Adenium ekes out a photo win at Pompano

Pompano Beach, FL --- Adenium, handled by Dan Daley, made amends for his untimely miscue last week by eking out the narrowest of decisions in Pompano Park’s Open I trot on Wednesday night.

The 7-year-old son of Revenue S, though starting from the rail, lollygagged near the back of the pack in seventh as Blushing Hanover (Mickey McNichol) and Waiting On A Woman (Wally Hennessey) traded punches through panels of :27.3 and :56.2.

On the backside, three-eighths out, Waiting On A Woman made an unexpected break on the lead, enabling Blushing Hanover to again inherit the lead with, first, Gale Warning (Kevin Wallis) and, then Commander K (Jason Dillander) joining the fray with I’ll Tell You What (Dave Ingraham) making it a foursome after three quarters in 1:26.

A sixteenth out, I’ll Tell You What stuck a nose in front but, farthest out, Adenium was flying from nowhere and earned the victory in the very last stride of the mile, which was timed in 1:56.

I’ll Tell You What was second, followed by Blushing Hanover with Commander K and Prairie Big John receiving the minors.

Driver Dan Daley said, “This horse is like a little Cadillac to drive. You know, they only gave $3,000 for him but he sure has risen through the ranks to be among the elite here at Pompano.

“I sure didn’t want to have a repeat performance of last week, so I had to be a bit careful leaving. This being a coolish night for Florida (upper 60s), I was hoping for some lively fractions. When I saw :56.2 on the board, I thought he had a shot to pick up some horses late, and as it turned out he picked up all of them tonight.”

Adenium did not trot a single mile in 2:00 until his 46th lifetime start but now has a mark of 1:54.1 -- accomplished on Jan. 2 this year at Pompano Park.

Trained by Dean Gilmour, the win was worth $5,750 for owner Lloyd Gilmour and $15.20 to those who plunked $2 on Adenium’s nose. The win keyed a $180.20 exacta, a trifecta of $791.60 and a superfecta payoff of $1,060.32 … for a dime.

Dover Downs
After winning the winners-over trot at 8-1 last week and stepping up to the $23,000 Open Handicap feature on Wednesday, bettors didn’t give He’s Spooky a ghost of a chance and sent him off at 16-1 odds in the feature race, in which he went on to score a 1:53.4 victory over a chilly Dover Downs track on Jan. 23. Eric Carlson was at the controls as He’s Spooky was strongest in the stretch, chalking up his second win in three 2013 starts. Howard Taylor, Alan Kaplan, L.A. Express Stable and Rojan Stables own the Cantab Hall--Yankee Topaz 6-year-old trained by Mike Hall, who now has won $283,974 in his career. Cash On Delivery, last week’s feature trot winner, finished second for Vince Copeland while Allan Davis drove Gurf to a third-place finish. The Favorite, Anders Bluestone, and second favorite, Green Day, finished off the board.