by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Galarina, getting picture perfect handling by Andy Santeramo, poked her nose in front right at the wire in taking top honors in Pompano Park’s $15,000 pacing feature for mares on Monday night (March 19), stopping the timer in 1:52.3.

Skip Smith photo

Galarina poked her nose in front on the wire to take Pompano Park’s feature for pacing mares on Monday night.

The 7-year-old daughter of Dali eked by All Charged Up, driven by John MacDonald, right on the wire after a garden trip, which included her final half in :54.4. Bring Me Diamonds, with Wally Hennessey in her sulky, finished third while Ubettorbeturlife finished fourth. Swinging Cami picked up the minor award in the classy sextet.

At the outset, Galarina left with her usual alertness and quickly yielded to All Charged Up with the latter reaching the opening station in :27.3 before pacing through a well rated second panel of :30, reaching the half in :57.3. The pace noticeably quickened on the backside as All Charged Up looked to sprint away from her foes during a :26.4 third quarter, reaching that marker in 1:24.2. At the head of the lane, Santeramo left the coziness of the pocket and began gnawing away at the leader and just did get by in the final stride.

After the race, Santeramo said, “Well, to tell you the truth, I was very concerned at the half because you can’t let a great mare (All Charged Up) like John’s get away with a breather like that. I had my hands full keeping up on the backside and, when I tipped her, it was just a case of whether she could get there. Well, she did and I am very proud of her. (I) have to give her all the credit. All I did was give her the chance.”

Also trained by Santeramo for M T Pockets Stables, the ultra-consistent mare now has a 7-2-1 scorecard in 11 starts, good for $37,475. Lifetime, it was her 26th win with this one pushing her career bankroll to $161,026. As third choice in the betting at 4-1, Galarina paid $10.20 to win.

Also on Monday night, the $18,000 Pop-Up final for pacers was contested at the lengthy distance of 1-1/4 miles and the Aussie bred Dynamite Dude A, driven by Mike Simons, showed speed at both ends of the marathon to score by 1-1/2 lengths in 2:24. The 10-year-old gelded son of The Wrath Of Pan pinned the defeat on yet another 10-year-old, Arsenal, driven by Dave Ingraham. F Twenty Two, handled by Wally Hennessey, finished third, just another neck away, while Surge Seelster and River Rising picked up minor awards in the rugged septet.

Simons also trains the veteran and co-owns with Albert Abdala III. With only three starts under his girth this semester, Dynamite Dude won for the initial time this year, sending his career bankroll to $214,701, with the $9,000 earned in this event the biggest of his career. Off as the fourth choice at 4-1, Dynamite Dude A returned a $10.40 mutuel.

The win was one of three for Simons — a consecutive triple, in fact — who also scored with Dontcloseyoureyes ($17.00) and Amateur Hour ($3.40).

Tuesday’s program features world record holder Sooo Handsome in a five-eighths-mile “Dash-For-The-Cash.” The 5-year-old gelded son of Cash Hall set his world record of 1:09 and looks for his second straight win against the likes of Legend Field, Prayer Session, Thundercrest, William Star, Bjanthony and Foundonabeach.

Pompano Park’s Super Hi-5 carryover now stands at $38,448.53 and is offered as the finale on the 10-race program. Post time is 7:20 p.m.