by Michael Costanzo, public relations coordinator, Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — The juvenile pacer Sody’s Moonshine and his 3-year-old full brother Ace Mactavish visited the Pompano Park winner’s circle in consecutive races on Saturday, September 22, capturing their respective divisions of the Sunshine State Stakes for Florida-bred colt and gelding pacers.

Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith

Sody’s Moonshine remained perfect on Saturday when taking the fifth leg of the Sunshine State Stakes for juvenile colt and gelding pacers.

Driven from post two by Kevin Wallis in the $5,478 fifth leg of Sunshine State Stakes, which went as the second non-wagering event of the evening, Donald Soderstrom’s homebred gelding Sody’s Moonshine briefly yielded the lead to Seal the Deal Spot (Bruce Ranger), who took the field through an opening quarter in :28.2.

As the pacers exited the first turn, Wallis angled Sody’s Moonshine off the pylons, and with one bold move the Kim Sears trainee took command of the race, carving out middle fractions of :58.2 and 1:27.2, before covering the final panel in :27.4 to stop the timer in 1:55.1.

The victory marked the eighth straight win for the son of Tough Sir, out of the Scoot Outa Reach mare Sue Perfecta, whose lifetime earnings are now over the $40,000 mark.

In the following race, the first pari-mutuel event of the evening, Ace Mactavish ($4.00) employed a nearly identical move as his younger brother when powering to the front on the first turn to seize control of the race, then cruising unchallenged to a 2-1/2 length triumph in 1:53.3 to capture the $8,971 fifth leg.

Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith

Ace Mactavish captured his fifth leg division of the Sunshine State Stakes in 1:53.3.

Owned by Rod Lorenzo and Souren Hovsepian, trained by Michile Lorenzo, and driven by Wally Hennessey, Ace Mactavish has triumphed in 15 of 18 career starts, including four of five during his sophomore campaign. The son of Tough Sir, who is also out of the Scoot Outa Reach mare Sue Perfecta, now owns a career bankroll in excess of $95,000.

Scoot For The Loot prevailed in the opening Sunshine State Stakes of the evening when topping the night’s first non-wagering event in 1:55.2 for trainer Jim Pawley, who co-owns the 3-year-old gelding with Theresa Cagle. Walter Ross, Jr. provided the winning drive.

The final Sunshine State Stakes event of the evening, for juvenile colt and gelding pacers, went to Alligator Alley ($2.80). The son of Raging Glory stopped the timer in 1:54, the fastest mile of the year by a juvenile pacer at Pompano.

The victory was the first career triumph for Alligator Alley, who had finished second to Sody’s Moonshine in each of his last four outings. The gelding is owned by Mark Rorabeck, trained by Mike Deters, and was driven to victory by Hennessey.