by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Zoraze took top honors in Pompano Park’s featured trot on Wednesday night (Oct. 25) while Atlantic Crest and Prairie Panther were dominant in their victories in their respective divisions of the FSBOA sponsored Sunshine State Stakes held prior to the pari-mutuel card.

Zoraze, a 5-year-old gelded son of Crazed, won an early battle for supremacy by taking command right at the opening station in :28 and then went on to post fractions of :57.1 and 1:25.3 before a stroll-in-the-park home stopped the timer in 1:55.3.

Fern Paquet Jr. was in the sulky for the win measuring 3-1/2 lengths over Born To Thrive, driven by Rick Plano. Kabu, with Jim Meittinis in the bike, was next while BJ Anthony and My Revenuer also picked up awards in the bulky field of 10.

After the race, driver Paquet related, “This horse does have some gate speed and I thought it best to try and use it in a field as large as this. He’s got a mark of (1):54, so he’s capable of a big mile.

“Once we got to the half in :57 and a piece and straightened away on the backside, he really grabbed a hold and upped his game and we opened up some good daylight on some pretty good horses. Edgar (trainer Clarke) has him sharp right now and he showed that sharpness tonight!”

Trained by the aforementioned Edgar Clarke for Jamie Marra Racing, Zoraze won for the fifth time this semester, vaulting his seasonal bankroll to $37,069. Career-wise, Zoraze has banked $126,534 to go along with his Tioga Downs mark of 1:54. As second choice in the wagering, Zoraze returned $11.60 to win.

As mentioned, prior to the betting card, the fifth leg of the Sunshine State Stakes were held for the 3-year-olds and, to kick things off, Sergio Corona’s outstanding daughter of Crest, Atlantic Crest, again dominated her foes with a gate-to-wire 1:59 win.

This filly scored a dominant win of 7-1/4 lengths over Prairie Pixie (Jim Meittinis) with Famous C, Sparkling Comet and Bonnie Blue Banker well back with Famous C placed back a notch to fourth for an extended miscue in the stretch.

Atlantic Crest now has captured her three appearances in these Sunshine State Stakes event by 13, 13-3/4 and 7-1/4 lengths, respectively and looks to repeat her championship season of 2016 as Super Night approaches at Pompano Park in late November.

Prairie Panther, the sophomore altered son of Royel Millennium, won his fourth straight in Sunshine State Stakes competition by making a sharp quarter move (:28.1) to the top for Jim Meittinis and then went on to post well rated panels of :57.3 and 1:27.4 before a :28.3 finale sealed the deal in 1:56.2 by 2-1/4 lengths over Fabiano (Wally Hennessey) with Gold Star Spider (Walter Ross Jr.) next in the stake for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Gold Star Bugsy and Travis completed the order of finish.

Owned by Laurie Poulin along with trainer Mike Deters, Prairie Panther is now 11-for-15 lifetime with a bankroll of more than $70,000 with the lucrative portion of the Florida stakes season just ahead.

The other division for pacing colts and geldings went to Maybe Ned in wire-to-wire fashion for trainer Bryce Fenn. This gelded son of Royel Millennium posted panels of :28.3 and :59.1 before a :28 sprint down the backside thwarted any challengers and a :29.1 final held off the late charging Fifth Son (Corey Braden) by a half-length. Moon Doggie (Hennessey) finished third while Heavens Boy and Kingwiththeaxe completed the roster.

Owned by Marah Lee, Maybe Ned scored his third win in 20 starts this year with the reliable pacer having missed only one purse check in his 31 race career.

In other Sunshine State Stakes action, Prairie Cowgirl, driven by Jim Meittinis, finally conquered her main opponent, Gold Star Aurora, by holding off the latter’s determined late bid by a neck in 1:59.2. The daughter of Royel Millennium was cleverly handled, slicing through fractions of :28, :59.4 and 1:30.1 before a :29.1 closer held off Gold Star Aurora (Walter Ross Jr.) by a neck. Bella Pat (Corey Braden) was next followed by Golden Diamond and Gold Dust Darling in the sextet of fillies.

Prairie Cowgirl now has a 4-3-3 scorecard in 10 starts and has never been worse than third in her 17 lifetime starts for trainer Mike Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin and John Spindler.

Finally, the rough and tumble, back and forth rivalry between I’m Done and Azzaro took place in round 14 on Wednesday night with I’m Done, driven by John MacDonald, winning a lip decision over Azzaro (Hennessey) in 2:00.3. I’m Done, a gelded son of Toro Brave, took the top honors this night after a stirring stretch duel that took the photo finish camera to decide the outcome.

Trained by Jim McDonald for owner Troy Basista, I’m Done, last year’s Super Night champion, now has a 7-7-0 scorecard in 14 starts — the exact same as Azzaro.

Racing continues on Sunday with a Super Hi-5 carryover of $7,741 highlighting the pari-mutuel action. Post time is 7:20 p.m.