Moonlite shines at PPk

The 8-year-old mare Montana Moonlite A returned to the winner’s circle on Friday after prevailing in the featured $14,500 Fillies and Mares non-winners pace at Pompano Park, scoring in 1:53.3 over a track listed as "sloppy."

Montana Moonlite A, who was driven from post five by John Kakaley, found a spot on the pylons in sixth through the early stages of the Friday feature, as Hyde Park Hussie N (Bruce Ranger) and Icu Miss (Dan Clements) dueled through an opening quarter mile in :27.2.

As the field moved by the grandstand for the first time, Icu Miss pushed her way to the front, reaching the half-mile pole in :56.4 as Montana Moonlite A was angled to the outside to begin an extended first-over journey.

Icu Miss retained the lead through a three-quarters split in 1:25.1, but her time at the top was terminated on the final turn as Montana Moonlite A muscled her way to the front, sprinting clear of her rivals to enter the stretch with a three-length advantage.

With the rest of the field languishing in her fumes, the daughter of Fake Left coasted unchallenged down the lane to score by 6 ¾ lengths.

Montana Moonlite A returned $4.80, $4, $3.40 for the victory. Evere’s Connection (Wally Hennessey) paid $6.60, $5.60 for second, while Wilma Hall (Jim McDonald) brought in $7 for third.

Owned by John Campagnuolo and Larry Silber of Pompano Beach, and trained by Jacques Dupuis, Montana Moonlite A is now a three-time winner in 2007 from 10 starts, with a seasonal bankroll of $23,330.

Friday morning qualifiers at Pompano provided the setting for an impressive debut performance by the 2-year-old Florida-bred filly Alice Springs, who paced a winning mile in 1:57.4, which is the fastest clocking for a juvenile filly pacer this year.

The homebred daughter of first-crop sire N Aboriginal is owned by Charles and Hellen Hoffman of Lake Worth, trained by James Brown, and was driven on Friday by Tom Lehman. Qualifiers were contested over a "fast" racing surface. (Pompano Park)

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