For the second straight week, Hyperion Hanover, deftly handled by Stephane Lareau, wore down favourite B N Bad, driven by Bruce Ranger, in the final strides to capture Pompano Park’s $10,000 Winners Over feature pace on Saturday in 1:51.3.
The millionaire ageless wonder, now 10, settled cozily in the garden spot after B N Bad left sharply from his mid-pack (five) post and carded honest fractions of :27, :55 and 1:23.1.
Turning for home, Hyperion Hanover left the pocket and ever so slowly gnawed into B N Bad’s lead, nailing the win just two strides from the wire for his eighth win of the year in 23 starts.
The gelded son of Camluck, owned by the S S G Stables, now boasts 48 lifetime wins and a bankroll of $1,238,776.
Hurrikane Scotty J, with Matt Romano in the bike, finished third while No Monkeys Allowed and driver Rick Plano teamed up for fourth. Oh My Joepa (Tom Sells) got the last nickel in the field of six.
“...Once again, this horse showed his class and tenacity," said Lareau in a post-race interview. "It was not easy getting by Bruce’s horse [B N Bad] this time around. He was very game. It wasn’t a question of his horse faltering, it was just the fact that I was lucky enough to get the trip.”
As third choice in the wagering, Hyperion Hanover paid a very healthy $11.20 to win.
For trainer Jim McDonald, who is on the “milestone watch list” closing in on the 1,000 mark in both driving and training wins, it was career training victory number 957, a number to which he would add a few races later when Freeneasy Hanover, driven by Kevin Wallis, took top honours in the co-feature pace.
The five-year-old son of Western Ideal, owned by Twenty Four Carrot Racing along with Ciro Gentile, made a bold quarter move to the top past the :27.2 opener, clocked panels of :56.3 and 1:25 and then held off the furious late surge of Yankees In Six (Stephane Lareau) to win by a head in 1:53.2.
The early leader, Excel Nine, handled by Matt Romano, finished third followed by Gold Star Spike and Fine Fine Fine in the field of seven.
The win was number five on the year for Freeneasy Hanover in 30 starts -- 16th lifetime -- and pushed his career bounty to $144,993.
In the non-wagering $10,000 Sunshine State Stake Final for Florida-bred three-year-old side-wheelers, 80-year-young trainer Marc Aubin stole the show as Quincy and stablemate Hillybilly finished one-two.
Quincy, owned by the Marc Aubin Stable, grabbed the racetrack after three-eighths of a mile, went to the half in :57.1 and blazed home in :56.2 to score a handy two length victory for Bryce Fenn in 1:53.3. The win was his 12th of the year and set a new lifetime mark.
Hillybilly, driven by Bruce Ranger, was the early leader through the :28.3 opener and sat in the pocket thereafter before easing out in the lane to out-game Goldstar Thumper (Rick Plano) for the second spot.
In other action, Panocchio, driven by Bruce Ranger, stuck his long nose in front approaching the wire to score in a lifetime-best 1:52.3 over Gentleman Friend (Kyle Bolon) and Hurricane Howard (Tom Sells) in a blanket finish.
Panocchio is owned by Emile Johnson Jr. along with trainer Jim Mattison.
Finally, the Florida Amateur Driving Club, which has donated over $125,000 to worthy charitable causes since their inception, added to that total on Saturday night with a sizable contribution to the Go For The Greens Foundation, dedicated to helping those that have been touched by breast cancer.
The ceremony took place in the Pompano Park winner’s circle after Teddy Bowman teamed up with his own Peaceful Prince to win the F.A.D.C. featured trot in 2:00.3. It was the 27th lifetime win for the nine year-old son of Lindy Lane.
(With files from Pompano Park)