Congratulations to Bill Graham and the Cappuccitti family for being named OUTSTANDING BREEDER and MINT JULEP CUP winners last night at the CTHS Awards dinner in Kleinburg.
PREMIER WYNNE AT MOHAWK AT 7:20 tonight
Premier Kathleen Wynne will visit Mohawk Raceway tonight at 7:20 on the night of its biggest race, the NORTH AMERICA CUP.
Wynne, who recently gave the blessing for a $30 million HIP through 2015, has continually stated she wants horse racing to be integrated into the OLG expansion of gaming.
“Continuing to invest in this forward-looking program gives the horse racing and breeding industry confidence there will be a future here for Ontario-bred racehorses,” said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Food.
The release also states that starting on June 21, the transition panel will begin consultations with stakeholders on creating a more sustainable horse-racing industry in Ontario, including integrating horse racing into the province’s gaming strategy. The final plan is due in October 2013.
QUEEN’S PLATE POSSIBILITIES
UP WITH THE BIRDS
PYRITE MOUNTAIN
NIPISSING – filly
DYNAMIC SKY
HIS RACE TO WIN
MIDNIGHT ARIA
SPRING IN THE AIR
BERT’S BAR
COUNTY LINEMAN
RIVER SEVEN
KAIGUN
SILENT YET DEADLY
SWEET LITTLE MAN
-13-
WOODBINE WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY
FRIDAY
Tough day for some Queen’s Plate hopefuls. POWER PHIL, at 1 to 5 in the first race, was a little too eager on the pace in the 1 1/16 mile allowance race, and was run down by Colebrook Farms’ PERSPECTIVE, a 4yo by Niigon making his 2nd start since last June. Yet another winner for Luis Contreras.
Race 2 went to RICHARD LISTER’S homebred filly SPEED GODDESS, winning her maiden for $16,000 claiming in her 4th career race. She is by JOhannesburg out of Athena’s Gift and she is a 1/2 sister to graded SW Society’s Chairman.
Race 3 was won by John Hillier’s STEEL DUST DANCER who upset heavily favoured SCIPIO, part of the Stronach entry. Scipio stalled in the stretch while the winner won by 4 lengths under, who else, Luis Contreras. A 3yo grey, he is by Unbridled’s Song.
The Fieldstone Farms and trainer Carlos Grant got its 2nd win of the week when SMOOTH CHARLIE, another by Smooth Bid, won a maiden allowance at 1 1/16 miles on the Polytrack. The race was originally scheduled for grass.
Race 5, a maiden allowance for fillies & mares at 6 furlongs was won by WARHEART, coming back from a 1 year layoff for Farr BLoddstock and trainer Mark Casse. The filly raced once last year at 47 to 1 and was not a factor. She is by War Cry.
Race 6 – SILENT ADMIRER, owned by Ghostzapper racing Syndicate, won a frantic finish in race 6, an allowance for Ontario sired runners. The promising 3yo was making his 2nd start of the year and he held off NIIGON’S GLORY to win for the 2nd time. Reade Baker trains and Emma-Jayne Wilson rode. He is a Silent Name colt bred by paradox Farm.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Race 1 went to Ontario bred ITS THE RUSH, a fast bay filly by Harlington out of Jungle Storm by Storm Boot. The filly was bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc. and is owned by Biamonte and De Mizio. The filly won big for $32,000 claiming in her 2nd race of the season.
How about 9-year-old RONALDINO? He chased a pace battle into the stretch of the 5 furlong 2nd race for $16,000 claiming and somehow got up to win in a 6 horse finish for his 16th win in 33 races. This amazing gelding is a British Columbia bred by Katahaula County owned by Jack Fournier and Dan Burwell and trained by Mark Fournier.
Race 3 was a rare dead heat for the win and it was at the end of a 6 1/2 furlong grass race for $40,000 claiming mares. The winners were STAGE TRIP, the first winner at Woodbine for 10-pound apprentice Brittany Vanden Berg who looks better than the other apprentice riders at Woodbine furing a race. She tied with SIMPLE AS THAT, owned by Janice Attard.
Here is a news release on Vanden Berg when she won her first race last fall:
Brittany Vandenberg, 22, earned her first career win as a Thoroughbred jockey Thursday at Thistledown, guiding 16-1 Lady B between horses to take the first race by 2 1/4 lengths.
Vandenberg has been riding Thoroughbreds only since May and was named on mounts beginning in August. Lady B was her 18th mount. In addition to her first win, Vandenberg also has five seconds and two thirds aboard Thoroughbreds. She already owns two wins in Quarter Horse races.
