story by Chris Lomon
photo by Dave Landry
Poise, past performances, and post-time odds combined to make Youth the one to beat in the 1976 running of the Canadian International at Woodbine.
On a late October day in Toronto that began with light rain and even a touch of snow, Sandy Hawley (above), who would go on to win 6,450 races over a remarkable career, had a much sunnier outlook heading into the Grade 1 event contested over 1 5/8 miles on the Marshall turf course.
Already a highly-decorated figure on and off the track, Hawley would partner Youth in a race that had featured some of the sport’s greatest stars, including Secretariat, who capped his career with a dominant victory in the 1973 Canadian International.
“Youth may be the best one I ever rode,” said Hawley, who had won three of his four Queen’s Plates and one of his two Lou Marsh Awards (the trophy, now known as the Northern Star Award, is given annually to Canada’s top athlete, professional or amateur). “He was amazing. He was a big, strong, strapping horse, with a long, beautiful stride.”
Bred and owned by Texas oilman and billionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt, Youth put all those qualities on full display in the Canadian International, his first start outside of France.
The son of champion Ack Ack made his first five starts in France, at Longchamp. After winning his debut at 2, he was second in the G3 Prix Saint Roman that autumn to Northern Dancer’s son Far North and was then shut down until the following spring.
His 3-year-old campaign in 1976 was nothing short of spectacular.
Youth captured four consecutive group stakes: the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe, the Group 2 Prix Daru (by four lengths), the Group 1 Prix Lupin, and the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly over 1½ miles.
That September, he added the Group 3 Prix Niel at Longchamp before finishing third in the prestigious Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He was ultimately crowned champion 3-year-old in France.
Hawley, who had never race-ridden the imposing bay ahead of the Canadian International, got a glimpse of what was to come in the days leading up to the race.
“I worked him in the morning, and he just blew me away,” said Hawley. “I knew he was a big, strong, long-striding horse who seemed to glide across the track.”
By race day, Hawley’s confidence had only grown.
“Good horses like that, you just hold onto the reins. If you’ve got the horse, you’ve got the horse. All you need to hope for is to have a good, clean trip.”
Pre-race instructions from trainer Maurice Zilber and Hunt were simple and straightforward.
“They told me to keep him covered up, which in Europe means to keep him in behind horses,” said Hawley. “They told me that if he sees daylight, he’ll be gone. But for such a big, strong horse, he was very kind and relaxed.”
When the gates opened, Hawley followed orders, settling Youth just in behind the leaders.
“He had worked so fantastic in the morning, which told me we would have a good horse in the afternoon. I was in behind the first flight of horses, just like they said. Just past the quarter-pole, he got daylight and took off with me. I was not going to hold him back – I was trying to go at that point anyway. It was a hard time trying to keep him covered up because he really wanted to go.”
And when Youth did, Hawley likened it to a passenger airplane powering down the runway for takeoff.
“It was a tremendous acceleration. He ended up drawing off to win by four lengths.”
The official chart read: “as rider pleased.”
Sent off as the 4–5 favorite in a field of 11, Youth returned $3.90 for the win.
It marked the second Canadian International victory in three years for Hunt, whose filly Dahlia had captured the race in 1974. He would add a third in 1977 with Exceller.
Two weeks after Youth’s triumph at Woodbine, Hawley and Youth traveled to Maryland for another Grade 1 fixture, the 1 ½-mile Washington, D.C. International at Laurel.
A pair of pre-race stories were just as memorable as the 10-length score.
“Mr. Zilber and Mr. Hunt were going to come and watch me work him ahead of the race in Washington. They said, ‘We will be there around 9:00-9:30 in the morning, just before the track closes.’ When 9:30 came along, they weren’t there. I told a guy, ‘We better go to the track before it closes because we don’t want that to happen and not get a work in.’ So, I went out there and gave him a nice, easy breeze. They told me to go five-eighths and do it nice and easy. I did that, brought him back and all the sudden, a limousine pulls up just before 10, and Mr. Zilber and Mr. Hunt got out and said, ‘Let’s go.’ I told them that I had already breezed him and they said to breeze him again. I took him out and didn’t go very fast, again at five-eighths, in what was really a strong gallop.”
Zilber caught Hawley off-guard again, this time three days before the race.
“When the overnight came out, Mr. Zilber said to the press that he might have to scratch Youth because he has a leg injury. I had no idea about that. I said, ‘Mr. Zilber, is he okay? Is he going to run?’ He turned to me and said, ‘Sandy, he’ll win by the length of the stretch.’”
Zilber’s prediction proved accurate.
“Youth ended up winning that race so easily,” said Hawley. “All the best horses in the world came to race in the Canadian International and D.C. International, so that tells you how great he was.”
The bay was immediately retired to Gainesway Farm in Kentucky after the D.C., International.
According to The Jockey Club, he sired 124 winners and 18 stakes winners from 516 named foals, though records for his Brazilian progeny may be incomplete.
For Hawley, Youth remains unforgettable.
“I never rode Secretariat – I almost did in his final race – but Youth would be that same type of horse,” said Hawley, who won the 1979 Canadian International with Golden Act. “Just such a big, beautiful, effortless stride.”
Then, with a laugh, he added: “If there was ever another horse like Youth, I’d come out of retirement to ride him.”
Awards for Youth
U.S. Champion Turf Horse – 1976
Champion 3-year-old in France – 1976
Maryland-bred Horse of the Year – 1976
Maryland-bred Champion 3-year-old and Champion Turf Horse – 1976
MD Thoroughbred Hall of Fame Inductee – 2019
