One of the foes she had to beat got scratched, and another player in the race made a break before the start; combine that with a good post and gameness, and you get a winning mile from Brooklets Kia (by Personal Power).

An evening that started out quite windy at Cal-Expo Raceway on Friday saw distaffers racing for a $10,000 purse in a Free For All Handicap, in which Brooklets Kia wouldn't be denied.

As a result of having the lowest earnings in the field in the last six starts, Brooklets Kia was assigned post position one for trainer and driver Ed Hensley, which didn't hurt his feelings at all.

"Getting assigned the one hole helped my cause a lot, and I figured I'd get a good trip out of it," Hensley said. "With the scratch of Laura Lane, I liked my chances a little more."

With the field 1-16 of a mile from the start, the unluckiness of an opponent increased Hensley’s optimism.

"Behind the gate, when Summer Franco ran, it increased my chances a little more, making me feel that I was now the one to beat."  Leaving enough to have a brief lead until yielding just before the field entered the first turn, Hensley wasted no time in declaring where he wanted his mare to be.  "I pretty much, at that point, had planned on cutting the mile, so I pulled in the middle of the first turn to reclaim."

All but clearing the lead past the quarter-mile pole, timed in :29, Brooklets Kia cleared to the point just past the 5-16 mile pole.  "The wind was against us on the backside, so I didn't want to go too much in the second quarter; in fact, I wanted to give her a breather. Her reclaim back to the front was pretty handy. Once I made the front I knew that I didn't want to make it a sprint home, because with Tawny Reserve (Luke Plano) on my back I was scared she could out-sprint me, so my plan was to get a slow first half, then let her pace in the third quarter."

Reaching the half-mile pole, timed in :58.1, all while fighting a strong headwind, Hensley points out a bit of a deceiving second quarter-mile split (:29.1).

"That was a pretty good quarter because it was against the wind, but my mare was still comfortable, and I still thought I had a good chance."  With the field now racing into the final turn, it was time for Hensley to put his strategy into effect.

"As I said, I didn't want to turn the race into a sprint; I wanted to have my horse in high gear when we turned for home, so I started chasing after her at the five-eighths mile pole. At that point, we started pacing pretty good."

Reaching the three-quarter mile pole, timed in 1:26.2, Hensley was happy with how his mare felt, even after the :28 third quarter-mile split.

"My horse was still very good and strong at the three-quarter mile pole, and I still thought my chances were very good."

With the field just about to turn for the money, Hensley asked his mare to go with a strong wheel-disc urge, all in an attempt to shed the pocket-sitting and stalking Tawny Reserve.

"I still hadn't pulled the earplugs when Tawny Reserve pulled when we entered the lane. Once she did pull I was able to keep her at bay. Then, as soon as I popped the earplugs to the seven-eighths mile pole, my mare dug in deep again and opened up, a little, but enough to cruise home and win the race. She was very good."

Holding firm under a drive to win by three-quarters of one length, the Jessica Hensley and Pat Maloney owned 5-year-old stopped the timer at 1:53.3, her 15th win of the year, and her 28th career victory.

Tawny Reserve was second best, and Alexa Hall (Bruce Clarke) finished a distant nine lengths farther back, in third.

Source: USTA Website (09-23-06)

Note: Personal Power, sire of Brooklets Kia, stands at Gary Wilcox Farm in Urbana, Indiana.  For more information, please contact Gary or Melissa Wilcox at: (260) 774-3462