Its Payday Friday. Well, it usually is, but that was changed to Wednesday for owner Dan Clements, as the horseman piloted his own four-year-old Its Payday Friday to victory in Pompano Park's $10,000 Open Handicap Trot.
Stepping up to the top class after two straight victories in conditioned events, the son of Kadabra took command right at the :28.1 opening marker and then posted following fractions of :56.3 and 1:25.3 before holding off the furious late rally of Andover America (driven by Bruce Ranger) to win by a neck in a lifetime best 1:55 clocking.
Baby Boy Grin (Kevin Wallis), who was seeking his third straight win, had to settle for third, one and a half lengths in arrears. Shes All In was fourth while Count Speed finished fifth.
In a post-race interview, Clements said, "we both love this track...and, ‘by both,’ I mean this horse and this driver. He hasn't been worse than second in his five starts here and we're both happy as a lark here. And, I might add, the trainer, Renaldo Morales III, loves it, too.
“This horse seems to like to be in the thick of things, so since he's won on the front his last two starts, I thought, 'why tinker with success?' He sure dug in late and beat a very talented field."
Indeed he did.
Coming into the action, the collective earnings of the starters in the field was over $2.5 million with Its Payday Friday the second lowest at $165,258.
"When you are facing a field as talented as this," Clements said, "it's always in the back of your mind whether you're in over your head. Its Payday Friday answered that tonight."
The victory was the seventh of the year for the winner, pushing his 2014 earnings to $52,091 to go along with his new lifetime mark.
As second choice on the tote board, Its Payday Friday paid a dividend to his believers on Wednesday – $5.20 for their $2 investment.
(Pompano Park)