A returning O'Brien Award finalist and a reigning track record holder were no concern for Simcoe Seelster, who made his four-year-old debut successfully and impressively during the Friday (Feb. 24) qualifying session at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Bob McClure pointed the son of Royalty For Life to the front end in his qualifying test, fronting his three rivals through fractions of :29, :58.2 and 1:27.3 before comfortably trotting home in :29.4 to best Locatelli (James MacDonald) by just over a length with the mile timed in 1:57.2. HP Mama B was 3-1/2 lengths back of the leader in her five-year-old debut for driver Louis-Philippe Roy.
Unraced at two, Simcoe Seelster (Royalty For Life - Simone Hall) was a five-time winner as a sophomore with $80,629 in earnings and a mark of 1:53.4. Bill James trains and co-owns Simcoe Seelster with John James and Deborah Aubin.
The video stream provided by Mohawk is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).