Ben Wallace watched Yoselin Seelster post a runner-up finish in the July 1 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series season opener at Mohawk Racetrack, and when the resident of Milton, Ont. heard the two-year-old pacing filly was for sale he stopped by Patrick Shepherd’s barn to have a closer look.
The filly passed Wallace’s initial inspection and he recommended her to longtime owner Brad Grant, who also makes his home in Milton. On July 6, Grant acquired Yoselin Seelster from 1844536 Ontario Ltd. and the filly moved from Shepherd’s barn into Wallace’s. Five days later, the youngster made her first start for the new connections, finishing third in a Gold Series division at Rideau Carleton Raceway.
“She raced 'okay' in Ottawa,” says Wallace. “I thought she might be second, but she was battling a bit of sickness and I think it might have dulled her just at the wire.”
The 37 points Yoselin Seelster earned in her first two Gold Series starts put her in seventh spot in the division standings and earned her a berth in the $150,000 Mid-Summer Challenge this Friday, July 19 at Mohawk Racetrack. The daughter of Shadow Play will start from Post 3 in the 'Challenge,' with Oakville resident Rick Zeron in the race bike.
“She’s spotted good. She drew inside some of the tough ones,” notes Wallace. “There are two or three real good fillies in there. I don’t know if she’ll be able to cope with them, but I think she’ll respond to the little bit of work we did on her.”
Both fillies that drew inside of Yoselin Seelster finished seventh or lower in the standings, while point leader Performing Art landed Post 5, and number two fillies Alibi Seelster and Brickyard Val drew Posts 4 and 7, respectively.
Wallace says he has not made many equipment changes to Yoselin Seelster since she arrived in his barn, but he is planning a bridle change for Friday’s test.
“I think a bridle change will help her, but she’ll have to step up more than a little bit to compete with some of those fillies,” notes the trainer pragmatically.
So long as Yoselin Seelster continues to battle hard against the province’s top fillies, she will finish the season at the Gold Series level. After the Mid-Summer Challenge the two-year-old pacing fillies have two more Gold Series legs on their calendars, and the top 10 point earners from all four legs will battle in the season ending Super Final.
Along with the two-year-old pacing filly Mid-Summer Challenge, Mohawk Racetrack will also play host to the two-year-old pacing colt Challenge on Friday, along with Consolation events for both divisions. The $50,000 pacing filly Consolation goes postward as Race 2, the pacing colt Consolation is slated for Race 3, the $150,000 pacing filly Challenge will be contested in Race 5 and the pacing colts will battle for $150,000 in Race 7.
Post time for Mohawk Racetrack’s first race is 7:25 p.m., but fans arriving early will have an opportunity to meet some of the Ontario Sires Stakes program’s top drivers at an autograph session that begins at 6:30 p.m. In addition to obtaining an autograph, the first 100 fans will also take home an Ontario Sires Stakes back pack.
To view the harness racing entries for Friday at Mohawk, click the following link: Friday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.
(OSS)