WINDSOR, ON — On Sept. 12 Tyler Nostadt became part owner of his first racehorse. On Sept. 25 he celebrated his first win, and when three-year-old trotting colt Mr Champagne competes in Grassroots action at Windsor Raceway on Wednesday the 12 year old will be cheering for his first Ontario Sires Stakes starter.
“There are a lot of people who have been in the business a long time and never had one race in the Sires Stakes,” says Brian Tropea, who shares ownership on Mr Champagne with Nostadt. “And he got a win in his first start. He’s getting spoiled.”
After Nostadt was unsuccessful at landing a longed for spot in the Ontario Harness Horse Association Youth Camp at Windsor Raceway, Tropea invited the young man to his Oldcastle farm. That initial invitation evolved into a once a week commitment by the budding horseman and the opportunity of a lifetime at the Aug. 29 Summer Sizzler Mixed Sale in London.
“I told his Dad if he wanted to start learning about horses he could come out here,” recalls Tropea. “So he comes out once a week and he jogs and helps out.”
When Tropea went to the sale to purchase a young trotter he took Nostadt along and the Maidstone resident did his best to push the price higher on several horses before Mr Champagne was hammered down to the pair for $4,700.
After formalizing the ownership paperwork on the Mr Lavec son, Tropea sent him over to Windsor to qualify on Sept. 15. Mr Champagne delivered a third-place result, trotting his own mile in 2:04.3, and after making several shoeing and equipment changes Tropea entered him in a non-winners of $6,000 contest at Hiawatha Horse Park on Sept. 25.
“I changed his shoes and some of the gear on his head. I put a screen on him to keep him a little more focused,” says the trainer. “And I told the driver to keep a horse in front of him. He seems to do better if he has something to follow.
“He’s like a kid with Attention Deficit Disorder. You have to keep reminding him of what he’s supposed to be doing,” adds Tropea wryly.
Driver Mark Williams followed Tropea’s instructions to the letter, getting away last from Post 9 and steadily advancing through the field until the stretch where he asked Mr Champagne to shift gears and the gelding responded with a nose victory in a personal best 2:02.4.
Williams will be back in the race bike behind Mr Champagne on Wednesday and the pair will make their bid for a top five spot from Post 6 in the seventh race. In against horses like former Grassroots division winners Cubist (Post 1), Brethors Legacy (Post 5) and EB Lenny (Post 7) Tropea and Nostadt are not predicting a second straight victory, but an Ontario Sires Stakes cheque would be a nice memento for the new owner.
“As long as he gets around and behaves himself and doesn’t embarrass us, we’ll be fine,” says Tropea, with a chuckle.
Windsor Raceway’s first race on Wednesday goes to the post at 6 pm with the three-year-old trotting colts spotlighted in Races 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. Competition will be stiff as colts near the current cut off of 80 points make one last attempt to secure a place in the top 16 and advance to the Oct. 23 Grassroots Semifinals at Georgian Downs.