The Colt provides Gord Ley’s first Mohawk win

by Melissa Keith

When The Colt won at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Feb. 2), the 10-1 upset surprised many, but not Gord Ley.

“Yeah, he’s an impressive little fella,” said the owner/trainer of the 10-year-old gelding. It was the 21st career victory for The Colt (p, 8, 1:53.1f; $81,265), a fan favorite who has rallied to many improbable wins since purchased by Gord and late brother Don Ley in August 2023.

“Me and my brother, we were just buying one horse off the internet at the time,” Gord said. “My brother picked him out while I was kind of on the road. When I picked [The Colt] up, I thought we were in trouble. He wasn’t a good eater, so he didn’t look good. He was kind of poor-looking and really hot-headed. He just wanted to drag you around everywhere.”

Joining a one-horse stable was key to The Colt’s turnaround.

“He just had to get his head on straight,” said his owner/trainer. “A lot of spoiling him, and he seemed to come around. He’ll still try and drag you out of the paddock when he’s going to race, though.”

Gord said his unusual conformation stood out instantly.

“When I picked him up, they called him a wiener dog, because he’s low to the ground but he’s long,” Gord said. “He looks small, but he wears a 60-inch hobble at Mohawk.”

Gord got involved in harness racing as a young adult, having no prior family connection to the sport. His brother Don didn’t join until years later.

Don was partners with Gord when he first landed The Colt, a horse who had been mired in a complicated paternity situation before he began racing for Scott West at Flamboro Downs.

“The funny thing about him is that earlier, he never raced, because there was… something going on and a stud fee suit,” Gord said. “He never raced, I think, until he was 4 years old or more. That was the only thing that I liked about it was that he was so clean-legged, you know; he never got injured as a young horse.”

To this day, the 63-year-old horseman takes it easy with the late-blooming pacer.

“We try not to train him much,” Gord said. “We were trying to put weight on him and leaving him out. I jog him sometimes a lot, but at the beginning there, jogging him was a chore because if you took a hold of the lines at all, boy, it was going to be a struggle from there.”

Although competing in familiar $8,000 to $9,000 claiming territory at Mohawk this winter, The Colt has a special place in Gord’s heart.

“He’s just a little pigheaded, but he’s been the best horse I’ve ever had,” said his proud trainer and sometimes driver, who now shares ownership with his late brother’s son, MacKenzie Ley.

Although the claiming game means losing a good horse from time to time, Gord has pursued The Colt after losing him in claims on March 11 and April 1, 2024 at Mohawk.

“Well, I figured, you know, I got a clean-legged horse; I finally got weight on him; he’s racing good,” he said. “I don’t want to lose him now. We went up to London [The Raceway at Western Fair] the second time to claim him back.

“You know, it was kind of all the struggle getting him from where he was, so he kind of grew up from there. But it was also the fact that, where was I going to find a sounder horse?”

Feb. 2 marked Gord’s first Mohawk win as a trainer.

“Looking at the program, I thought [The Colt] should be in the top two or three at least,” he said. “When [he] got halfway down the stretch, I figured it should be over, because if he can look a horse in the eye, he can fight off the other one. Most of the time, all that horse needs is a clear run at the stretch. He could have had four more wins last year, but he had traffic trouble and nowhere to go in the stretch to get through.”

The win was also significant for The Colt, who can usually be found at Kawartha Downs and Rideau Carleton.

“That obviously is a big one because it was at Mohawk, but the night he took his mark of 1:53.1 was pretty good too.”

Gord said he has enjoyed success in the past at Mohawk, just not as a trainer.

“We had a horse, TJ Thunder, and I had Harold Young training him down at Mohawk, and he won for us one night,” he said. “We [Don and Gord] were down there to see him. He also came with Sweet Rockin Gia. He liked to come down when he could.”

Sadly, Don died last May.

“He developed cancer, and it kind of came back and accelerated fast,” his brother said.

The Colt keeps Gord feeling young.

“He went the fastest mile he ever paced there [at Mohawk] the other night,” he said.

The Colt finished fourth for driver Tyler Borth on Feb. 15, individually timed in 1:53.1.

The fountain of youth appears to be found in The Colt’s late start.

“He’s 10 now,” Gord said. “I got him at age 7. They’re more apt to get injured when they’re younger, you know. Sometimes they’re not developed totally. For this horse, he never went through all that. He just had to grow, and he didn’t grow too far.”

Watch for The Colt at Mohawk in coming weeks.

“We’ll probably go back one or two more times, and then when Rideau [Carleton] opens, we’ll head that way, an hour’s closer for us,” said Gord, noting that the level of competition is tougher at Canada’s top track. “The $8,000 claimers last night [Feb. 15] went in 1:52.4.”

Gord said the high speed demanded of lower-priced claimers is easily offset by other benefits.

“The track is really good up there,” he said. “You can’t complain about that.”

Gord might complain if you claimed his horse.

“That’s the dilemma I have… I’d probably claim him back,” he said with a laugh. “I think some people don’t bother claiming him because they know I’ll probably get him back. I don’t know how far he could go up the [claiming] ladder, but it isn’t too far, I don’t think. He’s just a nice racehorse.”

The claiming game can be tough, but Gord is philosophical about it.

“You know, when you make good money with them, they come and go,” he said.

One gets the sense that if The Colt is to go anywhere, he will soon be coming home to Odessa, ON and the horseman who helped make him into a racehorse.