Pompano Beach, FL — Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey, coming into the Pompano Park action on Sunday (Oct. 28) with an astounding UDR of .815 for his first 27 drives, won six more in nine starts, including three of the four $12,000 Sunshine State Stakes finals and the Open Pace with track record holder Panocchio.

Panocchio redeemed himself from last week’s narrow loss to Lucan Hanover with a sharp 1:52.3 performance for his 40th career win at Pompano Park, defeating arch-rival Lucan Hanover (John MacDonald) by a length. Speed Trap (Mike Simons) was third, 4-1/2 lengths away and a nose better than Dakota Jack. A Cool Card picked up the final award in the classy sextet.

Surging off the wings, Panocchio won an early battle with Lucan Hanover but relented a few strides past the opening panel in a hot :26.4. A few strides later, Panocchio brushed from the pocked and reclaimed the lead short of the half in :55.4. On the backside the pace began to quicken as Panocchio seemed anxious to repel any threats the rest of the way with a :28.1 finale sealing the issue.

After the race, Hennessey remarked, “That first quarter was pretty lively and, after MacDonald’s horse (Lucan Hanover) took the lead, I felt the pace was slackening a bit, so I decided to brush Panocchio again and see what happens.

“I thought, ‘maybe it’s better to brush again during a rated quarter then wait until we hit the backside when the pace would really get hot.’

“It worked out well for us this time around but both of these horses are dead game.”

For Panocchio, it was his 62nd career win with 40 of those achieved at Pompano Park. Owned by trainer Jim Mattison along with Emile Johnson, Panocchio, an 8-year-old gelded son of No Pan Intended, now has lifetime earnings of $550,638. Off at 3-5, Panocchio paid $3.20 to win.

In other action, the FSBOA presented four Sunshine State Stakes finals for 2-year-olds, each worth $12,000 with Kerry B and Prairie Gem taking the two early events and Natasha and Mister Marvalous reaching the winner’s circle on the pari-mutuel card.

Kerry B, with Hennessey driving, took her division for trotting fillies with a handy 2:04 win over Proud Sophie, driven by Jay Sears. The winner is a daughter of Muscle Mass trained by Kim Sears for owner-husband Jay, who drove Proud Sophie as part owner with Dr. David Fishman.

Prairie Gem took the division for the juvenile trotting colts and geldings with a sharp 2:01.4 performance, knocking almost five seconds off his only other winning effort, a 2:06.3 mile in his racing debut. Jim Meittinis was in the bike for trainer-owner Mike Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin, Fred Morosini and Fritz Racing. Prairie Arrow (Deters) was second over Prairie Shibby (Hennessey) in the quintet.

On the betting card, Natasha, handled by Hennessey, stalked Prairie Westerngal (Jim Meittinis) through panels of :27.2, :57.2 and 1:27.1 before unleashing a :28.1 burst home to score by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:55.3. Rockin Ellie (Dave Ingraham) was next, followed by Gold Star Stormie and Lime Twist. A 2-year-old daughter of Six Of Diamonds, Natasha is trained by Kim Sears for owner Jay Sears and now has five wins in seven lifetime starts to go along with her mark of 1:54.3 at Vernon Downs. Natasha paid $2.80 to her multitude of backers.

Finally, Mister Marvalous, an altered son of Delmarvelous, kept his record at Pompano Park unblemished — now four-for-four — with a handy six length win for Hennessey in 1:57, just one tick off his best achieved at Vernon Downs. Gold Star Hefner (Walter Ross Jr.) was next, six lengths away, with JB’s Boomerang (Bryce Fenn) third and Gold Star Yoder completing the roster of four. Off at 1-20, Mister Marvalous paid $2.10.

Racing continues on Monday night with the 3-year-olds competing in the Sunshine State Stakes finals. Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.