When State Treasurer goes to post for his $40,000 Metro Pace elimination this Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack, he could be one step closer to making his connections’ dreams come true
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The two-year-old colt would have to finish in the top three or be one lucky fourth-place finisher --- which is drawn by lot --- to advance to the $1 million Metro Pace on September 3.
Allan MacDonald believes State Treasurer has a shot to make it to the rich final.
“I think he has a good chance, but they are three very strong fields,” said the resident of Souris, PEI. “I was looking through them and almost any colt could win this, they are all very good. I think it is very wide open.”
But who is Allan MacDonald? He might not have his name listed in the program as an owner, trainer or driver of State Treasurer, but he cannot contain his excitement when he discusses the rookie.
“We have had an awful lot of fun with him so far,” he exclaimed. “We’ve just had a ball with him. It’s just exciting every week seeing him race.”
MacDonald is a longtime horseman that once trained and drove his own horses in Charlottetown. As he got older, he decided he would give up training and driving and just dabble in ownership, but for the first time, his wife, Sally, co-owns the brown colt with his nephew’s wife, Sophie.
“We have put the ownership in the ladies’ name, but we (MacDonald and his nephew, Paul) are very much involved. I basically picked him out myself,” he explained.
The MacDonalds purchased the son of Real Desire--Ideal Treasure from the 2010 Harrisburg sale for a mere $6,500, a price tag which amazed them.
“We were a little bit surprised we got him as cheap as we did,” MacDonald said. “We thought he would be much more than that. I really like Real Desire colts and this fella had really good conformation, so he sort of caught my eye.”
When the yearling was brought back to PEI, MacDonald employed the services of trainer/driver Kenny Arsenault to break and train State Treasurer.
“I remember the first time Kenny trained him,” MacDonald recalled. “When he came in, we were both quite amazed. He said to me, ‘This colt is real special.’ He’s been good right from the beginning.”
When the freshman was ready at the beginning of July, he was shipped to Ontario into care of trainer Ian Moore, who MacDonald met when the good doctor lived on PEI.
In two lifetime starts, State Treasurer has one win and a third-place finish, which was in one of Saturday’s $115,391 divisions of the Nassagaweya Stakes. Also, he has banked $22,346 in earnings, which is just over triple his purchase price, but it was his drop in time between his qualifier in 1:57.1 and his first lifetime start that stunned the ex-trainer/driver.
“The 1:52.3 time shocked me,” said MacDonald. “We thought coming into the first start he would go around (1:) 54. I was surprised especially with the last quarter in :26.1, very impressive for a colt for his first start.”
MacDonald is thrilled not only to have a colt that is well mannered, intelligent and good gaited, but also to have a colt that is good enough to race at the top level in North America.
“Last week, the Nassagaweya would probably be the biggest race we’ve ever been in,” he said. “I would just race in the local stakes down here, nothing like this.
“It’s kind of been a lifetime dream to have a colt in the Metro. It is all really exciting for us.”
State Treasurer will leave from Post 6 in the fourth race on Saturday evening for driver Paul MacDonell. The two other Metro Pace eliminations are slated for Race 2 and 6. First-race post time is 7:10 p.m.
To view Saturday's entries at Mohawk Racetrack, click the following link: Saturday - Mohawk Racetrack
(WEG)