Prairie Westerngal and Northern Dali shared the spotlight as Pompano Park hosted twin Open events for mares on Tuesday (Dec. 1).

Prairie Westerngal, the sharp four year-old daughter of Western Ideal, stretched her winning streak to three at Pompano Park this fall with a two-move 1:53.4 win for driver Wally Hennessey and trainer Mike Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin and Fritz Racing.

Crisp Mane was a fast-closing second, though three lengths away, while Ask Me Ifi Care finished third. The late-charging Tempus Seelster was fourth with the early leader, Another Beach Day, picking up the nickel in this classy octet.

At the outset, Prairie Westerngal used Pompano Park’s “winningest” post (5) to zip off the wings and take an early lead, only to be out-kicked by Another Beach Day at the :27.2 opener—but not for long. Hennessey immediately forged back to the front and was allowed a breather to reach the half in :57.2. A :27.3 backside panel deterred any real threats as Prairie Westerngal reached the third station in 1:25 with a handy :28.4 finale sealing the deal.

After the race, Hennessey said, “Mike (Deters) has her very sharp now and she does anything asked of her. She knows how to relax and she knows how to sprint and she showed both qualities in her race tonight.”

For Prairie Westerngal, it was her seventh win in 18 starts with her 2020 earnings now at $37,581. Lifetime, she has banked $131,563 to go along with her 1:52.1 mark set just a week ago.

As the 3-2 favourite, Prairie Westerngal paid $5.00 to win.

In the companion $10,000 Open II event, Northern Dali, dismissed on the tote board to the tune of 33-1, used a ground-saving journey to score a “lip” decision in 1:53.4 for Fern Paquet, Jr., who was in the bike for owner-trainer Gaston Lareau.

Image Of A Dream was second in the photo, behind the winning margin just 1/100th of a second with Northern Dali timed in 1:53.86 and Image Of A Dream clocked in 1:53.87. Cult Icon was just a neck back in the picture, with her nose on the wire in 1:53.93.

The action was hot start to finish as Persistent Bettor, Image Of A Dream and Cult Icon all went in search of the top spot, with Image Of A Dream taking charge just after the sharp :27.1 opener only to yield to Cult Icon a few strides later. Halfway through in :56, Persistent Bettor was on the move again from third to apply the pressure while Image Of A Dream sat chilly along the inside. Meanwhile, Northern Dali was saving all the ground and stayed against the pylons as Image Of A Dream tilted out and Cult Icon drifted out.

The three fanned across the track all the way home with the photo finish camera determining the winner.

For Northern Dali, the now eight-year-old daughter of Dali, it was her 51st win—fourth this year—sending her lifetime bounty to $345,664.

The faithful who bet $2 on Northern Dali were rewarded with a $69.60 stipend, which is the second-highest win price ever for a Northern Dali win—the only other higher being a $70.00 win price at Saratoga on July 15, 2016.

In the “better for the bettor” department, Pompano Park’s Pick 5 went unsolved on Tuesday and, as a result of a carryover of $11,965, the track will offer a $50,000 Guaranteed Pool on Wednesday’s Pick-5, which begins in Race 1.

The Pick-4 Guarantees on Sunday through Wednesday racing programs will be bumped up to $15,000 beginning Sunday, December 6.

Free programs will be continued to be available on the Pompano Park Racing website through the end of the year.

(Pompano Park)