Pacing faster than he did in his last win at this level in early July, Poseidon Seelster powered past his rivals in the stretch en route to victory in the $36,000 Preferred Pace on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Bob McClure has the assignment behind the six-year-old on Saturday night, and he settled the lukewarm second choice away third early behind an aggressive Bee Two Bee (Travis Cullen) and Points North (Sylvain Filion). That trio stayed as the leading trio through the first three stations in :26.1, :54.3 and 1:22. Doug McNair attempted a first-over approach with Camara Moment, but that one packed it in around the far turn to stifle outer flow. When the field turned for home, Filion and McClure angled their charges from the pylons and set sights on the pacesetter. Both Poseidon Seelster and Points North outkicked Bee Two Bee but Poseidon Seelster had the most late kick and his :26.2 final quarter was the difference in a 1:49 mile. Points North was a length back in second with Livinthebeachlife (Jonathan Drury) completing the triactor. Co-owned by trainer Don Lindsey of Fergus with Paul Kleinpaste of Orangeville, Ont., Will Alempijevic of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Garth Bechtel of Meaford, Ont., Poseidon Seelster (Sunshine Beach - Porsche Seelster) now sports a career summary of 16-10-19 from 84 starts with a bankroll of $577,170. The Saturday evening card also featured four $17,000 first leg divisions of the Ontario Sired Harvest Series for three-year-old male trotters and pacers. Nothingbutadreamer made it four straight wins in the first division for trotters. Sent off as the 1-2 favourite, Nothingbutadreamer got away in second during the :27.2 opening quarter put up by Ricardo (Doug McNair) before driver James MacDonald right-lined the sophomore from the pocket to the lead. After a :56.3 half and 1:25.4 third panel, Nothingbutadreamer faced a fresh threat with Ricardo angling out for the stretch drive. Those two trottters traded blows down the Mohawk stretch, battling into the final strides. Nothingbutadreamer reemerged on top at the wire, winning in a career best 1:53.4. Cactustotheclouds (Trevor Henry) held off rivals for third. Harry Poulton trains Nothingbutadreamer (Muscle Mass - Myimpossibledream) for Thestable Nothinbutadremr of Guelph, Ont. The win is his ninth lifetime, lifting his earnings to $136,943. A $2 win ticket on the favourite returned $3.10. In the second trotting division, Stonebridge Bomber ($3.40) made a serious brush from sixth at the :56.4 half to clear to the lead by the 1:26 third station. Driver Doug McNair asked the sophomore to open up some daylight on the field turning for home. A three-length cushion at the top of the stretch was enough to hold off a late rally from Century Jaguar (Henry) to win by three parts of a length in 1:54.3. Prince Archie (Steven Hudon) was best of the rest. Stonebridge Bomber (Muscle Mass - Stonebridge Glider) notched his fourth career victory and his first for trainer / owner Aaron Byron and co-owner Gordon Mason of Rosseau, Ont. Sitting more 10 lengths off the lead at the half, Leave It To Luther ($15.60) pounced off third over cover turning for home to swoop past his foes in the first $17,000 Harvest division for three-year-old pacers. James MacDonald engineered the winning trip, besting Bar Down Jim (Travis Cullen) by a neck in 1:53.4. Show went to Sans Souci (Mike Whelan). Making his 22nd career start for trainer Ryan Steward and owner Courtney Pollard, Leave It To Luther (Betterthancheddar - T R Lexus Cam) notched his eighth career win but had just two prior starts (and no wins) at Woodbine Mohawk Park before Saturday's appearance. The 1:53.4 mile time was a new lifetime mark by four full seconds. Full Horse ($5.40) was full of horse in the second Harvest division for pacers. Settled in third for driver Louis-Philippe Roy through a :28 first quarter and :57.2 half, Roy right-lined Full Horse approaching the third station and applied pressure to pacesetting favourite Arizona Jackson (Jonathan Drury) as the field hit the three-quarter mark in 1:25.4. Full Horse wore down Arizona Jackson and, through a :27 closing panel, held off the late surge of Cheddar Duharas (Tyler Borth) by a half-length for the 1:53.1 decision. Arizona Jackson stayed for the show spot. Luc Blais trains Full Horse (Bettors Delight - Lady Be Great) for owner Determination of Montreal, Que. The mile time shaved one fifth of a second of his previous lifetime best. The Ontario Sired Harvest Series is for three-year-old colts and geldings who are non-winners of $30,000 in 2023 as of Sept. 30, 2023. The second leg of the series is slated for Saturday, Nov. 18 with the $40,000 (added) final one week later.

