Buffalo: Seveallisto, Jula Florence shine in New York Sire Stakes

Seveallisto ($49.90) appeared to be battling for minor awards in the stretch drive of the first $54,750 division of the New York Sire Stakes for the 2-year-old filly trotters at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday afternoon (July 15). However, a sudden surge by Seveallisto at the wire changed all that as she clipped a stunned French Pastry by a nose in 2:00 1/5 over the fast track.

French Pastry (Andy Miller) seemed to have matters well under control throughout the race with reasonable fractions of 30, 1:00 and 1:30 2/5. Rounding the final turn, French Pastry looked to be cruising home for the win with a 3 1/4 length advantage as Seveallisto (Leon Bailey) and T N Tosh (Jeff Gregory) were jockeying for second- and third-place honors. But midway down the lane, French Pastry was getting a bit leg weary while Seveallisto found another gear and was rapidly chewing up ground.

The big question in the race to the wire was if French Pastry would have enough left in the tank or would Seveallisto have enough real estate to close the deal. A photo was needed to separate the two participants, and it showed Seveallisto managed to get a nose in front to pull off the big upset. T N Tosh claimed the third-place check.

Owned by the Purple Haze Stables LLC. and trained by Jessica Okusko, it was the first win in her first asking for Seveallisto (Chapter Seven-Callisto Dream). The win was worth a nice $28,750.

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The second division, worth $55,750, saw Jula Florence ($4.66) take the victory over Wavy Xavier by a half-length in 2:00 with the tempo-setting Little By Little (Jason Bartlett) finishing in third.

Little By Little was able to take the battle for early control with splits of 30, 1:00 4/5 and 1:31. But with a quarter mile to trot, the action picked up as Jula Florence and Wavy Xavie got into contention. Around the final bend, Jula Florence pulled to the outside while Wavy Xavie made her closing bid in the passing lane, sandwiching Little By Little. In the stretch, Jula Florence got on even-terms, then was able to slowly pull away to score, with Wavy Xavie taking a solid second-place and Little By Little finishing in third.

Co-owned by Andy Miller Stable Inc., Windsong Stables and Dumain Haven Farm LLC., Jula Florence (Chapter Seven-Jula Shes Magic) is conditioned by Julie Miller. The victory was worth $28,750 and pushed her career earnings to $31,750.

There were a pair of $20,000 Excelsior Series races for the rookie filly trotters on the program. Native Pride (Gregory) came roaring down the passing lane and downed Solar Queen (Jordan Stratton) by 1 1/4 lengths in 2:02 1/5, notching the $6.00 triumph.

In the second division, Bleecher Creature (John Stark Jr.) was able to use a late rush and push past Wicked Wink in 2:04 3/5 for the 2 1/2 length victory. She returned $4.62 as the lukewarm favorite.

The final two days of the live racing season at Buffalo Raceway take place on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Those two final programs in the 2026 meet will have 12 races apiece with post time each day at 2:30 p.m. (EDT). For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.

--press release (Buffalo)--