After a lengthy absence from racehorse ownership, Carter Quillen decided two years ago, on his 80th birthday, it was time to get back in the game. The resulting purchase was a yearling named The Best Way — now known as Bamboozler — and it’s safe to say the outcome has exceeded any wish Carter might have made blowing out his candles.

Bamboozler, who competes Saturday in the first of four $50,000 eliminations of the Pepsi North America Cup for three-year-old pacers at Woodbine Mohawk Park, has united three generations of Quillens and longtime friend Jimmy Thomas in an ownership group called QT Stables. The gelding also has a fanbase of extended family and friends around the country, with many of his admirers donning Bamboozler hats and T-shirts to show their support.

“My dad and Jimmy, who is my godfather, are from Lexington and had horses together off and on over the years,” said Jeff Quillen, one of Carter’s three sons. “At my dad’s 80th birthday, he said to us that he wasn’t getting any younger and we should go in on a horse with Jimmy. We loved the idea. We’d been going to races and following races, but hadn’t really thought seriously about, as a family, going in on a horse.”

Bamboozler is the only horse owned by QT Stables, but with 12 top-three finishes in 16 lifetime starts and $227,184 in purses, he has provided more than his share of thrills. In four races this season, he has posted a win in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes followed by three second-place efforts — two in PASS competition and last week in a division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes at Mohawk.

Last year, he finished second to Confederate in the Kentucky Championship Series final. Confederate was ranked No. 1 in TROT Magazine’s 2023 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book and is the 4-5 morning-line favourite in the fourth of Saturday’s four Cup elims.

“We’re having so much darn fun with Bam,” Jeff said. “It would have been fun if he was just mediocre, but it turns out he’s a really good horse, and a really nice horse too. There is a lot to like about Bamboozler.”

In addition to Carter, Jeff, and Jimmy, the QT Stables is made up of Jeff’s brothers, Todd and Mike, and his son, Sam. They purchased the then-called The Best Way for $107,000 at the 2021 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. The family held a contest to come up with a new name for the horse, a son of Captaintreacherous-Deception, with Todd’s entry Bamboozler receiving the most votes.

Bamboozler, who began his career with trainer John Butenschoen and now is in Virgil Morgan Jr.’s stable, has only two lifetime wins but has held his own against many of the highly-regarded contenders for the North America Cup. 

In his PASS victory, Bamboozler defeated a field that included Loubet (9-2 in the fourth Cup elim), Seven Colors (5-1 in the third), and Redwood Hanover (4-1 in the second).

And all seven of Bamboozler’s second-place career finishes have come against Cup entrants: Annapolis Hanover (twice), Ervin Hanover, Its My Show, El Rey, Kopi Luwak, and the aforementioned Confederate. Four of those horses — Annapolis Hanover, Ervin Hanover, Kopi Luwak, and Confederate — beat Bamboozler with their career-best win times.

“A bunch of horses have beaten him, but it took their very best to beat him,” Jeff said. “I guess you could say Bam brought out the best in them.”

Known for his early speed, Jeff said Bamboozler is still learning to conserve energy for late in a race. 

“He’s still working on a few things, but he’s got a ton of talent,” Jeff said. “He wants to compete, he wants to be up front, that’s just a natural drive. 

“I’ll bet none of (his rivals) are glad that Bam is in this race because he’s a wild card. It’s going to be hard to ignore him. He’s big and strong and fast. I wouldn’t bet against him.”

Bamboozler, who is 8-1 on the morning line, will start Saturday from post five with 2023 World Driving Championship participant Doug McNair in the sulky. McNair ranks second behind only James MacDonald in Canadian purses this year. He also is No. 2 behind MacDonald in wins at Mohawk.

The top two finishers from each elimination, plus two third-place finishers drawn by lot, will advance to the $1 million final on June 17.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be here,” Jeff said. “We’re so blessed and very fortunate to be in this position. He’s in some really good company, some of which we’ve already raced against as a two-year-old or earlier this year, and some that we’ve just been reading about. We’re excited to watch all these races.”

The Quillens won’t be alone. Jeff, who is a lawyer in Boston, plans to have a party Saturday while Carter and Jimmy, who both live in Florida now, and other members of the ownership group will have numerous friends and associates cheering on Bamboozler.

“He’s got a pretty big fan club, and they’re all over the country,” Jeff said. “There is usually a moment before each race where Bam jumps to the favourite because everyone is doing their online betting.

“My dad will put the races on the big-screen TVs at the local bar and people that don’t have a clue about racing all want to jump on the Bamboozler bandwagon and bet on him, so then there’s this big spike in Bam bets. It’s pretty funny.”

Racing begins at 7 p.m. (EDT) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. To view Saturday's complete entries, click the following links: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

(USTA)