Ingraham wins five at Pompano
January 19, 2008,by Michael Costanzo, Public Relations Coordinator, Isle Pompano Park
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — While Wednesday evening at Pompano Park belonged to Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey, who won his 7,000th race, another veteran driver took center stage at the South Florida oval on Friday as David Ingraham visited the winner’s circle with five of his eight drives on the 12-race card.
A 47-year-old native of Waterville, Maine, Ingraham began his evening with a victory behind Anubis ($12.00) in the first race on the Pompano program, guiding the 9-year-old pacing mare through the wire first in 1:56.4 for owner/trainer Odell Thompson.
Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith
DAVID INGRAHAM notches his second of five victories on the Friday program at Pompano Park when guiding WHISKY GIRL (#5) through the wire first in the evening’s third-race filly and mare pace in 1:55.3.
Two races later, Ingraham returned to score the biggest upset of the night when closing determinedly down the lane to prevail in 1:55.3 with Whisky Girl ($59.80) in the third-race filly and mare pace for owner Michael Polansky and trainer Tom Harmer.
Ingraham guided another double-digit priced winner in race six when scoring for the third time on the night with Leon Cable’s gelded trotter Leave No Message ($21.80) in 1:59.3, before returning to get his picture taken with the 8-year-old pacing mare Evere’s Connection ($10.60) following a 1:54.3 victory in race eight for owner Robert Gianquitti and trainer Gerry Nelson.
Ingraham closed out his five-win evening when charging down the lane with Wilma Hall ($5.80) in race 10 to capture the filly and mare non-winners pace in 1:54.1 for the Knockout Stable and trainer Jim McDonald.
A winner of 5,731 races throughout his career, Ingraham driven horses have amassed over $17.6 million in earnings.
UP FRONT LADY PROVES BEST IN FEATURED PACE
A contentious field of nine lined up for the featured $14,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace at Pompano on Friday, with Up Front Lady proving much the best, scoring by 3-1/2 lengths while equaling her lifetime mark of 1:53.
Driven from post three by Ricky Macomber Jr., Up Front Lady bided her time in sixth place through early fractions of :27.3 and :56 before angling out on the backstretch to advance second over.
As the field reached the three-quarters marker in 1:25, Up Front Lady was moved three-wide and quickly swept to the front, entering the stretch with a three-length advantage before coasting home unchallenged to tally the victory.
Owned by C. Ed Mullinax of Amherst, Ohio, and trained by Richard Macomber, Up Front Lady is a 13-time winner from 34 career starts, with a career bankroll of $95,747.