by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — All Charged Up, catch-driven by Wally Hennessey, took top honors in Pompano Park’s pacing feature for mares on Monday night (Oct. 30), covering the standard distance in 1:54.3.

Skip Smith photo

All Charged Up, catch-driven by Wally Hennessey, captured the pacing feature for mares on Monday night at Pompano Park.

The 6-year-old daughter of Ponder, trained by John MacDonald for his JP Stables, took command at the :27.3 opening marker and then produced a well rated second panel of :29.4 before two straight :28.3 subsequent quarters led to the final clocking — her final margin on the line a half-length over the late charging Goldstar Rockette (Bryce Fenn). Red Hot Hill (Andy Santeramo) finished third while A Wish For Wings closed fastest of all to finish fourth. Dee’s Golden Joy picked up the nickel in the sextet over Stirling Electra, who loomed boldly around the final bend before faltering in the lane.

In a post-race interview, catch-driver Wally Hennessey remarked, “This is the first time I drove this mare but I know how tough she is because she beat my great mare (Godiva Seelster) the last time we were together in a race a couple of weeks ago.

“This mare (All Charged Up) is tough as nails and she dug in late, as she always does. She’s a quality mare, all right.”

All Charged Up is now six-for-14 this year, good for earnings of $35,660. The win, incidentally, was the fourth straight for All Charged Up, who now has 29 career wins in 114 starts with earnings of $259,082 to go along with her Vernon Downs mark of 1:51.2. Off at 1-5 on the Pompano toteboard, All Charged Up paid $2.40 to win.

Racing continues on Tuesday night with the finals of the Sunshine State Stakes for 3-year-olds. Sponsored by the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, each of the four finals for sophomore Florida breds carries a purse of $12,000. Post time for the pari-mutuel card is 7:20 p.m.