Dr. Ian Moore is poised for a big night this Saturday, Feb. 3 with four chances to take the stage at the 35th O'Brien Awards Black Tie Gala, celebrating the best in Canadian harness racing from this past season.
Moore joined the Woodbine Mohawk Park pre-card show on Thursday (Feb. 1) evening to discuss the O'Brien Awards and the year that landed him those three nominations while looking ahead to 2024.
Moore added a successful 2023 to his lengthy resume and goes into this weekend's O'Brien Awards gala at the Delta by Marriott Prince Edward in Charlottetown, P.E.I. — his home province — as a finalist for Trainer of the Year. The Cambridge, Ont. resident had 217 starts last year with a record of 51-38-28 and $3,101,539, headlining a career-best season by earnings.
"I'm very humbled and very honoured to be nominated," said Moore. "I know there's a lot of good trainers out there, probably a lot of trainers better than me and race year round that should have been nominated, so I am very humbled and honoured to be here. The fact that it's in my own hometown or own province of Prince Edward Island is a bonus for sure."
Of his accomplished roster of students, Tattoo Artist wrapped up his star-studded career on Nov. 25 at The Meadowlands. The seven-year-old son of Hes Watching and the Artsplace mare Stylish Artist made 96 track appearances with a record of 40-19-10 and $3,272,258 earned. Tattoo Artist is a finalist for Older Pacing Horse of the Year.
"It was time for him to retire. Some of the wear and tear was starting to show on him now where during his early years of racing as a two and three, four and even five-year-old, soundness was one of his greatest attributes. I think it was time and I hate seeing someone take a good horse like him and race them when they are not where they should be. It would be an insult to the horse...He's been quite a ride, that's for sure.
"It just seems like every race we've ever had with him, there was never a moment where I was disappointed that he did not give his 100 per cent best. I can't say that about a lot of horses, but I certainly can about him," Moore added.
Stockade Seelster joins the line-up as the third O'Brien Award finalist in 2023 in connection with Moore. Owned by Sally and Paul MacDonald, the four-year-old son of State Treasurer and the Big Jim mare Soiree Seelster earned $677,688 from 19 sophomore starts in 2023. He made seven trips to the winner's circle to go along with four seconds and four thirds.
"He's doing very well. He raced until the end of November. We just started back with him. He started a week ago Monday. I gave him as long as I could, but the [Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup] for four-year-olds is around May the 12th, I think, at Flamboro and it'd be nice to have him ready for that. And there's also an invitational for $100,000 in Miami Valley on the fourth of May and hopefully, we will be going there for the Sires Stakes with our three-year-old, Clever Cody. Might be nice to have him ready for that if I can as well.
"The fact that he's four, I should be able to get him ready a little bit quicker," Moore continued. "And if he's like his father, which he is, he's going to be difficult to go a lot of rated miles with. The second to last year his father raced as a five-year-old in Florida, the first time I turned him after four weeks of jogging, he was all out in 2:12, it was all I could do to hold him in 2:12. It was hard to go rated miles with him. We did get him slowed down a little bit after that, but this guy can be similar at times....We're looking forward to racing him as a four-year-old.
"His three-year-old season was okay. It wasn't top of the line, it wasn't bottom of the line either. He was right there. He was second in the Breeders Crown to Confederate, no shame there. We were quite pleased and he ended up making quite a bit of money for the MacDonalds as well."
Moore looks forward to what's in store for 2024, especially with the two coming three-year-olds.
"We kept two fillies over, Ann and Odds On Platinum, who were very good babies for us last year. Ann didn't start until late because she qualified twice in June and won her qualifiers and then had some issues pop up that we had to give her a little bit of time, but she's really lengthened out and grown to be a really nice mare. Odds On Platinum has changed a bit as well.
"Clever Cody, he has changed more than any two coming three-year-old that I have ever seen. The body on him is just phenomenal and I let his hopples out two inches at the end of the year. They are going to go out another three or four inches this year as well. The length of him and the size of him now and the power in him as you jog him. I started him a little early around January 10 so I'm very optimistic at this point for him."
A replay of the pre-card show and interview with Dr. Ian Moore is available below.
Standardbred Canada presents the 35th O’Brien Awards Gala this Saturday evening, Feb. 3 at the Delta by Marriott Prince Edward in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
(Standardbred Canada; photos courtesy Conrad Photo, Bente Nielsen, New Image Media)