Owners hope horse can keep beating the odds
Magnum J has surprised with his success, but will be in tough spot at Mohawk
“This guy was doing absolutely nothing right during winter training in 2015.” GREGG MCNAIR ON MAGNUM J
Magnum J has gone from being one of the worst horses in Gregg McNair’s barn to one of the best.
The nondescript, lanky black gelding was a slow learner, and now he’s somewhat of an overachiever who will try to buck the odds once again in Saturday night’s $1-million North America Cup at Mohawk Raceway.
The three-year-old pacer has a mighty tough task in front of him, as he drew dreaded post-position No.10 in the one-mile classic. No horse has won the Cup from post 10 since the race was moved from Greenwood to Woodbine in 1994 and Mohawk in 2007.
“He has a long way to go from that post,” said McNair, who co-owns Magnum J with chartered accountant William Brown and truck salesman Tony Lawrence, both of Hanover, Ont. “We’re going to take our chances (making a bid) from the back of the field and hopefully get some of the prize.”
Magnum J already has done things that have taken his owners by surprise. He was purchased at a London, Ont., yearling sale in 2013 for $10,000 — not a lot of money for a youngster from the first crop of the champion pacer Big Jim.
“When we started training him it looked like we had actually given too much for him,” said McNair. “He was so hard to get on gait, he just wouldn’t pace.”
Pacing, a lateral two-beat gait, is the most popular gait for standardbreds and usually easier to train in a standardbred racehorse than trotting, as trotters can break stride easily. The pacing gait is not only in-bred but is taught with the use of hobbles or restraints on the legs to help the horse stay in gait.
“Some learn it the first day and then in a few months they are at the races,” said McNair. “This guy was doing absolutely nothing right during winter training in 2015.”
Once Magnum J did figure out how to pace and race he learned quickly, and last summer won the $227,397 Battle of Waterloo at Grand River Raceway.
But bad luck has followed Magnum Jaround since that big win; a hind leg injury ended his 2015 campaign early and he has drawn the nine and 10 post positions for his last two starts preparing for Saturday’s Cup.
“He seems to always draw bad post positions,” said Lawrence. “I think with better luck last week he would have won his Cup elimination heat.”
Magnum J finished his elimination heat faster than any of the other nine horses who qualified for the final. He came from last place to finish fourth — with a time of 0:26.04 for the last quarter mile — and was only 11⁄
4 lengths short of winner Boston Red Rocks.
Since the gelding will likely face the same type of journey in the Cup from another wide starting position, he has been pegged as a15-to-1long-shot behind flashy favourite Betting Line, trained by Casie Coleman and driven by David Miller.
Magnum J is the first Cup starter for the younger McNair.
“He’s come along pretty good this year,” McNair said.
“He’s had to gain too much ground lately, but hopefully there is better luck to come.”