by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Paul and Patricia O’Neil’s ultra consistent mare Godiva Seelster, given perfect middle-half rating by Wally Hennessey, used a :27.1 finale to hold Just A Bee (Mike Micallef) safe at the wire in Pompano Park’s $10,000 Open Pace for Mares on Tuesday night (Oct. 6) in 1:53.

Godiva Seelster got superb middle half rating to score a narrow win over Just A Bee in Pompano’s Open Pace for Mares.

The winning margin was a half-length and stretched the mare’s streak of getting purse checks to 67 over a three-year span. The 5-year-old daughter of Cambest won for the 11th time this semester in 21 starts to push her lifetime bankroll to $$201,592.

Togetherforever (Ed Hensley) finished third — five lengths away — while Mach It A Par and Jets Are On picked up the final awards in the octet.

Sprinting as the gate opened, Godiva Seelster took command immediately from her seven post and Just A Bee, leaving from the outside eight post, left right along with her and settled into the garden spot before the first turn. After a :27 opener, Godiva Seelster rambled to the half in :56.4 and three-quarters in 1:25.4 before sprinting home in :27.1 to secure the victory.

After the win, driver Hennessey remarked, “I’ve said this before…this is a mare who knows how to take care of herself and it’s amazing she has stayed sharp for so long. She is amazing, no doubt about that!”

Trained by Dan Hennessey, Godiva Seelster paid $3.40 as the 3-5 favorite.

Hennessey had another huge night after his opening night winning spree numbering seven — six of those in a row. On Tuesday, he had five more victories, including a natural hat trick on races five, six and seven.

Besides Godiva Seelster, Hennessey won the non-betting Florida Sunshine State Stake for 3-year-old pacers with Caesar’s Forum, upsetting the highly vaunted Owosso Flash (Mike Deters) with a wire-to-wire win in a lifetime best 1:55.

Trained by 81-year-old Marc Aubin for Amante Standardbreds, the son of Six Of Diamonds left alertly from the rail and avoided confusion in the first turn when Drake made a miscue which scattered the field early on. Again, superb rating — :29, :58.3 and 1:27 — made the difference as Owosso Flash closed fastest of all but ran out of racetrack late. Gold Star Roger (Walter Ross Jr.) finished third while Fonzie finished fourth. Stutz was awarded the nickel.

The win pushed Caesar’s Forum’s earnings to $36,144, with the bulk of the Florida stakes season looming ahead.

Hennessey’s other wins were with Mach The Kasbah ($9.20) and The Muscler ($9.20), providing the cookie part of the Oreo sandwiched around Godiva Seelster. The claimer No Shenanigans ($4.80) capped the Hennessey night, with his victory total at 12 after the first two programs.

Skip Smith photos

Trainer Mike Deters was in the bike as Conman’s Dream made his racing debut a triumphant one, scoring in the Sunshine State Stakes for juveniles in 2:00.4.

Hennessey shared the spotlight with trainer/driver Mike Deters, who hopped in the bike to handle a pair of 2-year-old pacers making their respective debuts in the other Sunshine State Stakes.

Deters guided Jason Mac Dougall’s Conman’s Dream, a son of Best Connection, to a sparkling 2:00.4-:27.4 win over Danza (Corey Braden) and R Chism (Mike Micallef). ICU Diamond T and Gold Star Peter also earned their initial paychecks in that event.

He followed that a few minutes later by piloting Prairie Sweetheart to a convincing 1:58.1-:56.2-:28 victory in the companion Sunshine State Stake for the juvenile fillies. Diamond Lily (Micallef) finished second over Caitlin’s Romance (Mel Turcotte). Goldstar Lovebug and Jaycie Jaycie also earned their first paychecks as well.

On the pari-mutuel program, Davita, aided by the scratches of her two main rivals, scored a win measuring nearly 10 lengths for Corey Braden in 1:56.2. Gold Star Sonata (Walter Ross Jr.) was second followed by Gold Star Charming (Mickey McNichol). Arties Diamond Gal picked up the remaining award in the quartet. Davita, off at 1-20, paid the minimum $2.10 to win.

Racing resumes on Sunday night with Open pacers and Open trotters expected to be in the limelight with a growing carryover in the popular Super Hi-5 beginning to gather interest. Post time is 7:30 p.m.