by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Godiva Seelster, a 5-year-old daughter of Camluck, extended her streak of getting purse checks to 69, covering her every start since the age of three, and did so with a lifetime best performance of 1:50.4 over a million dollar field, including arch rival Just A Bee (third this night) and Winbak Heavenly (chasing the winner home) on Tuesday (Oct. 20) at Pompano Park.

Mach It A Par and Jets Are On picked up the final two awards in the talented octet of Open pacing mares.

Skip Smith photo

The amazing Godiva Seelster, handled by Wally Hennessey, hit the Pompano Park wire in 1:50.4, a new lifetime mark.

Annexing her 12th win of the year, Godiva Seelster left with alacrity from her post seven along with Winbak Heavenly, handled by Aaron Byron from post five, and Just A Bee, driven by Mike Micallef from the outside post.

Just a few long strides into the mile, Godiva Seelster had already made the top spot with Winbak Heavenly content to sit in the garden spot and Just A Bee finding a spot close up in third.

With an opening quarter in :27, Micallef sensed that Hennessey would be giving a second quarter breather to Godiva Seelster and pulled just before turn two to get a closer look to the front. For Just A Bee, that “breather” was “not to bee.”

With Godiva Seelster reaching the half in a blistering :54.2, Micallef left Winbak Heavenly in the two hole, yielding and taking back to third as the rest of the field was somewhat gapped at that point.

With a brisk pace continuing through three-quarters in 1:22.2, the field was strung out and Godiva Seelster used a :28.2 finale to hit the wire in that aforementioned 1:50.4, 2-1/2 lengths better than Winbak Heavenly and 4-1/2 lengths to the good of Just A Bee.

In a post race interview, Hennessey said, “She’s just an exceptional mare that does all of this on her own. I don’t drive her…she drives me!

“Actually, I really had no choice once I got to the lead. When Mike (Micallef) came out, I really couldn’t afford to restrain my mare because she was so intent on staying on the bit. When they feel that strong, I don’t think it’s a good idea to restrain them…and she really felt strong tonight.”

When asked if he was worried off of a :54.2 half, Hennessey said, “Well, yes and no. You always worry when the half is that fast, but once I got over to that final turn and she was still grabbing a hold, those worries disappeared. She was terrific tonight.”

For Godiva Seelster, now sporting a 23-12-8-1 scorecard this season, the win sent her lifetime bounty to $207,957 — $98,125 in 2015 for owners Paul and Patricia O’Neil.

Also of note is the fact that trainer Dan Hennessey improved on his lofty UTR, now close to .490, with his 45th win in only 114 starts.

Also, the FSBOA’s Sunshine State Stakes action continued with four classes competing — three off the card.

The first, the 2-year-old colt/gelding pace, went to the Mysticism colt Gleneagles, driven by Wally Hennessey, holding on for dear life at the wire to pin the nose defeat on R Chism (Mike Micallef) with Danza (Corey Braden) next. ICU Diamond T finished four in the quartet.

It was the second straight win for Gleneagles, trained by Jim McDonald for the Pinhook Stable, in Sunshine State Stakes action. The mile was clocked in 1:58.3.

The second division pitted archrivals Caesar’s Forum and Owosso Flash against each other and, for the third straight week, Amante Standardbred’s Caesar’s Forum, the sharp son of Six Of Diamonds, got the nod as driver Wally Hennessey lolly-gagged on the front end through three-quarters in 1:31.3 before a :27 sprint home held off Owosso Flash (Mike Deters) by a neck. Gold Star Roger (Wally Ross Jr.) finished third while Drake and Stutz completed the quintet of 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

Caesar’s Forum is trained by 81-year-old Marc Aubin, who now has a UTR rating over .440 for the year.

The Sunshine State Stake for the sophomore pacing fillies went to Gold Star Dynasty, driven by Aaron Byron for trainer Mike Deters. Also by Six Of Diamonds, Gold Star Dynasty cut all the fractions — :29.2, :59.4 and 1:29 — before surging home in :28.3 to hit the line almost five lengths ahead of Davita (Corey Braden) with Gold Star Charming (Mickey McNichol) third. Creamsicle and Arties Diamond Gal completed the field of five.

The final Sunshine State Stakes was contested on the card and the 2-year-old pacing filly Prairie Sweetheart, trained and driven by Mike Deters, brushed from fifth around the second turn, securing command into the final turn and then went on to a handy win measuring 3-1/4 lengths over Caitlin’s Romance (Mel Turcotte) in 1:58.3. Diamond Lily (Micallef) finished third while Gold Star Lovebug and Trottime Sparks picked up the minors in the field of seven.

Prairie Sweetheart, a daughter of Royal Millennium, is a perfect three-for-three lifetime for owners Laurie Poulin and John Spindler, who co-own with trainer Deters.

Deters, by the way, now sports a lofty .642 UDR for the year on the strength of a 27-13-6-3 scorecard.

Racing continues on Sunday night featuring Open pacers and a Super Hi-5 carryover in excess of $3,400. Post time is 7:30 p.m.