That One Defining Moment

With a lifetime of big wins, both training and driving, one might think it tough for Yves Filion to come up with that one greatest memory.

But when asked, the new Hall of Famer immediately reflects upon that one perfect night in July 2001. By Keith McCalmont

GOLIATH BAYAMA (5) GETS UP TO WIN THE 2001 BREEDERS CROWN

“It was in July, a perfect night, and my biggest thrill in horse racing,” recalls 69-year-old Hall of Fame elect Yves Filion.

It was July 28, 2001, to be exact, and it was Breeders Crown night at the Meadowlands in New Jersey where Goliath Bayama, a homebred from Filion’s Bayama Farms, was about to earn a title that would stick with him for the rest of his career.

How Filion, a native of Saint-Andre-D’argent, Quebec, a member of one of Canada’s greatest harness racing families, and one of the sport’s elite trainer-drivers for three decades could land on one perfect career-defining moment, seems impossible.

After all, he’s driven in more than 18,000 races with 4,387 wins and $26.7 million in earnings. Tack on another 273 winners and earnings of almost $3.7 million as a trainer and there’s a lot of win photos to sift through.

Other drivers might point at his North America Cup score with Runnymede Lobell as the great moment of a Hall of Fame career, but Filion knows differently.

“To me, winning the North America Cup, I wasn’t as nervous. I realized after, I was racing for over $1 million, but at the moment it felt like another race,” recalled Filion.

So, what’s the difference maker? Easy, family.

“When you raise a horse yourself and train him and drive him it’s different. Runnymede Lobell, I bought him at the sale at Harrisburg,” said Filion. “But, when the ones I raised myself win at the Meadowlands, beating the best in North America, it’s a different feeling.

“’Goliath’ was extra special because he was driven by my son, Sylvain,” continued Filion. “I owned the mare, Topaz Blue Chip, and I raced her as well before she gave us Goliath Bayama. It was something very special.”

The three Breeders Crown races that were run on that card were full of great moments. On a comfortable evening at the old Meadowlands, a huge crowd overflowed the grandstand waving Italian flags in support of European invader Varenne who would win the $1 million Breeders Crown Trot in world-record time for driver Giampaolo Minnucci.

Varenne’s victory was followed just a few races later by a facile score from Eternal Camnation, arguably the greatest pacing mare in racing history, in the $332,500 Breeders Crown mares pace.

“It was a great atmosphere, a very big crowd and all kinds of great races,” recalled Sylvain Filion. “All the best trainers and drivers in the world were there which made it even more exciting.”

Goliath Bayama arrived at the $500,000 Breeders Crown pace as a 10-1 outsider having finished fourth in his elimination, a week earlier, when driven by Jim Morrill Jr. Sylvain was always going to drive the final and, in some ways, the Breeders Crown may have been the perfect opportunity for father, son and horse to make amends for their narrow loss to The Panderosa a year earlier in the North America Cup.

If there were nerves, Sylvain wasn’t admitting to it.

“I knew that he had been racing well and I felt pretty confident even though he wasn’t the favourite. The way he acted in the post parade and warming up, he felt great, and I thought with a bit of luck we had a shot,” said Sylvain.

Gallo Blue Chip would blast off the gate as the 4/5 mutuel favourite and marked off splits of :26.4 and :54.1 with Armbro Positive parked first-over and trying to keep up. Goliath Bayama, with Sylvain cool as can be, had just two horses in his rearview mirror at the half.

Was Sylvain worried that the favourite was getting away on him?

“Not really,” said Sylvain. “The way the race went on they were battling pretty hard on the front end and I knew they had to come back to me sooner or later.”

Meanwhile, in the paddock underneath the Meadowlands grandstand, Yves was watching the race unfold trying his damndest not to show any emotion.

Surely, punters grasping win tickets worth 10/1 apiece were mentally willing Sylvain to press the button, screaming at their TV sets, wondering what was taking so long. And yet, Yves, with a possible $250,000 payday in the cards, felt no such anxiety.

“He’s the kind of horse that you kept him for the end and he would fly home like no horse I’ve ever seen. He had tremendous speed,” said Yves. “When they hit the stretch at the Meadowlands, you have almost a quarter of a mile to go and with the speed he had, I knew he could still come and win.”

