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Pompano Beach, FL --- No Bad Dreams, driven by Bruce Ranger, eked out a repeat victory at Pompano Park in the $9,500 Winners Over Pace on Saturday night (June 20), stopping the timer in a lifetime equaling best 1:50.3.


The 4-year-old son of Dream Away, trained by Marc Aubin for Dan and Jacalyn Boddie, squeaked by a game Raji's Blue Line (Ben Mc Neil) to score a half-length win with Abreathofreshart (Walter Ross Jr.) third, four lengths away. Freeneasy Hanover finished fourth while G P S Legacy picked up the nickel in the quintet.


When Pompano's Hummer Starting Gate sprung open, Raji's Blue Line was away sharply along with Abreathofreshart with the former out-brushing the latter through a sharp opener of :26.2. Once on top, Raji's Blue Line was well rated, reaching the half in :55.2.


On the backside, No Bad Dreams, fourth for the first half-mile and about four lengths away at the midpoint, began a first over jaunt, denting an official :27.3 third panel with his individually timed third panel of :27, reaching the third station alongside Raji's Blue Line and 1-1/2 lengths off the leader.


In the lane, No Bad Dreams drew alongside the stubborn Raji's Blue Line, stuck his head in front and edged forward from there to the wire on the strength of a :27.2 finale.


While the win was somewhat expected by the public -- No Bad Dreams was 1-5 on the board -- driver Bruce Ranger, in a post race interview, said, "This horse (No Bad Dreams) is a gutsy thing. This wasn't a walk-over by any means.


"Raji's Blue Line gave us a very strong challenge but Marc (trainer Aubin) has No Bad Dreams very sharp now and his excellent condition probably was the difference. This was a brave performance for him, going first over like that. I wanted to fish out some cover but it didn't happen that way."


No Bad Dreams is now eight for 11 this year with earnings of $34,060 for the Boddies to go along with the 1:50.3 mark. He paid $2.40 to win.


The $8,500 Winners Over 2 Pace went to Histoire Eternelle, trained and driven by Dan Harvey. Owned by the consortium of Marc Major, Raynald Phaneuf, Patrick Dillaire and Richard Robert, this 6-year-old son of Shanghai Phil was pressured the entire route while on the lead through panels of :26.4, :54.1 and 1:22.3 before stopping the timer in 1:52 for his fourth win of the year in 20 starts, good for yearly bounty thus far of $19,586.


Taking the lead at the outset, Histoire Eternelle was first pressured by Acton Onelasttime for the first five-eighths of a mile before feeling a stiff "double-bubble" challenge by the 2-5 favorite Who's Your Maddy (Bruce Ranger) the final three-eighths to hold that one at bay by three-parts of a length on the wire. Zavan (Walter Ross Jr.) finished third while Acton Onelasttime finished fourth over Stiletto Jake in the quintet.


Histoire Eternelle was 9-1 on the board and returned $21.00 to win.


Another highlight on the program came in an event for the Florida Amateur Driving Club as Dein Spriggs scored his 400th career driving win with his own 12-year-old warrior Good Feeling ($5.00) in 1:58.3.


In that event, Spriggs left the gate with alacrity but was out-rushed by Northern Inferno (Robert Krivelin), who did all the work through fractions of :29, 1:00 and 1:29.2 before slipping through along the pylons to score the win measuring three-quarters of a length. Barbies Korvette (Dennis Whittemore) finished third while Explosive Muscles and Total Freedom were next in the sextet.


The other Florida Amateur Driving Club event went to Prairie Big John ($2.60), handled by "Touchdown" Teddy Bowman in a seasonal best 1:57.


This 7-year-old Florida bred, owned and trained by Jim Hysell, took the lead a few long strides after the :28.1 opener and then carded panels of :57.1 and 1:26.4 before romping home unscathed by 4-1/4 lengths over Zeitgeist (Spriggs) with Lukie Duke (Jamie Marra) third. Engagedatlexington and Rel Cash Clown also earned checks in the field of six.


The Florida Amateur Driving Club has donated more than $140,000 to charitable organizations since its inception.


Pompano Park continues its season on Wednesday night with a 7:30 p.m. post.