Shann Cox honoring grandfather Dave Ratchford’s legacy

by Chris Lomon

Dave Ratchford is no doubt smiling down proudly on his granddaughter.

The walls of Shann Cox’s section of the barn are both an homage and an inspiration, lined with photos and racing artifacts, some of which pre-date her birth, that give her pause each morning she walks the shedrow.

“I have all of my grandfather’s gear – his bike, his cart, and a ton of pictures hanging up in the barn, including ones of him in his uniform,” said Cox. “I feel a connection with him whenever I am at the track. It’s very special.”

Ratchford, who passed away on June 11, 2024, is a Maritimes standardbred legend.

His harness racing career began at 16 when he bought his first horse. He had stables throughout Nova Scotia, Ontario, and the U.S., from Foxboro to Pompano. He recorded 1,300 driving wins. Among his career highlights were victories in the Governor’s Plate in 1970 and the Maritime Breeders Dairy Queen Race in 1990 with Charlottes Buddy, as well as a 1970 appearance in The Gold Cup and Saucer with Opal Creed. His 2- and 3-year-old colts and fillies won several Atlantic Sires Stakes races and Ontario Sires Stakes races.

Ratchford’s biggest racing success was his stallion, Century Farroh, who won the Breeders Crown and the North America Cup consolation, along with other marquee races, and received three O’Brien Awards in 2019 and 2020.

He also served as director of the Maritime Breeders Association and The Northside Horseman’s Association and was inducted into the Northside and Cape Breton Sports Hall of Fame.

For Cox, he was much more than a respected and revered horseman.

“My grandfather was heavily involved in horse racing and my mom [Karen] was in it as well,” Cox said. “I was busy earlier on in my life with hockey and I also had a barrel horse, so I was focused on other things at that time.

“When I was in high school — it was during COVID, so my classes were online — I would come to the barn a ton with my grandfather. That’s where it all really started for me.”

In February of 2024, Cox and her mother, who had been talking about the idea of purchasing a racehorse for months prior, saw that dream become a reality when they welcomed veteran pacer Daddys Eyes into their world.

“I was in my fourth year of university, doing my biology degree, and my mom and I were kind of looking for a racehorse to have as our own,” Cox said. “We didn’t have a lot of time to commit to that. Rachel MacDonald, who is from Truro [NS], reached out because she knew we were looking and mentioned she had a horse we could have — not to buy, but to lease — because she was looking for a spot for him to race.

“So, we took him home. He was an 8-year-old stud… so that was my first racehorse. We wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.”

Those doubts were then heightened when her grandfather became seriously ill.

Cox found hope through the daily presence of Daddys Eyes.

“My grandfather came back to the track and helped me out with this horse,” Cox said. “To have that time together, seeing my grandfather so happy, was amazing.”

Daddys Eyes gave them reasons to smile beyond his stall.

On May 11, 2024, Daddys Eyes won at Northside Downs, a half-mile oval in North Sydney, NS.

The horse who had once posted 2-minute miles was now picking up speed and wins.

“He raced phenomenally well the first year we had him,” Cox said. “He went from not racing at all to racing in 1:57 and racing phenomenally well. He had a lot of wins that summer… it was unbelievable.”

One of the last conversations Cox had with her grandfather was about Daddys Eyes.

“On the day he passed away at the hospital, we were going to scratch the horse from racing that Saturday,” she said. “He told us, ‘You’re crazy if you scratch him!’”

Cox and her family honored Ratchford’s request.

“We ended up doing his funeral service on Saturday morning and then went to the racetrack — there were more than 20 of us — to watch Daddys Eyes,” Cox said.

A second-place finish felt like a Breeders Crown triumph.

“It was the worst day and the best day, if that is understandable,” Cox said. “Daddys Eyes was horse of the month that June, so that will be something I will always remember.

The story of Daddys Eyes does not end there.

On Christmas Day, 2024, Cox received an unexpected present from Rachel MacDonald, one that didn’t require ornate wrapping or a fancy bow, but very much felt as though it did.

MacDonald transferred ownership of Daddys Eyes to Cox.

In August 2025, the horse with a few white hairs on his forehead won the third race at Northside Downs, with Cox as the trainer.

“I’m not sure I have the words for what that win means,” Cox said.

Fast-forward to the present and Cox is still a steady presence at the racetrack and in the barn.

Life remains busy for her, inside and outside of harness racing.

“My mom and her sisters own Century Farroh,” Cox said. “My mom and I also have a filly out of him, called LD N Me. My grandfather bred the filly and he owned the broodmare, Yes You Can. We decided to name LD N Me after my grandfather and grandmother. Right now, I have three horses at home, and I am still running my grandfather’s barn.”

She is doing all of that while also attending medical school.

“I am able to stay home and keep the stable running,” said Cox, who also coaches a girls’ hockey team based in Nova Scotia and competes in barrel-racing competitions with her own horse. “LD N Me raced in Ontario this year. We are going to turn her out in September and hopefully, she can make it back there to race next season, under the care of Tyler Moore. If not, we are more than happy to race her at Northside Downs out here. I’ll start training her back in January and February, and we will see where it leads to.”

Cox does it all sporting a familiar look.

“I have my grandfather’s colors on, keeping the Ratchford legacy going,” Cox said. “They are green, black, and white. On his birthday, he gave me his old racing uniform. He said, ‘I am passing over the reins to you.’”

She has no intention of letting them go.

“Racing and standardbreds will always be a part of me,” she said. “No matter what time the alarm goes off, I wake up happy and can’t wait to get to the barn.

“My grandfather would always say, ‘When you are riding high, enjoy it, because it won’t last very long.’ There will always be ups and downs in racing, but the good times are about the best feeling you can have. I always remind myself of that.”

It is rather fitting that Cox is walking Daddys Eyes when she answers the phone on a rainy Nova Scotia morning.

Neither is in a hurry to head back to the barn.

“He’s 11 now,” she said. “If he doesn’t want to race, then he won’t. We are just grateful for who he is and what he means to us.”