(#16 
     
    
   
   
    
     A al Talent 
     
    
   
   
    
     two 
     
    
   
   
    
     here are very few certainties in 
     
    

    
     the harness racing industry. One 
     
    

    
     exception to that axiom was that 
     
     Mike MacDonald with his wife. Judy and 
     
     his daughters Laura and Angie would 
     
     make their annual trek to Charlottetown 
     
     from Montreal with at least one ve1y com— 
     
     petitive entry for the prestigious Gold 
     
     Cup andb aucer Tiiz tls. Mike did this for 
     
     56 years and won the race an unprece— 
     
     dented five times - twice with Vetzlall 
     
     Rainbow and once with Pearls Falcon, 
     
     Winners Accolade and Sandy Ha novel: It 
     
     was won by drivers like Mark 
     
     MacDonald, Gilles Barrieau, Carl 
     
     Jamieson. Phil l’inkney, Doug Brown. 
     
     Saftic and Paul 
     
     MacKenzie but only Mike and Gilles 
     
     Barrieau won it more than twice. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Wally Hennessey, Mike 
     
    
   
   
    
     Mike MacDonald's baptism into the bar- 
     
     ness racing game came when he was 10— 
     
     years-old. In his own words, it happened 
     
     because, “We just lived 500 yards down 
     
     the road from the Charlottetown race— 
     
     track." Like many others, Mike was drawn 
     
     by a magnetic lure to the equine activities 
     
     going on inside the Charlottetown 
     
     Driving Park on Kensington Road and 
     
     Exhibition Drive. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     At that early age, Mike spent some of his 
     
     time at Claude O'Brien‘s barn about three 
     
     city blocks from the GDP. Claude was a 
     
     talented member of the O‘Brien family 
     
     which included the internationally 
     
     famous Joe O‘Brien. The two horses that 
     
     Mike was around in Claude's barn at age 
     
     10 were szlop B and Ohio’s Otplaan. 
     
     Mike was just around these horses 
     
     observing Claude and learning. He did 
     
     not have much to do with them because 
     
     he was so young but he was aware that 
     
     they were two nice horses for their time. 
     
     As a youngster, Mike was learning the 
     
     game from capable and talented horse— 
     
     men like Claude O'Brien and Jim 
     
     MacGregor. He also recollected that 
     
     Buddy Campbell was a veiy smart horse- 
     
     man and that many in the industry went 
     
     to him for advice or solutions to prob— 
     
     lems they were having with their horses. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Mike MacDonald had a little stable at the 
     
     GDP. before he ever went “away". His 
     
     first two owners were Dave Jardine and 
     
     Wendell Profitt and his stable was com— 
     
     posed of Caught Napping, Gail McGee 
     
     andjua’y McGee. It was an inauspicious 
     
     beginning but, in time, the Mike 
     
     MacDonald Stable would be recognized 
     
     among the top Canadian stables. 
     
    
   
   
    
     87