by Melissa Keith

A familiar face made his return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (Jan. 11), missing by a head in the preferred pace.

It was only the second start since Aug. 18, 2024 for No Control (p, 4, 1:47.3m; $265,736). Now 5 years old, the gelded son of Control The Moment—Dani Hanover finished third in the Prix d’Été at Hippodrome 3R before an extended absence from the races.

“I wanted to give him a break, but not as long as the way it’s turned out,” said Tan Micallef, who co-owns No Control with Keira Liberte of Hagersville, ON, Ian Clarke of Guelph, ON, and James Clarke of Oakville, ON.

Micallef had trained the gelding on his own farm until recently, but remains very active in No Control’s daily life and racing plans.

“I wanted to be done racing [for the season] by now, to be honest with you,” Micallef told HRU on Thursday (Jan. 16).

Fate intervened last fall in his original schedule for the horse.

“I trained him in like [1]:58 at Mohawk, and then I brought him home, and he was sick the next day,” he said.

A subsequent attempt to bring No Control back to the races ended with a minor injury.

“He had a pretty big qualifier [winning at Mohawk on Nov. 15, 2024],” said the trainer. “I had to give him a couple of weeks off, and then I qualified him again. I qualified him twice. He qualified good, and then he got a bone bruise after the second qualifier.”

Late last year, Micallef was able to get his horse back on track, winning a Dec. 27, 2024 Mohawk qualifier by two open lengths in 1:54.3.

“I wanted to maybe race some in November/December and then shut him down a bit, and then get him going for the summer stakes,” said the veteran horseman, who also works as a paddock judge and farrier at the Campbellville, ON track. “It’s just the way it turned out. He was so close, so I might as well race him a few times now. I’m not going to race him right through [the winter].”

No Control’s abbreviated 4-year-old season did not lack quality performances.

“He won his Juravinski elimination [May 4 at Flamboro Downs], and then in the final, he was parked the whole mile,” Micallef said. “He was 8-5 [beaten favorite], parked every step of the way, and got beat three lengths.”

When he took No Control to The Meadowlands himself for a June 14 Graduate Series leg, Micallef said he was surprised to see his horse was a longshot. He said he remembered telling the gelding’s driver, Jordan Stratton, that the odds did not reflect reality.

“I said, ‘Jordan, this guy shouldn’t be 30-1 in the Graduate!’” Micallef said. “He proved it when he went out and won.”

No Control brought high expectations into his 3-year-old season at Mohawk, but was unable to overcome an injury that year. His last sophomore start produced a show finish in a July 22, 2023 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg at Mohawk.

“Like I said, you don’t know what you’re going to get coming back when you take a chip out,” Micallef told HRU. “When he finished second by a nose to Stockade Seelster as a 3-year-old [July 1, 2023 at Mohawk in another OSS Gold event], he showed he’s a nice horse, but he wasn’t a hundred per cent there either. After the [June 3] Somebeachsomewhere, that’s where he kind of got hurt. I was hopefully going to go to the North America Cup, [but] he was standing off in the right hind, and I said, ‘I’ve got to take that chip out.’”

Fortunately, No Control returned from his past injuries each time, and now sports a record of nine wins from 26 career starts. Last year, the former $9,000 Harrisburg yearling even led trainer Micallef to his best season by earnings since 2012. No Control made $178,351 for the one-horse stable.

“He’s handy to leave, he can sit, and he’ll pop in the stretch,” Micallef said. “He gives you everything he’s got. He’s an honest horse.”

Now in his 60s, the Moffat, ON horseman has scaled back on his own farm, closing his training track and bringing No Control five minutes up the road to the Robert Fellows Stable in Rockwood, ON.

“Kyle and Rob [Fellows] have got a better track and I’ve only got one horse, so I just took him up there,” he said. “They have a good group of people there, too. They all chip in here and there, get all the work done.”

Micallef said he visits No Control daily at the Fellows’ training center.

“I just give them a hand, like I’ll do a few stalls, jog a couple of horses for them, so it’s a longer day now than when I had the one horse here!” Micallef said. “When I get there, Yolanda [Fellows] usually puts them outside for two or three hours. She’ll put him and Logan Park [6, 1:49.2m; $1,527,589] out there together, side by side. I bring him in around 10:30 or so, so he’s still outside, but not as much as he was at home.”

Micallef added that he is scaling back somewhat in his racing involvement, yet he has a soft spot in his heart for the horses in his life. He owns a pair of retired standardbreds, Alice B, “she was well-bred. I bought her from Roger Mayotte” and Kaos Agent, “he was a Gold horse too. I bred him myself.”

“I’ve driven six hours to home a horse,” said Micallef, referring to placing retired racehorses in appropriate settings after their careers have ended. “Kaos Agent [p, 6, 1:51.4s; $219,118], he kind of put me out there a little bit. He was my first good horse, and my dad’s favorite horse too. I had to keep him.”

The Presidential Ball—Rhythm Almahurst gelding is now 21 years old.

As for No Control, Micallef said the 5-year-old pacer will remain at Mohawk for a few more starts, then take a short break before returning to Grand Circuit competition.

Last year, No Control was only staked to 4-year-old races, in a season when the top 4-year-olds fared well against older rivals.

“I look back now, and some of these other [4-year-old] horses were staked to everything… they were against older horses as well,” said his trainer. “Coach Stefanos, Seven Colors, El Rey, they were one-two-three in the Breeders Crown, and he beat those horses.”

Although still deciding No Control’s 2025 plans, Micallef told HRU he planned to focus on Mohawk and another track where his horse exceeded expectations.

“There are some races at The Meadowlands, the William Haughton and the Sam McKee [Memorials],” Micallef said. “He seemed to like The Meadowlands, just the style of racing there and the track. I think there are three races down there I’m going to pay him into, and the [Canadian] Pacing Derby.”

It’s a controlled campaign for a lightly-raced gelding, but Micallef said that’s exactly how he wants to race No Control.

“I’d like to have this horse for the long-haul type thing, not just to get the most out of him, you know?” he asked rhetorically. “This guy is very simple. Very simple. Tyler Jones, after he won the [2023 Ontario-Sired Spring Series] final, said ‘He’s just a good horse.’ And he is.”