Abbey Road Hanover sets 1:51.3 Pompano mark

Abbey Road Hanover, with Kevin Wallis handling her lines, set a new track record for pacing mares on Monday night when she gamely held on to win the Open Pace for distaffers over Odds On Aventure and stopped the timer in a startling 1:51.3. Gold Star Gidget was a fast-closing third followed by Bay Girl and Caroline's Cullen N.

 

Away third as even-money favorite Odds On Aventure surged to the early lead for Jason Dillander, Wallis had his mare out and driving just past the :27.1, taking the lead with exactly one lap to go. With a stinging half in :54.4, Abbey Road Hanover began to feel some pressure three-eighths out as Carolines Cullen N, handled by Joe Pavia Jr., charged up to reach within a half length of the leader past three quarters in 1:23.2.

 

Turning for home, "Abbey,” a 4-year-old daughter of Rocknroll Hanover, put away Carolines Cullen N, but her task was far from over as a pesky Odds On Aventure found some room, left the pocket and surged towards the leader, only to fall a scant head short at the wire.

 

Trainer Edgar Clarke said that the mare had only a 2:20 training mile under her belt this week coming into the "Monday Night Fight,” but driver Wallis knew that the mare came "ready to race.”

 

He said, "She's the kind of a mare that tells you what she wants, not the other way around. So, right after the quarter, she ‘told' me that it was time to get down to business and, when any horse feels that good, it's best to let them go, instead of trying to grab a hold. So, I let her do what she wanted. She was something else tonight.”

 

The track record performance eclipsed the former mark for four year-old mares of 1:52.2 and the "aged" mare mark of 1:51.4. Owned by Robert Orr and Garry Jonas, Abbey Road Hanover won for the third time in six 2013 starts to send her lifetime bounty to $118,795--$16,185 so far this year. (Pompano Park)