‘Increditable’ Speed Show At Pompano

Increditable turned in an incredible performance at Pompano Park on Wednesday night (April 15) and trotted the second fastest mile in the history of the track.

Driven by Kevin Wallis for owner Denis Goyette and trainer Norm Dessureault, the six-year-old gelded son of Credit Winner led at every pole, clocked fractions of :27.2, :55 and 1:24.1 along the way, and hit the wire in 1:53.1, seven lengths ahead of his nearest rival, Highland Yankee (driven by Wally Hennessey). M C Felix (Aaron Byron) was just another nose back in third. R G Rocket finished fourth in the field of nine. The 4-5 post time favourite, Jailhouse Jessica, finished fifth.

In a post-race interview, the soft-spoken Wallis said, "You know, the five post seems to be very good off the gate here, so I sent him just to get into it early. Once I got around Sam's (Stathis) horse (As Yall Like It), he brushed to the front easily and never looked back. This horse is hard trying and he was at his very best tonight. I was just hoping to get a good cheque for the owner (Denis Goyette) and Norm (trainer Dessureault) but, with the two big guns out of it, it turned out a bit better than I expected."

Increditable won for the fourth time in 13 starts this year, sending his seasonal earnings to $29,665. He's banked $143,164 career-wise.

Sent off as the fourth choice at 10-1, Increditable paid $22.80 to his faithful, keying a 20-cent superfecta payoff of $2,567.50 with Highland Yankee (29-1), M C Felix (93-1) and R G Rocket (6-1) underneath.

Pompano Park's Super Hi-5, once again, had multiple winners for the 20-cent exotic, each receiving $169.06 for their 4-8-5-6-2 combo. The carryover to Saturday's card now stands at $141,848.66, just short of the record $146,288.30.

HUGE SUPER HI-5, BILLINGS, TOP OPEN HIGHLIGHT POMPANO WEEK

A huge Super Hi-5 carryover jackpot (currently over $135,000), the kickoff of the Billings Series, and a ‘million-dollar field’ in Saturday night's Open Handicap Pace will highlight the rest of the week at Pompano.

The popular Super Hi-5, now untapped since mid-February, is a nightly final-race event featuring a 20-cent minimum wager with one unique winning ticket necessary to take down the entire pool. In the case of multiple tickets on the winning combination, 50 per cent of the net pool is shared by those winners with the other half going forward to the carryover for the next racing program.

The track’s director of racing, Brett Revington, said, "With the average 20-cent consolation payoff close to $600, our players have been rewarded with some hefty 'dividends' for their investment. No doubt it has been one of the more popular offerings here at the track...and getting even more popular with each passing night. It's very exciting."

The CKG Billings’ North American tour begins on Saturday with two divisions – one a pace – heading behind the starting gate.

Pompano Billings regulars Dein Spriggs, Joe Pennacchio, John Campagnuolo, Teddy Bowman and Steve Oldford are set to do battle with Billings ‘invaders’ Peter Gerry, Matt Zuccarello, Anthony Verruso, Robert Krivelin and Hannah Miller in these two special events.

The 23-year-old Miller has 12 wins in 33 lifetime starts and comes off a 2014 season where she had a .648 UDR with a 6-2-2 scorecard from 12 starts. This year, she has already won races at Monticello Raceway, Freehold and the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings, by the way, was a very wealthy industrialist and noted horseman who was able to retire in 1901 at the age of 40. He went on to own some of the nation's most notable trotters and pacers, including the great Lou Dillon, the first trotting horse in history to trot a mile in 2:00. Billings passed away in 1937 after having moved to Santa Barbara, California where many of the streets are named in honour of the champions he owned.

Pompano's $10,000 Open Handicap Pace has lured a field of nine with four of the contestants owning sub-1:50 marks and the other five just a tick or two away.

Panocchio will be looking to stretch his winning streak to three (he won in 1:50 last week). Bruce Ranger will be back in the bike for trainer Jim Mattison and the duo will start from Post 9.

Duc Dorleans, a close second to Panocchio in his last two starts, has drawn Post 8 for Donald Dupont and will be looking for his sixth win of the campaign.

Prairie Jaguar, Cruizin K C, Canadian Touch, Dont Tell Rusty, Neptune, Northern Companion and Steelhead Hanover will complete the talented field.

First-race post time for Pompano’s Saturday card is 7:30 p.m.

(With files from Pompano)

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