Trot Insider has learned that stakes winning pacer Noble Intent has passed away on Saturday (July 9) the age of 27.

Noble Intent was under the care of Rocco Auciello for virtually his entire racing career and “was a fixture in the barn for so long” according to Rocco's son Carmen Auciello, the horse's most frequent driver in his final season. 

“Robert Burgess bought him as a yearling and my dad trained him right from the start. He was one of the few where you get them at two and keep them their whole career. He had the same stall in the barn for his whole 10 years of racing. It’s pretty special.”

The son of Dexter Nukes out of Keystone Legacy, Noble Intent accumulated a summary of 29-21-26 over 10 years of racing. The pacer raced exclusively in southern Ontario and picked up his lifetime mark of 1:50.2 at Woodbine Racetrack during his five-year-old season. He earned $676,146 lifetime and boasted victories in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division and  Canadian Breeders Championship for three-year-old colts and geldings in 1998. Even more impressive than his racing career is the kind words from those who were close to him. Auciello feels privileged to have had the chance to know and drive this special horse.

Noble Intent with Carmen Auciello (far right)

“I had the pleasure of driving him a handful of times near the end of his career. He was super professional.” The final win of his career came at Woodstock Raceway on May 20 with Carmen aboard, winning his 178th career start at the age of 11 in 1:59.3. He made his final start two weeks later at Grand River.

After retiring from racing, Noble Intent had a special place in the hearts of those around him and that kept him from not going too far. “Fortunately, Bob has a nice setup at his farm and has kept him this last 15 years, and gave him a nice remainder of his life.”

In an industry that can equate worth to winning and earnings, it can often become easy to forget about how truly special these animals are but that was never the case for Noble Intent. “It was never about the money with this horse. Everyone says with the amount of money he made he deserves a good retirement. He’s the type of horse that could have made no money and he would still deserve the best retirement.”

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Noble Intent.

(A Trot Insider exclusive by Trey Colbeck)