Hall of Fame Inductee, 2023
Standardbred Female Horse
Trotting mare, Pure Ivory, was a talented, versatile and consistent racehorse. Over three seasons, she made 22 trips to the winner’s circle, earned more than $1.44 million in purses, and recorded a lifetime mark of 1:53.1 at Mohawk Raceway.
As an accomplished broodmare, she was the dam of 2019 Hambletonian champion, Forbidden Trade, who was a divisional O’Brien Award winner at two and three, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2019, and amassed career earnings surpassing $2.3 million.
Pure Ivory’s story begins at Cool Creek Farms in the hamlet of Mount Pleasant, Ontario, owned by her breeders, Diane Ingham, and the late Harry Rutherford. She was the richest offspring produced from 12 foals by their broodmare, Image Control.
The daughter of Striking Sahbra was trained by Brad Maxwell, and her ownership group included Jerry Van Boekel, Christina Maxwell, her regular driver, Steve Condren and Rutherford, all of Ontario. She is currently owned by Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky.
Pure Ivory demonstrated her ability early in her rookie year, reeling off victories in six of her first seven races, all in stakes competition. Along with wins in an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots and Gold elimination, Trillium Series, Robert Stewart Stakes, and Oakville Stakes elimination, she dominated a field of North America’s top freshman trotting fillies with a victory in the Champlain Stakes.
The talented filly also put together a four-race win streak which included an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination and final, Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, and an elimination of the Breeders Crown, all at Mohawk Raceway. Ten stakes wins and $465,000 in purse money earned her a coveted O’Brien Award as Canada’s Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year in 2005.
After breaks marred her first two races as a sophomore, Pure Ivory regained her winning form in her third start with a victory in the Elegantimage Consolation on June 16. She then swept an OSS Gold elimination and final at Western Fair, lowering the track record by almost two seconds.
On July 11, 2006 she scored a track record 1:57.2 in the Trillium Series at Georgian Downs. Her next stop was Mohawk for the Canadian Breeders Championship. Following an impressive runner up finish from the trailing post 11 in an elimination, she scored a 1:55.3 off the pace effort in the Canadian Breeders Championship Final on July 29.
One of the most impressive wins of her sophomore season was a 1:53.1 career, track, and Canadian record in the Simcoe Stakes at Mohawk, on September 7.
Wins in a second Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, SBOA Stakes, and a Breeders Crown elimination, along with a runner up finish in the lucrative final, were also added to her resume enroute to a second O’Brien bronze as the voters’ unanimous choice as Canada’s Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year for 2006.
During her four-year-old season, she posted solid efforts in the Classic Oaks, Perretti Farms, Miss Versatility, and a Breeders Crown elimination, and then was retired from racing.
In 2014, Woodbine Entertainment introduced the Pure Ivory Series for two-year-old trotting fillies in honour of the talented mare and her racing accomplishments.