by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Its Payday Friday. Well, it usually is but that was changed to Wednesday for owner Dan Clements as he piloted his own 4-year-old Its Payday Friday to victory in Pompano Park’s $10,000 Open Handicap Trot.

Skip Smith photo

Its Payday Friday took Pompano Park’s Open Handicap Trot on Wednesday, setting a new lifetime mark of 1:55 in the process.

Stepping up to the top class after two straight victories in non-winners events, this son of Kadabra took command right at the :28.1 opening marker and then posted fractions of :56.3 and 1:25.3 before holding off the furious late rally of Andover America (Bruce Ranger) to win by a neck in a lifetime best 1:55 performance. Baby Boy Grin (Kevin Wallis), seeking his third straight win, had to settle for third, 1-1/2 lengths away. She’s All In was fourth while Count Speed picked up the nickel in the multi-million dollar septet.

In a post race interview, driver Dan Clements said, “We both love this track and, by both, I mean this horse and this driver. He hasn’t been worse than second in his five starts here and we’re both happy as a lark here. And, I might add, the trainer, Renaldo Morales III, loves it, too. This horse seems to like to be in the thick of things so, since he’s won on the front his last two starts, I thought, ‘why tinker with success.’ He sure dug in late and beat a very talented field.”

Indeed he did.

Coming into the action, the collective earnings of the starters in this field was more than $2.5 million with Its Payday Friday the second lowest at $165,258.

“When you are facing a field as talented as this,” Clements said, “it’s always in the back of your mind whether you’re in over your head. Its Payday Friday answered that tonight.”

The victory was the seventh of the year for the winner, pushing his 2014 earnings to $52,091 to go along with his new lifetime mark. As second choice on the toteboard, Its Payday Friday paid a dividend to his believers on this Wednesday night of $5.20 for their $2 investment.