Western Ontario stalwart What Can I Say, or “Mr. Handsome” as he’s sometimes referred, has kept a strong presence along the London-Sarnia circuit for the better part of five years.
The now 12-year-old Muscle Mass stallion had a hard-luck start to his career. He made one start as a two-year-old in an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroot division at Clinton Raceway, where he broke stride and finished sixth. A single qualifier followed that debut before the team of trainer Laurie Bako and caretaker Ashley Bako shelved the colt to mature, only for him to almost die as a three-year-old from an illness.
What Can I Say recovered and made his second pari-mutuel start as a four-year-old in July 2015. Since his late return to the races, the stallion has forged out a modest career year after year to have amassed $178,480 from 225 starts, with 96 on-the-board finishes including 23 wins.
“I love going to race him,” said Ashley Bako, daughter of Laurie Bako and the owner of What Can I Say since 2017, in a profile done by COSA TV. “It’s not stressful racing him because he’s more of a pet to me. He’s just fun to hang out with [and] is the same horse – he’s always happy, always in a good mood. He loves racing.”
“He’s a character; he’s very spoiled,” Bako also said. “He demands everything be done to him first.”
What Can I Say’s best season came in 2019 as an eight-year-old when he won four races from 36 starts and banked $27,485 while taking a season’s best mark of 2:00 at Clinton Raceway. He otherwise has racked steady cheques to average just around $20,000 in earnings a year and continues to plod around the track with no sign of wanting to stop.
“Hopefully he does race until he’s 14,” said Bako. “Then he’ll just be a pet. Maybe my pet, not sure yet. I have a few too many of those already, but we’d just find him a good home somewhere.”
Watch the full COSA TV profile on What Can I Say below.