The card of harness racing on Friday, Sept. 1 at Woodbine Mohawk Park featured a trio of Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions for the sophomore pacers, with Stockade Seelster and Nick Gallucci emerging as the stars of the evening. Stockade Seelster outclassed his provincial counterparts on Friday in the single $158,100 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division for three-year-old male pacers. Driver Jody Jamieson got the 1-2 choice away midpack early as Moment Is Here (James MacDonald) left for command and landed on the lead through a :26.1 opening quarter before being cleared by Verdun (Louis-Philippe Roy). Jamieson and Stockade Seelster didn't see the rail for the first half of the mile, clearing to the lead after a sharp :53.2 half. MacDonald made his move from third with Moment Is Here midway through the far turn and started to advance on Stockade Seelster through the 1:21 third quarter but Stockade Seelster would not be denied on this occasion. These two sophomores traded blows in midstretch, with Stockade Seelster delivering the knockout in the final sixteenth. Macs Delight (Jonathan Drury) emerged as a fresh threat late, but Stockade Seelster had enough separation and bested that rival by more than a length in a lifetime best 1:48.4. Moment Is Here stayed for third. "He is tough, and he proved it last time out in Pocono," said Jamieson after the win. "I just kind of took my time getting there, even though it was still a fast half....James gave him a little scare on the outside there and he just digs back in and goes. He's an awesome horse." Dr. Ian Moore trains Stockade Seelster (State Treasurer - Soiree Seelster) for Sally & Paul MacDonald of P.E.I. and Ontario. His summary now sits at 14-2-3 from 22 lifetime starts with more than $1.33 million in earnings. He returned $3.10 to win. Upsets were the order of the night in the two $101,300 OSS Gold divisions for three-year-old pacing fillies. In the first division, Mist Amber and driver Sylvain Filion breezed home in :26.1 from sixth and last at the head of the lane to prevail in a four-horse photo and win in a lifetime best 1:50.3. Fellow longshot Lady Get Lucky (Trevor Henry) was next best ahead of favoured One Last Wish (Paul MacDonell) and second choice Cheesy Smile (Bob McClure). "I just went with the flow," admitted driver Filion after the win. "They were pacing pretty good up front and around the last turn she kind of swelled up so I thought maybe we have a shot. And she dug in." Trainer John Pentland of Dorchester, Ont. also owns Mist Amber (Betterthancheddar - Amber Hanover), now a seven-time winner as a sophomore but none bigger than this one. The filly, who started the year racing in the conditioned ranks at Western Fair, was winless in three Grassroots attempts this year before the upset score on Friday. She paid $34.80 to win, and the $50,650 winner's share of the purse nearly doubled her lifetime earnings to $115,536. Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance was sixth and the third quarter in her Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division. Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance was one of the longshots in her OSS Gold division. Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance rallied late to pick off the early leaders. Pacing home in :26.3 for driver James MacDonald, Savethelastdance boogied under the wire nearly two lengths better than Ima Doll (Tyler Borth) for the career best 1:51.3 upset tally. Talk Curdy To Me (Louis-Philippe Roy) completed the triactor ticket. "This is the shock of the year, to be honest with you," trainer Nick Gallucci told Woodbine's Randy Waples after the win. "I'm still in disbelief. She really surprised us tonight. "She had a few minor issues and she just wasn't really performing the way we were hoping. So we gave her a month. We tried swimming her. That didn't really work out, so we just gave her some stall rest / turnout and she's come back. I really have to give a lot of credit on this filly to Peter Hamilton. I get a little frustrated with her, and he's just been calm as can be...and that showed tonight. The way she was able to rate the whole mile and finish her mile, he did a great job with her." The three-year-old sister to 2022 O'Brien Award winner Silver Label, Savethelastdance (Bettors Delight - Hidden Gem) is owned by her breeder, Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont. Her lifetime summary now stands at 6-0-1 from 12 starts with $232,534 in earnings. Sent off at 24-1, she paid $50 to win. With her win in the eighth race on Friday night, Savethelastdance was part of a Millar Farms / Gallucci natural hat trick that started in the race prior with Velvet Stinger ($11.20), the seventh race winner in a lifetime best 1:49.4. Savethelastdance won the eighth, but her sister Silver Label was bested in the very next race. The horse that ended her three-race win streak: stablemate Prohibition Legal ($5.20), pacing home in :25.3 for Louis-Philippe Roy after a pocket ride from before the half to score in a lifetime best 1:50 in the $42,000 Free For All Pace. Silver Label was three-quarters of a length back in second, with Western Wish (Borth) next best. An O'Brien Award winner in 2021, Prohibition Legal (Big Jim - Catch A Wish) sports a 10-5-2 career summary from 19 appearances with more than $844,141 in earnings. The win was her first of the year in just two four-year-old starts. WATCH FOR STOCKADE SEELSTER'S HALF BROTHER SUMMIT SEELSTER AT THE HARRISBURG SALE THIS FALL.

