Pompano Beach, FL — Fillies and mares took center stage Tuesday night (Nov. 17) at Pompano Park and when all the stone dust settled, Tempus Seelster and Prairie Westerngal were crowned the queens in their respective Open events.

Tempus Seelster (Kevin Wallis) returned to the racing wars a winner at Pompano Park on Tuesday. Dee Leftwich photo.

Tempus Seelster, the splendid 7-year-old daughter of Big Jim, came roaring back into action after a two month vacation to score a 1:54 win for Kevin Wallis, who was in the bike for trainer Rob Rittof and owners Dandy Farms Racing and FT Racing Stable. Another Beach Day (Braxten Boyd) rallied for second at 54-1 odds, while Persistent Bettor (Mike Simons) was next. Gold Star Mysti and Prairie Cougar were next in the septet with Western Stepp and Big Thong completing the order of finish.

Tempus Seelster, who had the outside seven post in her field, was forced to take back to last early as Big Thong (Dewayne Minor), leaving from post six, pushed the starting gate wings out of the way to take a quick early three length lead over Gold Star Mysti (Corey Braden), settling right behind through an opener of :27.2.

With the leader moving into the second turn on her way to the half in :55.4, Tempus Seelster was already on the move from the back of the pack into fourth giving live cover to Another Beach Day. By the time they reached the final bend in 1:25, Tempus Seelster had wrestled the lead from Big Thong and edged away to a 1-1/2 length lead, only to be threatened by the late charging Another Beach Day. At the wire, the photo finish camera showed Tempus Seelster the winner by a head.

In a post-race interview, trainer Rob Rittof said, “She’s just a wonderful, happy, very tough and determined mare. She used to be on one line and, some time ago, Leon Cable suggested and gave me a bit that might help the situation. That and a couple of head poles and she’s been just an unbelievable mare. So, a lot of credit goes to Leon.”

The win was the 12th of the season for Tempus Seelster in 22 starts, good for bounty of $76,175. Lifetime, the grand mare has a scorecard of 36-27-20 in 149 starts and $311,606 to go along with a mark of 1:50.1. Aa the 3-2 favorite, the winner returned $5.00.

Prairie Westerngal, a 4-year-old daughter of Western Ideal, got picture perfect handling from Wally Hennessey to edge past Ask Me Ifi Care once they straightened away to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.2. Jazzy Image (Kevin Wallis) closed with alacrity to finish third, just another nose back, while Northern Dali was next. Talk Show Chica picked up the final award in the octet.

Trained by Mike Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin and Fritz Racing, Prairie Westerngal blasted off the wings into an early lead before yielding to Ask Me Ifi Care (Mike Micallef) just a stride past the :27.3 opener. These two remained 1-2 through panels of :56.4 and a picked up 1:25.1. Just past that third station, Hennessey left the coziness of the pocket and began gnawing away at the leader, securing the top spot once straightened away for the drive home.

It was the fifth win of the season for Prairie Westerngal in 16 starts with her earnings moving up to $26,081 for the semester and $120,063 lifetime. Off as the 6-5 favorite, Prairie Westerngal returned $4.40 to win.

In the “odds and ends” category, payoffs continued to be appetizingly high at Pompano Park as evidenced by the fourth race pentafecta and the Pick-5. Even with a 1-5 favorite, Image Of A Dream (Rick Plano), winning the fourth race pentafecta and the third and fourth choices on the ticket, the 20cent pentafecta paid $865.78.

The Pick-5, featuring three of the winners off at 6-5, 1-5 and 1-2, returned $1,284.90 for the 50-cent investment.

Yet another bonanza payoff was created when two of Pompano Park’s youngest drivers — both 20 years old — finished one-two in a conditioned trotting event. Trottin For Cash, with Braxten Boyd in that 3-year-old’s sulky, off at 5-1, and Savin Park, handled by Jack Killeen, almost 60-1 on the board, combined for a $2 trifecta payoff of $6,880. Going one step further, the 20-cent superfecta paid $6,428.40.

Finally, when Bryce Fenn steered Louie Ginesi’s Hard Rock Hulk ($25.00) to his maiden victory on the Tuesday card, the track’s Pick-6 resulted in a 5-of-6 payoff resulting in a carryover of $1,711 going into Sunday night’s Pick-6, which begins in race three.

Racing continues on Sunday (Nov. 22) as the track moves to a four day racing week — Sunday through Wednesday — with free programs available online through the month of November (islepompanopark.com). Post time is 7:20 p.m.