It’s been 50 years since the now-famous Canadian-bred thoroughbred Northern Dancer earned his place in history as the first Canadian-born horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
And now, with the stage being set for the May 3 running of the 140th edition of the prestigious race, another Canadian-raised horse will be among the pack: We Miss Artie, born near Belwood on Grandview Farms.
“We Miss Artie, sired by Artie Schiller, was foaled and raised here on the farm,” said Mike Carroll, owner of the 100-acre farm that borders Wellington and Dufferin Counties.
He started Grandview Farms in 1993, and says the property is home to approximately 25 broodmares at any time, with roughly 50 horses total on the farm.
“We are a thoroughbred breeding farm, a broodmare operation,” he explained, noting that as a breeder he has input on the stallion selection process.
“We foal and raise the horses, either for sale or for racing, and manage the horses completely for the owners.”
Carroll’s career in the industry began early. An avid equestrian rider in his youth, competing in the ‘A’ Circuit of Hunter Jumper class, he was raised around horses.
“I got interested in thoroughbreds and one thing just led to another,” Carroll said, admitting he rarely attends races. He is more apt to take part in horse show events.
“I really like hunters and jumpers. That’s my passion. It never leaves you,” he said.
That passion transferred into a career with a resume that begins with work for famed racehorse owner and tycoon Robert Sangster, before taking on the role of foreman in the broodmare division of Canada’s renowned Windfields Farm in Oshawa, owned by Canadian business magnate E.P. Taylor, and birthplace of the great Northern Dancer. Carroll worked there from 1980 to 1988.
“It was a great experience, because it was busy. We would be foaling 200 foals a year and had 600 horses in our care,” Carroll said, noting he had an opportunity to meet Northern Dancer once during his time with the organization.
The work at Windfields Farm encouraged him to begin his own operation on a much smaller scale, beginning with a farm in Campbellville, before he headed to the Belwood area.
One of Carroll’s career highlights came through the breeding of Maryfield, a champion racehorse, an honour he shared with former business partner John C. Harvey, Jr.
In her championship season, Maryfield won the Grade 2 Distaff Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Aqueduct and the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga. She also earned the 2007 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Sprinter.
But it was her upset victory on a sloppy track at Monmouth in 2007 in the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint that made the horse a true champion. She earned the win racing from the back of the pack, five wide at the top of the stretch, to a half-length victory over Miraculous Miss.
“It was a pretty special day, I’ll tell you that,” Carroll said, recalling the Breeders’ Cup win. “It’s beyond your wildest dreams. You never think it can happen to a little guy from Belwood. It just goes to show you should never give up on your dreams.”
Carroll and Harvey Jr. were awarded the 2007 Breeder of the Year Award through the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society.
Noting he paid $10,000 for her sire, it was a bargain for a horse that would, at the height of her career, be sold by her owners for $1.25 million.
“Maryfield was one of only four Canadian-bred horses to win the Breeders’ Cup in the United States,” Carroll said. “She was a major race horse.”
Maryfield, with a lifetime record of 9-5-1 in 28 starts and earnings of $1,334,331, was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Carroll also bred Mrs. Began, winner of the 2007 Princess Elizabeth Stakes held annually at Woodbine Race Track, with a purse of $250,000.
“We’ve been lucky. We’ve raised a number of good horses here,” Carroll said.
That’s an understatement, considering just two years ago Grandview Farms foaled and raised We Miss Artie and another champion in Go Greeley.
“We had two major horses out of that foal crop,” Carroll said.
Go Greeley was named the Canadian Two Year-Old Male Champion at the Sovereign Awards ceremony held on April 11 at Woodbine Racetrack.
“We Miss Artie recently won the $550,000 take in the (Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati) Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park in Kentucky,” Carroll said.
We Miss Artie is out of Athena’s Gift, a Fusaichi Pegasus mare. The Grade 2 Spiral Stakes win increased his earnings to $609,000 and his record to three wins and two seconds in eight starts.
The horse, bred by Richard Lister and trained by Todd Pletcher, is owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsay, an American couple who last year broke the Churchill Downs track record for most wins by an owner.
“He is also the Winterbook favourite to win the Queen’s Plate in Canada,” Carroll said.
We Miss Artie is listed as the 4-1 favourite in the race, which leads to the Canadian Triple Crown.
Carroll isn’t sure if he’ll be there to see We Miss Artie cross the finish line, as it’s foaling season and things on the farm are busy, with at least one foal scheduled to arrive near derby day on May 3.
Carroll credits his farm assistant Harry OudeVossar for helping make the work manageable.
“He’s a great guy who grew up around horses in Holland,” Carroll said. “I couldn’t do this without Harry.”
Recognizing it’s a difficult time in the horse industry, Carroll’s goal is to maintain his standards for breeding quality horses.
“Most farms are struggling, but we just try to do things right. We have really good owners,” Carroll said. “When a good horse leaves your farm, that becomes your best advertisement.”
Carroll says the best part of his work comes at the end of each day, when it’s less about the work and more about the love for horses.
“It’s the quiet time with the horses, on a one-to-one basis,” he said.
“Thoroughbreds are smart. They’re very intelligent and thoughtful. They may be a little high strung, but they are intelligent.”
As a business, he knows the day will come when those horses leave his care and head off to careers of their own.
“It’s just about taking the moment to enjoy the horses, or enjoy the horse’s accomplishments on the race track. That’s nice,” he said.
