by Melissa Keith

When My Buddy Sam cruised to a lifetime-best 1:55.4 victory Thursday night (April 18) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, it was the first Campbellville, ON win for both horse and driver. The 4-year-old Archangel—Century Alakazam gelding had eight previous wins at Sarnia’s Hiawatha Horse Park and The Raceway at Western Fair in London, ON, racetracks where his regular driver Garrett Rooney is better known. My Buddy Sam (4, 1:55.4s; $36,333) is owned by trainer Jennifer Pinkerton of Mount Brydges, ON with Patricia Bailey of St Marys, ON.

Rooney has been racking up milestones over the last few years. He reached his 1,000th driving win Sept. 26, 2021 at Leamington Raceway, and victory number 1,500 on Dec. 18, 2023 at The Raceway at Western Fair. The Iona, ON resident piloted 2021 Canadian Horse of the Year Desperate Man (p, 3, 1:49.3s; $1,089,439) to a 1:50.1 track record at Grand River Raceway last Aug. 23.

With $6,891,561 in purses won (as of April 18) and 1,592 wins from 11,696 drives, Rooney is now taking part in his first Ontario Regional Driving Championship (ORDC), slated for Tuesday (April 23) at The Raceway at Western Fair. He will take on Tyler Borth, Travis Henry, Trevor Henry, Travis Cullen, Brett MacDonald, James MacDonald, Louis-Philippe Roy, and Bob McClure for a chance to represent the region in the July 5 National Driving Championship at Hippodrome 3R, Trois-Rivières, QC.

Rooney said he was optimistic after the Friday (April 19) ORDC draft for tournament drives.

“We actually did a draft this afternoon at 2 o’clock,” Rooney said. “We all had a phone conversation together. I guess they drew our name out of a hat, and whoever got picked first chooses [the] first [horse] for the first race… You pick your own horse, so it was like a draft. The competition’s steep, that’s for sure. But it’s called horse racing; if you get the best horse, you can do a lot of damage.”

At age 39, Rooney is in the midst of a career renaissance. In 2023, he had his best-ever year for earnings, driving winners of $1,046,607 and 264 races. He started out as a trainer and driver in 2003, competing at Ontario “B” tracks and reaching the winner’s circle for the first time on May 1, 2004 at Hanover Raceway with Second Chances (p, 8, 1:53.2m; $283,173). Rooney had four more winning drives that season, going back-to-back at Hanover with Second Chances on May 15, and later wiring rivals Nov. 19 at Georgian Downs with his own trainee Clear Hero (p, 4, 1:54.1s; $39,213) in their second start together.

The full-time horseman said he started out in the industry by helping family friends.

“My grandfather had a couple horses, but I wasn’t even born yet,” Rooney said. “But you know, you heard all the stories and my parents would always be going to the track. It was places like Elmira Raceway and Hanover Raceway. We’d be going there every week, and I got interested in it. Our family is pretty good friends with the likes of Trevor Henry and Bruce Richardson that race out of Arthur [ON].”

Rooney said the turning point in his career came about 10 years ago, when he and trainer Angie Carroll began their relationship. She is the daughter of trainer Richard Carroll and sister to driver Alfie Carroll.

“We got together and I moved down here with her, as a little stable,” Rooney said. “I just started driving at tracks like Sarnia and Dresden, and a lot of those people race horses in London. So [driving opportunities] started picking up, snowballing over 10 years or so, and it’s been going really good lately.”

Rooney leads the driving colony at Western Fair so far this year, with 79 wins from 449 starts as of April 19.

“I lean more toward the catch driving, I guess,” he said. “I do have a little stable of 10 that I look after, me and [fiancée] Angie Carroll. Alfie [Carroll] helps us at the barn too.”

Their horses are stabled at Mac Lilley Farms in Dutton, ON.

Rooney recorded his first Woodbine Racetrack win on March 31, 2016, when the Rexdale, ON venue still conducted a seasonal harness meet. He drove On The Ridge (6, 1:59.0h; $67,708) to a narrow 1:59.2 victory over a sloppy track, in a prep race for the April 2016 Tie Silk Series at Mohawk, in which they finished third in the opening leg and fifth in the final. His first Mohawk win remained elusive.

“I guess On The Ridge was maybe the best horse I had,” Rooney said. “He wasn’t a bad horse. They had a series here in London called the Middlesex Series. He won the final of that, and it went for $40,000 or something like that.”

He added that 2024 MGM Borgata Final favorite Desperate Man’s track record at Grand River stands out as his most memorable race.

“I’m pretty close friends with the Cecchins so I’ve been watching it, and I drive the odd horses here [in London] for them,” Rooney said. “That was a special mile. That will never be beaten, ever.” (Grand River is changing from a half-mile to a five-eighth-mile configuration, ensuring the record stays intact).

Winning with My Buddy Sam at Woodbine Mohawk Park marked a new chapter for Rooney.

“I don’t go a lot to Mohawk and stuff,” he said. “I just kind of stay around London and some of the smaller tracks. But if some opportunities arose, you know, I won’t turn them down.”

Rooney said he was “pleased” with the local horses he landed for Tuesday’s ORDC, adding that he didn’t think there was any home-track advantage for London-based drivers like himself.

“I know all the guys there; they’ve all driven in London,” Rooney said. “Trevor Henry used to drive in London, and James [MacDonald] and Louis [-Philippe Roy], they come for a lot of big races at London. Everyone has driven here, so everyone knows the ins and outs of the track, I think. It’s more or less just coming down to knowing the horses.

“With the draw I had there today, I think my chances are as good as anyone’s, you know? I was quite happy with how I picked my horses and how they drew. I think I can compete with them.”

While his two children are too young to be at the track for the big night, Rooney said they will be watching at home.

Borth was the reigning London reinsman before he announced his focus on Mohawklate last year. Rooney told HRU that while they remain “pretty good friends,” he was happy to pick up where Borth left off.

“We drove a lot together there [in London]… until he kind of got rolling,” Rooney said of Borth, adding with a laugh. “I was happy to see him do good and go [to Mohawk], and then I can do better after; I can take his place.”