The 7-year-old veteran trotter Muscular combined a perfect pocket trip with a strong late charge down the lane to prevail in the featured $10,000 Isle Mile I Trot at Pompano Park on Monday in 1:57.

Driven from post one by owner and trainer Dave Mercer, Muscular was swift off the gate to make the lead in the Monday feature, but quickly yielded the top spot to race favorite Railee Possible (David Ingraham), who was driven aggressively through an opening quarter mile clocked in :29.1.

After passing the half-mile pole in :58.3 and reaching the three-quarters marker in 1:28.2, Railee Possible continued to show the way through the final turn, as Muscular vacated the pocket and began grinding away at the leader from the outside.

Railee Possible entered the stretch with a one-length advantage, but the Florida-bred had no answer for Muscular, as the son of Muscles Yankee pushed his way to the front in the final yards and held off a three-wide bid by Talk About Me (Mickey McNichol) to prevail by a head.

Muscular returned $23.20, $11.40 for the victory, while Talk About Me paid $7.00 for second. There was no show wagering available on the Monday feature.

A 10-time winner in 2006, Muscular has prevailed in four of 12 starts this year. With his victory in the Monday feature, the gelding pushed his career earnings mark to $99,179.

The top trotting performance of the evening came in the night’s first event, where the 5-year-old mare Victor’s Pursuit defeated five rivals in the $8,400 Isle Mile II Trot, stopping the timer in 1:56 for the ownership of William Weaver III and driver-trainer John Duer.

The Illinois-bred daughter of Valley Victor made the lead from post three and cut out fractions of :29.3, :58.2, and 1:26.4, before cruising down the lane unchallenged to tally an impressive 10 ¼-length victory

The Monday triumph was the first of the year for Victor’s Pursuit, who entered the season with 19 wins in 39 career starts, including 12 trips to the winner’s circle in 2005 when she was named Illinois-bred 3-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year. (Pompano Park)

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