by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Driver-trainer Rick Schaut celebrated his ninth anniversary by guiding A TC Queenie to a 1:54.2 victory in Pompano Park’s $11,000 Open Handicap Trot for mares on Wednesday night (Feb. 7).

Skip Smith photo

A TC Queenie captured Pompano Park’s Open Trot for mares on Wednesday.

The 5-year-old daughter of Triumphant Caviar led every step of her mile, clocking lively panels of :27.2, :55.4 and 1:24.4 along the way before a :29.3 finale sealed the deal measuring 2-1/4 lengths over She’s All In, handled by Rick Plano. Explosive Jet, with Ricky Macomber Jr. in the bike, was third, a nose further back, while Modern Mercury finished fourth. Second Sister rallied from last halfway through the mile to finish fifth while Diamond Dagger, the 3-5 toteboard favorite, never fired and finished sixth in her octet.

Schaut, who co-owns the mare with sister Trish Soulsby, was humble after the win saying, “Queenie has always been good to us from day one. She’s just getting back after a few months off and, each start, she’s been getting better. I thought this was the perfect spot to send her from the five post and she came ready to race. She was strong every step and it was a great anniversary present for me and my wife, Liz. My sister was here to see it, so it was doubly special for everyone.”

The win — her 15th in 48 lifetime starts — pushed A TC Queenie’s career earnings to $279,146 to go along with her 1:53 mark last semester at Scioto Downs. As the 7-2 second choice, A TC Queenie paid $9.20 to win.

The $11,000 co-feature Open Trot went to Midnite Craze, driven by Dave Ingraham for Ivan Davies, who trains for owner G. Richard Mason Jr.

The 8-year-old gelded son of Crazed also used front end tactics to score in 1:54 off panels of :27.1, :56.3 and 1:24.4, holding off the late-surging Born To Thrive, with Rick Plano in the bike, by three-parts of a length. Uncle Hanover, with Mike Simons driving, was a fast closing third while Foundonabeach, prominent all the way, was fourth. Zoraze picked up the nickel after being shuffled to last around the final bend.

Said driver Ingraham after the event, “We just missed last week in his first start and he was much tighter tonight. It was a very good mile for him.”

The win was the milestone 25th in the career of Midnite Craze, who now has banked $185,081 during his career stretching 78 starts. Second choice in the betting at 7-2, Midnite Craze paid $9.40 to win.

Racing continues on Saturday night with a Pick-6 carryover of $1,703. The Super Hi-5 carryover has blossomed to $171,941 for the competitive nine-race program. Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.