In this week's edition of Rewind Robert Smith recalls the perfect 18 for 18 season of the sensational two year old Mac Wil in 1960 and a bit about his renowned owner and trainer.
How many horses go an entire season undefeated? I have no idea but my guess would be "not too many". But then again maybe you could say "quite a few". I love the subtleties of the English language where slim chance and fat chance mean exactly the same thing!
One horse that did go an entire season undefeated was a two year old named Mac Wil, and he did it 50 years ago. His 1960 season included races on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border and several starts in both Ontario and Quebec. At the end of it all, the result was a perfect 18 wins in 18 starts, and in doing it he faced the best harness racing had to offer. It is quite a feat to get a trip to the winner's circle and pose for the camera that many times in one season. In addition to being Canada's two year old champion, Mac Wil was named "Canadian Horse of the Year" for 1960.
In the spring of 1960 Dutton based trainer J. Russell Miller had some pretty high hopes for his two year old pacing colt Mac Wil. He was U.S. bred and purchased as a yearling from Fairmeade Green Acres Farm in Wilmington, Ohio by Mr. Miller. At this time the racing opportunities in Canada were somewhat limited for two-year-olds as compared to today, but as always if you could be the best either in a particular race or for a period of time there was an opportunity to have a profitable season. Being U.S. bred and foaled Mac Wil may have been excluded from a couple of popular events such as The Futurity and Supertest but there was still quite a bit to choose from, especially in Quebec.
Having a top pacing colt was not exactly a novelty for Russell Miller. From the time he entered the sport back in the 1940's, his specialty was developing colts and his success rate pretty much spoke for itself. However his game plan was very much unlike other so called "colt specialists" who trained large groups of prospects and eventually chose the best. His routine was to pick out what he thought was the best to start with and concentrate on one or perhaps two at a time. Another departure from the norm was that he usually owned what he trained; it worked well for him as he had no one to answer to.
From a modest operation which included his home farm at Dutton and his training headquarters at the Wallacetown Fairgrounds came many champions. His charges were well bred, well trained and most often ready to win as soon as they hit the Racetrack. He did a lot of the training himself and for many years was assisted by second trainer Garnet Crawford. He seldom had a problem getting a driver and was not above changing if he felt it would benefit his chances. He could usually attract the services of the best reinsman as most drivers like to be behind the best horse. One thing he didn't want to hear from a driver was a lot of excuses about "not getting out". His theory was more often than not to be on the "front end" as there is a lot less road trouble there.
The 1960 season for Mac Wil started early for those days and on May 16th he made his career debut at Hazel Park in Detroit, Mich. with the talented Indiana born reinsman George Sholty in the bike. His first win was timed in 2:07 as he turned back a field of five youngsters. From there the unblemished season unfurled. After five perfect starts at Hazel Park all with Sholty driving, Mac Wil returned to Canada for the duration of the season. Three victories at Blue Bonnets, all in July, a two heat winning day at Old Woodbine for Harold McKinley, and then on to Quebec City on August 7th. Six more trips to the charmed circle followed; two at Three Rivers, two at Sherbrooke, one at Connaught Park and the season finale on October 2nd at Richelieu Park for the largest purse of the season. Thus ended the magical year.
1960 Racing Summary For Mac Wil
18 Starts, 18 Wins, $31,135 in earnings.
Record of 2:04.2
Taken Aug. 28, 1960 at Sherbrooke, Driven by Keith Waples
Drivers:
Keith Waples ( 11 )
George Sholty ( 5 )
Harold McKinley ( 2 )
Tracks Raced At :
Hazel Park - 5 wins
Blue Bonnets - 3 wins
Old Woodbine - (2 heats)
Quebec City - (2 heats)
Three Rivers - (2 heats)
Sherbrooke - (2 heats)
Connaught Park - 1 win
Richelieu Park - 1 win
Smallest Purse - $300 at Blue Bonnets
Largest Purse - $14,275 at Richelieu Park Oct. 2 in his last start of the season.
One might next ask the very logical question as to how much longer the undefeated streak lasted into his three-year-old form. Well this is where the "fairy tale" ends. He finished second at Hazel Park in his first start in 1961. His sophomore season was somewhat abbreviated and after 10 starts and four more wins the year and also the career of Mac Wil was over. His two-year-old mark of 2:04.2 remained his lifetime best. The last win of his career came at Richelieu Park with a young fellow just 21 named Herve Filion aboard. Mac Wil was used as a sire first at the Miller Farm, and later moved further east where he was owned by Don Wilson of Peterborough. Beyond that I do not know what the balance of his career entailed.
From John Bax: In 1974 my
From John Bax:
In 1974 my father William Bax of Cobourg bought Don Wilson's Farm in Peterborough, where I currently train Standardbreds today. On the 150 acre farm there were 42 horses, both trotters and pacers.
Standing stallion on the farm at the age of 16 was Mac Wil. When we arrived Mac Wil was crippled from an injury in his front ankle. My brother Carl speculates that this injury may have been from his last race as a two year old, when he won his largest purse. Several of his offspring were trained by my family but did not amount to anything. We continued to breed him over the next two years, producing horses like Parkhill John who did not live up to his namesake.
However in 1976 Mac Wil was kicked by a mare shattering his leg and we were forced to put him down at the age of 18. He was replaced on our farm by the stallion Irish Napoleon.