by Melissa Keith

The Woodbine Mohawk Park filly and mare preferred pacing division recently lost three stalwarts to the broodmare ranks. Past O’Brien Award winners Silver Label (p, 4, 1:47.3; $1,345,501) and stablemate Prohibition Legal (p, 4, 1:50s; $876,394) were formally retired at Mohawk on Dec. 21, 2024, while the connections of Dabarndawgswatchin (p, 5, 1:49s; $584,746) announced her retirement on Feb. 19.

Ironically, it’s a 4-year-old broodmare prospect who has quickly reached the top class and helped make up for their absence.

Blue Pacific (p, 2, 1:50.2s; $362,815) took her lifetime mark as a 2-year-old at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, winning the $210,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management Pace for freshman fillies. The daughter of Sweet Lou—Miss Jones also won the $150,000 New Jersey Classic final at The Meadowlands and finished second to Pass Line in her 2023 Breeders Crown elimination. Racing for trainers Joe Holloway and Scott DiDomenico at age 3, Blue Pacific spent half of her dozen starts in conditioned races at Harrah’s Philadelphia, failing to hit the board in her only stakes attempts. She was scratched from her Jugette elimination due to being late for the detention barn.

Seelster Farms’ reproduction manager Ann Straatman told HRU that the Lucan, ON standardbred nursery had definite plans for Blue Pacific when they purchased her at the 2024 Harrisburg Black Book Mixed Sale.

“Yes, Blue Pacific was purchased as a broodmare prospect; we thought she would be an excellent match for Bulldog Hanover,” Straatman said on Thursday (March 6).

Seelster Farms stands Bulldog Hanover (p, 4, 1:45.4m; $2,419,000), 2022 O’Brien and Dan Patch Horse of the Year and the fastest standardbred of all time.

Blue Pacific was a relative bargain at $65,000, selling during a short lull between six-figure fillies.

“We had narrowed down our search in the Harrisburg Black Book mixed sale to our 20 favorites by pedigree,” Straatman said. “Once my partners, Karen [Favacho] and Tina [Howard], along with assistant farm manager Jackie Prisciak had inspected the 20, Blue Pacific was included in the top six mares that we intended to bid on. Seelster has always stuck to an upper limit for purchases, and it turned out Blue Pacific was the only one to fall within it. I’m not sure why, but we were grateful and knew that we had purchased a nice filly.”

Breeding the lightly-raced filly was not a unanimous decision for the Seelster Farms team.

“Initially, our plans were to breed Blue Pacific to Bulldog Hanover in February this year,” Straatman said. “It was Tina who suggested that we try and race her. I have to admit that I voted to breed her early; and have to give all the credit to my partners for taking a chance at racing, initially until the end of January. That way, we hoped that Blue Pacific could pay her way, hopefully make a little money, we’d have a little fun and could still breed her this season to Bulldog.”

Trainer Dave Menary and driver James MacDonald first qualified Blue Pacific at Mohawk on Dec. 13. She beat four other pacers, going away, in 1:56 flat. Although she finished last to Canada’s pacing queen So Much More in their first match-up, Dec. 21, she was only three lengths behind the winner at the wire. Blue Pacific broke her Mohawk maiden in her next start, Dec. 28.

Facing So Much More again on Jan. 3, Blue Pacific ended up second by a head in what remains Canada’s co-fastest mile (1:52.4s) by a pacing mare so far this year. She went undefeated in four subsequent starts, including her own 1:52.4 victory Jan. 18 for Bob McClure. Back-to-back WMP filly and mare preferred wins Jan. 24 and Feb. 3 made Blue Pacific the 3-5 favorite on Friday (March 7), but she was collared late on the front end by winner Century Jamila and Glenboro. Blue Pacific ended up fourth, behind fast-closing show finisher Lyons Bettorday.

Prior to Friday night’s race, the 4-year-old mare’s earnings for her new owner had reached $53,310.

Breeding was clearly no longer on the schedule for Blue Pacific this year.

“Given her success so far, we knew we had to revisit our plans for breeding before Feb. 15 and the decision has been made to continue racing Blue Pacific,” Straatman said.

The older pacing mare division has produced the 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh and 2023 O’Brien Horse of the Year Sylvia Hanover in recent years. Both champions are returning to race in 2025, meaning that Blue Pacific will likely encounter them in the Milton Stake and Roses Are Red at Mohawk.

Straatman said it was too early to speculate about her mare’s chances in Grand Circuit company this season.

“Twin B Joe Fresh and Sylvia Hanover are certainly to be considered the best of the best older pacing mares,” she said. “I don’t think we can judge at this time how well Blue Pacific will perform against them, until we actually have the opportunity to try her in the top ranks. We look forward to the competition and may the best mare win.”

With the 2025 Breeders Crown at Mohawk on Oct. 18 (elims) and 25 (final), Seelster Farms is nonetheless pointing Blue Pacific toward that long-range objective.

“Absolutely, a Breeders Crown here at Mohawk would be our intended goal,” Straatman said. “As long as Blue Pacific is healthy and sound, we are thrilled to be along for the ride.

“It was her trainer, Dave Menary, that said in the winner’s circle at the end of January, ‘You thought you purchased a broodmare, but you actually got an open mare.’”