Titus Seelster (Artistic Fella) scored in his return to Saratoga Casino Hotel on Thursday night taking the evening’s $12,500 feature. The Jackie Greene-trained six year old has been a factor in the local Open Pace from time to time over the past few seasons and after a lengthy stint at Yonkers returned to the Spa on Saturday to compete in the Winners Over Pace. Titus Seelster flashed his dynamic early speed and made an easy lead with reinsman Frank Coppola Jr in the sulky. After getting a second quarter breather, Titus Seelster didn’t face a challenge until the final quarter of a mile and rebuffed all rivals before stopping the timer in 1:53.1 for his fourth win of the season. The race’s longshot Montera sat the pocket to the winner and wound up second best at odds of 33-1 while the favored Bettor Rock On N (Stephane Bouchard) had to settle for third. Titus Seelster paid $5.10 to win as the second choice in the wagering and led an exacta and triple that returned $82.50 and $237.50, respectively. The win for Titus Seelster was one of three on the night for Coppola and trainer Jackie Greene as they teamed up for a victory with young pacer Shanghai Warrior (Big Jim) who prevailed for the fourth consecutive Saturday night and St Lads Moonwalk (Mach Three) who dropped out of Winners Over competition to secure his second win of the 2017 campaign.
Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee card set to begin at 12:15pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Michael A. Panzarino
