Wrap: Canada's Tracks, Woodbine Wagering Soars, Gourneau in Manitoba

July has arrived in 2021 and horse racing has been underway for a month or more at racetracks across the country. In recent weeks, fans have also been added to the picture for the first time since 2019 and that has given a boost to wagering.

Woodbine’s July 3 and 4 weekend, following up on the Canada Day card in which fans arrived for the first time at the track in more than a year, saw $13.5 million in wagering, a stunning number for 20 races and nary a stakes event. Woodbine’s races have good fields and are difficult handicapping puzzles and bettors of all types have pounced on the racing.

The week began with MIGHTY HEART‘s big win in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes on Thursday July 1, the first of four wins in the week for trainer Josie Carroll. The day after Mighty Heart won, his owner Larry Cordes and family were back in the winner’s circle with homebred TRIGGER’S BAY (Sligo Bay – Trigger Finger) who won his maiden.

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And Mighty Heart’s conqueror in the Breeders’ Stakes last fall, BELICHICK (Lemon Drop Kid – Game by Montjeu), won his Canadian return, taking a 1 1/16 mile Tapeta allowance race in hard-fought fashion on July 3 for KN racing and LNJ Foxwoods.

Woodbine’s perennial leading trainer, MARK CASSE, saw his Woodbine team send out 6 winners during the week including the 2-year-old Ontario-bred LOIS LEN (Hunters Bay – Pink Trillium, by Unbridled’s Song) who rallied to win July 3, speeding 5 furlongs in :58.

Casse and wife Tina own a share of this chestnut gal with Aaron Yagoda and DJ Stable and this Adena Springs filly was originally a $7,500 Keeneland September sale yearling last fall, purchased by agent Kim Valerio.

Lois Len is by Adena Spring’s pensioned stallion HUNTERS BAY (Ghostzapper), winner of the Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes and second to Wise Dan in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. Hunters Bay has only had a few starters and winners but this gal looks like a good one. For winning the maiden allowamce, Lois Len earned over $60,000 CAN.

Casse no doubt breathed a sigh of relief when DJ Stables’ DOLDER GRAND (Candy Ride) finally won his maiden. The $800,000 purchase, a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred, had been second or third in seven of his eight races, and led all the way in his Tapeta surface debut, winning by 10 1/2 lengths in 1:43.73 for 1 1/16 miles.

Barns that won their first races of the season included that of PRESTON FERRIS, who sent out UNDER THE EYE, owned by Colleen Beaumier, to win July 2 for $15,000 claiming. The Giant Gizmo filly won the 7 1/2 furlong turf race as favourite.

ANDREW SMITH saddled CANDY’S DREAM to win her maiden July 1 in a $15,000 turf race. Owned and bred by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, Candy’s Dream was one of two winners for Smith and Joey Gee on the weekend – the other being homebred MAXIMUM MOMENTUS (Silver Max), who won his maiden on the grass on July 4.

VITO ARMATA sent out Eight Star Racing’s KING CAUSEWAY to win an allowance/optional claiming race on July 3 for his first win of the year. This Ontario-bred by Giant Gizmo was trained by Norm McKnight in 2020 and recently had two runs on Pimlico grass for Justin Nixon. He was bred by JR Racing Stable and Doug Carter.

Bev Chubb won her first race of the year with a filly she co-owns with Shamrock Racing, BENNY’S BUTTON, an Old Forester Filly out of Dream Baby by Alphabet Soup who was bred by Shamrock Racing. Benny’s Button led all the way through 5 furlongs to win the $25,000 maiden claiming race under Juan Crawford.

LAYNE GILIFORTE, who trains some horses for Chiefswood Stables at Woodbine and Fort Erie, won his first Woodbine race of the season with the Lemon Drop Kid gelding ROGUE AFFAIR, who won for $40,000 claiming on July 3 under Steve Bahen, who had a good week of riding.

ABRAHAM KATRYAN won with SWEET SYDNEY on July 2, a Sidney’s Candy filly owned by T and T Racing Team. The filly was one of two winners for jockey Ismael Mosquiera on the day.

