GLOUCESTER, ON — When Ryan Seelster lines up alongside the other three-year-old pacing colts in the second Grassroots division at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Thursday it will mark the first time that Perth resident Judith Hogan has harnessed an Ontario Sires Stakes starter.

“I actually just got my trainer’s license last October. My husband always did all the training, but when I retired last year I decided I wanted to get my trainer’s license, so we bought Ryan just for that purpose and he’s been amazing. I’ve had a lot of fun with him since May,” says the former school board secretary. “This is the icing on the cake.”

Judith and Hubert Hogan and their long time partner Cameron Armstrong of Perth acquired Ryan Seelster from Millar Farms after his first two races this spring. The Camluck gelding is the second young prospect the trio have sourced from the Newmarket breeder.

“He knows we give our horses a good home,” says Hogan. “He called us this year in the spring and said �I have another one up here that’s not going to do in Toronto,’ so we went up and had a look at him.”

The first young pacer the partners acquired from Millar was Tulsa Jack, who was also the first horse they ever started in the Ontario Sires Stakes program. The Gothic Dream colt finished third in a Grassroots event at Rideau Carleton in June 2004.

“We’ve been partners for well over 20 years and we never had one good enough for the Sires Stakes until last year,” notes Hogan of their relationship with Armstrong. “We are just really hoping that Ryan does well Thursday.

“He’s really a nice little colt. He’s not a very big horse, but he’s a gutsy little thing.”

Through 14 starts under the Hogan’s tutelage, Ryan Seelster has amassed a record of two wins, four seconds and two thirds, for earnings of $13,884. The Camluck gelding heads into Thursday’s contest off a runner-up finish in a non-winners event at Rideau Carleton on Sept. 22 and will benefit from Post 1 in his Grassroots debut.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw that,” says Hogan. “There are some in there that are pretty fast, but we are really hoping that Ryan will at least be able to stay with them.”

Among the colts Ryan Seelster and driver Matthew Dupuis will face in Thursday’s seventh race are two other locally owned youngsters. Twin B Premier will start from Post 4 for Louis Lecuyer of Ottawa and trainer-driver Robert Robinson of Metcalfe, while Delta Plain gets Post 5 for Tom Rasmussen of Gloucester and Philip Ivanoff of Ottawa.

Also squaring off against Ryan Seelster and his local peers are a pair of colts currently sitting in the Top 16 and one just below the cut off for the Grassroots post season. Kentucky Rebel has 100 points and will start from Post 6 Thursday, Northern Pacific has 92 points and gets Post 3, while Twin B Krave will be looking to move up the standings with a strong finish from Post 2.

Post time for Rideau Carleton Raceway’s last Ontario Sires Stakes event of the season is 6:30 pm, with the three-year-old pacing colts squaring off in Races 4, 7, 9, 11 and 12 on the Thursday evening program.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eridcfth.html