After two straight wins in Pompano Park's top open pace for mares, Pertty Music took last week off before returning to the racing wars on Monday night in an attempt to protect her crown.

She did just that.

The four-year-old daughter of Jeremes Jet, superbly handled by owner-trainer Ed Hensley, captured her $12,000 feature by scoring a two-length win in a lifetime best performance of 1:50.2, the second time in a row she has lowered her mark.

Just A Bee, with Mike Micallef in the bike, was second with Godiva Seelster teaming up with Wally Hennessey to finish third. De Vins Girl finished fourth in the septet with Mcflirty picking up the nickel.

It was Just A Bee, fresh off of her lifetime best 1:50.3 win last week, blasting out of the gate with confidence to sizzle down to the opener in :26.2 with Pertty Music, starting one slot outside of Just A Bee, doing some sizzling of her own to tuck in the garden spot with Godiva Seelster settling into third, positions that would remain unchanged through subsequent panels of :54.2 and 1:23.

At that stage, Hensley left the pocket and quickly moved alongside of Just A Bee turning for home before edging clear in the lane for the two-length decision.

"My mare can leave a little, too, and she's so handy that she'll settle in anywhere I ask,” said driver Ed Hensley. “Tonight, we were able to get a great trip because Mike's (Micallef) mare was going pretty good at the start and we were able to settle in right behind her. She was cutting some pretty honest numbers so that kind of set it up for my ‘Pertty Girl’ to get by in the lane.

"It may have looked easy but any time you have a mare like Mike's that put her cards on the table with a gate to wire win in (1):50 and a piece, it's never easy,” he added. “That mare of his is top notch...and so is Wally's mare (Godiva Seelster) and so are all the others in here. Thank goodness that my mare is top notch, too."

This win, of course, was the third straight for Pertty Music sending her scorecard for the year to 7-3-7 in 26 starts, good for $64,230. She's now banked $209,647 lifetime.

Pertty Music's hiatus last week may have been the reason that she was second choice in the betting (2-1) after Just A Bee's even-money toteboard status.

(Pompano Park)