by Melissa Keith

The Blizzard Series for 3- and 4-year-old female pacers concluded with the Friday (Feb. 16) final at Woodbine Mohawk Park and victory for the undefeated Margosgotthecargo (p, 3, 1:54s; $36,242). The hard-closing filly hunted down game leader Angostura Hanover in the stretch, pulling ahead by a neck at the wire. The 1:54 win was a new mark for “Margo,” driven by 2023 O’Brien Driver of the Year James MacDonald and trained by her owner/breeder Andrew Moore. The daughter of Big Jim—Maplelea is currently the fastest 3-year-old pacing filly in North America.

With only five career starts to date, Margosgotthecargo appears to be making up for lost time. She even, ironically, missed the Feb. 1 Blizzard Series opening leg due to the weather, which is always a factor in her commutes from Hamstan Farm, in Russell, ON.

“Margo was ready to go first of August [2023], but sustained a cut to her hock,” said Andrew Moore of Osgoode, ON, who raised her. “I had two fillies I trained down, both nice fillies, Always B Merry and Margo. Then Anthony Haughan and Meg Crone were finishing them off for me [at Classy Lane Stables Training Centre, in Puslinch, ON].”

Margosgotthecargo’s injury was serious, so Haughan immediately sought veterinary attention for the then 2-year-old, said Moore.

“He rushed her over to Dr. Joe Malone and got her stable,” Moore said. “Dr. Malone called me and recommended sending her to Guelph [home of the Ontario Veterinary College’s Large Animal Hospital]. Dr. Nathalie Côté flushed the cut and stitched her up, and kept her there for a period of time. I had high hopes for her, and thought, best keep her there.”

Margosgotthecargo recovered well.

“I got the call she was ready to be picked up a week later, so I drove up that night from Ottawa, loaded her at Guelph, and drove right back by myself,” said Moore.

Driving five hours each way was no deterrent. Once home again, Margosgotthecargo was cared for by Moore’s wife Dr. Tiffany Richards, who changed the filly’s bandages throughout her recovery.

“She’s the one that made Margo,” said Moore, adding that Dr. Morgan MacKay did the acupuncture and chiropractic work that helped get Margo racetrack ready.

The PEI native told HRU the reason he sent Margosgotthecargo and stablemate Always B Merry to Haughan and Crone at Classy Lane was to be “fair for the fillies” while he travelled to his home province with Tiffany and young daughters Clara and Hannah for a family vacation last August. He spoke highly of the driver-trainer couple.

“Margo can be a little challenging at times,” Moore said. “Why I selected Anthony and Meg is because they have patience and Anthony still drives.”

Margosgotthecargo shares many qualities with dam Maplelea (p. 4, 1:50.4s; $195,167), also known for being a challenge on the track and behind the scenes.

“’Maple’ and Margo both had their quirks; feisty females!” said Moore with a laugh. “Ironically, Maple injured her hind left leg at [age] 2; she got caught in a gate. [Rideau Carleton horseman] Drew Smyth was there for Maple to get her leg out of the gate. Maple had four months off, Margo had six weeks. Both injured their left hind leg.”

Smyth was back to help on a happier occasion Dec. 17, 2023 at Rideau Carleton, the night Margosgotthecargo won going away in her first career start, over a sloppy surface rated five-seconds off. He caught Margo for her winners’ circle photo in the heavy rain, and paddocked her for her first Woodbine Mohawk Park start — and win — Dec. 28.

“I was very, very lucky to have him help, as he is good with a horse and strong,” said Moore, who drove the filly to her maiden win. “I knew Margo to be a handful at the track. The last few times, a good friend of mine, Steve Bray, has helped out. I needed someone with experience and maybe some size.”

In addition to being feisty like Maplelea, Margosgotthecargo inherited her gait and personality, described by Moore as “desire and heart to win, and a ‘don’t mess with me’ attitude.” Maplelea won 14 of 62 career starts for owner-trainer Moore, taking her 1:51.4s lifetime mark at Mohawk in 2015. She retired from racing two years later, and has had four foals so far, led by firstborn Bootlegger Charlie (p, 3, 1:54.3f; $84,342) and Margosgotthecargo. Maplelea’s most recent foal is a yearling full brother to Bootlegger Charlie, named William Of Bristol after Billy Russell of Bristol View Farms, in QC, said Moore. The mare is expecting a full brother to Margo this April. 

Margosgotthecargo’s distinctive name is a nod to a Canadian country music legend from PEI.

“A colorful character on the Rideau Carleton backstretch, Emil Toth, asked Dr. Morgan MacKay to do vet work,” Moore said. “He kept calling Morgan Margo. So fast forward to when Maplelea’s foal alert went off. My wife, Dr. Tiffany Richards, was on her way to the barn to help foal her out. Dr. Morgan MacKay also came to help if needed. When the filly was born, right away you need a barn name and I called her Margo. When it came time to registering her, I needed more than Margo… I thought of home in PEI, and then it dawned on me, Stompin’ Tom Connors’ song ‘Margo’s Cargo,’ with the lyrics ‘Margos got the cargo.’ So, I submitted it.”

Two other PEI legends are also important to the developing story of Moore and Margosgotthecargo.

Growing up, his father Allan, an accountant, and neighbor Ralph Frizzell of Blu Meadow Farm, in Winsloe, PEI both owned racehorses.

“Then we moved to Charlottetown when I was 9 or 10,” Moore said. “We would go visit Ralph and Eva Frizzell fairly regular. Eventually, as I got older and got my license, I would go out there and jog a few, and got more involved with horses. Sadly, Ralph passed away [on Nov. 20, 2023]; he was 91. In all five of Margo’s wins, the Blizzard final too, the cooler she wore was from Tartan Downs [1996] Atlantic Sires Stakes ‘B’ Division. It was won by Ralph and Blu Meadow Link [p,3, 2:00.2h; $18.628].”

He also credited the late PEI Sports Hall of Famer Earl Smith with teaching him how to train young horses.

“He always said the horse has to have a great bottom in them if they are going to succeed,” Moore said. “My father had some horses there [with Smith] over the years, and when we were going to school, we would go there on Saturday mornings… In 2003 was my first time trying a yearling by myself. My father went to Harrisburg and purchased two yearlings from Hanover Shoe Farms with Earl Smith’s help. When they got home to PEI, Earl offered to help me get them going.”

With considerably more size than her dam, Margosgotthecargo has been going strong so far and holds big potential this season.

“There’s always pressure to win and keep the streak alive,” Moore said. “But the filly comes first. I’m racing my homebred. I know I will get beat and I’m okay with it. I was short in the second elimination of the Blizzard, off three weeks, and she overcame it. When Margo races next start, James [MacDonald] knows it’s a long year. It’s always nice to win, but we have to teach her and keep her going forward for the spring, summer, and fall.”