Majestic Son upset by Armbro Chronicle

Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, Majestic Son, had his 2007 Ontario debut spoiled tonight at Mohawk Racetrack as he ran into the red-hot horse-and-driver combination of Armbro Chronicle and Mike Saftic.

Armbro Chronicle watched in third as Majestic Son got away with easy fractions of :28, :56.4 and 1:25. Turning for home, it looked as though Majestic Son would cruise to his second win of the campaign, but Armbro Chronicle kicked in late and gunned down the pacesetter in 1:53.1.

It was the third consecutive victory for the 5-year-old Self Possessed gelding who had not seen racing action since June 25. Co-owner and trainer Kent Baker was surprised with the result considering the layoff.

"I have to admit, I was surprised that he beat Majestic Son tonight," said Baker. "He (Majestic Son) is such a great horse and it's a real feather in our cap to say we beat him. I didn't know if he'd be up to it after not getting to race for a few weeks."

Baker purchased Armbro Chronicle as a yearling at a mixed sale in Barrie for just $9,000(C) in 2003. Since that time, the trotter has gone on to win 14 races and over $333,000(C) in earnings-six of those wins and $158,000(C) of that coming already this season.

"He's been very good to us all along, but we didn't stake him to a whole lot this year, because he really hadn't shown he was quite that type of horse," admitted Baker. "He's eligible to the Frank Ryan at Rideau and he's got a race at Georgian Downs, but that's about it besides the regular overnight races."

Baker did not rule out supplementing the trotter to the Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk. The cost to do so is a hefty $85,000. (WEG)

« Back