by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Goldstar Pitcher, handled by Jay Sears, justified his role as the 4-5 toteboard favorite in scoring a convincing win in a division of the Florida Sunshine State Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Saturday night (October 2) at Pompano Park.

The three-year-old gelded son of Starfleets Command tripped the timer in 1:55, defeating Diamond Jack and Pete’s Majic, among others.

Owned by Jay and Kim Sears, Goldstar Pitcher had a perfect two hole trip through the first half before Sears sent his charge to the front on the backstretch and went on to score by a length and a quarter.

In other Stakes action, Flight Of Glory took the other division for the sophomore boys, defying the elements in scoring a 1:56 win for Mike Deters. Rage To Riches and Piper were two-three in that mile.

Owned by Robert Powell, Flight Of Glory earned his sixth win in a dozen starts this year.

The two-year-old colt and gelding pacing divisions were garnered by McTough, Florida Boy and Newport.

McTough, a gelded son of Tough Sir, rallied in deep stretch for Dave Ingraham to hit the wire in 1:57.2 — knocking more than five full seconds off of his previous best winning time. Mc Tough is trained by Jim McDonald for owner Betty McGreevy.

Florida Boy, by Raging Glory, used a :28.2 final panel to explode past the competition in 1:58.4 in his maiden victory in only his second start. Part owner Jay Sears (son Brian also shares in the ownership) drove the gelding, who is trained by Kim Sears.

Newport used gate-to-wire tactics in scoring his fifth win in six starts — this time in 1:58.3. After “lollygagging” through three-quarters in 1:30.4, driver Wally Hennessey jiggled the lines a bit and Newport sprinted home in :27.4 to win by a handy length.

Newport is owned by R. Samuel McMichael along with Donald Irving and trained by George Harp, Jr.

In action for freshman male trotters, Talk About Me, very ably handled by John Kakaley for trainer Bob Schell and owner A & M Floral, took command one step out of the gate and scored in 2:02.2. This gelded son of Keystone Smothers earned his third win in just four lifetime starts and used a :29.3 final quarter to score by a margin measuring more than two lengths.

The three-year-old trotting colt Wyatt won his division of the Florida Sunshine State Stakes in wire-to-wire fashion, too, holding off the fierce charge of Sudden Speed to win by a neck in 1:59.2. The final quarter was :28.4 for driver Wally Hennessey. Wyatt is trained by Dan Hennessey for owner Joel Jayson.

Finally, Ultimate Sunshine, handled by Bruce Ranger, put a stop to Midgie’s long winning streak with a hard fought victory in the Open I Trot. Owned by Mike Biel, the nine-year-old alteerd son of Ultimate Kosmos earned his 11th win of the year in 29 starts, sending his yearly bounty to over $90,000.

Updating Friday (October 1) happenings, Amethyst and Doc’s Krista provided the “fiireworks” and Wally Hennessey had the “hot hands” in Sunshine State Stakes action.

Amethyst, the three-year-old daughter of Miami Mogul, paced her mile in 1:55 for Wally Hennessey. Owned by the Keisers Oberman Stable along with trainer Rod Lorenzo, Amethyst made a quarter move to the lead and then sealed the win with a :56.4 final half.

Hennessey also won four other Sunshine Stakes on the card — a division of the two-year-old filly pace with Cardigan, the three-year-old filly tort with Mindymakesthree, yet another division of the freshman filly pace with Youngbro Fancy and a division of the three-year-old filly pace with Mainley Hannah.

Cardigan, adaughter of Raging Glory, led at every call in scoring a handy victory measuring almost four lengths. Owned by Docs Spur of the Moment Stable, along with R. Samuel McMichael and Donald Irving, Cardigan covered the mile in 1:59.2.

Mindymakesthree used her late brush to nail the leading Doc’s Linda to score in a lifetime best 1:58. This soph filly is by Corleone and is owned by Mark Goldberg and Ron Jacobson.

Youngbro Fancy, a daughter of Matt’s Amore, won her fifth race in seven starts with an easy wire-to-wire win in 1:59 — last quarter in :28.4 — in sealing the deal for owner Jeffery Young.

Mainley Hannah, owned by Ceclie Sullivan and trained by George Harp, Jr., scored for Hennessey in 1:57.4 after making a huge move form fifth to first aftre the initial quarter.

Doc’s Krista, handled by Bob Williams, Jr., took advantage of some early miscues by her competition and held on to score her maiden victory in the two-year-old filly trot. The mile was in 2:07.2, but the time mattered little to those bettors lucky enough to cash a $2 win ticket worth $385.20, the highest win payoff in track history.

Sanfandango won the other division of the two-year-old filly pace for Bruce Ranger, breaking her maiden in just her third start in 1:58.2. The daughter of Mean Mr Mustard took the lead as the gate opened, got away with a soft 1:01 half and romped home in :57.2 to score an easy two length win for owners Melvyn Aylor and Lee Glickman.