Godiva Seelster, the mare that gave Just A Bee all she could handle last week before succumbing in the final few strides, turned the tables on the 'Queen Bee' on Monday night in the $12,500 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap Pace at Pompano Park.
The five-year-old daughter of Camluck took command just a few steps after the gate opened for driver Wally Hennessey and carved out fractions of :27.2, :55.3 and 1:23.1 before courageously coming home in :28.1 to score by a neck over Just A Bee and driver Mike Micallef. The 1:51.2 win time was a lifetime best performance.
Mach Me Not, with Bruce Ranger in the bike, was a stout closing third while Mach It A Par, prominent from the get-go, finished fourth. Senorita Santanna picked up the final award in the sextet.
In a post-race interview, driver Wally Hennessey said, "This mare (Godiva Seelster) is about as consistent as they come. She always gives a good performance. This was her third start back after a couple of months off and she was sharp coming back...didn't lose one step. She dug in tonight and, after that :27.3 backside quarter, I was just hoping for the best. She was a determined winner. But Mike's mare (Just A Bee) went a great trip on her own, too. She's mighty tough!"
In defeat, Micallef spoke highly of Godiva Seelster saying, "Just A Bee raced a great mile, no doubt about that, but Wally's mare was extremely sharp and deserves the accolades...she earned them tonight. I look forward to a rematch -- and I am sure he does, too!"
Godiva Seelster, trained by Wally's brother, Dan, for Paul and Patricia O'Neil, now has a 2-1-0 scorecard in her three starts, good for $13,500 in bounty. She has $122,342 in lifetime earnings.
As the 9-5 second choice on the tote-board, Godiva Seelster paid $5.60 to win.
The $9,500 Open "2" Pace for mares went to De Vins Girl, as the eight-year-old daughter of Red River Hanover scored a virtual gate-to-wire win for Matt Romano in 1:53.2 for owner-trainer Luca Derrico.
Fiesta Camcun, with Kevin Wallis handling the mare's lines, finished second with Glow Stick, driven by Dave Ingraham, next, after putting a scare into the winner around the final turn and through mid-stretch.
Oceans Motion finished fourth while Jump Start picked up the nickel in the quintet.
De Vins Girl tussled briefly with Fiesta Camcun, handled by Kevin Wallis, before taking command and carding panels of :27.2, :56.2 and 1:25 before sealing the issue with that :28.2 sprint home for her second success of the year in 12 starts, good for seasonal earnings of $23,750. She's now banked close to $300,000 lifetime -- $299,785 to be exact.
Though known for her explosive closing kick, De Vins Girl has 11 wins over the past two seasons in 50 starts with eight of those wins in virtual wire-to-wire fashion.
As the 4-5 favourite, De Vins Girl paid $3.60 to win.
Pompano Park's Super Hi-5 created eight winning tickets on the 2-7-8-10-1 combo with the 20-cent ticket worth $692, pushing the carryover to Wednesday night program over $85,000.
Post time is 7:30 p.m. for the mid-week card.
(With files from Pompano Park)