Mach of Ballykeel
Mach of Ballykeel showed early speed, toughness, versatility, and aptitude for half-mile track racing in his career. “He’s a firecracker, that’s for sure,” said his owner, John MacDougall. Now it’s the stallion’s turn to pass those traits on to the next generation.
As a three-year-old, the colt made 27 pari-mutuel trips behind the gate, getting his first seasonal win July 1, when he lowered his personal best to 1:52.0s in capturing an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots leg at Mohawk. He followed that up with a sharp 1:51.2s victory in a Canadian Breeders Stake elimination July 16 at the Campbellville venue, and another three wins that year. Now trained by O’Brien Trainer of the Year Richard Moreau, Mach of Ballykeel ended 2011 in the Preferred class at Georgian Downs. In 2014, Mach of Ballykeel was a familiar face in the Preferred class at Ontario’s top half-mile tracks, making 32 starts, winning 5 times. He captured three Preferreds and a May 23 Invitational at Western Fair that spring, his fastest being a 1:55 flat victory at The Raceway on May 12.
Mach of Ballykeel’s first crop are two-year-olds this year (2022). He stands his third season at the farm of John MacDougall, Mabou, NS ((902) 258-7561 or (902) 258-3653) for a stud fee of $700 (live cover only; live foal).
My Man Charley
Bred by 2020 Dan Patch Breeder of the Year Brittany Farms, Kentucky and Daisy Acres, New York, My Man Charley was a $100,000 Harrisburg yearling who outperformed his six-figure sale price. In his five years on the track in Ontario, My Man Charley won 22 of 130 starts. Making just two starts in his first year racing, the Mach Three son came off a winning August 27 qualifier at Mohawk (1:56.2s) to finish second by a neck in his career debut there, timed in 1:56 flat.
My Man Charley was a 6-time winner at age three, breaking his maiden at Mohawk Racetrack in his second start of the season, May 30, 2011, in a 1:54.2s effort. The colt won twice more at Mohawk that spring. His back-to-back Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots victories at Grand River Raceway (August 24, 1:58.2h in the slop) and Flamboro Downs (September 9, 1:54.1h) suggested that the Casie Coleman-trained colt was as good, if not better, on a small track. His fastest win that year was June 20 at Mohawk (1:52.1s), although he was individually timed faster on eight different occasions.
Campaigned by trainer Victor Puddy at age four, My Man Charley first wired Preferred Handicap pacers February 6 at The Raceway at Western Fair, winning in 1:57.2h. Despite facing older horses, he won 8 of 43 races at Ontario tracks in 2012, proving dangerous on the front end: My Man Charley went gate-to-wire at Woodbine Racetrack November 3, winning in 1:51.3s, then lowered that lifetime-best mark December 15, opening up by three lengths to win in 1:51 flat at the same track. He ended the year at Woodbine’s Preferred level.
As an aged horse, My Man Charley continued to show toughness on Canada’s toughest circuit. He made 31 starts as a five-year-old, winning 4 times, beginning with a 1:51.1s victory at Woodbine January 26. A long year didn’t take away from his late-season ability: My Man Charley won again at Woodbine both December 7, in 1:51.3s, and again December 28, 1:53s. In 2014, the six-year-old stallion displayed his half-mile track talent, capturing Flamboro’s January 5 Preferred in 1:57.1h over a snowy surface. It was his first of four seasonal victories, all at the Preferred level, divided between Flamboro and Western Fair.
From limited opportunity in Ontario, My Man Charley served five mares in 2020. His first Nova Scotian season was 2021. He stands for a fee of $1000 at Fulton Performance Horses in Merigomish, NS ((902) 396-1398; JULIEFULTON@FULTONPERFORMANCEHORSES.CA)