Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Some of life’s greatest moments occur while sitting in your car on the side of the road.

They do if you’re Paul O’Neil, at least.

On May 26, 2018 — Memorial Day Saturday — O’Neil and his wife Patti were driving to their Saratoga Springs, N.Y. home when they realized their then 8-year-old pacing mare, Godiva Seelster, was racing at Northfield Park. Paul pulled over to watch the race on his phone.

“I’m seeing fractions go up, and as soon as she crossed the wire I said to my wife ‘Holy —! I know she just set the track record and I think she set the world record,’” O’Neil said. “Right away Jessica (Roegner, trainer) texted me ‘We just set the world record.’ We’re in the car like ‘Holy crap it’s unbelievable!’ We didn’t know what to do. I kind of wish I didn’t have to watch it on my phone. Of course I watched the replay a couple times.”

Godiva Seelster became the world’s fastest female pacer on a half-mile track with a winning time of 1:50 on May 26, 2018. JJ Zamaiko photo.

What he watched was the mare becoming the world’s fastest female pacer on a half-mile track with a winning time of 1:50. She is the oldest of all the current pacing world-record-holders, and shows no signs of slowing down. The horse did miss her last start due to a quarter crack but will be back at Northfield in the Open Handicap for fillies and mares Saturday night (Feb. 23).

“We always air on the side of caution,” O’Neil said. “Jess put a bar shoe on and took her out this week. I texted her ‘Whatever you need to do.’ She said ‘I know the drill, we take care of Big Mama.’”

It’s an apropos nickname for the horse, who won her first three starts as a 9-year-old before missing the past two weeks.

“When she gets good, she’ll go on a two-month stretch where she is just so good,” O’Neil said. “She came back strong this year, she’s in one of those good cycles now where she’s just on all cylinders. Obviously coming off a quarter crack we’re up against it a little bit, but what can you do?

“She’s still super sound. For as many starts as she’s gone, she’s never missed a start due to lameness or soreness. She’s perfect for me. I know she’s an overnight open horse, she’s not a stakes horse, but she’s been by far the best horse I’ve ever owned and probably will ever own. My wife and I are really enjoying her.”

Paul and Patti have been buying horses since 1992, but Paul’s interest goes back to when he was a boy. He had a high school classmate who drove and trained, and his group of friends all enjoyed Standardbred racing. In fact, Paul’s mom was the school secretary and would write the gang notes to leave school during lunch time to go out and make bets.

“We were some sick pups,” he said with a laugh. “My mom’s still alive, you can call and ask her.”

Fortunately, his wife likes sick pups. Paul met Patti through a mutual friend in 1982, and in April asked her on a first date — to Saratoga’s harness track. She didn’t really follow racing, but quickly agreed.

“Must have been my magnetic charm,” O’Neil said with a laugh.

Actually, it turns out he became quickly smitten.

“It was a non-betting matinee they used to do,” he said. “Her and I took a ride up, she liked it, and we saw a lot more of each other. She didn’t complain, I thought ‘Well she’s looking pretty good, she’s not saying ‘We’re not going to the track.’ I liked that.’”

The two were married the following May, the same year O’Neil embarked on his current career as general manager of four Agway companies, which deal with pet food and lawn & garden merchandise. Nine years later they began purchasing horses and it didn’t take Patti long to catch the fever.

“She gets more excited watching a race than I do,” Paul said. “She’ll be hollering. She’s right into it, she knows what’s going on with every horse and how they race and what race they’re in.”

She is also getting pretty good at recognizing quality merchandise.

“We went to Harrisburg, we were going to look at a horse, we had the number marked down,” O’Neil said. “Somebody had a horse out and she said ‘Wow that one looks great we should go look at that.’ I said ‘Guess what, that’s the one we’re coming to look at.’ She does the visual look. I’ll look at the past performances, she’ll just look at them visually. If they appeal to her, they go on a list.”

Godiva Seelster, however, was bought sight unseen as a 3-year-old in 2013 from Mark Steacy, who O’Neil knew from his trainers, Danny and Wally Hennessey.

“Mark’s a good guy to buy from, he’s a pretty straight up guy,” Paul said. “He’s not going to sell you a lame horse, a broken down horse. I was pretty comfortable with his word that the horse was OK. When I first saw her I was like ‘Wow, she’s magnificent to look at, she looks like a stud colt, she’s so big.’ She just kind of blossomed from there.

“We raced her a few times at 3, gave her some time off. She came back at 4 and she just tore through all her conditions right into the open mare at Saratoga and Pompano. Then it was 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, now she’s 9 years old and still winning opens. One time she went 88 or 89 starts in a row not missing a purse check. That was a big deal.”

O’Neil had to switch trainers in 2017 as the Hennesseys were unable to find Godiva Seelster any races to enter in Florida, where they were based. They wanted the horse to stay sharp and gave her up so Roegner could take over at Northfield.

“I had a previous relationship with Jessica when she was in Saratoga,” O’Neil said. “The mares were going every week at Northfield, the money was comparable, if not a little better than Pompano. They got in every week.

“I had sent Jess a couple problem horses and they did real good for me. I said ‘One of these days I’m going to send you a good horse.’ She left Saratoga and I said ‘I mean it I’m really going to send you a good horse’ and she said, ‘Well we appreciate you giving us a chance while we were here.’”

O’Neil stayed true to his word in the fall of ’17.

“I called her up and said ‘Remember when I said I was going to send you a good horse? How would you like Godiva Seelster?’” he said. “She was like ‘Who wouldn’t like her?’”

The horse’s success has gone uninterrupted, as she has gone from a front-runner to being more diversified.

“She can kind of win any way,” O’Neil said. “She’s been more versatile as she’s gotten older. In the beginning it was just one way out. She did all her damage on the lead.”

Paul lists Godiva Seelster, Patti and his cat, Tucker, as his three favorite females (they initially thought Tucker was a boy, hence the name). Ironically, Godiva Seelster tends to take the personality of certain felines who show little emotion.

“She’s not a lover, but she’s not a fighter,” O’Neil said. “You go to the barn, she doesn’t care if you’re there or not. When Wally and Danny would go in the barn, they all got carrots. It got so they would all beg, and she wouldn’t stick her head out. She didn’t care.

“There’s not a mean bone in her body, she just goes about her business. She basically does everything right. She goes out on the track, does her work, comes in. She doesn’t kick, doesn’t bite, she basically doesn’t care if you’re there or not there. It’s kind of fun because some of them have quirky personalities. Some of them don’t want anything to do with you, other ones want your attention. She’s like ‘If you’re here, you’re here. If you’re not you’re not. No big deal to me.’”

That all changes on the track, where her performances have been a very big deal. No matter where you stop to watch.