A native of Woodslee, Ontario, Vandenberg learned to ride as a child. “When I was four years old, my mom asked me if I wanted to play baseball or if I wanted a pony,” Vandenberg said. “I took the pony, and here we are. I don’t think Mom expected I’d be riding racehorses.”
The danger of a sport like Thoroughbred racing is not new to the young Canadian. Vandenberg was a running back and strong safety on her high school’s football team, and she competes in both barrel racing and bull riding. In 2010 she won Canada’s National Barrel Horse Association Finals aboard Chico, a Quarter Horse she bought as an unbroke 5-year-old and trained herself.
Airdrie Stud
“I like to do pretty much anything that’s dangerous,” she said
RACE 4, the Pick4 , and wow, this PRIMORDIA filly is a funny one. A steel grey by Smooth Bid, she won her maiden last year at 55 to 1, then popped up Wed. night at 70 to 1 to win a turf allowance. The Fiedstone Farms Inc. homebred had raced once on turf and had a 60 Beyer Figure. The Smooth Bid’s will love grass actually since the sire did.
The 20 cent triactor paid $7,000.
No, I did not have that.
WINDHAVEN’S SLAMIN DIXIE won race 5, breaking her maiden for $10,000 claiming. The 3yo filly by Grand Slam was making her 3rd start off the layoff.
It was trainer Mike Doyle’s 10th win of the meeting already.
JIVE ON won race 6 for $40,000 claiming, non-winners of 2. He is a Riley Magnum-owned 4yo by Flatter trained by Gail Cox.
Race 7 went to VEGAS WEEKEND, the 3rd winner of the night for jockey Luis Contreras. The 7yo gelding was winning for $8,000 claiming in his season opener.
UNCAPTURED RETURNS TO KENTUCKY
Horse of the Year UNCAPTURED will try to get things back on track at Churchill Downs today:
$100,000 Matt Winn Stakes (gr. III, Race 7, approximate post time 9:05 p.m. EDT), 3YOs, 1 1/16 miles (dirt)
PP, Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer, Odds
1. Looking Cool (KY), A. Garcia, 118, C A Nafzger, 15-1
2. Sunbean (LA), J. Rosario, 118, M J Maker, 6-1
3. Uncaptured (ON), M. Mena, 123, M E Casse, 6-1
4. Dewey Square (KY), M.E. Smith, 118, D L Romans, 12-1
5. Code West (VA), R. Napravnik, 118, B Baffert, 4-1
6. Treasury Bill (KY), S. Bridgmohan, 118, W M Catalano, 6-1
7. Abstraction (KY), L.R. Goncalves, 118, D M Carroll, 9-2
8. Street Spice (KY), J. Sanchez, 118, G Geier, 20-1
9. Ruler of Love (FL), J. Rocco, Jr., 118, J Scott, 12-1
10. Bellarmine (KY), J.R. Leparoux, 118, K G McPeek, 9-2
11. Carve (KY), R. Santanta, Jr., 118, S M Asmussen, 12-1
Blinkers On: Sunbean, Street Spice
INGLORIOUS RETIRED
from Blood Horse
Inglorious, the 2011 recipient of Canada’s Sovereign Award for champion 3-year-old filly, has been retired.
Inglorious made her racing debut in stakes company, winning the 2010 Fanfreluche Stakes at Woodbine. The Hennessy filly followed up immediately with another stakes win in Woodbine’s Ontario Lassie Stakes.
Her 3-year-old campaign added another three stakes wins. After a victory in the La Lorgnette, Inglorious became one of only five fillies to capture both the Woodbine Oaks and the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine.
Winless in her seven U.S. starts, she finished second behind Kathmanblu in the 2011 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, and behind Marketing Mix in an April 2012 allowance race at Keeneland. Stateside, she also hit the board in the 2012 Bayakoa Handicap (gr. II) at Betfair Hollywood Park and in the Suwannee River Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Park earlier this year.
Out of the Smart Strike mare Noble Strike, Inglorious was bred by Arosa Farms in Ontario and consigned to the 2009 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) Canadian-bred yearling sale by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, agent. She was purchased for $90,000 (Canadian funds) by Ciaran Dunne, agent for Donna and Vern Dubinsky’s Donver Stable.
Inglorious retires with a 5-2-4 record from her 16 starts, all for trainer Josie Carroll, and earnings of $1,421,222
