Commando K storms to victory for Gurfein

January 14, 2010

A pair of renowned trotting specialist trainers, Ron Gurfein and Wayne Henry, sent out their first starters for 2010 on the Wednesday evening program at The Isle Pompano Park.

The 69-year-old year Gurfein, a seasonal resident of Delray Beach, Fla., had Commando K ready to go at first asking in a razor sharp 1:56.3 win over conditioned rivals. The Self Possessed-Secret Harmony 4-year-old gelding was a 2009 starter in the New Jersey Sire Stakes. The lightly raced but promising trotter won half of his six starts last year and won a Pompano qualifier on Jan. 8 in 1:59 to prepare for this impressive score in South Florida.

Personally for Gurfein, it was a milestone win of sorts. The 2005 inductee into the Harness Racing Museum And Hall Of Fame has prepped and sent forth numerous major stakes winners in his outstanding career for earnings approaching $23 million, and this win at Pompano was his 600th since the U.S. Trotting Association began keeping trainer stats in 1991.

Wally Hennessey had Commando K on top all the way through a half in :58.2 and with a back half just a tick faster in the wrapped up win. Rustico Dance Hall with Rick Schaut and Eggies Joy partnered by Richard Simard followed next under the wire.

Also sending out his first starters of 2010 on the Wednesday evening program was Ontario's Wayne Henry. Youre Still The One, a 4-year-old SJ's Caviar-Britt's Spirit mare owned by Shelly Henry, was a hard-closing third in a $5,000 purse conditioned test. Henry is less than three years removed from his best year training in 2007 when his 414 starters won 57 times and raked in purse earnings of more than a million dollars. Along with 376 lifetime training wins (since 1991), Henry is an accomplished driver in his own right with over 1,300 lifetime wins from a career focused on young trotters and the Ontario Sire Stakes.

He also started 4-year-old trotter Oaklea Riley on Wednesday evening, but that entrant failed to earn a pay check from an outside post nine start in his 2010 debut. (Pompano Park)

"We're really happy to be back at out winter home base at the training center here," the 46-year-old horseman said. "We brought quite a collection of 29 horses to Florida this year, including 14 2 year olds. This year is different though since it's the first year we don't have any homebreds in our operation." (Pompano Park)

« Back