With the 2025 O'Brien Awards less than one week away, Trot Insider continues to shine the spotlight on this year's finalists.
Up for divisional honours in the two-year-old pacing colt category are Beau Jangles, Tilthecowscomehome and Windor.
Beau Jangles needs little introduction. Trained by Dr. Ian Moore, the son of Cattlewash-Mrs Major Hill was undefeated in 12 starts with a perfect Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) campaign and victories in the Breeders Crown, Metro Pace, Battle of Waterloo and a Nassagaweya Stakes division.
“Beau Jangles was a big, strong, two-year-old from the get-go, and when he qualified, it just got better from there,” said Moore. “It was such a thrill and a pleasure to race a horse like him and certainly a season we will not forget.”
Already named a divisional Dan Patch Award winner, Beau Jangles will hope to make it dual honours after a year in which he earned $1,688,750, making him the richest horse in Canada in 2025. The colt was purchased for $90,278 at the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg, Pa. by the Clifton, Va.-based Adam Ainspan of Graham Grace Stables LLC, with Moore acting as an agent.
“I thought he would be great the day that I saw him, actually -- his video -- and I told people, ‘I have to have this horse,’” said Ainspan, who, along with his wife Mary Beth Roberts, shares ownership with partners Kiwi Stables LLC of La Plata, Md. and Bolton Stables of Clermont, Fla. “I had Ian Moore and [co-owner] Jon Roberts take a look at him, and I like the Cattlewashes and liked his athleticism. I own Thoroughbreds as well, and some of my star Thoroughbreds, he kind of resembles some of their attributes. Did I expect this? No. It shocked me to do this well, but when I bought him I clearly thought he was special.”
Beau Jangles impressed before his pari-mutuel debut with a 1:53 qualifier win on June 21 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. He then went on to win the first four OSS Gold legs, along with the Battle of Waterloo and Nassagaweya, heading into the Metro Pace. In a showdown with hitherto-undefeated Pennsylvania champion Frantic Hanover at Mohawk, Beau Jangles tied the stakes and track record as he prevailed in 1:49.1. He went on to complete a six-for-six OSS season and matched his 1:49.1 mark in the Breeders Crown elimination. With Ainspan's high expectations already blown away, Beau Jangles stamped himself in the history books in the Breeders Crown final at Mohawk on Oct. 24. After a long march to the lead in the first half, he finished his mile with a :26.4 last quarter to stop the clock in 1:48.3, making him Canada’s fastest-ever two-year-old.
Tilthecowscomehome was a model of consistency throughout his two-year-old season. The Carl Jamieson-trained colt finished no worse than second in his first seven starts and accrued a 2-5-3 line in 12 attempts. The year started on a promising note as he flew through his final quarter to capture a division of the Tompkins-Geers Stakes by a head in 1:52.4.
“We paid a lot of money for him, but he was a bit of a surprise,” Jamieson said of the $94,595 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase. “He wasn’t training as good as we thought he should’ve been, and we raced him in that first stakes race, the Tompkins-Geers, and he won that in [1:]52[.4] and came home in :26.2. Every time we raced him, he just kept getting better and better. He turned out to be a really nice horse.”
The son of Cattlewash-Dance Until Dawn added a second stakes victory in a division of the Nassagaweya, beating fellow finalist Windor (who finished third) with a 1:50.3 performance. Driven by Jody Jamieson throughout the season, Tilthecowscomehome also took place finishes behind Beau Jangles in three OSS Gold legs and the Battle of Waterloo, was second to Windor in the Champlain Stakes, and finished third in the OSS Super Final. In all, he earned $378,102 for the ownership group of Carl Jamieson of Puslinch, Ont., Jody Jamieson of Guelph, Ont., Joanne Morrison of Beeton, Ont. and Blair Corbeil of Leduc, Alta.
“Tilthecowscomehome was just a good horse, every time he raced he got better and better,” said Carl Jamieson, who is also a finalist for the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship.
Despite facing the tall task of trying to best Beau Jangles once again, the Hall of Fame conditioner is looking forward to another O'Briens experience.
"We’ll be having a good time there for sure, and having a good meal."
Windor put together a strong rookie season, highlighted by a 1:51.2 victory in the Champlain Stakes over Tilthecowscomehome. He battled with the best in the OSS, registering three top-three finishes.
It was especially gratifying to the team behind him, including owner Dianna Secord of Fergus, Ont. and her husband, Mike Vanderkemp, who trains the colt.
“We raced and owned his mom,” said Secord, referring to OSS Grassroots winner Winx. “So we bred him, and we were there when he was born, which is really exciting. And we waited 365 days for him, so he was really late. It was our mare's first foal, so I think there's just this extra-special bond when you're part of the breeding process as well. And then to see that not only did you have a horse that made the three finalists, but also we bred him, is just that kind of extra layer of special.”
Driven by Doug McNair in every start but his debut, Windor compiled a 2-1-4 record in 11 appearances and earned $222,232. The son of Bulldog Hanover finished his OSS campaign with a strong place finish to Beau Jangles in the Super Final, closing in :26.3, and earned a spot in the Breeders Crown final via a fifth-place finish in his elimination.
“It's such an honour,” Secord said of the O’Brien nomination. “We're really thrilled and excited and proud of him. We absolutely recognize that it was a season for Beau Jangles for sure, but it's still an honour to be recognized as one of the top three two-year-olds of the season. My husband and myself, we've had horses our entire lives, and our dads trained horses too, so it's really exciting.”
The winners will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at the J-AAR Expo Centre at Western Fair District in London, Ont. This year marks the 37th edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
(Standardbred Canada; photos courtesy of New Image Media)