The second starter for trainer KATERINA VASSILIEVA was her stakes-winning filly from 2020, JILLI MARIE, who remained undefeated with a determined win on July 2 in a 6 1/2 furlong allowance race. The Dynamic Sky filly is owned by Kevin Drew and bred by his friend Brian Wright. Jilli Marie earned a career-best 70 Beyer Figure in her nose victory in 1:16.

And GORD COLBOURNE celebrated a win with DADDYPLAYSTHEBLUES, a 4-year-old Frac Daddy gelding bred by Box Arrow Farm and co-owned by Box Arrow and Colbourne. The gelding won a maiden $15,000 claiming race with a long, sustained rally at 1 1/16 miles under Jeff Alderson.

In Manitoba, JERRY GOURNEAU continues to dominate the trainer list with 24 wins already this season but there are other horsepeople who are having super seasons. George Williams, writing for the Winnipeg Free Press, interviews CURTIS MAXWELL, who has been doing well with horses bought from Woodbine trainer Robert Tiller. You can read the story here.

Leading all trainers in Canada is TIM RYCROFT who has sent out 25 winners at Century Mile and there is a heck of a jockey race already going on at the Alberta track. Hastings Racecourse has been idle since June 29 as severe heat has led to the cancellation of racing.

WOODBINE

Trainers

1 Mark E. Casse 82 — 14 16 12 $844,247
2 Josie Carroll 33 — 8 2 5 $453,844
3 William Tharrenos 24 — 6 4 1 $105,218

Jockeys

1 Emma-Jayne Wilson 91 19 9 11 $638,877
2 Kazushi Kimura 107 15 19 22 $693,179
3 Patrick Husbands 67 12 8 7 $597,877

Owners

1 Live Oak Plantation 14 4 5 0 $302,047
2 Gary Barber 20 5 4 4 $247,689
3 Colebrook Farms 25 4 3 3 $172,023

ASSINIBOIA DOWNS

Trainers
1 Jerry Gourneau 129 — 24– 21– 22 $239,878
2 Wendy Anderson 46 — 13– 5– 5 $118,957
3 Jared Brown 53 — 11– 9 –6 $88,681

Jockeys

1 Jorge Carreno 93 30 21 9 $257,178
2 Stanley Chadee Jr. 91 17 14 13 $194,642
3 Leroy Nelson 94 16 17 6 $172,334

Owners

1 Henry S. Witt, Jr. 76 14 15 16 $153,725
2 Wind Dancer Stable, Meikle, Bill 13 5 3 0 $55,678
3 Wind Dancer Stable 21 7 2 3 $54,536

CENTURY MILE

Trainers

1 Tim Rycroft 101 — 25 22 15 $271,775
2 Craig Smith 55 — 12 7 9 $117,012
3 Dale L. Saunders 23 — 8 1 2 $58,371

Jockeys

1 Rico W. Walcott 74 16 19 11 $201,550
2 Andre Martin 74 15 8 11 $125,246
3 Enrique Alonzo Gonzalez 56 14 14 9 $186,490
3 Rafael Zenteno Jr. 74 14 13 12 $137,366

Owners

1 Riversedge Racing Stables, Ltd. 50 12 13 9 $142,361
2 Bar None Ranches Ltd. 24 5 4 6 $52,933
3 Kirk Sutherland 5 2 1 0 $37,755

HASTINGS RACECOURSE

Jockeys
1 Efrain Hernandez 85 23 13 11 $214,608 2
2 Amadeo Perez 90 21 19 16 $221,987
3 Antonio Ambrosio Reyes 84 18 13 15 $207,452

Trainers
1 Barbara Heads 45 — 14 8 7 $143,657
2 Glen Todd 51 — 10 12 6 $128,205
3 Craig MacPherson 26 — 9 5 2 $78,661

Owners

1 North American Thor Horse Co 46 9 12 5 $110,411
2 Bennett, Russell J. and Lois 19 8 4 3 $88,955
3 Nite and Day Stable , Todd, Joanne 8 3 1 1 $39,638