Southwind Amazon (Camluck) is harness racing’s version of a fine wine.
The 14-year-old iron-tough gelding is the second winningest racehorse of all time in North America, and it didn’t take long in 2024 to add to his impressive win total, taking his second start of the year from a familiar spot, making all the pace on Tuesday night (Jan. 22). His win, taken against non-winners of $3,500 last five company, was tally 131 in his 366th start in a remarkably consistent racing career that began in the summer of 2012 at Mohawk Park.
Not surprisingly, Southwind Amazon went on to win that debut, earning his first $12,000 in an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots race at Flamboro Downs, leading all the way for driver Doug McNair to take a mark of 1:56 2/5. He would go on to compile a record of 4-0-2 from eight starts, and he took checks in all of them while earning $71,350.
That was more 11 1/2 years ago and, more than 350 starts later, Southwind Amazon keeps winning and doing it mostly the hard way. Consider: in his 366 starts, he was leading at the half-mile pole in 148 of the miles. That’s 40 per cent of the time that he was blasted off the gate and cut the fractions.
In many of the remaining 60 per cent of his starts, he was either sitting second or on the move first-over at the half. That he has been raced so aggressively for so long makes it more remarkable that he has endured and thrived and is still winning at 14 – racing on the front end!
Southwind Amazon by the numbers:
- 366 starts, a record of 131-62-52 and $1,496,360 earned
- Number of different racetracks where he made pari-mutuel starts – 28
- Number of different racetracks where he took wins – 20
- Most number of wins at one racetrack – Northfield Park – 86
- Number of different drivers that sat behind him – 63, including three different Millers and two Smiths, two Wrenns and two Zerons.
- Number of different trainers – 7
- Number of victories taken in 1:51.0 or faster – 45
- Number of times claimed – 1, for $40,000 on 9/15/2015 at Mohawk Park
Southwind Amazon trails only Niffit for the record number of wins in North America, needing seven more victories to take the crown as all-time leader.
Last September, the gelding passed the great Rambling Willie to move into second place. His trainer, Paul Holzman was clearly thrilled that night.
“This one was the hard one; it was very sentimental,” he told Northfield Park’s Michael Carter. “I was old enough to know who Ramblin Willie was; I’m thrilled.”
With more than 10 months remaining before Southwind Amazon’s forced retirement — except at fairs — when he turns 15, it will be certainly interesting to see if the war horse can reset the record.
by Garnet Barnsdale, for Harnesslink