CTBA Member
PROFILE
MYLES McMAHON BY TRACY GANTZ
F
COURTESY MYLES MCMAHON
MYLES AHEAD
irst stakes winners are special, no matter what the circumstances. When a homebred gets the job done, it means even more. Not only did Myles McMahon win the $60,075 Golden Gate Debutante Stakes Nov. 25 with homebred Isa Firecracker, but he put together the breeding after thorough research. It is paying of with winners that his entire family enjoys. “Tis is not only my frst stakes winner, it’s my trainer’s frst stakes winner too,” said McMahon. Jamey Tomas trains McMahon’s horses in Northern California, a partnership that has evolved into a friendship as well. “I was looking for a trainer who would take a guy like me who had never owned a horse and would be somewhat local,” said McMahon. “Jamey lived in Sacramento, about three miles away from me at the time.”
A friend said that Tomas did well with a small string of horses. McMahon had grown up attending the races with his father, and after he established his residential real estate business, he wanted to own a horse instead of simply betting on them. Tomas claimed Professor Higgins for McMahon at Golden Gate in 2005, getting the 6-year-old gelding for $4,000. Professor Higgins won in his second start for McMahon, grabbing a neck victory at Solano. “Mostly I had claiming horses for about a decade,” said McMahon. “We had some horses who went on to win stakes after they got claimed from us.” Perhaps the best was Streakin’ Mohican, claimed by McMahon and William Burton for $12,500 in 2009 at Golden Gate. Streakin’ Mohican won three races for McMahon before he and his partners lost the horse for $32,000. Streakin’ Mohican ultimately earned $380,423
Myles McMahon has fully embraced the Cal-bred program and is reaping the rewards with his homebred flly Isa Firecracker
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CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED
❙ January 2017 ❙ www.ctba.com
and won stakes at Arapahoe and Turf Paradise. Tomas has been McMahon’s only trainer. “I don’t think I ever would have a horse with anyone else,” said McMahon. “His kids are about to graduate from high school, and he’s trying to ramp up his business.” McMahon predicts that Tomas will start to have even more success now that his children are grown. Family is crucial to McMahon’s life as well. He has two sons, 11-year-old John and 6-year-old Chase. Tey enjoy going to the races. “If we don’t have a race during a month, it disappoints them,” said McMahon. “Tey know it’s a big deal. We’re building amazing memories.” Te racetrack has also played a role in McMahon’s relationship with his fancée, Celene. Tey had their frst date at Golden Gate when McMahon’s horse Sunday Comic was running. Along the way, McMahon and a couple of partners claimed Caroline Elena, a California-bred daughter of Tannersmyman. Caroline Elena, a $5,000 graduate of the 2007 California Toroughbred Breeders Association Northern California sale, had won a few races by the time Tomas claimed her for $5,000. After Caroline Elena’s racing career ended, McMahon’s partners didn’t want to pursue the breeding business and so McMahon decided to go it alone. By then he was reading voraciously about breeding and was ready to try to select the right stallion for his mare. “About three years ago I thought it was time to try to make this into a true busi-