Sovereign Award-nominated BRUNO SCHICKEDANZ, a longtime leading owner in Ontario, captured his first title at the prestigious Gulfstream Park Championship meeting that completed on April 2. Schickedanz had 11 victories to lead Rocket Ship racing and Ken Ramsey who each had eight winners.
Schickedanz, who has farms in Ontario and Florida and is racing horses throughout the US, landed 10th on the purses list at the meeting which began on December 26,, 2022.
Eight of Schickedanz’s winners were trained by MARTIN DREXLER, the second-leading trainer at Woodbine in 2022. Drexler, racing at Gulfstream for the second time in his career, won 14 races, bettering his 2022 total of 11 at the Hallandale track.
Schickedanz also had two wins with Ontario trainer MIKE DUNSLOW and one with JOSE D’ANGELO, who is Florida-based.
Schickedanz comes off a big 2022 with 154 wins throughout North America, second on the continent.
Drexler sent out two winners on the final day of the Championship meeting for TEC Racing of Elliott Logan of Kentucky. His stable will have four starts this Friday and one on the weekend before he returns to Woodbine where his Toronto string is preparing for the April 22 opening.
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Ontario-bred graded stakes winner WEYBURN, making just his second start in seven months, hooked up with a defiant Dean Delivers in mid-stretch and edged clear in the final sixteenth of a mile to defend his title in Saturday’s $100,000 Sir Shackleton at Gulfstream Park.
The 11th running of the Sir Shackleton for 4-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs was the fifth of 10 stakes, five graded, worth $2.35 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race program anchored by the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa for 3-year-olds.
It was the first win in six starts since last year’s Sir Shackleton when trainer Jimmy Jerkens, who spent last winter in New York, left the now 5-year-old Ontario-bred with Brendan Walsh. Weyburn ($6.40) completed the distance in 1:22.15 over a fast main track. He earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.
Ortiz settled Weyburn in mid-pack as 30-1 longshot Mish ran the opening quarter-mile in 23.14 seconds, pressed by Paco’s Pico and Octane with Dean Delivers saving ground inside flanked by Collaborate. Weyburn ranged up to be third on the outside rounding the far turn and straightened for home in front, as Dean Delivers dug in along the rail and was resilient, but came up a neck short. Steal Sunshine came on to be third, with Celestial Glaze fourth.
Weyburn joined Travelin Man (2012-13) as a back-to-back winner of the Sir Shackleton.
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Trainer NICK GONZALEZ had a big weekend at Gulfstream, sending out Gayelette to win her maiden and Grade 1 winner Silent Poet to finish second in his season debut in a tough allowance/optional dash on turf. The two starters were the first runners for Gonzalez in Florida. Gayelette was the trainer’s 1,542nd career winner.
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