ENCOUNTER WITH THE EUROS
Woodbine hits another off-track wagering day on International day
TERENCE DULAY is one of several photographers who caught the dramatic finish of the Canadian International when Fran Berry checked Thundering Blue hard just before the wire. While Desert Encounter had race won, there was no inquiry. horse-races.net photo
The Canadian International and E.P. Taylor Stakes, the final Grade 1’s of the Woodbine season were held Saturday and are almost always won by European horses. In the early years of the race after it was moved to the grass, the best Euro stars in the world came to Woodbine – Dahlia, All Along, Snow Knight and Youth. In 13 of the last 17 editions a European horse has won, but now, with the race close to the Breeders’ Cup, the top horses to come are Group 3, occasionally Group 2 runners.
This year, DESERT ENCOUNTER stormed down the Taylor turf to reel in another European, Thundering Blue, to win the $800,000 International for his 8th career win. The bay 6-year-old gelding by Halling, a fellow who is still improving for trainer David Simcock and owner Abdulla Al Mansoori.
ANDRE ATAZENI, 27-year-old Italian born rider, rode the Woodbine course with aplomb and won both Grade 1’s.
Desert Encounter, Group 3 winner last season, the Irish bred was adding Lasix for his North American debut, often a key piece of equipment for horses who are not allowed to race on it overseas.
David Simcock’s assistant trainer Philip Robinson (light jacket) said Desert Encounter is headed for Dubai race in the spring 0 Cindy Pierson Dulay photo – horse-races.net
Simcock is no stranger to Woodbine either. He has brought almost a dozen horses to Woodbine for big grass races in recent years. In 2014 he won three graded races one year at Woodbine.
So it was a bit hard to believe Desert Encounter was 8 to 1 on Saturday under jockey Andrea Atzeni while Thundering Blue, a popular fellow in England coming off two big efforts, was 3 to 1. A pair of modest US runners from the powerful Chad Brown stable were also well bet.
The race was run on a grass course listed as good but surely less so. More than one horseperson or jockey talked about how loose the course was and it did not suit Canadian bred JOHNNY BEAR, who was strangely close to the pace rather than in the back as he likes to be.
TIZ A SLAM, a two-time graded stakes winner on grass this year, was a decent 4th and seems to have wrapped up Champion Turf Male honours in Canada at the Sovereign awards come next spring.
JOHNNY BEAR, the Grade 1 winner of the Northern Dancer last time out, was popular in the media pre-race.
His owner John Brnjas has one of the largest stallion stations and breeding and racing farms in Canada and his daughter Ashlee has been training the family’s horses. With Ashlee recovering from illness, it has been a different kind of year for the family.
SHEIKHA STREAKS, HEMBREE BREEZES
The Taylor only had one Woodbine horse, the brave and amazing STARSHIP JUBILEE, claimed for $16,000 more than a year ago by Kevin Attard and Soli Mehta. The race figured to also to go to a European and it was SHEIKHA REIKA, trained by the shrewd Roger Varian and owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid al Maktoum who came from behind a slow pace to win over Golden Legend, also from overseas.
WILL WONG captured this lovely image of SHEIKHA REIKA who surged to victory in the E.P. Taylor – Grade 1
SHEIKHA REIKA had the protective blanket put on behind the gate, a blindfold and she walked in nicely. She had never raced overseas and never raced in a graded stakes race. It was a remarkable run and training job.
Starship Jubilee ran a wonderful race to set the slow pace and hold on for 4th.
HEMBREE upset the Grade 2 Nearctic with an off the pace, wide rally to catch Chiefswood Stable’s speedy YORKTON who ran a brave race on the pace on the softish turf.
The 4-year Proud Citizen colt was one of 4 in the sprint for trainer Mike Maker, who has had his first string at Woodbine this year with Nolan Ramsay, his assistant.
Hembree was bought by Ramsay’s grandparents, Ken and Sarah, at auction for $40,000 3 years ago but they lost him in a claiming race for $50,000. The colt was claimed 2 more times and now races for Three Diamonds Farm and Maker, who also trains for the Ramsays.
Canadian-bred HEMP HEMP HURRAY was third.
$9.7. million was wagered on the 11 race card, another record for the track in 2018 for single day wagering on a big event day. Much of it is off-track wagering but cold and windy weather makes it tough for the track to draw a big crowd.
WE’RE WATCHING (for now!)
JOHN WATKINS got this great shot of the International finish. Look at the video board to see that the horses were not yet at the finish line.
Have you noticed the finish photos of the CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL?
