The weatherman cut us some slack. There was sunshine, the track dried out to a large extent and people showed up to close it down for another year. Four stakes races buttressed the card with a Marathon Series finale at a mile-and-a-half thrown in to provide some variety. Hopefully a good time was had by all and all that had a good time will join us next April when local racing resumes.
It was a great season for many at Hastings this year and I have enjoyed writing up some of the events and successes for you, even when it kept me up to all hours to meet the deadline. But all good things come to an end, as has this season, and in the immortal words of Porky the Pig, “That’s all folks.”
The British Columbia Cup Classic Handicap: Crazy Prophet
For the second straight year Crazy Prophet ($5.20) closed out his season with a win in the British Columbia Cup Classic. Crazy Prophet came from a long way back, he was about 10 lengths out of it after 6 furlongs had passed in a smoking 1:11.08 with Power Corrupt well clear on the lead. It was at that point that rider Amadeo Perez asked and Crazy Prophet responded with the ferocious run that would get him home almost 3 lengths ahead of Power Corrupt who soldiered on heroically after setting fierce (23.24 and 46.80) early fractions. Sargent Rick came late to wrap up third. Final time for the mile-and-an-eighth was a solid 1:49.93 over a track labeled “good”.
Power Corrupt was out winging when the gates opened, although he was not without company. B C Charlie and Santa Fe Trail sandwiched him for a while before, first, Santa Fe Trail and then B C Charlie gave up the chase. No matter, Crazy Prophet took it up with an eye-popping move that had him in front early in the stretch run. Not that it was uneventful, he bumped with Sargent Rick at the head of the lane and nearly had his rear end taken out from underneath him. But all’s well that ends well and it ended well for Crazy Prophet.
The winner is owned by Shamrock Racing Stable Ltd. and is trained by John Snow. He was bred in British Columbia by Mike Cherney. The gelded son of Rosberg was one of two stakes winners on the card for that departed stallion.
The British Columbia Cup Distaff Handicap: Babys Got Track
A front-running effort got the job done for Babys Got Track ($24.70) as she annexed her first stakes win for owner Dan Lee under the vigorous handling of jockey Silvino Morales. Sailingforthesun ran on late to take second. Yukon Belle held on to third after briefly getting a nose in front of the winner on the final turn. The mile-and-an-eighth was covered in 1:51.53.
Babys Got Track set the early fractions with, first, Quatre Cat and then, more seriously, Yukon Belle trying her. Babys Got Track responded to Yukon Belle’s challenge by opening up daylight in the stretch and holding Sailingforthesun off late in the event. Notis the Jewell, who went off as the favorite and packed 124 pounds, rallied to be a non-threatening fourth, thereby bringing her string of three consecutive stakes wins to a close.
Babys Got Track was bred in British Columbia by Allan MacHaffie and the late Marion MacHaffie. Babys Got Track racked up her fourth career win for owner Dan Lee who purchased her for $3,000 in the 2016 Hastings Paddock Sale. She is the third stakes winner out the 18 horses that were sold in that sale. Philip Hall trains Babys Got Track who gave him his second win for the day. She is by Numaany who would appear to be the coming thing in stallions in the province.
The British Columbia Cup Debutante Stakes: Raider
Following a couple of good runner-up efforts behind the formidable Here’s Hannah, the absence of that one gave Raider ($3.40) the opportunity to shine and she took full advantage of the occasion to notch her first local stakes win. She had previously won the Sales Stake Fillies at Northlands and now has a pair of stakes victories after getting past Under Par mid-way down the stretch and drawing off to be almost 2 lengths clear at the finish. Leading rider Richard Hamel was aboard for the first of his two stakes scores.
Under Par set tepid early fractions (a half in 48.54) that led to a strongly run last 5/16ths for both horses with Raider being the better finisher. Under Par, who won a 16K maiden claimer over the Nursery Course in her only prior start, was well clear of Sonoma who ran on to be third after botching the start as she did in her previous outing when she ran third in the Sadie Diamond. Final time for the 6 ½ furlongs was 1:18.88.
Raider now has two wins and two seconds in four stakes after finishing fourth in her first start in a Maiden Special Weight in Edmonton. Her two previous local outings saw her run second in both the Sadie Diamond and the Fantasy. Raider is owned by Curtis Landry who bought her from the Mike Anderson consignment for $19,000 in the 2016 CTHS Sale. She was bred in BC by William DeCoursey. Greg Tracy trains the daughter of Stephanotis.
The Marathon Series: Citron Kid
A mile-and-a-half is a long way for most modern-day thoroughbreds to run, but Citron Kid ($4.40) obviously relished it as he powered to a 4 ½ length lead in the Marathon Series finale. He packed jockey Silvino Morales and some lead in the saddle to make up the high-weight of 122 pounds that he carried while giving 7 pounds to runner-up Perfectly Reckless. That one benefited from a ground saving ride by Amadeo Perez that got him home a neck better than What Goes Around who finished third.
Citron Kid won 4 races in 10 starts this year at Hastings, including the penultimate race in the Marathon series at a mile-and-three-eighths. Off that the public made him the favorite and he did not disappoint. He is owned by Praven Sorenson and Brian Albertson. Philip Hall trains and the win was the first of two on the card for Hall.
The British Columbia Cup Nursery Stakes: Weekend Wizard
A whiz of a wiz he is too as Weekend Wizard ($6.20) demonstrated with a convincing win over the Jack Diamond and Ascot winner Wise Market. The two of them went at it for most of the 6 ½ furlongs before Weekend Wizard got the edge and moved away to a length-and-a-quarter margin at the wire. Wise Market was easily second over Slew’s Da Boss who closed from well back to be third. Richard Hamel rode the winner whose time was 1:17.37. It was Hamel’s second win and second stakes win on the day.
Weekend Wizard went to the lead right out of the gate, a spot Wise Market had occupied in his two previous starts, and he refused to give it up. Wise Market chased hard but on the final turn Weekend Wizard opened up a couple of lengths, and even though Wise Market never gave up trying, he was no threat to the winner coming home.
Weekend Wizard is owned by Riversedge Racing Stables and is trained by Craig MacPherson. He was bought out of the 2016 CTHS Sale for $47,000 by his current owner. Weekend Wizard is by the late stallion Rosberg out of the multiple stakes winning Finality mare Gosailgo. Red Rock Farm handled the consignment for Foundation Racing Stable who bred the winner.
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