by John Berry, for Pompano Park
Pompano Beach, FL — Tater Twister, with Mike Simons handling the 6-year-old gelding’s lines, scored a repeat win in Pompano Park’s $12,000 Open Handicap Trot on Tuesday night (Dec. 27), stopping the clock in 1:54.3.
The son of ABC Garland pinned a defeat measuring 2-1/4 lengths on Gold Savage (Kevin Wallis) with She’s All In (Rick Plano) just a nose further back in third. Explosive Muscles finished fourth in the mile while Diamond Dagger picked up the nickel in the classy sextet.
Skip Smith photo
Tater Twister scored a repeat win in Pompano Park’s $12,000 Open Handicap Trot, stopping the timer in 1:54.3.
Simons sent Tater Twister right to the front, out-dueling She’s All In around the opening turn and taking the field through an opener of :27.2. At this point, Gold Savage was third while Explosive Muscles was next. Serendipitious, away cautiously after a miscue last week, was fifth with Diamond Dagger sixth and last.
With positions stagnant during the :29 second quarter, the Simons-Tater Twister team felt no pressure with nary a threat even developing on the backside as a :28.4 third panel triggered the third timer in 1:25.1.
In the lane, Tater Twister was on his own through a :29.2 finale, stopping the timer in the aforementioned 1:54.3, easily holding off Gold Savage.
In a post-race interview, driver Mike Simons related, “I really didn’t see too much early speed in here tonight, so I decided to let him rock and roll early. Once we got to the front, he was nice and relaxed and when we got to the half a bit cheaper than last week, I thought he’d have a chance to bring it home again.
“Mike (trainer Murphy) really has him sharp now and I know this horse has a whirlwind of talent. He digs down deep every time.”
Owned by Imogene Rhule along with Geneva Stewart and Barbara Murphy, Tater Twister won for the ninth time in 40 starts, sending his seasonal bankroll to $59,582. Lifetime, Tater Twister has bounty of $112,761 to go along with a mark of 1:53.3, achieved at Pompano Park just last month. As the 8-5 second choice in the wagering, Tater Twister returned $5.40 to win.
Racing continues on Wednesday night with a quintet of pacing mares set to do battle in the $11,000 Open Pace for the ladies. Safe From Terror, a handy winner in 1:51.3 in last week’s top event for pacing mares, once again meets up with arch-rival Godiva Seelster. All Charged Up, Arodasi and OK Heavenly complete the very talented group with combined career earnings of $1,733,432.
The Wednesday program also continues to offer the $10,000 guaranteed Pick-4 on races six through nine. Post time is 7:20 p.m.