GUESS WHAT? It is snowing again, heavily. So far this morning another 6 inches to add on to the…oh never mind, I lost track.
JAKE dwarfed by snowbanks 3 days ago. This morning, he completely disappeared.
READY FOR SATURDAY’S SHOW-DONN?
Canadian-bred RIVER SEVEN takes on American champ WILL TAKE CHARGE in the Grade 1 DONN HANDICAP. Training reports say the son of Johannesburg, owned by Tucci Stables and trained by Nick Gonzalez, is sharp and ready to run back to his track record setting win in the Harlan’s Holiday in December. The field to be posted after entries are drawn!
RIVER SEVEN – suddenly Canada’s hottest horse bred in this country. Wins in Florida, Kentucky and sitting on a big one on Saturday? Check out THOROUGHBLOG’S top Canadian-breds and my updated BOOK LIST!! (on the home page!) (Reed Palmer/Churchill Downs photo)
WILL TAKE CHARGE arrives in Florida:
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Champion Will Take Charge arrived by van early Tuesday morning at Gulfstream Park, where the D. Wayne Lukas-trained 4-year-old star is slated to make his 2014 debut in Sunday’s $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1).
The son of Unbridled Song, who was named last year’s champion 3-year-old at the Eclipse Awards ceremony at Gulfstream Park last month, appeared alert and bright after his journey from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
“He handled the trip great. It’s unbelievable how good he is. It took us 20 hours and 20 minutes to get here, and you’d never know it to look at him,” said John Sica, the Lukas assistant who drove the van that delivered the likely favorite for Sunday’s 1 1/8-mile handicap. “He has a great mind.”
Lukas, the five-time Eclipse Award winner who has saddled four Kentucky Derby champions and 14 winners of Triple Crown events overall, is expected to be at Gulfstream on Friday, Sica said.
As the 123-pound highweight, Will Take Charge will concede at least four pounds to his Donn rivals, expected to include Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Revolutionary (119), Hal’s Hope (G3) victor Lea (117), Harlan’s Holiday winner River Seven (116), Indiana Derby (G2) hero Neck ‘n Neck (116) and Discovery Handicap (G3) winner Romansh (116). The 59th running of the Donn Handicap will be nationally televised by Fox Sports 1 (5-6:30 p.m.), kicking off “The Jockey Club Tour on Fox” series.
Will Take Charge is stabled in Barn 2 with former Lukas assistant Todd Pletcher’s Gulfstream division, two barns away from Mucho Macho Man, who nosed him out of a victory in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 2. The Lukas-trained colt had previously captured the Travers (G1) at Saratoga and the Pennsylvania Derby (G2) at Parx. He concluded his championship season with a triumph over older rivals in the Clark Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29.
“He is such a good horse,” Sica said. “His mother was a really good horse; his brother won the Florida Derby.”
The breeding of Will D. Horton’s champion would certainly suggest that the Kentucky-bred colt will be well-suited to the Gulfstream surface. His dam, multiple Grade 1-stakes winner Take Charge Lady, produced Take Charge Indy, who captured the 2012 Florida Derby (G1) for trainer Patrick Byrne. His sire, Unbridled’s Song, was a Florida Derby winner for trainer James Ryerson, defeating the Lukas-trained Editor’s Note by more than five lengths in 1996.
Will Take Charge is scheduled to walk Wednesday before getting acquainted with the Gulfstream racetrack Thursday morning.
And, watch RIVER SEVEN on TV!
The Jockey Club Tour on FOX@ Airs Sunday: Sunday will mark the beginning of increased
television coverage of Thoroughbred racing with the debut of AThe Jockey Club Tour on FOX@ from 5:00- 6:30 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. It will feature the 2014 debut of champion 3-year-old colt Will Take Charge (Unbridled=s Song) in the GI Donn H. and the career finale of two-time champion female sprinter Groupie Doll (Bowman’s Band) in the GIII Hurricane Bertie S. at
Gulfstream Park.
CANADIAN HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall invites the public to submit nominations for 2014 from both Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries in the following seven categories:
Male Horse; Female Horse; Person, Jockey, Driver or Trainer; Builders, included but not limited to Breeders, Owners, and Officials; Communicators, those who have told the story of horse racing in Canada including broadcasters, announcers, writers, photographers, etc.; Veteran Horses, whose careers have been completed for 20 years; Veteran People recognizes those whose careers and impact on racing took place a minimum of 20 years ago.
All nominations received will be considered by the Nomination Committees of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Both people and horses are eligible for nomination and in turn election to the CHRHF, regardless of whether they have Canadian connections, but have either raced in Canada or made a significant contribution to the betterment of racing in Canada.
To read complete eligibility requirements click here.
It is asked that nomination submissions be sent as a formal letter containing detailed information on the record and merits of each nominee along with the nominator’s contact information.
Nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, 2014 and submissions can be mailed, hand delivered, faxed, or emailed to:
Chair of the Nominating Committee
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
555 Rexdale Blvd.
P.O. Box 156
Toronto, ON
M9W 5L2
Email: admin@horseracinghalloffame.com
The final list of the 2014 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Inductees will be announced on Tuesday, April 8, 2014.
POST TIME – BLOG SITE FOR BARBADOS RACING
With the Gold Cup just a month away, a new blog site will give you news and notes on Barbados racing and the Caribbean’s biggest race.
Check it out!!
http://posttimebarbados.wordpress.com/
WINNIPEG
OPINION PIECE FROM WINNIPEG SUN:
“Right now, the horse racing industry generates millions in tax revenues for government. If the NDP pulls the Downs’ VLT revenues, there will be no horse racing industry and government will lose millions in tax revenues, including money for hospitals.” – Tom Brodbeck
Government jockeying for VLT cash a dumb idea from the start
By Tom Brodbeck ,Winnipeg Sun
It was a dumb idea from the very start.
The Selinger government wanted the Red River Ex to take over Assiniboia Downs and divert $5 million in annual VLT revenues from horse racing into health care.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/02/03/government-jockeying-for-vlt-cash-a-dumb-idea-from-the-start
