Bellini Seelster blitzes the field

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Bellini Seelster (Mach Three) continued to show her dominance at Buffalo Raceway as she romped to a 2-1/2 length harness racing victory over Pretty Blue Angel in the $16,500 Open Pace for the ladies on Wednesday afternoon (June 15).

Since arriving on the scene on May 11 from Miami Valley, Bellini Seelster has stepped up the condition ladder along the way, collecting three victories, a second and a third in five starts locally. She also has gone off the post time favorite in all of those outings.

Fresh off a 1-3/4 length win last week in the Open II, Bellini Seelster showed she was ready for the tougher competition. With a field of five facing the starting gate, things became a little easier for Bellini Seelster as Dontustopbelieven broke stride behind the car and was immediately out of contention.

Driver Drew Monti, who of the top had three winners on the card, watched Sapphire Blue Chip get early control but quickly regained the lead with Bellini Seelster just past the opening stanza.

With splits of :29.3 and :59.1 to the midway point, Bellini Seelster blitzed the field with a :56.1 back half and confidently reached the finish line in 1:55.2. Pretty Blue Angel (David McNeight III) made it three consecutive runner up finishes while Aroritell (Justin Irvine) took third.

Owned by Carl Monti and trained by Darrin Monti, it was the seventh win in 17 attempts this year for the 5-year-old mare Bellini Seelster. The victory moved her 2022 bankroll to $51,700 and $142,750 in her career.

In the sub-featured $12,400 pace for the filly and mares, Larjon Legacy (Mister Big, $8.10) came back to Western New York after a five-race stint at Tioga Downs and returned a winner with a 1-1/2 length victory over the favored Super Saturation in a seasonal best 1:56.2.

Larjon Legacy (Monti) had a skirmish on the front end with Super Saturation but managed to gain control, stomping out fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:28.3. With a quarter mile to race, Larjon Legacy easily turned back the late bids from Super Saturation (Jim Morrill Jr.) and Candy’s Desire (Kyle Cummings) who had to settle for second and third place honors.

Owned by Rocco Stebbins and conditioned by Joe Skowyra, Larjon Legacy is an7-year-old mare who has now won five times in 12 starts in 2022. The victory vaulted her seasonal earnings to $33,105 and $151,842 lifetime.
Jennifer Giuliani had two training wins on the card.

Racing will resume over the weekend with action set to take place on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons with post time each day scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday will be dark the next two weeks. There will be a $760 carryover in the Pick 5 on Saturday beginning in the second race.

For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com

For complete race results, click here.

by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway