by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Panocchio, the grand 5-year-old son of No Pan Intended, stretched his winning streak to four on Saturday night (Nov. 28) at Pompano Park, covering the mile in 1:49.4 for driver Dan Clements.

Owned by Emile Johnson Jr. along with trainer Jim Mattison, Panocchio beat a very classy field numbering six by skimming the pylons turning for home and pushing past the stubborn Bandolito (Kevin Wallis) to score by one length. Alexa’s Jackpot (Steve Condren) finished third, four lengths away, while Lyons Johnny finished fourth and Archetto Hanover picked up the nickel.

At the outset, it was Bandolito leaving from post five and bursting off the Hummer Starting Gate into the lead with Panocchio, beginning one post further out, on the move and winding his way into second around the opening turn with Alexa’s Jackpot next during a hot opener of :26.2. With the pace remaining “red-hot,” positions remained stagnant as Bandolito reached the half in a stunning :53.4.

On the backside, the field began to tighten up with Alexa’s Jackpot going first up and moving to within a length of Bandolito with Panocchio now seeking some room to roam as they reached the third station in 1:21.3.

Turning for home, Bandolito drifted out a tad allowing Panocchio to skim the pylons and into the lead a sixteenth out and on to victory.

After the event, both the driver and trainer were extolling the virtues of each other with driver Clements lamenting, “As I have mentioned before, what an honor and thrill to drive a horse like this. He’s just so handy and (trainer) Jim Mattison does just an outstanding job in keeping him race-ready — even after a week or two off.”

Mattison then remarked, “You know that these are very classy horses in here and to start from the outside makes it even more remarkable. That said, it’s one thing to have the horse power and it’s another to have a driver like Dan (Clements) who handles him to perfection.”

Panocchio now sports a 12-6-2 scorecard in 29 starts, good for $116,122 this semester and $290,767 lifetime to go along with 36 career victories and his 1:48.3 mark.

Ironically, Panocchio, who set the track record of 1:48.3 two starts back, has been the favorite in only one of his four winning starts at Pompano Park and this night he was the second choice at 7-5 as Bandolito wound up 4-5 on the tote board.

Pompano Park racing resumes on Sunday night with the track presenting the FSBOA Super Night consisting of eight events with total purses over $540,000. Super Night will also honor the late Dr. Melvyn Aylor, who passed away due to a tragic accident six years ago. The track also will be featuring a Pick-4 carryover and a guaranteed pool of $10,000. Pari-mutuel post time is 7:30 p.m. for Super Night with two Super Night events scheduled as non-wagering races beginning at 6 p.m.