Promising colt December Seven provides McGee with 1,000th career victory

Paul McGee not only got his 1,000th career win on Thursday at Fair Grounds, he got it for a longtime client, Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Racing. And not only did the win come for Jay Em Ess, it came with a colt who might turn out to be a serious stakes horse, December Seven.

December Seven won a second-level allowance race by four lengths, this third win from five starts. December Seven lost his career debut sprinting, but had serious trouble while finishing third at Keeneland in October, and otherwise has been perfect in his two-turn races.

Thursday, racing as an odds-on favorite under James Graham, December Seven made an easy lead and backed up the pace, and then ran his second half-mile nearly two seconds faster than his first half while easily drawing clear in the homestretch. He was clocked in 1:43.99, a strong time for 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds.

“He’s a nice horse,” said McGee, 54, who started training in 1987. “It was good to get the 1,000 done, and I was happy to get it done for Samantha, who has provided me with a whole lot of winners. I can’t thank her enough for all she’s done.”

McGee said on Friday that December Seven appeared to have come out of his race well. If that turns out to be the case, and December Seven continues to train like a horse who is quickly bouncing back from a start, McGee said he would probably try the colt, by Street Sense, in the Louisiana Stakes on Jan. 21.