Reigning divisional champion Stonebridge Wizard will look to work his magic again when he returns to action this weekend and begins his quest towards the North America Cup.
A modest $32,000 yearling purchase at the London Classic Sale for owner David Kryway of Amherstburg, Ont., Stonebridge Wizard was a five-time winner with $284,100 in earnings from nine starts during his O'Brien Award-winning campaign as Two-Year-Old Male Pacer of the Year while trained by Jared Bako. His victories included two Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions and he completed a sweep of his elimination and the final of the Battle of Waterloo with a 1:51.2 career-best victory over the reconfigured Grand River Raceway five-eighths oval.
Making the top 10 in TROT Magazine's 2025 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, Stonebridge Wizard has been assessed at odds of 29-1 in the pre-season picks to win Canada's richest prize for pacers.
Following three qualifiers at Pocono Downs, the gelding by Dancin Lou out of Odds On Magic will launch his sophomore campaign in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series season opener on Saturday, May 24 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. That event will serve as his prep for the North America Cup.
Bako, who is winding up for a busy stakes season on the road with his New York stable of about 40 head, will spend close to a month in Canada with his family while the major races are going on.
“It's an incredible position to be in," said Bako, who is grateful to have the caliber of horses and a trustworthy team to be able to compete in the sport's biggest races. "It really is a dream come true. When you grow up in this business, everybody grows up wanting to be somebody in that position. I'm just fortunate enough that I've reached it at an age where I can enjoy it.”
Trot Insider caught up with Bako for an update on Stonebridge Wizard and another Cup contender Fast Choice, a multiple New York Sire Stakes winner who ranks among the top 20 in the Spring Book.
Where did Stonebridge Wizard winter and when did you start back with him?
“He wintered in Kentucky at Anvil And Lace and we started him back on January 1.”
What changes have you noticed in him from two to three?
“There hasn't been a lot of changes. He's maybe grown up a little bit. He's carrying his weight a little better than he did last year. But past that, he's a very similar horse. His mannerisms haven't changed, which is a great thing because he's such a gentleman.”
Was there anything that you felt he needed to do differently from two to three?
“No. Obviously, it's a big stepping stone and we have high aspirations for the colt at this stage. But he showed resilience last year. He showed high speed… He's a true athlete. His mannerisms are phenomenal… He showed serious intestinal fortitude in the Battle of Waterloo, obviously. So, it's very hard to critique a horse that did the things he did.”
Will he remain in Ontario after the North America Cup?
“It's a lot of Ontario and then the Breeders Crown, I believe. We try not to ship them around too, too much. I find it's very hard on them at that stage in their life. There's a lot of money to be still be made in Ontario. We figured we just capitalize on that.”
At what point last year did you think that this was the kind of horse that could be a North America Cup contender?
“To be honest with you, I loved him from day one. He was very willing, very laid back and he always acted like he was a three-year-old. He was just much more advanced mentally than a lot of two-year-olds and he never disappointed us. Every time we asked him for more, he showed more. So we figured those are the kind of horses that generally develop into being great horses and he was worthy of an opportunity.”
What would you say is his best attribute?
“I don't know how to word it but we say it's how intelligent the horse is. But it's how fast you can go from going a quarter in 26 seconds to if you wanted to go the next one in 34 seconds or if you wanted him to walk, all you have to do is ask. He has such an intelligent way about him that way and he showed it countless times, and I think Dougie [McNair] even touched on it last year. You can wind him up, leave with him, he'll come right back to you and then after the race you can just walk along with your feet hanging because he understands that he's better off being easy on himself.”
Do you have any other three-year-olds that are also N.A. Cup eligible?
"We have a Courtly Choice colt by the name of Fast Choice.”
Is he on a similar schedule?
“They are literally basically on the exact same schedule, the pair of them. They have been right from day one. They've trained together every time they've ever trained except when ‘Wizard’ was in Ontario. Fast Choice's Sires Stakes is a day after Stonebridge Wizard’s. His first Sire Stakes is at Saratoga. Fast Choice was a week slower qualifying than Stonebridge Wizard. It was just due to management; his blood wasn't 100 per cent right.
“He actually ended his year on a bad note because he suffered a chip in his one hind ankle that we were unaware about until the final Sire Stakes. So he ended his year kind of poorly if you look at his line. He still ended up being the Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year in New York, which it kind of special because my wife [Ashley] picked him out and he's my daughter's pet and my wife loves him to death. He's been a blessing.”
How does it feel, as a relatively young trainer, to have a couple of horses that are in this conversation being pointed for a race like the North America Cup?
“Honestly, the last year and a half have been a complete dream come true. I have incredible people behind us, incredible clientele. We also won a Breeders Crown elim last year with a two-year-old pacing filly [The Last Martini]; she’ll be in the Fan Hanover. It's just honestly been a dream come true. I can't say enough things about the people that have helped me get to where I am and just try and take it day by day and try not to get in the horses' way.”
(Standardbred Canada)