Part 2 of a retrospective on Ontario Bred superstar Moira. Click here for Part 1.
After a review of Moira’s résumé and insight from her team on her racing career, some may wonder where Moira truly ranks when it comes to being a top Ontario bred.
And, just to be clear, an Ontario bred, as racing historian Tom Cosgrove clearly defines is, “very simply any thoroughbred foal who was born in the province of Ontario and registered with the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society.”
One of the foremost horse racing experts in Canada, Cosgrove offered his insight on some of the great Ontario breds to grace Canada’s racing stage.
“I would say the very first Canadian super star horse was Bunty Lawless,” said Cosgrave. “He is in the (Canadian) Hall of Fame. From 1900 to 1950, he was voted Canada’s horse of the half century, so that tells you all you need to know. He earned his reputation. An excellent racehorse, very gifted. He also produced two horses that had great influence on the King’s Plate, one was Epic, and one was McGill.
“Bunty Lawless would come to mind, he would be on the top of my list, but he would be superseded by Northern Dancer, because he is obviously the first Canadian bred Kentucky Derby winner, Ontario bred as well. He won the Preakness, lost the Belmont and won the Queen’s Plate in 1964. And, obviously, his star-studded stud career with all the horses he produced as a sire, worldwide.”
Looking further ahead, Cosgrove provided more names to add to the list of Ontario bred greats.
“For example, the horses that Sam-Son had in the 1990s – Chief Bearhart, Dance Smartly, just to name a couple."
"I think With Approval in the late 80s, he would be another one. Horses like Wando, who won the [Canadian] Triple Crown [in 2003]. There are more of the latter group – it’s hard to compare eras.”
As the world continues to evolve through the eras, so, too, does the sport of horse racing.
For example, racetrack surfaces are replaced and updated, purse structures change, field sizes fluctuate, certain racetracks have shuttered their doors and racing and breeding outfits have dispersed their stock, to name a few examples of how things have changed.
Moreover, when a breeder leaves the business, one could argue there’s less breeding stock, which, in turn, could also affect the quality of the future racing stock.
The token phrase, ‘Good help is hard to find,’ is something you’ve probably heard a trainer echo or lament about on the backstretch or at the racetrack as well.
Even if there’s a steady stream of horses, the fact remains there’s not always enough grooms or hot walkers to help with each horse as much as the trainer would like. As a result, some horses don’t ship in and stay on the farm. These may seem like small things, but, inadvertently, these small things still impact the quantity and quality of racing stock as each era of horse racing unfolds.
As Cosgrove knows, change is not confined to the walls of horse racing.
“That would apply to any sporting event – doesn’t matter whether its football, baseball, hockey – you can’t really compare eras because in the modern era we will say we have better equipment, we have better training methods, better medical care, and we train all year round – that type of thing,” Cosgrove said.
“Whereas, with thoroughbreds, yes, the horses can certainly train all year round, but all those things I just mentioned about better nutrition, better medical care, everything has been improved in the sense of treating the equine athlete, and that’s why it’s hard to compare. You can’t compare what the horses of Northern Dancer raced against as opposed to what Man o’ War raced against in the 20s.”
So, where does Moira rank among the great Ontario breds in past eras?
“I would put her in the same class as Dance Smartly,” said Cosgrove. “To me, she is a direct parallel to Dance Smartly in 1991. I think that’s the best and most honest answer I can give you.”
Dance Smartly, bred by Sam-Son Farm, clinched the Canadian Triple Crown in 1991 and then went onto to capture the ‘91 Gr. 1 Breeders Cup Distaff. She was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1995.
But of course, there would be no Dance Smartly, if it wasn’t for the likes of Northern Dancer, who provides the back class in her pedigree.
Dance Smartly, is the daughter of Danzig who, in turn, is a son of Northern Dancer and Pas de Nom.
Given his tremendous accomplishments in 1964, one could also contend that Northern Dancer, has laid the foundation for the ‘Greatness Factor’ found in Ontario breds.
David Anderson, who is also no stranger to breeding great horses, had his own thoughts on the comparisons.
