Courtesy of Trot Magazine - Nov 2001

By Harold Howe

At this stage in the 2001 racing season it is interesting to ponder the recent developments for the stallion Matts Scooter, who is now based in Canada.

At the ripe old age of 16 Matts is finally having the results that were hoped for when his first crop of foals hit the racetrack eight years ago in 1993.

Consider that as the month of September concluded Matts Scooter was the sire of two of the most notable two-year-olds of 2001 — Mach Three and Royal Mattjesty.

The former will enter the Breeders Crown as the horse to beat by virtue of the havoc he wreaked at Woodbine and Mohawk Racetracks through late August and early September. The $1.1 million Metro Stakes, Champlain Stakes and Nassagaweya Stakes all fell his way. He has but one loss in seven starts and $693,057 in the kitty.

Royal Mattjesty, on the other hand, earned the title of the fastest two-year-old of all time (not withstanding the little acknowledged Colonial Downs record held by Badlands Hanover) by virtue of his 1:50.3 win in a division of the Bluegrass Series at The Red Mile during Grand Circuit week. Granted, it was a dream trip given by Luc Ouellette, but still gives the colt the status of World Champion breaking Real Desire’s 1:50.4 record.

Last breeding season Perretti Farms of New Jersey made the decision to move Matts Scooter to Ontario where he took up residence at King Stables for a fee of $5,000.

After eight crops of foals the commercial popularity of the horse, who first went to stud for a $20,000 (US) service fee, had waned. The burgeoning popularity of the Ontario marketplace looked enticing, so the horse was moved.

Going into this past breeding season Matts Scooter had fashioned a modestly successful career. The statistics showed he had 92 $100,000 earners and a pair of millionaires but he had failed to get to that stage where the marketplace was beating down the door to have his progeny. One could speculate that had he sent forth two horses like the aforementioned in that very first crop, his fortunes could have turned quite differently.

Anyone who has seen Mach Three knows he is the real deal. The youngster has looked as tough as nails in overcoming some difficult trips, bad post positions and has that “take-no-prisoners” attitude that Matts Scooter himself had when he was at his best. His success has been touching for the industry because of the fact that his breeder-owner Karl Magid died earlier this year. Karl’s wife Linda inherited the colt who has been fulfilling every wish that his late owner had in owning harness horses.

Mach Three is another example of the emergence of a top horse from a maternal line that had appeared to be fading into oblivion.

His second dam, Debra Ann Hanover, was purchased from American interests by Dr. Thomas MacMaster of Saint John, New Brunswick, in the mid-1980s. She was in foal to Abercrombie and the resulting foal was All Included who would subsequently produce Mach Three.

Before proceeding down that path, it is worthwhile to examine the maternal line further.

Debra Ann Hanover was a daughter of Most Happy Fella. She failed to make the races for owner Keith Bulen of Indiana who, along with Shirley Mitchell, raced the great pacer Abercrombie. In 1982 the mating with that son of Silent Majority made perfect sense and the result was a colt named Donovan p,4,1:55.1h who proved to be a useful horse winning over $354,000 largely as an aged performer.

The dam of Debra Ann Hanover was Darling Almahurst p,2,2:06.2 who failed to accomplish anything on the racetrack and was almost as inept in the breeding shed for Hanover Shoe Farms.

The record shows that she left nine foals who won less than $100,000 in total earnings. The one positive foal was the Albatross daughter Dana Hanover who went on to leave four $100,000 earners including the useful overnight horses Instant Aussie p, 4,1:53f ($344,865) and Jaguar Knight p,4,1:51.2 ($128,459).

While the family looked to be slipping here, one only has to move back another generation to find a rock solid foundation in Darling Wave p,2,2:07f, a daughter of Shadow Wave who earned her share of credits.

The offspring included Cash Asset p,3,Q1:53.3 ($400,267), Derby Almahurst p,T1:54.3 ($162,160) and daughter Dazzle Almahurst p,3,T1:56.4 ($153,849) who would leave among others the much admired filly Electric Slide p,3,1:52.4 ($908,792).

So with this lineage behind her Debra Ann Hanover returned to the court of Abercrombie in 1985 and All Included was the result the following March.

It was at this time that the breeders in Canada were fighting among themselves and conducting the 1987 Select Yearling Sale at Mohawk Racetrack. The organizers took the novel approach of selling the yearlings on a big video screen in the former Sports Theatre.

