(Photo of driver Sylvain Filion and Soiree Seelster courtesy of New Image Media)
From the moment Soiree Seelster arrived in Tony O’Sullivan’s barn she was so laid-back the Puslinch resident occasionally wondered if something was wrong with the two-year-old pacing lass.
“I was actually talking to Sylvain (Filion) about it tonight, she’s, you know, she’s just really, really relaxed, she always has been. She just takes everything in stride; she doesn’t shy away from anything,” O’Sullivan explained. “She worries me sometimes, because she’s so quiet at home you think there’s something wrong with her, but there’s not.
“When she gets to the races she sharpens up a bit, but even then, she’s just very, very professional,” he added. “Her attitude is really, really good.”
On Monday evening Soiree Seelster did her best to calm all of O’Sullivan’s worries with a victory in her $70,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series division at Mohawk Racetrack. In rein to Milton resident Filion, Soiree Seelster eased away from the centre of the starting gate and was sitting fifth when Royal Point paced by the quarter pole in :27.3. Heading for the :57.1 half Soiree Seelster stepped into the outer lane behind fan favourite Sir Native and Thorne Seelster, and the trio of fillies made steady gains on the leader through the 1:25.4 three-quarters.
Turning for home Soiree Seelster was less than two lengths behind the leader and a sharp finishing kick propelled the filly to a two length victory in 1:54.2. Thorne Seelster finished second and Royal Point was five more lengths back in third.
“Sylvain’s taught her how to race in both the qualifiers, plus her two races,” noted O’Sullivan. “Obviously we got the win tonight, but I love the way he’s bringing her along.”
Monday’s outing was Soiree Seelster’s second in the Gold Series. The daughter of Big Jim and Smilesplace finished a hard-closing third in her July 5 OSS debut after logging a second in qualifying action on June 25 and a third on June 10, all three over the Mohawk Racetrack oval.
O’Sullivan shares ownership of Soiree Seelster with Domenic Chiaravalle of Hamilton and Lorne Keller of Exeter, ON. The group purchased the filly out of the 2015 Forest City Yearling Sale for $53,000 and have recouped $47,600 through two starts.
“She was a really good looking strong filly, as you can see on the track, and we kind of liked the pedigree and the cross and decided to just take a swing on it,” recalled O’Sullivan. “She never really had a bad day — I mean I never get very high on them until they qualify — but we liked her all winter.”
Soiree Seelster will make her third lifetime start in the August 12 Gold Series event at Mohawk.
The other two Gold Series divisions on Mohawk’s Monday evening program were captured by Future Headlines and Blameitonthenight, both piloted by Milton resident Randy Waples.
Sent off as the favourite in the first division, Future Headlines took command heading by the three-quarters and powered home a one and one-half length winner in 1:55. Windy Sport and Bid Writer rounded out the top three, making it a sweep for daughters of Sportswriter.
Waples engineered the win for trainer Colin Johnson of Repentigny, QC and his partners Thomas Kyron of Toronto and David Heffering of Port Perry, ON. Monday’s outing was Future Headlines’ first, coming after a 1:54.4 win in a July 8 qualifier at Mohawk.
Blameitonthenight captured the third Gold division, controlling the tempo for much of the mile and then waging a fierce duel with Yaris Bayama in the stretch, hanging on for a neck victory in 1:53.2. Out Of Sight finished third, three lengths behind the duelling leaders.
Trainer Tony Alagna of Manalapan, NJ shares ownership of Blameitonthenight with Crawford Partners LLC of Syracuse, NY and Donna Ozment, also of Manalapan. The Mach Three daughter is now two-for-two after capturing an overnight event at Mohawk on July 12.
Many of the fillies in Monday’s Gold Series event will make their next start in the Battle of the Belles eliminations at Grand River Raceway on July 25, with the final slated for Aug. 1. The freshman pacing fillies will return to Gold Series action, and Mohawk Racetrack, on Aug. 12.
On Tuesday, July 19, the Campbellville oval will welcome the two-year-old trotting fillies for their second Gold Series start. The fillies will face off in Races 2, 3, and 8, with racing getting under way at 7:30 pm.
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