by Michael Costanzo, Public Relations Coordinator, Isle Pompano Park

POMPANO BEACH, FL – He Wants It All took his first step towards an unprecedented third straight victory in the Isle of Capri Pacing Series Final after winning the $50,000 opening leg at Pompano Park on Saturday in 1:51.2, prevailing in a tight photo over race favorite Load The Dice.

Starting from post five with Wally Hennessey at the lines, He Wants It All briefly battled with Doctor Viagra (Daryl Bier) for the early lead, clearing that rival midway through the first turn while taking the field through an opening quarter mile in :26.4.

He Wants It All’s time on the front-end was short lived, however, as Load The Dice (Bruce Ranger), who was parked throughout the opening three-eighths of a mile, rushed up to take the lead as the field passed the grandstand for the first time, and cruised by the half-mile pole in :55.4.

“My tactics weren’t to sit in the two-hole, but if I was going to follow a horse, that’s the one I would wanted to follow,” winning driver Wally Hennessey said.

Load The Dice continued to race comfortably on the lead through a three-quarters split in 1:24, and opened up a 1 ½-length lead at the top of the stretch.

With a clear path on his outside, He Wants It All was angled off the pylons and began his advance on the outside, quickly chipping away at the leader’s margin.

He Wants It All drew on even terms with Load The Dice at the edge of the toteboard, and the two pacers matched strides with the finish line rapidly approaching. Load The Dice battled gamely on the inside in an attempt to retain his lead, but He Wants It All surged ahead in the final yards to win by a head.

“When you’re following a horse like Load The Dice, you know he’s going to take you all the way and not let go early,” Hennessey said. “I didn’t want to get locked in, but I had a clear shot from the pocket, and I felt pretty confident. He felt good tonight.”

“Against the quality of horses we raced with tonight, things can go a little different,” winning trainer Tom Harmer said. “You might take a seat when you normally want the front. But every win is important to us and we’re real happy with the horse’s performance.”

Owned by Michael Polansky of Loudonville, New York, He Wants It All improved his career record at Pompano Park to 13 wins from 24 starts. Overall, the son of the The Big Dog has visited the winner’s circle in 40 of his 75 outings with career earnings of $843,775.

“I’m just very happy that he’s come back for his fourth year in a row to race in the Isle of Capri Series, and compete with some quality,” Harmer said. “He always puts in a good race and I’m really happy with him.”

He Wants It All returned $4.80, $2.40, $2.10 for the win. Load The Dice paid $3.00, $2.20 for second, while Maltese Artist brought in $2.20 for third.

Completing the order of finish for the first leg of the Isle of Capri Pacing Series was Star Role, Jk Big Shot, Welu’s Dreamboat, Weekend Bernie, Shattered Halo, Doctor Viagra, and Jilliby Generator.

The Isle of Capri Pacing Series continues with the $50,000 second leg on Feb. 17 and will conclude with the $150,000 added final on Feb. 26.

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WINS OPEN PACE; HARMER/POLANSKY TRIPLE

While He Wants It All won the feature race of the Saturday Pompano program, another pacer owned by Michael Polansky and trained by Tom Harmer had the fastest mile of the night when I Can Only Imagine won the third-race $10,000 Open Handicap Pace in 1:51.

Driven by Brett Miller, the 5-year-old son of Cole Muffler used a strong sweeping move on the backstretch to grab the lead as the field passed the three-quarter mile pole, cruising to a 3 ½-length victory.

The victory was the second straight for I Can Only Imagine, who paced the third quickest mile in Pompano Park history when winning in 1:50 on Jan. 27.