Mach It A Par takes Pompano Open

Pompano Beach, FL…December 1, 2015…Mach It A Par, perfectly handled by harness racing owner Dan Clements, took top honors at Pompano Park on Tuesday night in the $11,000 Open Handicap Pace for fillies and mares.

The five year-old daughter of Mach Three led from first long stride to last and stopped the tele-timer in 1:52.1 for her third win in her last four starts and 12th success of the year.

Stucklikeglue and Rick Plano teamed up for the place honors, 1 ¾ lengths away, while Sandysgoldenhour finished third for Jason Dillander.

Wild Wanda finished fourth in the mile while Classic Carpet, starting from the outside eight post, picked up the final award.

At the start, Mach It A Par seemed to push the starting gate out of her way and clocked panels of :27.4: 56.1 and 1:24.2 before sealing the issue with a :27.2 finale and without an anxious moment during her journey.

In a post-race interview, driver Dan Clements said, “she was in a very good spot tonight with the mid-pack post and she’s a handy thing and just does anything asked of her. She has won here on and off the pace and really had a great week for the gentleman who helps me to no end, Renaldo Morales III.

“Tonight, I just let her do what she wanted to do and that kinda was that. She did this all on her own. All I did was steer tonight. I am blessed to have her.”

The victory pushed Mach It A Par’s seasonal earnings to $82,547 and this win—her 18th lifetime—pushed her career bounty to $119,449.

Mach It A Par, the heavy 2 to 5 tote-board favorite, paid $2.80 to win.

Other mares in the spotlight on Tuesday night were Pertty Music and Jinxy’s Delight.

Pertty Music, handled by owner Ed Hensley for trainer Ashleigh Hensley, returned to the racing wars after a six month hiatus in a conditioned event for mares and looked every bit like her “old” self in scoring a handy 2 ½ length win over Voluminous (Rick Plano) and Jets Are On (Wally Hennessey) in 1:52.2—this after a long journey outside and “double-bubbled” vying for the lead into the final turn.

This five year-old daughter of Jereme’s Jet scored her 20th lifetime victory—6th this year in only 16 starts—to push her lifetime bounty to $268,822 of which $55,575 has been accomplished this shortened semester.

Pertty Music was the second choice in the wagering pool at 3 to 1 and paid $8.20 to her faithful.

Jinxy’s Delight, a six year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight, made her Pompano Park debut a winning one for owner-trainer-driver John Macdonald with a very sharp, grinding forward journey, finally reaching the top spot turning for home and holding firm down the stretch for a 1 ¾ length win in 1:52.3, equaling her lifetime best.

In scoring her fourth victory in a row—the last three over Balmoral Park’s one mile oval—Jinxy’s Delight earned her sixth win of the year and sent her 2015 earnings to $34,138. She recently went over the $150,000 in lifetime bounty and left the winner’s circle this night with career bounty of $153,570.

She paid $4.40 to her multitude of followers.

Finally, Pompano Park’s Pentafecta went unscathed on Tuesday night and now has a carryover of $5,097 and an “as yet undetermined guaranteed pool” going into the next racing program on Saturday.

Post time is 7:30 p.m.

by John Berry for Pompano Park