After making a $17,000 yearling purchase from the 2017 London Selected Yearling Sale, David Ratchford was told that he got the buy of the sale from horse transporter Chuckie Symes.
That statement has proven to be tremendously prophetic.
Ratchford's purchase, a Mach Three yearling by the name of Century Farroh, was retired at the conclusion of his five-year-old year in 2021 after a career with 22 wins and 43 top-three finishes from 59 starts, more than $1.55 million in earnings and three O'Brien Awards — including the 2020 Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award.
"We were just in awe," said Ratchford of Century Farroh's career in a recent conversation with Trot Insider. "I'm still in awe. I'm actually getting more out of watching the videos — the rare time we watch them — than I did when he was racing. We just couldn't believe, and it didn't sink in that he was what he was."
A longtime horseman from his base in Cape Breton, Ratchford provided the son of Mach Three - Beachy Girl with his early lessons in Nova Scotia and always felt that the colt had something. Of course, that something could pretty much be anything when the bar for comparisons isn't as deep as it might be in a different province or region. But the astute developer of standouts the likes of Ms Mac N Cheese and Silver Dragon had an inkling that Century Farroh would make the transition to Ontario's harness racing circuit.
"The horse seemed to be special. A few of these babies, when you break them, not very long after...say a week or so...you know you have something a little bit different than most. And I've had three or four or five of them in my lifetime. But anyway, we knew he was a nice colt straight from the time we broke him."
With Grand Circuit wins on both sides of the border, Century Farroh validated Ratchford's intuition with respect to his colt's ability. However, the horseman had concerns after Century Farroh's first tests in Ontario.
"We were really surprised; it took a little while for him to adjust to the racing aspect of it because when he was training we could do pretty much anything we wanted with him. I can't say I was disappointed but you know a little bit taken back when we first sent them up there...I don't know what I thought he was gonna be but after four or five starts, he certainly got to what we were looking for, that's for sure."
Left in the capable hands of Dr. Ian Moore, Century Farroh ended his two-year-old season in fine form with four straight victories including an open-length romp in the 2019 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Final. Ratchford felt Moore would be a good fit for the colt from the get-go, and spoke highly of the fellow Maritime horseman with whom he's fostered a longtime bond.
"I've known Doc for a number of years, almost since he graduated [from UPEI] I guess. He's someone I consider a friend of mine through the industry before he left the Maritimes."
Building off that foundation Century Farroh gained in the Grassroots, his career reached its zenith over the next two seasons as the bay garnered back-to-back divisional titles in Canada and overall Horse of the Year honours in 2020. Off the racetrack, Ratchford's star developed a following of his own in Cape Breton — one that transcended the harness racing industry.
Dave Ratchford (fifth from left) with family and connections at the 2019 O'Brien Awards
"One of my friends here said to me, 'you know what? He made a lot of people happy on Saturday night.' The following here was unbelievable, even with people that don't watch harness racing. My four girls all work here in the area, and the janitor at the school where one of them works, he'd report to them before I did."
Now living the retired life in the stud barn at Seelster Farms, Century Farroh provided the humble Ratchford with thrills of a lifetime that the horseman hopes will help provide new thrills to his family. The ownership of Century Farroh changed this past fall to the Ramosaco Group Inc. of North Sydney, N.S. The horse wasn't sold — although Ratchford admitted he did get some "substantial" offers to sell the stallion — but he's now owned by Ratchford and his four daughters.
"The biggest reason I turned the offers down was because of my family," said Ratchford, noting that the Ramosaco Group name came from an amalgamation of the starting letter of the individuals' last names:
- RA from Ratchford
- M from McNeil
- O from O'Grady
- SA from Sampson
- CO from Cox
Giving the horse to his family is Ratchford's way of sharing Century Farroh's second career, enabled by the stardom attained during his first one. Ratchford thoroughly appreciated the ride, even though he wasn't between the shafts for most of it.
"The list is so lengthy; I certainly say thank you to anybody who was involved with Century Farroh as a result of the pandemic, with a special thanks to his drivers and Ian and his team."
Now, the 73-year-old has a handful of horses that he'll shift his focus to once stakes season starts this spring. Though those horses are in the stable of noted developer Danny Romo, and he doesn't think there's necessarily a Century Farroh in the group, Ratchford still speaks, hopes and dreams with the same enthusiasm that one day another eye-catching yearling purchase will produce the heart-pounding thrills that only a stakes-winning Standardbred can provide.