Record sprint for Had to Be Ivory at final day of Quarter Horse season at Ajax Downs

The Quarter Horse season in Ajax ended with a record-breaking showcase of sprinting speed when two-time Horse of the Year Had to Be Ivory won the 110-yard Open Gridiron Gallop in a sizzling 6.761, smashing a five-year-old track record along the way.

Had to Be Ivory, ridden by Josh Scott, earned a career-best 113 speed index in the “demolishing win” – his fourth this year and 29th in 39 career races. The time for the nine-year-old gelding was just off the world record for the distance, set in Mexico in 2022 by Divas First Anita.

“I was shocked,” said Bryn Robertson, who trains the homebred for his wife Carol and daughter-in-law Jaime. “I thought he had a good shot because he’s a great breaker. But he really jumped out there and was gone.”

Robertson said Had to Be Ivory, who will winter at the family farm in Hillsburgh (just west of Caledon), could return to racing in 2025. “We might bring him out for a run in the spring and see how he does.”

James Bogar led all owners and breeders through the 25-day Ajax Downs meeting by wins and Quarter Racing Owners of Ontario (QROOI) points. Bogar won 25 races, putting him second in the trainer’s standings to perennial leader Jason Pascoe, who won 27 races to take the title.

Jockey BRIAN BELL won his second straight High Point Rider title and finished the season with 18 wins. Diego Benitez rode the most winners with 23. The season’s Horse of the Year will be decided by the QROOI board of directors on March 8 at the annual Awards Banquet at the Ajax Convention Centre.