Another oddity of the International was the finish as Desert Encounter drove clear to win, Thundering Blue was checked hard by his jockey Fran Berry, leaving fans and TV commentators noting that an inquiry could be forthcoming. Brian Williams on the TSN3 broadcast went to commercial break with a thought that a disqualification could come.
The race was going to be won by Desert Encounter, there would have been no change, but the simple fact of the dramatic checking incident just before the wire surely should have been addressed through an inquiry.
Senior Race Reports that belatedly were posted on Sunday note that the incident was reviewed by the stewards, which is good and what those reports are for, but it is seconds after the race that fans need to be assured that everything is being looked at.
THUNDERING BLUE was the favourite. Why was he checked? Why did the jockey not say anything?
Unfortunately, the response from Thundering Blue’s trainer David Menuisier pretty much is what horse racing fans are left with day in and day out. The trainer was asked why jockey Fran Berry did not claim foul: “The results would not have been altered”
WONDER GADOT back at work; Breeders’ Cup on agenda
Canada’s likely Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and HORSE OF THE YEAR Wonder Gadot is expected to be entered in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 3.
The amazing filly, owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, has been a marvel this year but comes into the race off a loss to the boys in the Travers Stakes. Wonder Gadot also ran against the boys in the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, winning both the Queen’s Plate and the Prince of Wales Stakes. She returned to contest fillies again following the Travers and ran third in the Cotillion, beaten more than 10 lengths by Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou. Midnight Bisou was declared the winner via disqualification.
“We just kind of gave her a little bit of a breather afterwards,” Casse said by phone. “She’s been training, hasn’t breezed, but ready to start picking up her work.”
Should Wonder Gadot continue to the Distaff, held at Churchill Downs this year, she will face Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou again, along with champion Abel Tasman. The Distaff is run at 1 1/8 miles, the same distance Wonder Gadot nearly caught Monomoy Girl at in the Oaks.
“The plan is currently is to look at the Distaff,” Casse said. “We’ll see how that goes and then she’s going to go home for a while.”
FORT ERIE IN A FRENZY
The news late Friday that Fort Erie Racetrack did not accept the return of slots to the track and rather will request financial support to operate track was met with lots of reaction from horsepeople during the weekend.
The track then sent out a letter on Saturday afternoon:
FORT ERIE, October 13, 2018 – Yesterday, after close of business, the Province issued a press release regarding horse racing in the province. (See press release)
Without a doubt, Fort Erie residents have focused on the following component:
“Fort Erie and Dresden race tracks elected to receive additional financial support for horse racing operations but declined to accept slots at those facilities.”
As the lease-holder of the Fort Erie Track (which includes the facilities which housed the OLG Slots until the Province withdrew and closed them in 2013), the OLG and Province met with Senior staff and the corporate solicitor of the FELRC and discussed a non-negotiable offer, approved by the Ontario Ministry of Finance, that offered FELRC A) a specified number of Slots or B) a cash-in-lieu over time.
There were 3 caveats, 1) that we undertook a non-disclosure confidentiality agreement before hearing the offer 2) that the intent of any offer is to support and bolster horse racing and 3) if horse racing ceased, any and all Provincial support would cease. (So, no horseracing, no slots and/or no sustainability fund).
Permission to discuss the details was granted by OLG only to the extent of the Board of Directors of FELRC and the professional services advising FELRC, such as the corporate lawyer and FELRC accounting firm.
An emergency Board meeting was called by the Chair and the Board of Directors reviewed both offers, their merits, their values and their risks, all supported by Senior staff and legal and financial professionals.
Being bound by the non-disclosure confidentiality agreement, the FELRC cannot disclose details of the offer until granted permission. It can be said however, that the Board deliberated at length and the only clear path to meeting the goals of 2 & 3 (above), namely bolster horse racing and ensure horse racing is more sustainable, was to accept the offer that they believe had the greatest benefit.
Equal deliberation was had by the Board as to the community expectations and significant disappointment that would result from their choice of options.
The FELRC Board is confident that, given the offer and conditions they were presented with, that any reasonable person under those circumstances would have chosen the same path.
Most sincerely,
Claude Pilato
Chair, Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium
Please respect the non-disclosure agreement and the fact that we cannot comment further.
STORY FROM JAMES CULIC – NIAGARA THIS WEEK
The Ontario government has announced new slots deals with several horse racing tracks, but Fort Erie will not be one of them.
At just after 5 p.m. on Friday, the office of the Minister of Finance released a statement saying slots deals are being signed with tracks, but that Fort Erie “declined to accept slots.”
The Fort Erie Race Track cut a deal to accept “additional financial support” but not slots.