One of the consignors that year was Dr. MacMaster who offered All Included as part of the Halton Bloodstock (Agent) consignment.

Abercrombie fillies were desirable commodities and seller Dr. MacMaster was in the right spot at the right time. All Included sold for $60,000 and the buyer was newcomer Karl Magid of Cambridge, Ontario.

The Late Karl Magid

For a first time buyer Magid had come in with a splash but that had always been his style. Best described as an entrepreneur, Magid had been an enthusiastic follower of racing for many years but had never taken the ownership plunge until that Select Sale.

A few years earlier Magid opened a bar in a former K-Mart store and made it into one of the best known party establishments in Canada. With a 101 metre bar and the capacity to hold 3,000 people, which it often did on Saturday nights, Lulu’s was a veritable license to print money. And it did until Magid sold out in 1989. The bar has since closed.

Wes Coke, now a judge for the Ontario Racing Commission, has vivid memories of Magid and that first purchase. “I had met Karl and he told me he had been going to the races for years and was interested in getting a horse. I never really followed up on it and then he called me to say that he’d read in a newspaper that the Select Sale was going to be held at Mohawk and wanted to know if I was going, which I was,” he recalled.

“We met and he said he wanted a yearling so I marked six or seven and give my value to them. Through the course of the evening they all were going for about $20,000 more than I thought they were worth; it was a strong sale. Finally there was just one left that I had marked and that was All Included.

“Karl turned to me and said that he’d come here to buy a horse and there was just one left. He was going to buy it which he did even though I put it in the $45,000 range. Karl was the kind of guy who was very determined and once he had his mind made up on something that was that.”

Coke, a regular fixture on the Ontario Jockey Club for many years, set about developing the filly.

“She had speed but had trouble with her knees and only made a few thousand dollars at two. But I remember her as a good bodied filly and had a much better attitude than a lot of those Abercrombie fillies had — she would try her best. She also was a good size.”

As a three-year-old the mare matured but was never a top stakes performer. Her best effort was a division of the Niagara Pacing Series at Greenwood Raceway enroute to a $22,790 winning season.

The following year was her best when she managed to grind out $93,000 and take a record of 1:56.2f. Early in 1991 she’d had enough and was retired to the breeding shed.

By this time Magid was quite involved with racing having campaigned horses like Boy Nadir and former world record holder Crystal Tree, one of the more remarkable stories in the 1989 season.

Magid had his own ideas about horse ownership which he articulated in a 1989 feature article presented in TROT Magazine.

“Money’s not that important to me. I’m not saying I’m in the business to lose money, but I’m not in it necessarily to make millions either. The big thing is to be a success. The important thing is not to be a loser in the game.”

He was not a great believer in yearlings but in that same article mentions All Included.

“She’s had nothing but trouble so far. She’s had a couple viruses and a leg injury but once she gets going, there’s no telling how good she might be.”

Upon conclusion of her career, All Included was sent to the court of Matts Scooter in 1992 which resulted in the talented Omar Khyam p,1:52.1s ($262,898).

“That was a very nice colt for Karl. He turned down $250,000 (US) after his first couple starts. The colt did not go on to be a stakes horse but he did have a lot of talent so the mare showed then that she could produce,” stated Coke.

In subsequent years All Included was bred to Western Hanover, Jate Lobell (twice) and Matts Scooter again. Mach Three was the sixth foal of the mare.

Magid, who owned several broodmares, kept them on the picturesque Norwich, Ontario, property owned by trainer Doug Arthur. But when it came time to be developed the youngster was turned over to Team Robinson in Hagersville, Ontario.

“When Karl died I just thought I would carry on with the horses and see what happened. The Robinsons just let me know what they are going to do next and that’s about it,” explained Linda Magid who inherited the horses after her husband’s death earlier this year.

At best an average sized horse, Mach Three has blossomed into a tiger on the track. While one might describe his Metro Stakes win as opportunistic the same could not be said of the Champlain and Nassagaweya where he was full measure for both.

Next on the agenda will be the Breeders Crown which would lock up Two Year Old Colt Pacer of the Year honors in Canada for Mach Three and catapult his rookie season earnings over $1 million.

The task will not be easy though, as the depth of talent among this year’s juvenile crop is one of the best we’ve witnessed in years. But Mach Three will be the horse everyone is looking to beat while the connections of Matts Scooter will continue to wonder what if.