The glamour boys touched down in Ottawa on Sunday, August 13 for a $157,200 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold division at Rideau Carleton Raceway, and Stockade Seelster was victorious in an impressive effort from the outside post position. The reigning king of the OSS suffered his first defeat in the provincial program on July 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but would not to be denied on this occasion. Jody Jamieson and the son of State Treasurer left hard from post eight, beating out fellow quick leavers Moment Is Here (James MacDonald) and Macs Delight (Jonathan Drury) to make the front just as the field was exiting the far turn. “I expected to take about a three-eighths park before I could get there,” said Jamieson. “But three steps out of the wings it looked like I was going to be able to cross over pretty easy, and from there he kind of did his own thing. He just wasn’t getting beat tonight.” Stockade Seelster’s margin grew as large as two lengths as he led the field through fractions of :26.4, :55, and 1:22.3, while Moment Is Here stalked in the pocket. MacDonald angled his pacer to the inside in the stretch but fell a half-length short of overtaking his rival. “Around the last turn I thought I had it in the bag,” said Jamieson. “When James popped in there, I heard him yell, but I just had a really good feeling about my horse tonight. It didn’t matter who was on my back to be honest. I was really proud of him tonight, he was exceptional.” The final time was 1:50.3, a national season's record for a sophomore pacing colt on a five-eighths mile racetrack. Trained by Dr. Ian Moore, Stockade Seelster (State Treasurer - Soiree Seelster) now has seven wins from eight career OSS starts, and has banked more than $475,000 in the program. His total earnings exceed $1.1 million for owners Sally and Paul MacDonald. As the generous 4-1 choice, he paid $10.80 for the win. Moment Is Here’s solid season continued with his second place effort. Whatchulookin At (Louis-Philippe Roy) was the final podium finisher. There were also three $21,800 OSS Grassroots divisions on the card for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings, and those divisions all had a common denominator: driver James MacDonald. Santana Hanover captured the first Grassroots division for driver MacDonald and trainer Richard Moreau. Domenic Chiaravalle owns the Big Jim gelding who now has two wins from 11 starts this season. The betting public made Santana Hanover a 3-5 favourite and he stopped the clock in a lifetime best 1:52. Leave It To Leo won his OSS debut in the second Grassroots division with MacDonald driving for trainer Nick Gallucci and owner Millar Farms. The Bettors Deligh gelding used his rail position to sit third through the early going before moving to the front and grabbing the lead at the half and holding on the rest of the way to win in 1:52.3. MacDonald, Gallucci and Millar teamed up with Winmebak in the third and final Grassroots division, and the son of Shadow Play won for the first time in the OSS in his fourth career attempt. MacDonald guided Winmebak to off the pace score in 1:50.2 for his third win of the 2023 campaign. The mile time equaled the existing Rideau track standard for sophomore pacing geldings, set in 2012 by Michaels Power, and is the fastest mile on a five-eighths mile oval in Canada this season.

Tijuana Seelster moved her win streak to six in a row on Wednesday (July 12) evening at Grand River Raceway after winning an $8,800 condition class for trotters. Colin Kelly sent the Jacob Roberts trainee out of the gate from post four. The pair posted panels in :28.3, :58.4 and 1:28.2 before taking off to a 5-3/4-length romp in 1:58. Downstairs Party (Scott Young) finished second and Cash Deals (Mario Baillargeon) rounded out the top three. Owned by Triple S Equine, Tijuana Seelster is a four-year-old Muscle Mass-Tymal Timeout daughter with 10 career wins, eight of which were earned this season. She moved her seasonal bankroll to $52,032, making her career sum $71,269. Seelster’s are selling Talia Seelster, a half-sister to Tijuana Seelster in the London Classic Yearling Sale October 17-18, 2023.

Ontario-owned and bred pacing mare Karma Seelster hit the million-dollar milestone with her latest victory, a 1:51.1 wire-to-wire effort competing against Open mares at Yonkers Raceway. Karma Seelster won the $36,000 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap Pace on Friday, July 7 to send her lifetime earnings to $1,010,966 for owners Kauren Hauver and Shady Hill Racing Stable of Durham, Ont. With Jordan Stratton in the bike, the Sportswriter-Kiddie Cocktail mare cleared from post four into the clubhouse turn and called the shots through fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:23.4 en route to a two-length victory over favourite Drama Act and Violets Rainbow. Sent postward as the 2-1 second choice, she paid $6.30 to win. Trained by Andrew Adamczyk while racing stateside this year, Karma Seelster has won three races in a row and six of her 18 starts, adding $154,290 to her bankroll. Lifetime, the Seelster Farms-bred distaffer has won 21 of her 81 races, with 18 seconds and 15 third-place finishes. (Photo of Karma Seelster winning previously at Yonkers Raceway)

