With eight visits to the winner’s circle in eight weeks of racing, the colt who has his competition quaking in their boots this coming Thursday night at Mohawk Racetrack is Stormont Garcon, currently listed as the 6-5 favourite in the
$49,500 final of the Bridger Trotting Series.
The two-year-old son of Quebec sire Stormont Bronze out of the Shipps Speed mare Samata launched its career on June 26 at Rideau Carlton Raceway with a win for owner/breeder Eric Baker of Long Sault, Ont. and hasn’t looked back.
After proving unbeatable in the four preliminary legs of the Majestic Son Trotting Series at the Ottawa oval, 'Garcon' captured the $28,900 final on August 9 by three and one quarter lengths. That earned the colt a ticket down the highway to Mohawk, where it evidently found the larger oval much to its liking, as Garcon defeated all comers in the Bridger Series' second leg on August 13 while shaving two and one-fifths seconds off its lifetime speed mark.
“The only thing that fazed him was the jumbotron and all the lights at the finish,” said trainer John MacMillan about last week’s victory. “Rideau doesn’t have a jumbotron, and he caught sight of the one at Mohawk and kind of veered out the last dozen strides. But other than that, he was perfect. Rick Zeron drove him and said he loved him. For the final, Luc Ouellette will be driving and I’ll just mention to him to keep him on his game at the finish.”
Though Stormont Garcon’s racelines thus far would suggest the colt is a front-end performer, MacMillan says the colt is proving more versatile than that. “He doesn’t need to be at the front; he’ll sit in a hole as nicely as any colt I’ve ever had. I think his best trip may be from behind, in fact, but I’m not expecting it to play out that way on Thursday.
“He’s just a really nice-gaited colt. There are no boots or poles on him, which is unusual for a trotter. I’ve trained a couple of others by Stormont Bronze and they’ve shown speed, but not the brains of this one. [Stormont Garcon] is highly intelligent.
“I think the point at which I knew he was going to be exceptional was in May, when he went in 2:15 at Rideau. I’ve never had one win eight in a row before, so he’s been a lot of fun.”
The only downside, MacMillan says, is that because the colt is Quebec-bred, he isn’t eligible for the rich purses of the Ontario Sires Stakes program. “When you get one that’s talented, you’d like to race for the bigger purses. But there’ll be some money he can go for next year. We’d definitely like to get him in the Goodtimes (at three).”
Mohawk racing fans should make a point of catching this colt in action on Thursday night, because MacMillan plans to shut him down after the Bridger final. “He’s raced nine times in nine weeks, and that’s plenty for a two-year-old. With the OSS not an option for him, we’ll turn him out after this and hope he comes back just as strong at three.”
Click here to view Mohawk's harness racing entries for Thursday.
(With files from WEG)