“It’s hard to compare her to Northern Dancer,” he said. “I would rather compare to fillies and when you compare fillies the first mare that would come to mind is Dance Smartly. Dance Smartly was really a dirt filly, and Moira has really never had a chance to run on dirt. Not saying she couldn’t, she’s just always been on the synthetic and the turf because that’s all Woodbine had to offer. In a perfect world, we would have loved to have the opportunity to run her on the dirt and I think she could have done very well.”
Anderson owns and operates Anderson Farms in St. Thomas, Ont., and currently has close to three dozen mares in his broodmare band. Over the years, he has bred some classy Ontario breds, including Queen’s Plate champ, Wonder Gadot.
“In Ontario, we talk about Ontario breds, but, really, with Moira, it wouldn’t matter where she was born,” said Anderson, who was also part of Moira’s ownership group until she recently sold to Bayles (Yulong Investments). “She is a top bred filly in the world and just proved it in the Breeders’ Cup by beating the best older turf fillies in the world. We are just very fortunate that she was born and raised in Ontario and has that ‘Ontario Bred’ badge on her.”
Cosgrove also provided some additional thoughts on classifying the good from the great horses.
“A good horse that has the desire to win, which is a main component of being successful, is consistency,” he said. “A horse or a mare, male or female, have to be able to travel well, so if horses that can go to the U.S. and perform well there sort of validates what they’ve done here [in Canada].
“Awesome Again comes to mind. He won the Queen’s Plate here in his third start, and then he went onto win the Breeders’ Cup a year later. I remember Rob Longley was writing for one of the newspapers at the time and he asked me about what it meant. And I said, ‘His victory in the Queen’s Plate would be validated by what he does afterward, not necessarily what he did in the race. And that turned out to be true in that particular case.”
Awesome Again started his career at Hollywood Park in California and made his Canadian racing debut in 1997, winning the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine. The son of Deputy Minister would spend the remainder of his racing career in the U.S.
“What he did as a Canadian bred, an Ontario bred horse, what he did to win the Plate against the best three-year-olds in the country, and then to carry that forward and validate the race itself. He validated the quality of that year’s Queen’s Plate by winning it and then winning elsewhere,” Cosgrove said.
Again, when considering what a top Ontario bred looks like or where they rank, the surface and the distance of these races must also be taken into consideration. The Queen’s Plate is a mile and a quarter distance run over Woodbine’s main track (tapeta surface). By comparison, the Breeders’ Cup races vary in distances and surfaces.
For example, the Breeders’ Cup Classic is a 1 1/4 mile race run over the dirt course, while the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is a 1 1/8 mile in distance run over the dirt. Moira ran in a 1 3/8 miles in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf race over Del Mar’s turf.
Moreover, it remains tricky to rank racehorses, male or female, versus fillies and mares against each other.
Cosgrove does sound off on who he believes was the best of the best when it comes to top Ontario breds, however.
“To me the best filly ever was La Prevoyante, in my humble opinion,” he said. “She had the misfortune of being born the same year as Secretariat. As a lot of horses had the misfortune of being born in 1961, the same year as Northern Dancer.
“Like Langcrest, she was a really nice handicap horse. Won some really nice races, born in Quebec, finished second to Northern Dancer in the Queen’s Plate in 1964. And a horse called George Royal on the other coast in B.C., he was born the same year – 1961. He became a great handicap horse in California and he’s in the Hall of Fame also. Both those horses are in the Hall of Fame and justifiably so, but in the shadow of Northern Dancer.
“And so, Moira would perhaps be in the shadow of the two horses I just mentioned – La Prevoyante and Dance Smartly.”
Mark Samuel of Sam-Son Farm provided the following insight on Dance Smartly being considered a top Ontario bred.
“When Dance Smartly raced, we felt that she was invincible … and indeed she never missed hitting the board even once in her career, ultimately winning 12 of 17 starts, including many against the boys,” Samuel said. “We really felt that she was running for Canada and Canadian racing and breeding as much as she was running for the Red and Gold of Sam-Son.
“Her undefeated three-year-old season, including the Canadian Triple Crown, was breathtaking and captured the imagination of the continent. Her career winnings still stand out, despite her career having ended over 32 years ago.”
To date, Dance Smartly remains the highest earning female Ontario bred with career earnings over $3.2 million. Moira, who also has 17 starts to her name, including seven wins, has earned just shy of $3 million.
