Florida Stallion Stakes held at Sunshine Meadows

Delray Beach, FL…Nov. 23, 2024…The Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (FSBOA) stakes season continued on Saturday, Nov. 23 over the Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Village neatly honed mile oval with the Stallion Stake Finals and over $70,000 in harness racing purses up for grabs.

The seven-race program featured two-year-olds and three-year-olds and had five rare walkovers along with several other interesting milestones achieved.

Amante Standardbreds led the owner parade with four trips to the winner’s circle—two of those walkovers—and Wally Hennessey was in the sulky for all four of those events.

Amateur drivers Joe Pennacchio and Dein Spriggs also garnered some headlines with “Joe P” in the bike for two walkover events, vaulting his lifetime earnings over the $1,000,000 since his first appearance in 1995, winning the C. K. G. Billings event at Delaware, Ohio with the aptly named Fox Valley Trump.

His walkover wins on this day were with Prairie Kitten in the Stallion Stakes Final for three-year-old pacing fillies and Prairie Achiever in the event for sophomore pacing geldings.

Spriggs was handling the lines in Prairie Puma’s walkover while keeping his perfect record at Sunshine Meadows in tact–now four-for-four!

Here’a a summary of the action:

RACE ONE—STALLION STAKE WALKOVER FOR THREE-YEAR-OLD PACING FILLY ($10,000)

Prairie Kitten (Royel Millennium), handled by Joe Pennacchio, strolled around the Sunshine Meadows mile carding fractions of :32, 1:04 and 1:36.3 before crossing the wire in 2:07 to vault her career earnings to $56,543—$29,110 this semester. Some 362 days prior, Pennacchio won the same event with the filly in a walkover in 2:17.3. Discussing the win after the race, Pennacchio lamented, “It was no contest…I won by a ‘country mile!’”

Prairie Kitten is trained by Laurie Poulin, who co-owns with Fred Morosini and Patricia Fritz.

RACE TWO—STALLION STAKE FOR TWO-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FILLIES ($10,350)

Sunshine Jet (Odina Jet), with Wally Hennessey in her sulky, stalked the leading Gatorland Nolette, with MIckey McNIchol driving, and won the all-out war to the wire, edging by in the final yards to win by three-parts-of-a-length in 2:12. Gatorland Nolette got away with pedestrian fractions of :34.1, 1:08 and 1:41 before the two looked each other in the eye in that duel to the wire. The win was the third in four starts for Sunshine Jet—one by DQ—and sent her earnings to $10,939 in this first three weeks of her racing career.

Sunshine Jet is trained this time around by Tony Dinges for Amante Standardbreds.

RACE THREE—STALLION STAKE WALKOVER FOR TWO-YEAR-OLD PACING FILLY ($10,000)

Prairie Puma (Royel Millennium), co-owner Dein Spriggs in her bike, took her sweet time putting up numbers of :33, 1:07 and 1:39 jn strolling across the line in 2:12 for her walkover win. A full sister to first race walkover winner, Prairie Kitten, Prairie Puma extended her unblemished scorecard at Sunshine Meadows to four, including a sharp 2:02 win two weeks prior.

Prairie Puma is trained by Tony Dinges, who co-owns with Dein Spriggs—the filly now with $18,932—$17,650 earned in the past three weeks in FSBOA stakes events.

RACE FOUR—STALLION STK WALKOVER—THREE-YEAR-OLD PACING GELDING ($10,000)

Prairie Achiever (Royel Millennium) gave amateur driver Joe Pennacchio a walkover double, as well as a duplicate win for trainer Laurie Poulin, who, again, co-owns with Fred Morosini and Patricia Fritz, as the filly, who achieved a new mark of 1:58.4 last week, needed only to coast around in 2:13.3 to earn her biggest payday of the season.

Slowly sawing through panels of :33, 1:08 and 1:41.1, she coasted home in :32.2 and, in doing so, successfully defended her title in the same stake she won last year at age two,

Prairie Achiever now has lifetime earnings of $38,187—$32,442 earned at Sunshine Meadows over the past two Novembers in South Florida in FSBOA stakes action.

RACE FIVE—STALLION STAKE—TWO-YEAR-OLD TROTTING VOLTS/GELDINGS ($10,350)

Delray Jet (Odina Jet), given “Hall of Fame” rating by Wally Hennessey, used the benefit of the draw three days earlier to control the ceremony on this day and waltz away with a seven length win over Jays Gator Boy and Mickey McNichol in 2:10 after getting away with opening fractions of :33, 1:06 and 1:39 along the way. Winning the war off the wings, the two “evenly matched” youngsters matched strides early with Delray Jet taking charge around the opening turn and Jays Gator Boy content to stalk. Turning for home, the sprint home was on but Delray Jet began sprinting away at mid-stretch.

Delray Jet is from the dam Pocahontas Fame, one of the most memorable performers in Florida history in the FSBOA Stakes program, trained by Nick Coblentz for Amante Standardbreds. It also was a maiden win in four starts and sent his November earnings at Sunshine Meadows to $10,190.

After the event, Hennessey remarked, “I know they (Amante Standardbreds) were hoping that this colt would start to perform like his mommy and, today, he did just that!”

RACE SIX—WALKOVER—THREE-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FILLY ($10,000)

Bellarina Jet, yet another son of Odina Jet, displayed the exact definition of a “walkover” by stitching together three straight quarters of :34 before strolling home in an effortless :32 to earn her $10,000 prize in 2:14. This was the filly’s third win in four starts at Sunshine Meadows this semester, marred only by a miscue in her second start here after a perfect six-for-six last year, in which she made $35,402 in FSBOA competition to kick off her career. With the walkover success in this Stallion Stake, she’s already banked $17,300 with Super Saturday to follow next week.

Wally Hennessey was in the bike as Tony Dinges was listed as trainer this week for Amante Standardbreds with Bellarina Jet now boasting career earnings of $57,252—$52,702 of that banked at here in her 10 starts over two seasons here.

RACE SEVEN—WALKOVER—THREE-YEAR-OLD TROTTING GELDING ($10,000)

It was “grand slam” time as Okeechobee Jet (Odina Jet) wired together walkover fractions of :31.1, 1:03.4 and 1:34.3 before strutting home in :30.2 to hit the wire in 2:05. The “grand-slam” was all-inclusive as it gave driver Wally Hennessey his fourth win, as well as Amante Standardbreds’ their quartet of successes during the program and, as icing on the cake, a “grand-slam” for sire Odino Jet.

Okeechobee Jet, who brought a broom with him last season while sweeping his six events here last year, winning $31,900, has won $37,025 the year while lowering his mark to 1:57.2 over the Saratoga half-mile oval. All-in-all, he’s 12 for 20 in lifetime wins with $68,925 with FSBOA’s Super Saturday wrapping up the Florida stakes season next week.

Racing concludes November 30 at Sunshine Meadows with post time set for 11:00 a.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

by John Berry, for the FSBOA