And so, Intrepid Seelster and Camotion, trained by fellow Canadians Bob McIntosh and Ben Wallace, shifted into gear from their stalking positions as Gallo Blue Chip battled on and a weary Armbro Positive fell back.

“I remember ‘Goliath’ was eighth hitting the stretch and when Sylvain pulled him he just flew home,” smiled Yves.

With a wicked turn of foot, Goliath Bayama gobbled up the field finding the wire a head in front of Camotion, himself only a nose better than Intrepid Seelster who was less than a length clear of the stubborn pacesetter, Gallo Blue Chip, in a frantic photo finish.

“That day, the announcer (Ken Warkentin) gave him his name at the very last second, he called, ‘Here comes the monster from Montreal’” said Yves proudly.

Oddly, it’s the moment Sylvain likes best, as well.

“It was a great call from the announcer,” laughed Sylvain. “You see, the horse was raised on our farm and he was like a pet to us.”

The driver never doubted the result for a second.

“I knew we had it. It was close, but I knew I had it. It was a very good feeling,” said Sylvain.

Yves claims he took the moment in stride.

“I’m more quiet. I don’t show my expression a lot, but after the race, it’s not that I really showed it, but inside of me, I never had a feeling like that. I was so happy for the horse and for Sylvain driving him,” recalled Yves.

But, perhaps Sylvain knows differently.

“He didn’t say much when I came back after, I think he was in shock. We had faith in ‘Goliath’ but when you win those big races, it amazes you,” said Sylvain. “However, I heard from people who were watching the race in the paddock beside my dad that he did actually yell at the wire, ‘Yesss’. He gave it the big, ‘Yes.’”

Goliath Bayama, a son of Abercrombie, stopped the clock that night in 1:48.4. He would win his next two starts in equally rapid time including the $400,000 U.S. Pacing Championship the following week at the Meadowlands in 1:48.2, at odds of 9/2 (Gallo Blue Chip was once again 4/5) and in a career best 1:48.1 at the Hippodrome in Montreal two weeks after that. He would retire in the fall of 2002 with career earnings of over $1.5 million.

So, why that night at the Meadowlands? What makes that moment so special? The answer is simple enough, it’s the family connection and the painstaking hours of blood, sweat and tears required to breed, foal, raise, break, train and drive a champion racehorse.

Yves’ voice fills with pride when he talks about the horses that came through his Bayama Farm.

“Rebeka Bayama [p,1:48.3; $731,637] is another one I raised myself,” continued Yves. “I broke the dam and the grand dam. ‘Rebeka’ beat the best mares in North America at the Meadowlands. That is a great feeling.”

It makes sense that Yves, one of 11 siblings, puts such stock in family lines, be it human or equine. His brother, Herve, is a fellow Hall of Fame horseman and Yves credits growing up in that environment as a key to his success.

“Sure, we’re eight brothers, all eight of us drivers. My brother Herve is already there and for me, the youngest in the family, to end up in the Hall of Fame is a very great honour,” said Yves.

“He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” said Sylvain. “He’s one of those horsemen who has no failure to him. He’s done it all and done it well.”

Yves never really felt that he had to get out from under his brothers collective shadows.

“I think it was a good thing for me because I could look at what my brothers were doing and take the best of their ideas and try to do it myself,” said Yves. “I’ve been so lucky. The racing business has been very good to me. I started with one horse when I was 17-years-old and, at one point, I had 130 horses of my own.”

There’s no denying that luck plays a part in horse racing, but Sylvain is quick to point out that his father is also blessed with talent.

“My father was the seventh brother so they say he had the lucky charm,” started Sylvain. “But, you know, when they talk about horse whisperers, he is one of them. The way he handles difficult horses is amazing. Many people have brought him their troubled horses so he can help them out, and he has.

“We bred a lot of horses and I don’t know how many mares he helped foal their babies. So many nights out waiting with the mare and sometimes they have little problems and he helps them out,” continued Sylvain. “Everything seems to go right when he’s there. He’s done it all from raising babies to training, driving, owning and taking care of a farm. There’s a lot of years behind that moment on the track.”

Yes, a lot of years went into that one special moment, a frenetic four-horse photo finish on a perfect July night at the Meadowlands, with Goliath Bayama.

“The industry has been very good to me. I figure I was born in the stall with the horses. It’s all I knew and I’ve been very lucky,” said Yves.

And in Filion’s case, perhaps we can adjust the adage to say, ‘You have to be great to be lucky.’