Picking up right where he left off

Pompano Beach, FL…February 21, 2022… In a “mind-boggling” performance, the amazing Prairie Panther, confidently handled by Wally Hennessey, extended his winning streak to five on Sunday (February 20) in the featured harness racing $14,200 Open Pace at Pompano Park, stopping the timer in 1:51.2.

What made the performance so amazing was the fact that Prairie Panther was making his first start in nearly a month, having his last on-track pari-mutuel exercise on January 23.

The eight year-old gelded son of Royel Millennium, four-for-four coming into the action, made it five-for-five this semester by taking charge at the :27 opener and then preceding through fractions of :56 and 1:24.1 before a :27.1 finale sealed the issue by three-parts-of-a-length over the pocket-sitting Cinnamon Beach (Patrizio Ancora) with the late charging Seeing Eye Single (John MacDonald) third, 3 1/2 lengths away. Maxdaddy Blue Chip was fourth while Peter Dalt picked up the minor award in this classy million dollar field.

In a post race interview, Hennessey, too, was amazed by Prairie Panther saying, “Let me tell you, this was an amazing performance…a mind boggling performance. To come back after a month off and perform like that is, well, is there a better word than amazing?

“When I spoke to Mike (trainer Deters) and asked if he’d be tight enough, he said he should be good. But you have to be more than good to tangle with these that he was facing. He just as fast at the end as he was when he left the gate. Can’t say enough about him or Mike (Deters), as he is one of the top conditioners in this industry.”

Trainer Deters echoed Hennessey by saying “(Prairie) Panther never ceases to amaze me. He lives up to his name with his tenacity on the racetrack.”

For Prairie Panther, it was his 52nd career success and vaulted his career earnings to within $2,300 of a half million dollars for Deters, who co-owns with breeder Laurie Poulin.

Evidently, the wagering public wasn’t concerned about the lapsed time between starts. They made him the 4 to 5 tote-board favorite as he paid $3.80 to win.

The $12,600 Open II Pace went to Scootnroll, driven by Joe Chindano, Jr.

The five eyar-old altered son of Roll With Joe used a :28.2 finale to rally past the pacesetting Real Peace (Ricky Macomber, Jr.) to score by a half length in 1:52. Agedchedar Hanover (John MacDonald) finished third while Trashytonguetalker and Let’s Roll picked up the final two awards in the septet.

It was Trashytonguetalker zipping off the wings from his outside post before yielding to Real Peace at the hot :27 opener with Agedchedar Hanover third and Surfer Beach next.

Real Peace then cut through panels of:55.2 and 1:23 while holding off a challenge of Surfer Beach around the final bend. While Real Peace was able to do that, he wasn’t able to hold off Scootnroll, who surged past a few strides from the wire.

Trained by John Hallett for Rick and Geoff Howles, Scootnroll won for the second time this year and 21st time career-wise, sending his lifetime bankroll over the $150,000 plateau by $720.

Racing continues on Monday night with a $15,000 guaranteed Pick-4 pool further highlighted by an industry low 12% takeout.

First post is set for 7:20 p.m.

For full race results, click here.

by John Berry, for Pompano Park