several “doubles” on the eight-race program, as well.

Here’s a recap of the action:

Two-Year-Old Filly Trot – Legacy’s Jailbreak (Dontyouforgetit), driven by Mike Simons for trainer and owner Nick Coblentz, scored a repeat victory in a lifetime best 2:02. Her margin was eight lengths over King’s Sweetheart (Kevin Wallis) with Pixie Jet (Matt Krueger). Legacy’s Jailbreak broke her maiden in her debut last week in 2:03.

Two-Year-Old Gelding Trot – Wally Hennessey made his fall debut in South Florida by guiding Prairie Nugget (Shibboleth Hanover) to a maiden win in 2:02. Trained by Lisa Martin for Mary Martin and Laurie Poulin, Prairie Nugget stalked last week’s winner, Getnthecarchuckie (Mike Simons), and roared by in mid-stretch for the win. Prairie Famous (Tony Dinges) was third. It was the first lifetime win for Prairie Nugget after nine tries and put icing on the cake for longtime trainer-driver Clarence Martin, celebrating his 65th birthday.

Two-Year-Old Filly Pace – Wally Hennessey quickly doubled up on the card by guiding Prairie Lynx (Royel Millennium) to a handy win in 2:00.1, highlighted by a :28.1 finale. Owned by Laurie Poulin along with Lee Clarke, the winner is trained by Tony Dinges and already has a 1:56.2 mark at Vernon Downs. Prairie Special (Tony Dinges), a stablemate of the winner, was second while Flo Jo (Mike Simons) was next.

Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Pace – Gator Growl (Well Said), handled by Mickey McNichol, took charge early, repelled a bid around the final bend, and sprinted clear late to score a maiden win in 1:59.4 over Gator Forty Five (dq’d and placed fourth) and Flying For Trey (Hennessey) (placed second) with Easy As That (Dinges) awarded third. Trained by McNichol for George Birkhold, it was a maiden win for Gator Growl in, this, his fifth start—but not a new mark since he does have a 1:58.4 qualifying mark at Scioto Downs.

Three-Year-Old Filly Trot – G’s Independence (Big Chocolate), given a perfectly rated drive by owner-trainer Justin Mullett, put together four identical fractions of :31 and scored an easy gate-to-wire win in 2:04 with Charis (Matt Krueger) and I’m Solar Powered (Marc Major) next. It was a repeat win for G’s Independence, last year’s Super Night champ, who won last week in the same fashion in 2:06.4.

Three-Year-Old Gelding Trot – Taking advantage of his foes miscues early, Prince Of Sussex (Creatine) opened an insurmountable advantage early and strolled around to oval to a seven length win for Wally Hennessey, in 2:03.4, giving Hennessey a “hat trick” on the afternoon festivities. Little John (Matt Krueger) recovered to finish second while Oh No Not Again (Tony Dinges) was third. Prince Of Sussex, who swept through his two-year-old Stakes season in Florida to become Super Night champion last year, now is two-for-two in this year’s stakes season for trainer Justin Mullett (giving him a training double) and owners Heather Wilder and Herman Brewer.

Three-Year-Old Filly Pace – Benicio (Six Of Diamonds), who gave a strong hint in last week’s debut finishing second, used a :28.4 kick home to roll by late for a maiden win in 1:54.4. Matt Krueger was in the bike for owner-trainer Kim Sears. Last year’s Super Night winner in her class, Come On Spank Me (Tellitlikeitis) (Hennessey) took charge turning for home but finished 2 1/4 lengths away. Gold Star Snowball (Simons) was a much improved third. Said Krueger after the event, “She (Benicio) was really good last week after being shuffled so the win didn’t surprise me all that much—and she beat a very good one here—but the time did surprise me a bit. That mile, I think, put some worth on her, that’s for sure!”

Three-Year-Old Gelding Pace – In what turned out to be a match race, Vinnie V (Six Of Diamonds), driven by Matt Krueger, stalked the leader the entire route then put his head in front on the line to score the photo finish win over Gator At The Well. The irrelevant time was 2:20 after the leader dawdled through fractions of :35, 1:17 and 1:49 before the pair sprinted to the wire. Vinnie V is trained by Kim Sears, giving both Sears and Krueger doubles on the program. The winner, by the way, owned by Kim Sears along with Joe Chindano, Sr., has close to $20,000 in bounty after just three lifetime starts—one of those a $17,000 walkover win last season.

In summing up the Sunshine Meadows day, Wally Hennessey said, “The staff here did a super job on the racetrack. It was safe and fast, and we could ask for nothing more.”

Racing continues next Saturday with an eight race Stakes program beginning at 11:00 a.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by John Berry, for the FSBOA