SARNIA, ON — After a month long break in their Ontario Sires Stakes season, the two-year-old pacing colts return to action Thursday night at Hiawatha Horse Park in eight Grassroots divisions.
Aiming for a solid result over his hometown oval is Major Seelster, who makes his bid for a second straight victory at Hiawatha from Post 5 in the third race.
“He’s green, he’s lightly raced, but he seems to have a lot of talent. He won last week in 1:56.1 pretty easy,” says trainer Jim Ainsworth. “He’s a nice two-year-old, but I think he’ll be a really nice three-year-old.”
After lagging behind the other freshman in Ainsworth’s barn all winter, Major Seelster made his racing debut at Hiawatha on Aug. 15. With Reg Gassien in the bike the Astreos son toured the five-eighths mile oval in an impressive 1:57.2 to earn his first trip to the winner’s enclosure. One week later the colt finished second in a Grassroots division at Kawartha Downs and on Sept. 4 he recovered from an early break to finish fourth in a Flamboro Breeders division against a group of Gold Series regulars.
In last Thursday’s victory Major Seelster made another brief break in stride after being interfered with at the half way marker, leading Ainsworth to speculate that the 1:56.1 clocking could have been even faster without the miscue.
“He got a whip in the face and made a little bobble, threw his head up in the air,” says the Sarnia resident. “It’s hard to say how fast he would have gone if that hadn’t happened. I lost all my momentum and it cost me at least five lengths.”
Ainsworth shares ownership on Major Seelster with Rocknhorse Stables Canada of Sarnia, Martwest Racing Stable of Mississauga and William Boden of Vancouver, BC. The veteran horseman acquired the colt for $32,000 at last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale after Boden called and asked him to take a look at the son of Minx Seelster, a former Grassroots winner and the sister to such standouts as $330,880 winner Gigi Wilco.
“He was an impulse buy,” admits Ainsworth. “I was loading up to go home and my partner from B.C. called and asked me to go and look at him. So I sent my father (Larry Ainsworth) to load up the other one and I went and looked at him and kind of liked him.
“I thought he was a little under developed so I gave him a month off in January or February, but he’s probably the best looking one I have in the barn right now. And I’d say he’s my favourite. He’s got a little personality to him,” adds Ainsworth.
With just two events remaining on the regular season schedule, Major Seelster is unlikely to advance to the Grassroots post season, so Ainsworth is already focusing on next year.
“I might race him in the late closers in the winter, have him ready for the first of March or so,” says the trainer. “I think he’ll be able to go with them (top colts) next year, but they’re just too far ahead of him right now.”
Among the top colts ready to strut their stuff at Hiawatha Thursday are division leaders The Thief, Apache Rain Dance and Fast Factor. The Thief will start from Post 3 in the fourth race, Apache Rain Dance gets Post 8 in Race 9 and Fast Factor will start from Post 7 in Race 2.
Hiawatha Horse Park’s first race rolls up behind the gate at 7:30 pm on Thursday with the two-year-old pacing colts slated to star in Races 1 through 6, and Races 8 and 9.