Don MacRae hopes Keepmypowderdry will put together an 'explosive' performance in the POW

By Steve Buffery

Woodbine trainer Don MacRae is a guy who seems to laugh easily and often, but it’s a visiting reporter who can’t help but laugh when MacRae is asked what he thinks his chances are with his colt Keepmypowderdry in Monday’s Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.

“He’s an inexperienced horse that I’m throwing to the wolves,” said MacRae.

That response – straight and to the point - elicited a chuckle, which is not to say that MacRae doesn’t believe the son of Omaha Beach-Oval Cut by El Prado (Ire) doesn’t have a fighting chance against the talented eight-horse field in Monday’s classic event.

“He is still a very, very green, immature horse,” said MacRae. “We took him down to Fort Erie last week to breeze and just to let him see the surroundings. I didn’t want him breezing quickly, so I didn’t put him in company. In hindsight, I probably should have because he was pretty lazy. But I think he’s a talented horse and I think he can advance off his last race.”

Keepmypowderdry’s last - and only - start was in a maiden special race on Aug. 15 at Woodbine over one and 1/8^thmiles that saw the bay colt win by one and ¼ lengths on the Tapeta – an impressive performance given that health issues kept him from racing at all until this summer.

“He got hurt as a two-year-old, just a small, little issue. We put him away and we brought him up in April (this year) and he came up with a very, very nasty leg infection in May, to a point where my vet was concerned that it could get septic on him,” said MacRae. “His hind leg blew up very big. But we got very lucky. We missed about a month in training and that’s kind of where we were behind the eight ball. We were probably able to run him a couple of weeks before we did (on Aug.15). But then I saw that race – the maiden special weight going a 1 1/8 mile – and I asked Michael (owner Michael Lay) if we could just wait and do that race instead.”

That turned out to be a good decision though MacRae, a native of Hamilton Ont. who began training horses full time at Fort Erie in 1996 before switching to Woodbine in 2009, understands that his colt is going to be one of the bigger longshots in the prestigious Prince of Wales.

“100%. And as he should be,” said MacRae. “He’s a horse that’s only just broke his maiden. But he’s a legitimate contender in the fact that he should really improve off that last race. And he’s bred to enjoy the dirt. My massive concern is him getting kicked back into the face because he’s never had any dirt in his face before. But for that kind of money and the small field, you take a shot.”

Keepmypowderdry is an 8-1 morning line longshot for the Prince of Wales. At 2-1, King’s Plate runner-up Military Time, trained by Mark Casse, is the early favorite, followed by Plate Trial winner Highwaytothemoon (3-1, Dale Desruisseaux) and Fire And Wine (5-1, Zeljko Krcmar), who was third in the King’s Plate.

“There’s going to be true speed in there so he’s going to have to learn to run off the pace,” said MacRae, who has enjoyed great success during his career as a conditioner of thoroughbred horses, recording 627 career victories and overall earnings of $13,685,210 US with 11 wins in 48 starts this season. MacRae is a five-time graded stakes winner with close to 50 stakes scores at Woodbine. Even more impressively, MacRae sports a career win percentage of 22% (54% in the top three).

“I do take pride in that,” he said. “We’ve run a mediocre stable for a long time but we’re starting to get better horses now. We’re buying horses for $40-60,000 and run in the top races with these guys who are paying $500,000 to $1 million. So, I do take pride in the fact that we’re there and I’m fortunate that our clients are trying to buy better horses for us to be able to compete in those big races.”

Winning a Canadian classic like the Prince of Wales would naturally be a career highlight for MacRae, though he has enjoyed some tremendous success in his career.

“I’ve won some decent stakes races,” he said. “Definitely the highlight of my year was last year when Cruden Bay won the Connaught (Cup Stakes) off an 11-month layoff. I really do take pride in the face that we prepped him up to win that race, a grade 2, off an 11-month layoff.

“To win any race is tough,” MacRae added. “But to win one of the legs of the Triple Crown would be a dream come true for sure. That’s my hometown, that’s where I grew up. The first 15 years of my career were Fort Erie. So, a lot of great memories there.”

“But I get excited for every race. I’ve always said, ‘If I don’t get some heart palpitations before they go to the gate, then I don’t want to do it anymore,’” the veteran trainer added with a laugh. “I love it. I love the rush of it. But (still), when they come off the turn and you’re cheering in the big races, you cheer a little bit harder. I got goosebumps now thinking of Cruden in a couple of his races.”

Most trainers have very little time for outside hobbies though MacRae, whose family owned standardbreds and later thoroughbreds growing up, does try to make time for the two other great passions of his life, his family (wife Leighanne and daughter Blake) and hockey. In the winter, he tries to get on the ice four days a week, sometimes with jockey Pietro Moran and Joshua Attard, the son of his great friend and fellow trainer Kevin Attard.

“I’m no good, but I like to tell everyone I am,” said MacRae with a laugh.

MacRae grew up playing AAA with the Hamilton Huskies organization.

“I’m a hockey guy through and through,” he said. “I love to chirp. I love the banter in the room. It’s a great mental release. I’m a ball-buster and I’m good at it and I have fun with it and that’s what hockey’s all about.”

When asked if he's a ball buster around his barn, MacRae replied: "For sure. But I try to keep a positive atmosphere."

As for how Keepmypowderdry got his name, MacRae said: “Every time Michael Lay’s gone to the sale, we’ve looked at horses and he’s talked about ‘keeping his powder dry’ when there was more funds until later in the sale. He’s always said that to me. So, when we bought this horse, I said ‘Boss, you really need to name a horse Keepmypowderdry because I always thought that’s a great term’. And he said, ‘Let’s name this guy Keepmypowderdry.’

Monday's Prince of Wales Stakes features a $500,000 purse, making it the richest prize offered for any dirt track horse race in Canada. Restricted to Canadian-bred three-year-olds and contested over a distance of 1 3/16miles, the race follows the King's Plate and precedes the Breeders' Stakes, offering contenders a coveted path toward Triple Crown glory. Unfortunately, there will be no chance of a Triple Crown winner this year as King’s Plate champion Luster is not entered. The Josie Carroll-trained filly won the $1-million King's Plate by a commanding 7 1/4 lengths Aug. 15 at Woodbine following a dominant 5 1/2-length victory in the $750,000 Woodbine Oaks on July 19, also at Woodbine. Carroll decided to give her champion filly a break after the Plate and will likely enter her in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland on Oct. 11. Wando, owned by Gus Schickedanz and trained by Mike Keogh, remains the last horse to win the Canadian Triple Crown, in 2003. Carroll, who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2019, came close to ending Wando's reign in 2020 when Mighty Heart captured both the Plate and Prince of Wales.