Driver Jody Jamieson has plenty of reason to be excited about what’s in store for himself and everyone else involved when it comes to three-year-old trotting colt, Paquet.
The $2.4 million Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals are set to take place on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Fresh off a dominant, lifetime-best 1:53.1 score in a $95,000 OSS Gold at Mohawk on Sept. 30, Paquet will undoubtedly enter this Saturday’s $300,000 final for sophomore trotting colts as the overwhelming favourite in his division.
Unraced at two, the on-track career for the son of Muscle Mass-Darjeeling was clouded with uncertainty over the course of a couple of different setbacks, but that seems to be behind him as he heads towards this weekend’s tilt. Jamieson reflected on his colt’s progression despite all of those roadblocks, with a tone of excitement given what’s in store for his colt — this year and hopefully, beyond.
“He got hurt in February of his two-year-old season,” Jamieson told Trot Insider. “He had a 50 per cent tear in his tendon, which was substantial. We were recommended to take the year off [with him].
“During that time, we used a TENS machine on his tendon to keep the blood flow to it. Because the weather was poor, he spent most of his time inside. When my dad came back from Florida in April, we had him ultrasounded again, and the vet told us to keep him moving, but not to train him.”
Several months later, Jody and his dad, Carl, who trains and co-owns Paquet with his son, noticed great progress with their colt’s injury. They felt like he was ready to pick up the workload.
“We checked in on him in December and it [the tendon] had totally healed,” shared Jody. “We were allowed to press on, but we still never rushed him.
“We took a long time to get him ready and he was ready to rock at the end of February. The plan was to qualify him and then race him.”
On the morning of March 8, Jamieson guided Paquet to a second-place finish in his qualifier. He was second, beaten 11 lengths, trotting a mile in 2:01.1. On paper, the raceline wasn't eye-catching, but Jamieson was thrilled.
“I was really excited about racing him after that qualifier,” beamed Jamieson. “I remember talking about him to a couple of people about how excited I was about him. He was moving well and he felt terrific.”
Two weeks later, on March 21, Paquet made his career debut in the first race at Mohawk in a maiden trotting event. Sent off as the second choice at 7-5, Jamieson and Paquet obliterated their rivals, winning by 10 lengths in 1:56.2. People took notice quickly.
“He was bionic that night. Everyone was talking about him more for his four white feet than they were with how impressive he looked,” recalled Jamieson with a laugh. “We were really happy to get that race under his belt because we wanted to race him a few times before the summer given his lack of experience… but as you know in this game things can change quickly.”
After his maiden-breaking score, Jamieson noticed something on the colt’s leg when they got back to the barn from the track.
“He had heat on his left hind suspensory, which bothered me,” noted Jamieson. “Over the next few days, we did a bunch of ultrasounds and we didn’t find anything so we thought we might’ve been in the clear. He wasn’t lame, but just like the old saying, ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire…' for horses, if there’s heat, it’s usually something bad.”
That something was a high suspensory tear, requiring three months of rest.
“We left him on stall rest for two to three weeks until my dad decided that it would be better to have him moved instead of standing around,” said Jamieson. “We sent him to Rod Hughes and he jogged him slowly; one mile every day. After a few months, our vet ultrasounded Paquet and he was ready to get back to work. In the span of two months, we jogged him and trained him ahead of his next start.”
Paquet qualified at Grand River Raceway on Aug. 7, winning in 1:59.1, trotting a final quarter in :28.4. It was a nice tune up for his second career start, which would be one week later in an OSS Gold at that very same track. The result was quite the surprise.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming back in his second lifetime start [the first one back from injury],” said Jamieson.
“I took him off the gate in that effort, and if he was fifth and came out of the race healthy, I’d have been ecstatic ... Instead, he swept the field to win and trotted a track record. He looked like an absolute monster.”
Even before that performance, Jamieson was confident that he, his dad and their partners had themselves a really nice racehorse. So much so, it’s why Jamieson thought it was a good idea to name it after one of their partners: the late Brian Paquet.
“We lost Brian Paquet a little over a year ago and it was a huge loss for not only the industry, but of those people close to him,” shared Jamieson. “Brian was a big believer in this horse right from day one, but unfortunately for him, he never got the opportunity to watch him race.”
When purchased as a yearling for $70,000 at the London Classic Yearling Sale in 2022, Paquet entered the sales ring as Hip 60, Dion Seelster. The group of owners were all keen on a name change for the colt.
“Once Brian had passed, I was thinking that naming this colt after Brian would be a nice little tribute to him,”’ said Jamieson. “I mean, it’s one of the last horse’s that he owns with us, so I figured that it would be nice to have his name live on in the program, which he would’ve loved.
“I thought this horse was good, but I didn’t want to change his name until I knew that for sure. Brian loved harness racing, he loved betting his $2 every time he came to the track, so I know he’s thrilled about what this colt has done in his young career. I’m hoping we can add more memories in his honour.”
As far as memories go, Paquet will have an opportunity to graduate the provincial program this Saturday as a Super Final winner. Depending on his performance and how he comes out of it, Paquet's final provincial start might not be his final sophomore start.
“I don’t know what it looks like in terms of [supplementing to] the Breeders Crown, but it’s something we will consider,” asserted Jamieson. “We will see how things go in the Super Finals first and how he comes out of it before we make any further decisions.
“If he doesn’t race in the Breeders Crown, we’ll shut him down and get him ready for his four-year-old season.”
In just six lifetime starts, Paquet reveals something new to his driver in each outing. As a result, Jamieson can drive the trotter more confidently.
“I found out last week [in the Gold] that I can put him right on the gate, and he was perfect. I found that out a week too late," he said, laughing. "I would’ve gotten a better piece in the Canadian Trotting Classic, but you live and you learn.“
One thing Jamieson always knew, however, was that Paquet is quite the character.
“I’ve always loved this horse,” stated Jamieson. “I literally love this horse… he’s got an amazing personality and I feel like he’s almost human.”
For now, Jamieson and Paquet's connections will just take it one start at a time. But just like he was excited about the colt before he stepped foot on the racetrack at Mohawk for his first start, the same level of excitement still remains.
“When you get to own a horse like this, this is the home run you dream about,” shared Jamieson. “I know everyone else feels the same way and we’re all excited to see what more he can do.
“In typical horse racing fashion, there’s a lot of ups and downs, and this horse has exemplified that. Hopefully, we’re going to get to ride a little bit of a wave right now.”
First race post time on Saturday night is 7:10 p.m. with the Super Finals starting in the back half of the early daily double. The first 300 people on site to buy a program will receive a commemorative 50th anniversary OSS hat.
To view Saturday's entries, click on one of the following links: Woodbine Mohawk Park: Saturday Entries || Saturday Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
(Standardbred Canada)