It isn’t something you see very often: a Little Brown Jug and O’Brien Award winner wearing a saddle, rolling around the ground at a major Standardbred horse show. Regardless, that’s exactly what Michaels Power was doing a few months ago, and his rider, Kailey Williams, could not have been more delighted.
“I had only been riding him for four months when we entered that show (the National Standardbred Show at the Horse Park in New Jersey). I didn’t realize what a big deal it was,” explained Kailey, a 20-year-old Stockton University student. “He was a little scared, there were a lot of announcements and noise, I think he thought he was back at the track.
“We got a fifth and I couldn’t have been happier, and I think he was, too. He laid down and rolled, with the saddle on; he was sweaty and thought it was okay to do it right there in the ring. His name had been announced and as we were leaving the ring a lady came up to me and said ‘Michaels Power? As in Little Brown Jug Michaels Power?’ That’s a reaction I get a lot.”
That’s understandable, given the success Michaels Power had on the racetrack. Not only did he win the 2012 Jug in a world record for a gelding and become only the second Ontario-sired pacer to win the coveted leg of pacing’s triple crown, he also added many other trophies during his sophomore season. He swept the Upper Canada elimination and $600,000 final at Georgian Downs, captured a Somebeachsomewhere division, won several Ontario Sires Stakes Gold events, the Confederation Cup final at Flamboro Downs and his OSS Super Final at Mohawk Racetrack.
At the conclusion of his three-year-old season, he was crowned Canada’s top performer in his division and took home the O’Brien Award for his owner/breeder Jeffrey Snyder and his son, Michael, who continue to own him to this day. Michaels Power's 'glamour boy' campaign would prove his most prolific season on the track, but he also enjoyed a productive six-year-old season in which he earned over $200,000. Michaels Power officially retired the following year.
Most horses with his talent and pedigree would have been retired earlier, but there wasn’t a lucrative stallion career in his future, as he is a gelding. Michaels Power was sired by one of Canada’s most prolific stallions of all time and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Camluck.
Michaels Power's maternal side isn’t too shabby, either. His dam, Michelles Jackpot, a half-sister to Cams Card Shark ($2.4 million), earned $695,000 during her racing career. The daughter of Artsplace was the two-year-old pacing filly of the year in the United States in 1996, and as talented as she was on the racetrack, she was even more impressive as a broodmare. To date, she’s delivered 18 foals who have earned well over $5.9 million.
Michaels Power is her richest performer, followed by his older full sister, Michelles Power, who won $1.3 million during her career. Another of their siblings is the gelding Alexas Jackpot, who earned in excess of half a million primarily on the Woodbine Entertainment circuit.
Shortly after Williams posted about riding Michaels Power on Facebook, Ontario trainer Amanda Fine responded that she had his half brother, Alexas Jackpot, and that they look similar. Another poster reached out to say they took care of his full brother, Mikes Powerhouse, last summer.
“I started riding him in April of 2019 and he has become the best all-around horse there is. We’ve done western pleasure, gymkhana, trail riding, showmanship, and this year we started English,” was what Williams had written on Facebook.
Kailey’s cousin, Tom Spain, lives and works at Blairwood Farms where Michaels Power is enjoying retirement. Kailey, who lives close by, would often help Tom out at the farm and a few times she brought Michaels Power into the barn.
“I grew up riding horses. I was on them since I was about two or three. I stopped riding when I was around 10 or 11, as I was playing soccer and lost the feeling for it for a while. Michaels Power is the first horse I had ridden in 10 years,” explained Kailey who is a health science major, leaning towards a career in the medical field, perhaps dentistry.
“Last year, I was thinking that maybe I’d get back into riding. I really like Standardbreds, although I hadn’t had much experience with them. Apparently, Mike Snyder had told the farm owner, Leslie McClaren, that if there was anyone wanting to ride Michaels Power they would like that. It was a way to give him some more attention.
“Michaels Power was such a sweetheart I thought maybe I’d throw a saddle on him. Tom got on him first, bare back, and the next day we put a saddle on him and I rode him. He was so good; he acted like he’d been doing it his whole life. He has a great personality. I love giving him treats which I have the hidden in tack room and he knows as soon as I get them,” added Kailey.
The ardent animal lover is very grateful to be able to ride and take care of such a talented horse. She keeps the Snyders updated on his progress and often sends photos. “I am very happy to be riding again and I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to ride such an incredible horse.”
During the past few months in quarantine, Kailey has been working at the farm quite a bit, and therefore spending more time than usual with Michaels Power, riding him almost daily, which is one of the positives for her to come out of these uncertain times.
When racing was shut down, the farm was quite busy housing numerous racehorses in the area. One of those included 2018 Jugette winner Alexas Power, Michaels Power’s niece. The now five-year-old daughter of Somebeachsomewhere is the fourth foal from Michaels’ full sister, Michelles Power.
Michaels Power’s swiftness on the racetrack has not transitioned into his riding career though. “When you’re riding him you’d never know he’d been a racehorse, he doesn’t want to go fast. The first year I never took him faster than trot, this year I took him out in the front field and got him to canter and then he started to pace, he could go fast if he wanted to, he just usually doesn’t want to.
“I can’t praise him enough. He’s never done anything stupid or tried to buck. He’s very smart. I fell off him once and he just stood there and looked at me like ‘are you all right?’ He’s such a good horse,” praised Kailey.
Michaels Power is yet another Standardbred who has transitioned into a second career almost seamlessly. And he also proves that regardless of success on the racetrack - the upper echelon as he was, or unraced as many are - they can still enjoy long and productive careers in another discipline.
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(Heather MacKay Roberts / OSAS)