Driver Bob McClure and Poseidon Seelster sat behind a contested pace and powered home in the lane to a 1:49.4 victory in the $32,000 Preferred 2 Pace on Saturday (July 8) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Momas Son Byrne motored to the lead alongside Livinthebeachlife, who sat on the rim past a :26 first quarter but gave chase uncovered as the tempo stayed hot up the backstretch. Past the half in :53.1, Momas Son Byrne kept rolling around the final turn to clock by three-quarters in 1:21.2 but started shortening stride in the stretch. McClure, sitting behind the pacesetter with Poseidon Seelster, swung the Don Lindsey trainee into action and grabbed the lead while withstanding late charges from So Much More and Codename Cigar Box to win by three-quarters of a length. Momas Son Byrne faded to fourth. Lindsey co-owns Poseidon Seelster, a six-year-old Sunshine Beach gelding, with Paul Kleinpaste, William Alempijevic and Garth Bechtel. He won his 13th race from 70 starts and has now earned $491,020. Poseidon Seelster paid $7.10 to win.

TIjuana Seelster has been on a roll in her four-year-old campaign and has scored five wins in a row, winning her most recent start on Wednesday evening (July 5) at Grand River Raceway. Colin Kelly and Tijuana Seelster got away last in their field of seven in the $8,800 condition trot, 12-1/2 lengths off the leader at the quarter in :27.3. Before the half in :58, Downstairs Party (Garrett Rooney) was the first on the move on the outside, followed by Alcina (Jason Ryan), and then Tijuana Seelster. Kelly pulled his right line once more, moving three-wide around the field as they passed the three-quarters in 1:27.3. Kelly and Tijuana Seelster took command just before the final turn and the pair kept on pedalling en route to a 4-1/4-length victory in 1:57. Shesundertheradar (Samuel Fillion) was second and Lucas Nl (Brett MacDonald) finished third. The four-year-old Muscle Mass daughter has collected eight of her 10 wins this season along with $52,032. In her last eight starts, Tijuana Seelster has had seven wins and a fifth-place finish, which was the result of a parked-out trip the entire mile. Jacob Roberts trains the mare for Triple S Equine.

Odds-on choice Stockade Seelster held on the lead and 26-1 shot Midnight Nation fired from well off the speed to each clock a 1:49.3 mile and narrowly take their respective $100,400 opening-round divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night (July 1). In the first division, driver Trevor Henry sat fifth with Midnight Nation, who was sent off as the longest shot on the board. He chased a :26.2 first quarter set by Verdun, who then relinquished control to 2-5 favourite Moment Is Here up the backstretch. Moment Is Here coasted to a :55 half and 1:23.1 as everyone but Midnight Nation pulled off the pylons circling for home. With clearance to the inside, Midnight Nation fired and slipped through the inside route to a nose victory with pocket-pounder Verdun left in third and Macs Delight in fourth. “They all moved out, eh? And when they move out, you move up,” Henry said after the race. “It just worked out, you know? Just got lucky. I knew it was close, I wasn’t really sure [I won]. I was hoping – he’s a nice horse. He raced great – [trainer] Richard [Moreau] said we’d race for a cheque and we got more than that.” Shaun Vallee and D P V Racing Stable own Midnight Nation, a gelding by Betterthancheddar, bred in Ontario by Princeton Farms. The victory was the first OSS Gold win for a Princeton Farms bred horse. Midnight Nation won his second race from eight starts and has now banked $91,705. He paid $54.50 to win. The second OSS division also came to a nose decision, but the pacesetter Stockade Seelster held off the late push of No Control to win. Driver Jody Jamieson planted Stockade Seelster on the point and rolled uncontested through fractions of :26.4, :56 and 1:23 before engaging in a stretch sprint with No Control. No Control crept closer all through the lane, but came just shy of victory as Whatchulookin At fired home quickest of the six to snag third, beaten three-quarter lengths, with Santana Hanover fourth. “I thought he held on,” Jamieson said after the race. “It was really more my fault than anything – you can’t slow these good horses down the way I did in the second quarter. I should’ve just let him roll. I had in my head how good No Control raced last week and I noticed him sitting on my back and wanted every advantage I could. I don’t think going to the half in :56 flat was an advantage; it hurt him more than anything. This horse just dug in.” Stockade Seelster won for the 11th time from 16 starts and has now earned $1,082,870 for owners Sally and Paul MacDonald. Dr. Ian Moore trains the colt by State Treasurer and confirmed that last year’s Metro Pace winner is bound for New Jersey to race in the Meadowlands Pace eliminations.