by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Yes, it was raining cats and dogs and yes, the $828,000 winner Precocious Beauty was lurking in the shadow and yes, Pertty Music was back in town after her winning debut one week ago. But none of those obstacles could stop Mach It A Par from winning her second straight Open Pace for mares on Tuesday night (Dec. 8) at Pompano Park.

Skip Smith photo

Dan Clements drove favored Mach It A Par to her second straight win in the Mares Open at Pompano Park on Tuesday night.

The 5-year-old daughter of Mach Three, given picture perfect rating by owner Dan Clements, led from the first step to the last in scoring a handy 1:52.3 win measuring 2-1/4 lengths over Pertty Music (Ed Hensley) with Classic Carpet (Wally Hennessey) third in a photo over Precocious Beauty with Wild Wand fifth in the field of eight.

Off as the 4-5 favorite, Mach It A Par opened the festivities with a :28 quarter, strolled over to the half in :57 and when some pressure started to develop from Wild Wanda going first up, turned on the afterburners a bit early this time around and settled the issue with a pair of :27.4 quarters to stop the timer in 1:52.3.

A muddied up Dan Clements remarked after the race, “With the track a bit off from the rain, I thought it best to keep the mud out of her (Mach It A Par’s) eyes. She knows how to leave — that’s for sure — and the five post is the perfect spot for leavers here. Actually, I shouldn’t take the credit for her leaving like that because it was really her idea to keep the mud out of her own eyes!

“She’s sharp right now and that was the difference tonight — that plus Pertty Music with the outside post and McNair’s mare (Precocious Beauty) maybe needing a start over the track.”

Mach It A Par, trained by Renaldo Morales III for the owner-driver, won for the 13th time this year in 29 starts, vaulting her 2015 earnings to $88,047.

Also on Tuesday night, Late Closer action continued with two divisions of The Optimist for claiming pacers and one division of The Interloper claiming trot.

The first division of The Optimist went to the 10-year-old war horse No Shenanigans, scoring his 36th career victory with a 1:55.1 score over the track rated sloppy.

This altered son of Matt’s Scooter, handled by Wally Hennessey for Erin and (trainer) Leonard Poger, made a sweeping backside brush to the lead and held on valiantly late to post a photo finish victory measuring a neck over Dr Flamingo (Aaron Byron) with Flak Jacket (Rick Plano) third, three-parts of a length away. Lightning Legs was fourth with Star Chaser picking up the nickel in the septet.

No Shenanigans now sports a 6-1-1 scorecard in 16 starts, good for $13,414 this season and $156,212 lifetime covering 201 career starts. Fifth choice in the betting, No Shenanigans paid $16.20 to win.

The second division went to Ashley Johnson’s Cherokee Ranger, extending his winning skein to three with a 1:54.1 win for trainer-driver Dustin Ingraham.

This 4-year-old gelded son of Palone Ranger swept up from fifth halfway through the mile and collared the pacesetting Clive Hanover (Mike Micallef) in the final stages to score by just short of a length. Dynamic Rayzer (Dave Ingraham), prominent early, finished third, four lengths back, with Mountain Air and Hope You Had Fun next in the field of seven.

Cherokee Ranger won for the ninth time this season in 36 starts, good for seasonal bounty of $26,403. The winner paid $5.40 as the second choice.

The lone division of The Interloper went to the favored Frenchmen, stopping the timer in 1:58.1 after a quarter move to the top (:28.4) and on to post subsequent panels of :58 and 1:27.4 — his margin two lengths at the wire over Time For Explosion (Joe Pavia Jr.) with Berkshire (John MacDonald) another neck back in third. Landonfitz and Browner Shuttle picked up the minors. Frenchmen paid $3.60 to his multitude of followers.

Finally, with That’s Mara pulling off a 15-1 upset for Tim Maier in the final leg of the Pick-5, the 4-2-2-1-7 combination produced nary a single winner with a carryover of $3,422 on tap for Saturday’s program. Post time is 7:30 p.m.