Saftic reaches 4,000 wins

A 1:53.3 victory by Armbro Chronicle in Monday night's $36,000(C) Preferred Trot at Mohawk gave harness driver Mike Saftic the 4,000th victory of his career. Saftic engineered a second-over trip with the 5-year-old Self Possessed gelding who got up late to score his second straight win at the Preferred level.

"I was thinking about it all night," admitted a happy Saftic following the milestone win. "I thought maybe I'd get the job done in the first, then the second, then the third. But, it was nice to get it with this horse who is a top trotter and a real quality horse."

From his humble beginnings as a groom at Sudbury Downs, 46-year-old has come a long way and had several friends and family members on hand tonight to help him celebrate the achievement.

Most of his 4000 wins have come on the fiercely competitive Woodbine circuit. Saftic, now based in Cambridge, Ont., is also on track for an 18th consecutive year of topping $2 million in earnings, and is consistently among the top 20 drivers (in terms of money won) on the continent.

Saftic first attracted attention when he became the regular driver for Soft Light, who in 1989 would win four legs of the North America Series and numerous free-for-all events at what was then the Ontario Jockey Club.

His most famous partnership, however, was with the superstar mare Ellamony, whom he piloted to an O'Brien award as top older pacing mare in 1994. Ellamony went on to dominate her division in 1995, with wins in the final and two legs of the Overbid Series, which stretched her unbeaten streak at the Meadowlands to an unparalleled 16 races, as well as the final and two legs of the Roses Are Red Series at Woodbine.

Ellamony closed out the season with wins in the Milton Stakes and the Breeders Crown, racking up 18 wins in 22 starts and posting a new record for pacing mares when she went a mile in 1:50.3 at the Meadowlands. In addition to Horse of the Year accolades, Ellamony was voted champion older pacing mare of 1995 by the USHWA and won a second O'Brien Award in Canada.

In recent years, he's been the regular driver of stars like O'Brien Award winners Luck Of Michelle and Lady Dillinger and the hard-hitting veteran Rair Earth. He's also been associated with Oohs N Aahs, Corn Cob Conch, Sir Luck and DM Dilinger.

"It really is amazing to think back on all the great horses I've had the pleasure of sitting behind," he said. "And to think that I've probably driven in 40,000 races is also hard to imagine. I think I had 100 wins at Sudbury before I moved to this circuit, so I'm pretty proud of the accomplishment. If I tried to list all the great trainers that helped me over the years, it would be impossible, but I've really got to credit Garth Gordon with helping me get started and sticking with me over the years." (WEG)

« Back