Mach Of Ballykeel heads into Saturday’s $170,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final off an easy victory over the Mohawk Racetrack oval, but trainer Cam McKnight knows the colt faces a stiff test from Post 9 in this weekend’s
talent laden field.
“He raced very well the last time, but it was a little softer than the final because Mystician wasn’t in there,” noted McKnight, who also bred and shares ownership of the colt with his partners in Ballykeel Racing and Mach Of Ballykeel Stable. “He’s the looming figure in the whole thing.”
Mach Of Ballykeel will line up on two-time Gold Final champ Mystician’s right in Saturday’s rich test, and while McKnight wishes their posts were reversed, he is hoping driver Sylvain Filion can carve out a path that leads to the colt’s fifth Gold Series pay cheque.
“Sylvain Filion has done a great job of kind of not being too hard on him. He’s as fresh as he was when I qualified him in early June,” said the Tillsonburg, Ont. resident.
“We were lucky enough to have Sylvain stick with him,” added the trainer, noting that several members of Mohawk’s driving colony will be at Pocono Downs on Saturday night for the Breeders Crown Finals. “That’s one advantage I’ve got over some of the others.”
The other advantage may be Mach Of Ballykeel’s remarkably laid back personality. McKnight says it has been fascinating to watch the array of temperaments among the sons of Mach Three racing in the Gold Series — there are five in Saturday’s Final alone — and that Mach Of Ballykeel seems to be among the most relaxed.
“They are all different temperaments. That one Colin Johnson’s got [Some Mach Some Win], he’s done very well, but in the paddock he’s rangy — he’s roaring, he’s kicking. My guy, you throw the harness on him and he falls asleep,” said McKnight. “Standing there in the cross ties, he’ll lean into them and fall asleep.
“He’s so relaxed on himself, that’s one of the things I really like about him. He’s ridiculously easy on himself.”
In keeping with the colt’s easygoing personality, McKnight has structured a training regimen that is very relaxed and features lots of outdoor time. Following each race the colt goes straight out into the field at McKnight’s farm, and he will stay there for two or three days doing nothing more than enjoying the grass and the fresh air. By Tuesday or Wednesday the young pacer is back in the barn and McKnight will jog him for a day and then give him an easy training mile in preparation for his next race.
“The colt’s had a good year, he’s keeping weight on, he’s sharp, he’s sound,” said the horseman. “Knock on wood, everything is okay.”
With 78 points earned through his first four Gold Series starts — a fourth in his Aug. 8 debut at Flamboro Downs and a victory in the Aug. 15 Gold Final, and fifth-place finishes in both the Sept. 18 elimination and Sept. 25 final at Mohawk — Mach Of Ballykeel currently sits fifth in the two-year-old pacing colt standings and should find his way into the Nov. 13 Super Final, which will wrap up the pacer’s freshman campaign. Since starting his year in an overnight event at Clinton Raceway on July 4, the colt has accumulated three wins, one second and one third in 10 starts for earnings of $113,887.
In addition to his provincial tests, Mach Of Ballykeel tried his hand against North America’s best in the Aug. 23 Nassagaweya and the Aug. 28 Metro Pace eliminations at Mohawk, where he finished third and seventh respectively. McKnight was pleased with the colt’s efforts and is optimistic about his chances against cross-border company in the future.
“I’m convinced he can race with the best of them,” said the horseman. “In the Nassagaweya he just got nipped by Shadyshark Hanover, who is in the Breeders Crown.
“From what I can see, the OSS colts are every bit as good as any of the colts in North America,” he added.
The talented Ontario-sired colts will square off in their second last Gold Final of the season on Saturday, rolling in behind the Mohawk Racetrack starting gate in the fifth race. Post time for the first race at the Campbellville, Ont. oval is 7:30 p.m.
To view Saturday's entries, click here.
(OSS)