Through this four-part series Ontario Racing is charting the journey of two of Ontario Sired trotters acquired by trainer John Bax at the 2017 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Follow Magical Journey (Kadabra � Some Like It Lindy) and Radical Roy (Royalty For Life � Radical Janey) along the path their connections hope will lead them to the 2018 Ontario Sires Stakes.

Read Part One: From Lexington to Campbellville

Read Part Two: The Foundation of a Racehorse

Read Part Three: Early Successes and Surprises

Becoming a 30 per center

In the life of each racehorse there are a series of developmental markers owners hope to see them achieve and Magical Journey and Radical Roy reached a significant milestone on July 16. Both horses competed in the two-year-old trotting colt and gelding Gold Series season opener, becoming part of the 30 per cent of Ontario Sired yearlings that reach the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) program in their freshman season.

As in their first qualifier, Magical Journey was first to line up behind the Woodbine Mohawk Park starting gate, at Post 6 in the first $52,200 Gold division. With Paul MacDonell in his customary spot in the race bike, Magical Journey delivered a flawless start, settling in fourth as Around Town led the field of nine to a :29 opening quarter on the rain-soaked oval. The horse sitting second went off stride so Magical Journey had moved up to third by the 1:00 half, and heading for the 1:31 three-quarters MacDonell tipped him to the outer lane and led the attack on the pacesetter. The gelding gave his owners a moment of excitement when he turned for home in front, but he did not deliver a strong enough finishing kick to claim the victory, instead settling for fourth behind Lifetime Royalty, Knight Angel and Isnt He An Angel in the 2:01 mile.

“He raced okay. When he cleared like that I thought okay, but he just flattened right out. Whether that’s immaturity, or whether he can go more or not, we’ll have to wait and see,” said co-owner Joe Parkinson, who watched the race from his cottage. “I mean he raced good enough for his first start, it’s just when they move like that and they don’t drive on, you start to wonder why, that’s all, but it was okay.”

Parkinson shares ownership of Magical Journey with his partners in the Gaelic Stable of Sharon, Bax Stable of Campbellville, Ontario and Gordon Wright of Charlotte, Michigan. Of the six owners not named Bax, just two made the trip to Campbellville to watch the youngster make his OSS debut. They have all owned enough young trotters to know that, barring a career-ending injury, the first start is just a small step in a much longer journey.

The way he finished the race did cause the Baxes to take a blood sample from Magical Journey, just to ensure that sickness was not the cause. The test indicated a slightly higher than normal white blood cell count. As a result the gelding was treated to a five-day course of sulfa drugs to clear up any underlying infection or inflammation.

One step forward, two steps back

Radical Roy had to wait until Race 6 to make his OSS debut and that wait may have been his undoing. From his position in the paddock the gelding had to watch as horses and trainers repeatedly formed a line in front of him, ready to go out on the track for warm-up miles as soon as each race ended. Aside from his own tour around the seven-eighths oval following Race 2, on each occasion the young trotter was aggravated by his inability to join the parade out the door.

From the moment Paul MacDonell climbed into the race bike he knew Radical Roy was more keyed up than he had been in his June 15 qualifier or his June 26 overnight start and on their way up to Post 4 in the third Gold division the trotter went off stride. Although he recovered better than two of his peers, he trotted a lonely mile, finishing well behind 1:59.4 winner Southwind Avenger in sixth place.

“The disappointing part about that is you don’t learn much,” said John Bax. “It was the same thing with Magical Journey the last time; he ran because he got scared, but if they run early in the race it doesn’t really tell you much.”

With the benefit of hindsight Bax wondered if they should have added a hood to Radical Roy’s equipment at the same time they added one to Magical Journey’s. While the gelding had been flawless in his first two starts, the Baxes and their staff had always regarded Radical Roy as the more volatile of the two trotters.

“You’re looking for consistency and it’s kind of like you’ve got to get them set and then you can go ahead, ask for speed. I think with the one colt he went good enough that now you can kind of work on the speed part, and the other colt you’ve still got to get him settled before you can ask him,” said Bax. “Sometimes it happens in one race, sometimes the really good ones are just good right off the start and you never have any issues, and other ones they might take most of the year.”

Don Allensen also opted not to make the two-hour trip from Wyoming to Campbellville for Radical Roy’s debut, nor did his co-owners Peter Porter of Port Dover or Richard Gutnick of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Like Parkinson, Allenson long ago learned that early starts do not mean much in the big picture of a horse’s career and that two-year-old trotters require a special kind of patience.

“In the words of Bud Fritz — which are very few and far between and you want to listen when he says something — somebody said to Bud, �Well, how do you think we’ll do’, and Bud says, �I’ll hold my breath for two minutes and after that we’ll see’,” Allensen related. “That was from one of the legends in racing in Ontario.

“A two-year-old trotting filly� we’ll hold our breath for two minutes and then we’ll see. And actually that night she went out in Hanover and she won in 2:05, so he didn’t have to hold it too much over two minutes,” Allensen continued with a chuckle.

Just to be thorough, Radical Roy’s blood was also analysed and the gelding showed elevated levels of the liver enzyme GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase). As a result the Baxes started him on a product designed to foster liver health and will continue to monitor his GGT levels through regular blood tests.

Moving forward to leg two

With their first OSS starts under their belt and their specific health needs addressed, the trotters began preparations for the second Gold leg at Georgian Downs on Sunday, July 29. With the addition of a hood Radical Roy schooled behind the starting gate at Mohawk on Tuesday, July 24 while Magical Journey went a 2:10 training mile over the farm track on Wednesday, July 25. Both geldings delivered solid performances so their names were entered in the July 26 draw where Radical Roy landed Post 6 in the second $67,200 division and Magical Journey drew Post 3 in the third division.

Radical Roy faces the seemingly tougher test in round two, facing three of the winners from the first leg, Dream Nation, Southwind Avenger and Forbidden Trade from Posts 2, 8, and 9 respectively. The other winner from the season opener, Lifetime Royalty, is back in with Magical Journey in the third division, starting from Post 5.

Paul MacDonell will once again steer both geldings and, while hoping for a better result from the youngsters in their third lifetime start, remains pragmatic about their chances.

“A guy like John Bax, he’s very realistic, we both are and that’s probably why we hit it off. No illusions of grandeur,” said the Guelph resident with a chuckle. “It’s all such a process with these babies. Hopefully later on in the season there will be more to talk about.”

So long as the pair remains healthy and happy they will have three additional Gold or Grassroots starts remaining after Sunday’s contest. If they prove they can hold their own in the OSS program the goal will be to finish among the top 10 point earners in the Gold Series or the top 20 in the Grassroots in order to earn a spot in the season ending Super Final or Grassroots Championship. If not, their connections will shift their focus to next season, hoping that with time and maturity Magical Journey and Radical Roy can still recoup their purchase prices and put some money in the bank.

Allensen and Parkinson will both be on hand for the second Gold event, but they simply hope their respective horse stays trotting and has an opportunity to pick up a cheque. They know not all stars emerge as two-year-olds. While Riveting Rosie was a star from her very first start, Northern Bailey did not win a race until April of his three-year-old season and did not win an OSS event until that November. If you are going to own trotters, patience is more than a virtue, it is a basic necessity.