Glenn Goller watched with interest as Declan Seelster’s career began in the Ontario Sires Stakes at Mohawk. The son of Big Jim turned heads with a 1:51.4 victory in his debut on August 19, 2017 and followed the effort with several other big miles, which led the Dave Menary trainee to earn a place in his OSS Super Final.
However, the talented pacer finished up the track in his Super Final and failed to make an impression as a three-year-old. He raced just six times between May 20 and July 7, 2018 and his best finish was a third-place effort in $13,090 overnight at Woodbine Racetrack. As a result, Declan Seelster soon appeared on the sales listings. Goller pounced and gave the horse to Mark Harder to train.
“The owner had watched the horse as an early two-year-old,” Harder said. “He had some ability, but he tailed off, and when he came up as available for sale, he bought him and asked me to take him.”
Goller and Harder gave Declan Seelster plenty of time off. Their patience was immediately rewarded. When Declan Seelster started training back with Harder last November, he made a great first impression.
“Looking at his lines, he showed a lot of ability as an early two-year-old. It looked like it might have been a bit much too soon and it took a while to get over those early miles,” Harder said.
“He seemed OK right from the get-go,” Harder continued. “He had a big, long break and he felt like a horse pretty much right from the get-go. He’s pretty mellow, a pretty easy-going horse, easy to be around. There are not many tricks to him, really. He’s pretty manageable.”
Declan Seelster qualified for Harder at the Meadowlands on December 8, 2018 and finished fifth in 1:54. He made his first start six days later, where he won an $11,000 overnight from off the pace in 1:52.3 and posted a :27 final quarter.
“He trained like he would be a good horse, but off his lines he showed that he really hadn’t been finishing at all and we really just wanted to make sure we didn’t use him too hard early and that he got braved up, got finishing, and passing some horses, and got a good attitude about it and it worked out right. We took our time with him, raced him the right way, got him finishing, and he’s just gotten better.”
Declan Seelster continued to impress on the racetrack, as he finished second from Post 10 after having trailed early on December 22. He was again a runner up on January 5 after having set the early fractions. Still fitting the non-winners of four races condition, Harder nominated the gelding to the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway.
To prep for the four-week series, Harder gave Declan Seelster about a month off before bringing him to Yonkers to test the waters on the half-mile track. His first attempt February 18 yielded just a third-place finish, but a week later, Declan Seelster went down the road in a $14,500 overnight and won by five lengths.
“He started off struggling a little bit on the turns and we rigged him up more and more and he just seems like he’s gotten stronger and stronger every start. He just seems to be getting better with more practice over it,” Harder said. “Some horses take to Yonkers right away and some don’t. He came from the Meadowlands to there and just took a couple starts to get ready.”
Declan Seelster continued to fire throughout the series. He finished second in an opening-leg division on March 5 and followed the effort with two wins in the last two weeks, including an off-the-pace victory from Post 7 in Leg 2 and a 1:53.3 win last time out. He’s earned $25,000 in the series and leads the standings heading into the $60,200 final Tuesday night (March 26).
Declan Seelster has drawn Post 5 for the final and Joe Bongiorno is scheduled to drive. The duo is the 5-2 co-second choice on the morning line. The Allard entry of Prologue and Wester Beachboy will start from Posts 4 and 6, respectively, and together are the 8-5 early favourites. Ron Burke will send out Cheese Melt and Sharp Action Money. The duo drew Posts 1 and 7, respectively, and the entry is 5-2. On Accident is 9-1 from Post 2 off of wins in the series’ first and third legs. Yeahnah and Bettor Than Spring complete the lineup.
“I’ve been watching them all, watching all those preliminary legs, so I sort of know what we’re up against,” Harder said. “It seems like the better ones all drew outside of him, so I’m sure they’ll be some action. You never really know what’s going to happen, so it’s up to the drivers.
“I think he can do it either way. The nice thing about him is he’s a pretty relaxed horse in a race,” Harder continued. “He doesn’t take a lot out of himself. You can put him on the front and then the next week you can take him off the gate easily. During the race, he’s not crazy, he’s actually a little bit lazy in the race, so he takes care of himself.”
The Sagamore Hill finale has been carded as Race 6 while the $30,000 consolation will face the gate for Race 8. The Matchmaker and Levy Series will continue this weekend.
Live harness racing is featured at Yonkers Raceway every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. First post time is 6:50 p.m.
(SOA of NY)