Galarina, who received picture perfect handling by Andy Santeramo, poked her nose in front right at the wire in 1:52.3 when she took top honours in Pompano Park's $15,000 pacing feature for mares on Monday night (March 19).
The seven-year-old daughter of Dali eked by All Charged Up, driven by John MacDonald, right on the wire after a garden trip, which included her final half in :54.4.
Bring Me Diamonds, with Wally Hennessey in her sulky, finished third while Ubettorbeturlife finished fourth. Swinging Cami picked up the minor award in the field of six.
At the outset, Galarina left with her usual alertness and quickly yielded to All Charged Up. The latter reached the opening station in :27.3 before strolling through a well-rated second panel of :30 (the half was reached in :57.3).
The pace noticeably quickened on the backside, as All Charged Up looked to sprint away from her foes during a :26.4 third quarter (1:24.2).
At the head of the lane, Santeramo left the coziness of the pocket and began gnawing away at the leader and just did get by in the final stride.
After the race, Santeramo said, "Well, to tell you the truth, I was very concerned at the half because you can't let a great mare (All Charged Up) like John's get away with a breather like that. I had my hands full keeping up on the backside and, when I tipped her, it was just a case of whether she could get there. Well, she did and I am very proud of her. (I) have to give her all the credit. All I did was give her the chance."
Also trained by Santeramo for M T Pockets Stables, the ultra-consistent mare now has a 7-2-1 scorecard from 11 starts, good for $37,475. Lifetime, it was her 26th win, which pushed her career bankroll to $161,026.
As third choice in the betting at 4-1, Galarina paid $10.20 to win.
Also on Monday night, the $18,000 Pop-Up final for pacers was contested at the lengthy distance of one and a quarter miles. The Aussie-bred Dynamite Dude ($10.40), driven by Mike Simons, showed speed at both ends of the marathon to score by one and a half lengths in 2:24. The win was one of three for Simons – a consecutive triple, in fact – who also scored with Dontcloseyoureyes ($17.00) and Amateur Hour ($3.40).
Tuesday's program will feature world record holder Sooo Handsome in a five-eighths mile ‘dash for the cash. Pompano Park's Super Hi-5 carryover now stands at $38,448.53 and will be offered as the finale on the 10-race program.
Post time is 7:20 p.m.
(With files from Pompano Park)