With two-year-olds set to make their first qualifying appearances in the coming days, trainers Blake MacIntosh and Anthony MacDonald gave Wednesday night's (June 10) COSA TV viewers an inside look at their rookies' development to this point.
Moderator Greg Blanchard was joined by the pair of Ontario-based trainers for discussion about a number of their two-year-old standouts who are pointed to stakes campaigns in Ontario and beyond, as well as a number of other topics.
MacIntosh is optimistic that Bazooka Hanover can realize substantial return on owner Steve Heimbecker's $200,000 investment in short order.
"He just does what he has to do," MacIntosh said of the son of Captaintreacherous and Bittorsweet Terror. "He's got a nice gait; he's effortless out there. He's got a nice reach to him, does everything right."
After two training trips that were "just amazing," according to MacIntosh, Bazooka Hanover is slated to qualify on Friday (June 12) morning at Woodbine Mohawk Park with Doug McNair in the bike.
Perfectboy Hanover may not be qualifying this week after spooking at a tractor during a Mohawk training session last week, but he has otherwise ticked every box thus far.
"He's done everything right from day one," MacIntosh said of the $95,000 Harrisburg purchase. "He can do it pretty easily; you just start him up and he's gone ... He's a special individual at this point. Just does everything right, smart — I love this colt."
On the trotting side, a $50,000 Lexington Select purchase called Black Tie Bash will commence his career for MacIntosh on Mohawk's Friday morning card as well.
"He's got a lot of go and he wants to go," MacIntosh noted of the dual-eligible son of Chapter Seven and Daylon Mermaid. "He's New York and Lexington eligible, so we'll be able to send him to Lexington to race on the big track. He's got a lot of talent and a lot of speed — he can go like the wind."
Chris Christoforou is listed to drive Black Tie Bash.
"I love (Christoforou) on a trotter," continued MacIntosh. "You just try to find the drivers that suit the horses."
MacDonald's TheStable.ca operation currently accounts for 122 horses. Thirty-eight of those are two-year-olds who will go through their first qualifying paces in this week's Mohawk sessions, and one of them in particular has some big expectations to try to meet.
Braemar may only be a $30,000 Lexington Select buy, but the three-quarter brother to 2013 O'Brien Award winner Vegas Vacation has already demonstrated promise in his development.
"James (MacDonald) went with him all winter, trying to keep him covered up and keep him quiet," MacDonald said. "He's a big, powerful colt, but he's very green. He's a strong colt and he's done his work really well. He can pace the turns just as fast as the straightaways. We were lucky to get him; he's really hard not to like.
"I don't think you're going to see Braemar put his best foot forward until August when he's got four or five starts. Depending on how he comes out of the qualifier will determine what comes next. The qualifier on Friday was unexpected, but maybe a bit ahead of schedule. His schedule is very fluid at this point still."
Much of TheStable.ca's business model centres on developing mid-range yearlings and pointing them to lucrative sire stakes schedules, and MacDonald has chosen a number of trotters to compete under his banner on both sides of the 49th. And while much of his stock — including trotters Eternity Road and GW Chrome — is pointed to the blossoming Ohio Sires Stakes circuit, one trotting filly in particular is Ontario through and through.
A $41,000 London Selected purchase, Warrawee Welcome may not qualify until later this month, but MacDonald is high on his expectations for her.
"Going into the sale, I wasn't that interested in the filly," MacDonald said of the daughter of Muscle Mass and Noble Peace Prize. "At the time, the dollar was really low. I thought the sale would go pretty high, and it did. This filly was just exceptionally looking at the sale. As soon as we put the harness on, she had a big, sprawling gait. She trained this morning in 2:05 — last quarter in 29 seconds — at Mohawk. We've been really protective of her; Mario (Baillargeon) has done a great job with her. She appears to be a very nice filly; she's never given us any inclinations that she's anything but a good filly. I'm eager to see her race this summer."
COSA TV has scaled back their Facebook Live broadcasts to a once-weekly schedule, now airing only on Wednesday nights.
The entire show can be viewed below.
I bought 2% of a race horse.
I bought 2% of a race horse. It is the most fun I have had for a thousand bucks. A Fun Investment. The stable rocks.