by Matthew Lomon
Heading into the Ontario Harvest final with a lone win on her freshman résumé, moments to savor had been few and far between for Savour The Moment through 14 starts.
Though certainly not for a lack of effort, or natural ability, the bay out of No Pan Intended mare Breathacular came equipped with all the tools to succeed – all she needed was a little time.
“She was a very poor-looking baby when we brought her in,” said trainer Jeff Williams. “I don’t know exactly the reason, but in my estimation, I think she was low man on the totem pole and missed out on a lot of growth. She was really small, very thin.”
Convincing ownership to cut the check took additional campaigning, Williams added, but with a special connection to the bloodline and well-placed intuition, the opportunity was too great to ignore.
“We bought her going off our history with her brother, Moment Is Here; he was so damn good for us,” said Williams of the bay who made over $680,000 of his $824,184 lifetime total while under his team’s care.
“I really liked that family, and I thought another All Bets Off full sister had to have something to show, there’s got to be something in there.”
Williams’ wife Amber agreed.
“She said from the get-go, ‘This mare will be better at the end of her year,’” he said.
Right, she was.
After a year, which until recently was defined by poor luck and growing pains both on-and-off the track, Savour The Moment gave her dedicated connections the opportunity to do just that in the Harvest final on Monday (Nov. 3) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Sent off as the sixth choice in the field of 10 at 19-1, Savour The Moment, with driver Travis Henry in tow, stunned the competition, onlookers, and a proud Jeff.
“It was really late before she got there,” Jeff said. “I was counting numbers as we were going and thought she was going to get a good piece of it, but we were halfway down the lane, and I still didn’t think she was going to get there.
“She put in a really strong effort and got there at the wire. We were pretty surprised that she won it all, but in the same respect, I wasn’t surprised either. She’s had this talent, and we knew she did. It’s just been a matter of getting it all put together and I think she was able to in a great way. It felt really good.”
Making the improbable feat even more memorable, the rookie pacer drew into the final as an also-eligible after Bayonetta was scratched sick.
And as Jeff recalled, the journey to the Harvest final was equally eventful.
“She was a really immature filly when we first started with her, so we had pointed out this series as one that might complement her well,” he said. “Funny enough, she didn’t race in the first leg of it, and it was my fault. I was at the [London Classic] sale — that’s the first yearling sale I’ve ever been to — and I forgot to enter her. All the horses we raced, all the times we raced all summer, and I hadn’t messed it up once.”
What now can be remembered as an amusing twist to Savour The Moment’s story, fortunately didn’t hinder her path as the second leg of the series approached.
“We drew a little bit of a short field there, so Travis wanted to try her on the front, and that’s not really her cup of tea, but we got a nice tightener, and I thought she might fit in well in the final,” Jeff said.
Henry’s expertise and steady presence proved integral to Savour The Moment’s development.
In the race bike for the last five of the ascending filly’s 15 career starts, the Embro, ON-based reinsman has been a second coach on the track for Jeff.
“Travis drove her the start before the second leg, and he ended up getting parked the whole mile,” Jeff said. “He said she raced great after getting parked like that and was super right until she cleared the last horse – she let go of him and ended up sixth, but still raced a good mile, paced in [1]:53.
“The second leg, he tried her on the front and said she just got a little quiet on him. She never really grabbed into him much and didn’t tighten the line until the other horses got to her. They already had momentum, so they kind of snapped her at the wire. He thought she’d be better if he could chase.”
So, that’s exactly what Henry had Savour The Moment do in the Harvest final.
“She’s got a real quick turn of speed, and I think a lot of the guys really like to use that leaving because she can do it pretty handily, but she never really seemed to like leaving well and then getting shut down,” Jeff said. “She just never really seemed to fire back up again, and Travis thought she’d race the best from the back, and I give a lot of credit in that race to him because he had a plan before we went out and it worked perfectly. I’m very grateful to him for that.”
Alongside Henry on the long list of folks Jeff appreciates is the late Bob McIntosh.
Jeff was both a long-time student and friend of the legendary Ontario horseman, who passed away on July 28, 2024, at the age of 71.
His time with the revered Canadian standardbred figure left a profound and enduring mark.
“A little while ago somebody said to me — and it didn’t really sink in for a bit — ‘Oh, you’re always going to be Bob’s guy, you’re never going to shake that,’” Jeff said. “I don’t think it was meant to be a compliment, but I take it as that.
“I said, ‘Listen, that’s not an insult to me. If I’m always known as the guy who got his start because of Bob, that’s good with me.’ That’s a real honor to me and a compliment — anything to do with Bob is a compliment… I spent 28 years with him — it’s a great friendship, and one I’ll never forget.”
Having the opportunity to follow in McIntosh’s footsteps with many of the horses he bred, Savour The Moment included, has been a deeply meaningful experience for Jeff.
“It’s awesome,” Jeff said. “It’s great every time. I’m really glad for my team, the people that I have working with me, we were all at Bob’s. I’m super happy and I think about it every time – every time we go to a race let alone win one. It’s extra special that we’re doing this in his honor and if I can carry on his legacy a little bit, to whatever degree that might be, that’s pretty cool for me.”
While he wishes his mentor could be here to share in his success, Jeff, amidst a career-year ($310,851 banked), still feels McIntosh’s lasting influence on each horse in his stable.
“A lot of his horses put in their best efforts at the end of the year,” Jeff said. “You can go back and look it up and I challenge anybody to prove it wrong, but a lot of his horses put in some of their very best efforts at the end of the season. He could train one to last all year.”
Savour The Moment proved no exception.
“She qualified on the first day of 2-year-old qualifiers at Mohawk [June 6],” Jeff said. “She raced all year long, 15 starts, and put in her best effort in her last race of the year.
“To tie that all in with the way he trained horses and the way he taught me and my group how to train a baby, that, outside of In The Black’s, [Ontario Sires Stakes] Gold win, might be the biggest one we’ve had all year – the most gratifying.”
Posing for pictures in the winner’s circle, all while keeping McIntosh’s memory alive and creating new ones with his family, has made this entire season a moment worth savoring for Jeff.
“My team, we’re all family, literally – my wife, my son, my mother-in-law, me,” he said. “With Bob’s horses and with the ownership group, Marv Chantler [Mardon Stables], Moira [Dr. Moira Gunn] and the rest of the group to prove that we can do it and to repay the favor, the opportunity that they’ve given us, it means the world to me.
“It’s been an awesome year for us. I’ve had more fun than I can possibly imagine.”
