GLOUCESTER, ON — When the three-year-old pacing fillies arrive at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday evening for their first Gold Series event of the season, Glenn Bechtel is hoping his filly’s brief commute will lend her an advantage in the talent laden fifth race.
“It’s a bit of a home field advantage that might help us,” says the Kingston resident, who shares ownership on Serenity Seelster with his brother Garth Bechtel of Caledon Village and trainer John MacMillan of Spencerville. “She only has a 30 minute drive to the track.”
While her competition ships in from as far away as Windsor, Serenity Seelster will be enjoying her regular routine in MacMillan’s barn, and her owners hope the absence of any race day stress will help the filly bounce back from a disappointing eighth-place finish at Georgian Downs on May 10.
“She didn’t race very good at Georgian Downs, but she had a long trailer ride,” notes Bechtel. “She was stiff and sore after the race.”
Heading into the event off a six week break, MacMillan and the Bechtels were hoping the Georgian Downs start would help Serenity Seelster regain the form that saw her capture four of seven starts at Woodbine Racetrack this winter. Between January 20 and March 28 the Camluck daughter posted wins in a leg and the final of the Miss Vera Bars Pacing Series and two legs of the Silver Reign Series. Then, favoured in the final of the Silver Reign, Serenity Seelster made a nervous error that disappointed her owners but did not surprise them.
“She’s flighty, she sees everything,” says Bechtel. “I’ve jogged her before and she literally goes across the track every time a bird flies by.
“The first time we tried to qualify her, at Flamboro, when she was scoring out she saw the starting car sitting up on top of the hill and she went sideways into the infield, she almost went into the pond.”
In spite of her idiosyncrasies Serenity Seelster has earned $82,961 since the partners acquired her for just $7,500 from a mixed sale last summer, and Bechtel admits he doesn’t expect things to get any easier.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever fix her,” he says. “And I remind my partners, the reason we own her is because she does have this quirkiness.”
The longtime Standardbred owner has high praise for driver Tony Kerwood, who has handled the lines in 15 of the filly’s 18 starts and will pilot her from Post 4 in the fifth race on Sunday.
“Tony Kerwood deserves a lot of credit. He has stuck with her and taught her a lot,” says Bechtel. “I wouldn’t want to drive her in a race.”
Aside from the filly’s personality quirks, Bechtel’s only other concern heading into Sunday’s contest is that the competition will be a little fresher from the winter vacations they enjoyed while Serenity Seelster was competing at Woodbine.
“She got started so late last year she didn’t have much money on her card so we decided to pay her into the Silver Reign and Miss Vera Bars,” says the owner. “Now we hope we can have our cake and eat it too.
“We put her in the Gold, we hope she’s that good, but if she doesn’t race well in this or in the Trillium (June 6) she’ll go back to the farm.”
A top four finish will guarantee Serenity Seelster a berth in the $130,000 Gold Final on May 29 and confirm that she belongs among the province’s best. Among the fillies who will make the Race 5 test a stiff one are freshman Gold Final winners Shes Almost Famous and Lucks Mistress, who will start from Posts 2 and 3.
The other division, Race 8 on the 6:30 pm program, features the 2004 division leader Lady Dillinger from Post 3 and $235,098 winner Claires Apache from Post 1. The top four finishers from each of Sunday’s elimination are guaranteed a berth in the May 28 Gold Final at Rideau Carleton Raceway, along with one of the fifth-place finishers.