PAPA CLEM WORKS AS HE USUALLY DOES – LOUSY. COULD BODE WELL FOR PREAKNESS – from Baltimore Sun By Brent Jones It was a typical workout for Papa Clem on Pimlico Race Course’s main track Tuesday – underwhelming if not slightly disappointing. The Kentucky Derby’s fourth-place finisher ran a leisurely five furlongs in 1 minute, […]

  TORONTO STAR FEATURE TUESDAY THE WILD CHILD • Featured on the front of the paper today… Mine That Bird and his early days of breaking and training at PINE VALLEY TRAINING CENTRE,in Maple, north of Toronto, leased by Paul and Gemini Caine. http://www.thestar.com/sports/horseracing/article/632694%20 PHOTO ABOVE- COURTESY TORONTO STAR, STEVE RUSSELL… TO VIEW A PHOTO […]

        SHOWDOWN? RACHEL ALEXANDRA the super filly versus Kentucky Derby winner MINE THAT BIRD. It may happen if some bad sports don’t get their way (read more below). (Vanessa Ng and Cindy Pierson Dulay photos)             WOODBINE WRAP CLEAR SAILING FOR STUCK IN TRAFFIC – Rebounding nicely […]

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF CANADIAN TRIPLE CROWN: BOUGHT BACK FOR $10,000 – NEW PROVIDENCE Race named in his honour is tomorrow • The NEW PROVIDENCE STAKES is tomorrow’s Woodbine feature, it is an Ontario sired sprint for older guys. The race is named for the first winner of Canada’s Triple Crown and the Triple crown is […]

WOODBINE WEDNESDAY NIGHT Big Night for Ontario sires • BOLD ‘N FLASHY, BOLD EXECUTIVE, TRAJECTORY, VALID N BOLD, VALID TREFAIRE, all Ontario sires with winners last night at Woodbine, a cool, and later rainy evening with a Polytrack surface that seemed to favourite the outside once again. A chestnut 3yo, Paso Doble was making his […]

  Sports Illustrated horse racing covers from the past – KELSO, SEATTLE SLEW, STEVE CAUTHEN, SMARTY JONES…MINE THAT BIRD? If anyone thought this was conceivable after watching him race here last year, please stand up.               BIRD BRAINS • So much to write about after the shock of all […]

  On the day after the stunning result at wacky Churchill Downs, camera crews followed trainer DAVE COTEY around Woodbine. He was interviewed ad naseum and asked everything from why he picked MINE THAT BIRD out at auction to… did the new owners really try to give him back after the Breeders’ Cup? It’s a […]

  AND THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT RACING!                   Dave Cotey was hoarse, it was hard to understand him on the phone. Talking to Thoroughblog last night, Cotey was celebrating with friends and family. His Dominion Bloodstock, well known in Ontario for years for buying young horses […]

I WANT REVENGE SCRATCHED FROM DERBY FROM THOROUGHBRED DAILY NEWS… Trainer Jeff Mullins reported yesterday morning during a hastily called press conference that heat was detected in the left front ankle of morning-line favorite I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even) Saturday morning, necessitating his scratch from the Kentucky Derby. “Dr. Foster flexed his ankle and […]

  Tune-up for the Kentucky Derby with the big card from Churchill Downs today including the Kentucky Oaks and superfilly RACHEL ALEXANDRA. My Oaks picks are below. Check out Thoroughblog’s Derby analysis in tomorrow’s TORONTO STAR newspaper or on-line at thestar.com or here tomorrow morning. Racing begins at Churchill tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. DERBY FEATURES […]

LET’S HEAR IT FOR CANADIAN BREEDING Reasons to cheer these Kentucky Derby horses • NOWHERE TO HIDE is a late entrant to the Derby but what a pedigree this colt has. Ever heard of WITH APPROVAL? IZVESTIA? Well this colt is closely related to those Canadian Triple Crown champions. By Vindication, NOWHERE TO HIDE is […]

  KENTUCKY DERBY FIELD Horse, trainer, Jockey, Odds 1 West Side Bernie, Kelly Breen, Stewart Elliott, 30-1 2 Musket Man, Derek Ryan, Eibar Coa, 20-1 3 Mr. Hot Stuff, Eoin Harty, John Velazquez, 30-1 4 Advice, Todd Pletcher, Rene Douglas, 30-1 5 Hold Me Back, Bill Mott, Kent Desormeaux, 15-1 6 Friesan Fire, Larry Jones, Gabriel Saez, 5-1 7 Papa Clem, Gary Stute, Rafael Bejarano, 20-1 8 Mine That Bird, Bennie Woolley, Calvin Borel, 50-1 9 Join in the Dance, Todd Pletcher, Chris DeCarlo, 50-1 10 Regal Ransom, Saeed bin Suroor, Alan Garcia, 30-1 11 Chocolate Candy, Jerry Hollendorfer, Mike […]

NO DERBY FOR EDDIE And Win Willy is out too • Well, there’s always the QUEEN’S PLATE – it’s worth a million (Canadian). SQUARE EDDIE, Canada’s only representative in the KENTUCKY DERBY on Saturday is now out with more problems with a shin and he’s headed back to California. The Derby was strictly the focus […]

QUALITY ROAD OUT OF DERBY Huge blow to lose one of favourites bloodhorse.com reports… Quality Road, who figured to be among the top choices for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) will not start in the Run for the Roses, it was confirmed Monday morning by Chris Baker, farm manager of Edward […]

CRACK IN THE ARMOR Quality Road could be out of the Derby • QUALITY ROAD (Elusive Quality), the likely Kentucky Derby favourite, could be out of the race. Another quarter crack has been found on a hoof of the colt, not long after he just got over one of those pesky cracks. Trainer James Jerkens […]