“I have no doubt that Moira’s connections, including Adena Springs as the breeder, feel the same pride in her every time that she steps out on the track,” Samuel added. “There is nothing quite like a quality racing mare with heart. Of course, Dance Smartly went on to a second championship career as the Dam and Grand-Dam of champions which only extended her legacy and impact.
“Hopefully, Moira will also produce from the breeding side of things as she has delighted from the track.”
He continued: “In short, while comparisons are inevitable, I think the true focus here is to celebrate those moments in time when Canadian-breds have risen to the top of the sport and to celebrate them for their own, unique achievements.”
Moira’s conditioner, Kevin Attard, also chimed in on ranking Moira as a top Ontario bred.
“Going back to Dance Smartly, Queen’s Plate winner, Awesome Again, Queen’s Plate winner, comes back and wins the [Breeders’ Cup] Classic. You start mentioning those names and obviously with what Moira did [in the BC race] you have to have her in that conversation as well, in my opinion,” said Attard.
“She was also able to leave Woodbine and be competitive everywhere she ran. Definitely, am I biased, no doubt about it. But she has done the talking, I haven’t. I think what she has done speaks volumes.”
November sale marks the end of an era
On November 4, 2024, at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky mixed sale, Moira was auctioned off as HIP 293 and sold to Bayles for $4.3 million.
Indeed, Moira’s staggering price tag stands in stark contrast to her original purchase price four years ago.
As a sensible side note, and food for thought for those new to the sport, nobody really knows the true value of a racehorse until they are tested on the racetrack against the best of the best.
Whether Moira stays in race training or goes directly to the breeding shed is left to be seen. With that said, Attard had a few thoughts on whether Moira should race again.
“From my perspective, she retired sound, and she has been lightly raced. You read about it all the time now where horses have limited starts and go to the breeding shed whether they are stallions or mares early in their careers and maybe that’s why we are breeding a lesser quality or weaker horse nowadays, because these horses aren’t tested enough,” he said.
“In my opinion, there would be no reason Moira couldn’t run for another year. It’s not a decision for me to make now and whatever they decided to do I will follow it closely and cheer and root her on.”
Anderson added his two cents on the topic as well.
“I don’t know what the intentions are of the new ownership group. I certainly know she is lightly race, she is sound and clearly has the ability, arguably coming off her best,” said Anderson. “I don’t see any reason why she couldn’t continue to race. I think for the fans out there nothing could be more exciting than seeing her race, even if it’s in Australia and going against the best fillies, mares and colts in Australia.”
Why it can be tricky to define and rank a runner as a top Ontario bred
In reality, there are many variables that go into ranking a racehorse, whether it’s the best of the best in one province, across North America or, ultimately, across the globe.
Based on the discussions with Anderson, Attard, Cosgrove, Lanni, and Samuel, here are some of the criteria that we can look at for evaluating top Ontario breds:
• Types of races a horse competes in (i.e. graded stakes races, black type races).
• What surfaces a horse is able to run and win on. (i.e., dirt, turf, synthetic).
• Ability to travel well (and maintain form while travelling).
• Remaining competitive during their career (i.e. are they racing throughout their career in stakes level competition).
• Level of competition (racing against local horses or a combination of local and international horses, running strictly against fillies or both fillies and geldings/colts).
Rankings aside, does Moira need another crown?
Attard has done many interviews since Moira secured her Gr. 1 win at Del Mar and then was sold to Bayles two days later. In a recent interview, the trainer mentioned that Moira should be recognized for her achievements.
When asked to follow up on his remarks, Attard added: “The Sovereigns are there to recognize great Canadian achievement and we have rules, how many starts it takes to qualify for these awards. Would I have loved to run Moira three times at Woodbine? Absolutely. Did the circumstances permit us to do that? Unfortunately, not. We had to make other arrangements and plans to get her to Breeders’ Cup and, unfortunately, because of that, she is not eligible. …
“I don’t think it’s fair that she doesn’t get recognized for what she has done. We don’t often see Canadian breds winning Breeders’ Cup events and I think it would be a crying shame if this season goes by and not be recognized on the day we recognize champions in their respective categories,” said Attard.
Whether Moira does or doesn’t race in Australia, here’s to hoping the next era of racing fans will get to enjoy watching the Canadian champ and top Ontario bred’s offspring race across the world.
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