Bellini Seelster continued to show her dominance at Buffalo Raceway as she romped to a 2-1/2 length victory over Pretty Blue Angel in the $16,500 Open Pace for the ladies on Wednesday afternoon (June 15).
Since arriving on the scene on May 11 from Miami Valley, Bellini Seelster has stepped up the condition ladder along the way, collecting three victories, a second and a third in five starts locally. She also has gone off the post time favorite in all of those outings.
Fresh off a 1-3/4-length win last week in the Open II, Bellini Seelster showed she was ready for the tougher competition. With a field of five facing the starting gate, things became a little easier for Bellini Seelster as Dontustopbelieven broke stride behind the car and was immediately out of contention.
Drew Monti, who of the drivers had three winners on the card, watched Sapphire Blue Chip get early control but quickly regained the lead with Bellini Seelster just past the opening quarter.
With splits of :29.3 and :59.1 to the midway point, Bellini Seelster blitzed the field with a :56.1 back half and confidently reached the finish line in 1:55.2. Pretty Blue Angel made it three-consecutive runner-up finishes while Aroritell took third.
Owned by Carl Monti and trained by Darrin Monti, it was the seventh win in 17 attempts this year for the five-year-old mare Bellini Seelster (Mach Three-Bold Amoretto). The victory moved her 2022 bankroll to $51,700 and $142,750 in her career.
In the sub-featured $12,400 pace for the fillies and mares, Larjon Legacy ($8.10) came back to Western New York after a five-race stint at Tioga Downs and returned a winner with a 1-1/2-length victory over the favoured Super Saturation in a seasonal best 1:56.2.
Larjon Legacy and pilot Drew Monti had a skirmish on the front with Super Saturation but managed to gain control, stomping fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:28.3. With a quarter mile to race, Larjon Legacy easily turned back the late bids from Super Saturation and Candys Desire, who had to settle for second- and third-place honours respectively.
Owned by Rocco Stebbins and conditioned by Joe Skowyra, Larjon Legacy (Mister Big-Saramotion) is an seven-year-old mare who has now won five times in 12 starts in 2022. The victory vaulted her seasonal earnings to $33,105 and $151,842 lifetime.
Jennifer Giuliani had two training wins on the card.
Racing will resume over the weekend with action set to take place on both Saturday (June 18) and Sunday (June 19) afternoons with post time each day scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday will be dark the next two weeks. There will be a $760 carryover in the Pick 5 on Saturday beginning in the second race.
(Buffalo Raceway)