LONDON, ON — Western Fair Raceway will wrap up the Ontario Sires Stakes season with a pair of Trillium Series events this weekend. The two-year-old pacing fillies will battle in one $77,000 Trillium division on Friday, while the talented three-year-old pacing fillies square off in a pair of $34,000 battles Saturday evening.
A winner in the Oct. 23 Trillium event at Flamboro Downs, Platinum Seelster will benefit from the advantageous Post 1 in Friday’s two-year-old pacing filly event. Bred and owned by Seelster Farms of Lucan, the filly prepped for her second Trillium appearance with a solid qualifying effort in mixed company at Mohawk Racetrack on Nov. 11.
“She should be good. She’s got the rail,” notes trainer Bob McIntosh of LaSalle. “She’s a nice filly and she gets around a half good.”
Through seven starts this season Platinum Seelster, a daughter of Pennsylvania-based sire Western Hanover, has scored three wins and two seconds. All three of her victories were over the Flamboro Downs half-mile, with her personal best coming in the Oct. 23 Trillium when she delivered a 1:57.3 effort on the front end.
“She gets around the turns good usually,” says McIntosh. “This will be her last start of the year and then she’ll go to be turned out up at Seelster’s.”
The eleventh foal, and just the fourth filly, from Seelster’s star broodmare Parcel, Platinum Seelster counts performers like $657,853 winner Paula Seelster and $259,411 winner Pierce Seelster among her siblings. Destined to follow her mother into the Lucan nursery’s broodmare band in a few years, Platinum Seelster’s connections would love to see her add a few more dollars to her $41,445 freshman tally before she breaks for the season.
McIntosh will train the filly lightly this week before handing her over to Wally McIlmurray, Jr. on Friday. It will be McIlmurray’s first tour aboard the novice pacer, but McIntosh has full confidence in the veteran reinsman.
“He gets along good with most of them. They shouldn’t get parked anyway, from the rail,” he says with a chuckle.
Among the fillies that Platinum Seelster and McIlmurray will face on Friday are former Gold Elimination winners Alias Seelster, owned by Ray Bunn and Lisa Steward of Denfield, and Cinny Fever from Posts 2 and 6 and former Gold Final winner Bold Bidder, owned by Karen Carroll of Shedden, from Post 7.
Post time for Western Fair Raceway’s Friday evening program in 7:35 pm, with the two-year-old pacing fillies stepping on to the London oval for their last Trillium event of the season in Race 9.
For a complete list of entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/elonfr.html#N9