Following a busy weekend (and Monday) it is time to clear off the desk of notes and tidbits collected over the last few weeks of Woodbine.
Jockey FRASER AEBLY is surging to the top of the charts with six winners last weekend. He is now just six behind Pietro Moran, who has had just one winner from his last 20 mounts. The score is currently Moran with 50, Aebly with 44, and Rafael Hernandez with 41.
Aebly was the regular rider of star filly LUSTER, but American rider John Velazquez was brought in to ride her in the Woodbine Oaks, which she won easily. Velazquez rode Luster to a win at Keeneland this spring.
On the trainer list, MARK CASSE is leading with 33 wins, although just by six wins over the Kevin Attard team, which has been doing well. Bill Tharrenos has 21 and he won three last weekend.
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SKAAL, the impressive debut winner in a 5 furlong turf dash on July 11, has been sold by owner and breeder Susan Rasmussen to Gary Barber. Skaal was last, some 10 lengths behind the leaders at the outside of that dash, but he flew past all his rivals and won by 1 1/2 lengths in :57.00 for a 74 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form.
Skaal was trained by Angus Buntain. The four-year-old gelding is from the first crop of Stronach Stables’ AMERICAN GURU (Unbridled’s Song), who was a fast turf sprinter and won up to one mile. American Guru has had just two winners from a very small number of foals.
Skaal is out of Rasmussen’s mare Lady Marchfield, who is out of Rasmussen’s mare Dancing Leaves, and the latter is from Rasmussen’s Pirate Brat, a 1986 mare bred by Sam-Son Farms.
Lady Marchfield, by two-time champion older male Marchfield, has been an excellent producer. Her Hunt Master has won almost $400,000, Lindas Opal is a winner, and Philip My Wine is a good winner owned by Gary Barber.
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The most prestigious race for three-year-old fillies was run on July 19 at Woodbine, the Woodbine Oaks, worth $500,000, with another $250,000 tacked on for Ontario-bred horses (99 percent of the starters in these races are Ontario-bred!).
Five fillies belonged in the race and two were last-minute entries. One was supplemented at a cost of $12,500, that one had raced twice and had not won a race. The other was a high claiming runner.
Owners can do what they want with their horses, of course, and if one of these two gals somehow managed to finish fifth in the Oaks it would have been worth $15,000, and sixth and seventh place was worth $7,500 each. But is it worth it to watch your horses get eased up in the stretch run, some 40-plus lengths behind, and risk them not bouncing back for a more appropriate race?
The Plate Trial Stakes on the same day also had a couple of horses far out of their league. Let’s hope the King’s Plate field does not contain any who do not belong.
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It is not horse racing without a bit of steward controversy and there were a couple of incidents on the weekend that left many puzzled.
In particular, the sudden move to the inside by Dixie Law into Piper’s Gift’s path in the Woodbine Oaks (heading into the clubhouse turn) certainly appeared to be disqualification-worthy. Piper’s Gift had to check hard and that certainly may have cost her a closer position early in the race.
There were some interesting ones at the gate, too. On July 19, race 13, Shapoval had his head turned to the left just before the gates opened. He was also being held as the gate crew was trying to straight him out. That should have been a refund, from this corner.
Another one is not as clear. Shak Town, also on Sunday, was in the gate for a short turf dash, but his handler in the gate was not set and in fact, was facing the wrong way. However, Shak Town had just a little bobble and he won the race.
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There have been at least seven voided claims in the last few weeks at Woodbine and Fort Erie.
At Woodbine, there were two on July 20 – Executive Success, trained by Danny Yu and first time starter Midnight Cloud, trained by Dale Desruisseaux. The latter was claimed for $40,000 by Al and Bill Ulwelling, but when the horse did not pass the vet inspection, the claim was voided. Others included recent winner Swan Lake, trained by Edgar Mendoza, Perfect Sparkle, Polievre, Djoser and at Fort Erie, Zip N Zap.
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That was an impressive leap by the gelding Tuckers Town on Sunday when Jason Hoyte fell off his mount, Bongino Warrior, just strides away from winning the last race on Sunday at Woodbine. Bongino Warrior, at 7-to-1, had those of us who picked and bet him going to the windows before he shied at something and veered to the right. Hoyte, who was banged up in the gate earlier in the day, seemed to be relatively okay, as did the horse. The best news was the agility of the horse TUCKERS TOWN, who jumped over Hoyte just in time.
Tuckers Town spreadeagles over Jason Hoyte, who is on the ground.
Inquiry video of Shapoval on Sunday. His head is turned and he is being held when the gates open.
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