The term ‘whirlwind’ is often overplayed in sports, but Zach Carroll’s journey to his first Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series Super Final embodies the very essence of the word.
On Saturday (Oct. 10), at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the 26-year-old horseman will send out his homebred sophomore star, Cant Turn You Down, who rides an eight-race winning streak all the way to the $350,000 Super Final for three-year-old pacing fillies, slated, fittingly, as race eight. Cant Turn You Down qualified for the Super Finals after winning her Grassroots Championship on Oct. 3.
“I’ve had a few people point out to me how rare it is for a horse to go on that kind of a winning streak, doing it the way she’s done it and against the level of competition she’s faced,” said Carroll. “It’s not an everyday thing – it’s not something that’s even crossed your mind.
“You hope she’s that kind of horse and that you’ve got a nice sires stakes horse – that’s what you buy babies for; that’s why you breed horses, right? You’re dreaming about racing these kinds of horses in Super Finals, but it doesn’t often work out like that. That’s what keeps the dream alive.”
Carroll and Cant Turn You Down’s surreal three-month unbeaten stretch, which began with a 4-1/2-length victory in a conditioned pace for fillies and mares on July 10 at Mohawk, reached its highest point to date in the OSS Grassroots Championship for three-year-old pacing fillies.
With a boisterous suite of family and friends cheering her on, Cant Turn You Down equalled her lifetime best of 1:50.1 in a confident 2-1/2-length triumph at the Campbellville, Ont. oval.
Carroll credited his partner on the bay, Sean Downey, for rallying the swell of supporters.
“It’s been like that for quite a few of her wins,” said Carroll. “Sean absolutely loves horse racing, and he’s just a great owner for the sport. He’s always trying to promote it and show it off to new people every time she races. Every time he gets an opportunity to go, he’s always bringing people who have never been to the horse races before.”
To his surprise, a few of Carroll’s family members also made the trip.
“My grandpa was there, some cousins as well,” he said. “They live up Toronto way, and I didn’t know they were going to be there, but I had some cousins out in the winner’s circle, too… a full house, that’s for sure.”
While unable to greet everyone in the aftermath of his first OSS final appearance and victory, Carroll is thankful for the well-wishes from his and Cant Turn You Down’s growing circle of backers, whom he expects will be out in full force again on Saturday night.
“I’m assuming there will be a big crowd there again cheering her on,” he said. “I know Sean will be there. I’m not sure if he’s booking the suite again or not, but he’ll have lots of friends tagging along. There should be a big cheering squad for her, as usual.”
Cant Turn You Down’s rise to fame is one rooted in humble origins.
Bred by Carroll himself, the daughter of Cattlewash, out of the Big Jim mare Amulet Seelster – whom Carroll once purchased, bred, and later listed in the 2019 Standardbred Horse Sales Company mixed sale in Harrisburg, Pa. before buying her back at the same sale – always had heart.
Her body just needed time to catch up.
“Right away, you could tell she had that desire,” said Carroll of Cant Turn You Down. “She really enjoyed being on the track, really enjoyed her work, but it did not come easy for her physically. She really struggled to get gaited as a baby. It was a long, long time before she figured out how to pace.
“But, every day, for a good two months, you’d put the hobbles on her, and it was not easy for her to get around the track in them, but she never got sour with us. She never wanted off the track. She was pleasant to work on, pleasant to harness, and she looked forward to getting on the track every day.”
Carroll’s confidence in his green, but game pupil never wavered.
“I remember saying multiple times to my help, ‘If she ever figures out how to pace, I think she’s going to be okay because she’s definitely got the will and the desire to do it.’”
Cant Turn You Down’s mental and physical abilities slowly started to sync up in the summer of her two-year-old year.
In no rush to expedite her development, Carroll and driver Bob McClure, who will pilot Cant Turn You Down in the Super Final, qualified her once as a freshman before putting her on the shelf for the remainder of 2025.
Their unhurried approach paid almost immediate dividends.
“When she started racing, you could tell her gait was improving, and that was because she was getting stronger and more confident in herself and her own abilities,” said Carroll.
“She’s really come into her own with more racing and more experience.”
Improving with every start, Cant Turn You Down has taken Carroll, Downey, McClure and her fervent fan club on the ride of a lifetime in the latter half of 2026.
Up to 9-1-0 through 11 starts this season, headlined by that still-active eight-race unbeaten streak and a perfect four-for-four run through the Grassroots gauntlet, Cant Turn You Down had her connections contemplating a promotion for some time now.
“We thought for the last couple months with this little run she’s been on that it was something she could handle,” said Carroll. “Bob was the first one who put it in my ear. After her first Grassroots win, he said that she could maybe go with the Gold fillies.
“Being that she only had a handful of starts at the time, we obviously wanted to be careful with her and manage her appropriately, but we definitely thought she had the ability to do it.”
Carroll and Co. will ask their prized pacer to step her game up once again, leaving from post six against a formidable cast that includes reigning champion and morning line favourite A Clean Deal (PP3, 9-5), Shes A Bulldog (PP5, 2-1), and Daya (PP4, 3-1).
“As a fan of harness racing, I’m very familiar with all those horses,” said Carroll. “It’s not going to be an easy task, but I was happy with where we drew. That being said, it looked like all the heavy hitters in there drew well. We’re all beside each other in the middle of the car, so it’ll be very interesting to see how it shakes out.”
A Clean Deal, trained by Kyle Fellows, captured the two-year-old Gold Super Final for pacing fillies by three-quarters of a length. The bay daughter of Cattlewash–Ideal Talker (by Western Ideal) is 5-3-1 from 10 starts this season.
Shes A Bulldog, conditioned by Ron Burke, finished runner-up in last year’s Super Final, while Daya landed in third for trainer Jack Darling.
Ahead of the most challenging test of his young career, Carroll is confident in Cant Turn You Down’s chances to be the David in a battle of Goliaths.
“She’s got a big set of lungs – we haven’t seen her tired yet, that’s for sure,” he said. “She hasn’t had plugs out once in her career. She’s got a really quick turn of foot, she is versatile, and I think Bob has a lot of options with her.
“She’s just kept getting better and better, and I think she’ll be heard from Saturday night.”
First-race post time at Mohawk is 6:30 p.m. To view Saturday's complete harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Ontario Racing)