Canadians Off to the Races In The South

Some Canadian horsepeople have wasted no time getting their horses back into the entries and into the winner’s circle as 2022 came to a close.

On Thursday, December 29, Mike and Josie DePaulo celebrated a win by their 5-year-old mare SHES THE NORTH, an Ontario-bred by Constitution – Gradiant by Flower Alley. in a $16,000 turf claiming race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida. Shes the North was guided by US jockey Tyler Gafflione through horses to win by a neck in 1:36.30 at 4-to-1. She was bred by Bernard and Karen McCormack.

Shes the North won for Mickey Demers, who bought her as a 2-year-old at the June Ocala sale for $52,000 in 2019, in her previous outing at Woodbine. The mare has 3 wins in 2022.

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In race 8 on Thursday, SWEET ENOUGH (GB) won a 1 1/16 mile turf allowance race for Trevor Harris, owner of Lordship Stud in Newmarket, England, and Woodbine trainer Roger Attfield. Sweet Enough, a daughter of Lope de Vegas, was seventh in the Grade 2 Bessarabian Stakes in her second outing for Attfield off a layoff on Nov. 12.

JULIE MATHES, Fort Erie’s leading trainer for two consecutive seasons, won 10 races at the recently completed Mountaineer meeting in West Virginia and is now racing at Mahoning Valley. Mathes won three races with the Not This Time filly Bettabe Swift, owned by her daughter Alysha Robillard. Mathes has 37 training wins in 2022, her best total of her career.

Another trainer who will end 2022 with his best career totals is STEVEN CHIRCOP, who has some 20 horses at Penn National and has won three races since his horses shipped to that Pennsylvania track. Chircop, who went on a shopping spree at the end of the 2022 Woodbine season, has won 28 races in 2022, seven more than his previous best, and his purse earnings from his starters are $989,000 (US). He starts Ontario-bred Mystic Point at Penn National on Friday, Dec. 30 and the gelding is the 5-to-2 favourite in race 3.

COLEBROOK FARMS and trainer Nick Mileni, Jr. have won two races at Penn National in recent weeks and BILL THARRENOS, stabled at Gulfstream Park, has a win there, bringing his yearly total to 36, a career best.

Making a comeback to the training ranks recently is PATRICK COUNTY, JR. who sent out Larry Cordes’ homebred TRIZMO to a second victory in his last three races at Tampa Bay Downs this week. Trizmo, by Giant Gizmo from Trigger Finger, won a maiden special weight at Mountaineer in October, giving County his first starter and winner since he left racing in 2010. Trizmo won for $8,000 claiming on Dec. 28 at Tampa by 5 1/2 lengths.

County is also now training two-time Horse of the Year MIGHTY HEART, who is scheduled to race next week at Tampa Bay Downs.