Guided from post seven by George Napolitano Jr., Carousel Frame dropped back to sixth place through an opening quarter mile in :26.2, before angling to the outside to begin an extended first-over bid, grinding away at the leader Miss Galvinator A.

“I had a bad post, and then the horse around the first turn, Esmeralda Semalu, took a few steps and everyone went out wide,” Napolitano said following the victory. “I ended up getting shut out, then found a spot, but I really had no choice but to come first up.”

Miss Galvinator A reached the half-mile marker in :56.2, but could not sustain her drive down the backstretch and started to retreat, yielding the top spot to Carousel Frame through a three-quarters split in 1:24.

“I really wasn’t riding too much, she was kind of just cruising along on her own,” Napolitano said. “Then, when I saw Sean go to the whip on the leader, I knew it was my time to go.”

Carousel Frame entered the stretch with a 1-1/4 length advantage, and held sway down the lane to prevail by that same margin over Up Front Lady (Ricky Macomber Jr.) and Hypnotize (Kevin Wallis) after a final panel that was clocked in :28.1.

“That was a good mile on that track tonight,” Napolitano added. “We could have gone around six times and they weren’t going to get her tonight. She always seems to go exactly where she has to in order to win.”

Owned by Let it Ride Stables Inc. and Robert Cooper Stables LLC, and trained by Jeff Webster, Carousel Frame returned $7.80, $5.20, and $3.00 for the victory. Up Front Lady brought in $3.80 and $2.60 for second, while Hypnotize paid $3.40 for third.

Velvet Eileen, Flo Found George, Esmeralda Semalu, Miss Galvinator A, and Joyful Years rounded out the field.

Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith

QUEENS GAMBIT N (#3), driven by Dale Hiteman, holds off CATALINA MORGAN (#1) to capture the $17,500 first division of the second leg of the Frances Dodge Van Lennep Pacing Series at Pompano Park in 1:54.1.

Earlier in the evening, Bell Valley Farms Inc.’s Queens Gambit N visited the winner’s circle for the second consecutive time after taking the $17,500 first division of the second leg of the Van Lennep Pacing Series in 1:54.1.

Driven from post three by Dale Hiteman, Queens Gambit N seized control of the race on the first turn, charging directly to the front while cutting out fractions of :27.4, :59, and 1:26.4.

The Gary Lewis-trained daughter of Jeremys Gambit entered the stretch with a one-length advantage over the pocket-sitting Catalina Morgan (David Ingraham), and paced gamely down the lane to hold off that rival and prevail by a neck. My Perfect Rhyme (Anthony Napolitano) crossed the wire third.