CHAMPION VAN LEAR ROSE INJURED, OUT FOR YEAR
• Canada’s champion 2-year-old filly of last year VAN LEAR ROSE has been injured and will miss the entire 2009 season.
Trainer Catherine Day Phillips reported to THOROUGHBLOG yesterday that the filly, who had posted one workout at Gulfstream two weeks ago, is not seriously injured and that she hopes the filly will be back to race as a 4-year-old in 2010.
VAN LEAR ROSE, a double stakes winner at 2 including the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes, was a leading contender for the Woodbine Oaks and the Queen’s Plate. She is owned and bred by Richard Day’s Kingview Farms.
NOTE: The popular QUEEN’S PLATE FASNTASY CHALLENGE contest at Woodbine is open for entries. The PRO PICKS will be available on the website today and the site to make your entry is www.woodbineentertainment.com/fantasy
WOODBINE STARTS TOMORROW!
and KEENELAND STARTS TODAY
• Weather forecast for opening day: VERY WINDY, 6 Celcius
There are many reasons to come out to thoroughbred racing in Ontario in 2009 – incredible racehorses and the chance to build your $2 into something more. Racing starts at 1 p.m. Each day until Wednesday nights will be added in a month.
There is a full slate of handicapping seminars at Woodbine this season (check out www.woodbineentertainment.com) with speakers such as Steven Crist, Dan Illman, Jim Mazur (tomorrow) and yours truly.
And if the first card of WOODBINE, including the $100,000 La Voyageuse Stakes, is not enough for you there are some blockbuster events on the simulcast slate.
In fact there are 5 GRADE ONE RACES at four tracks in less than a hour tomorrow!
The ASHLAND at Keeneland features top 3yo filly STARDOM BOUND, the WOOD MEMORIAL at Aqueduct is the last Derby prep for I WANT REVENGE, the SANTA ANITA DERBY could be fruitful for THE PAMPLEMOUSSE as he heads to the Kentucky Derby, the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct features top sprinters and the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn has a small field of older mares.
The Keeneland meeting will feature a litany of Canadian runners. The short meeting gets underway today.
FIELDS:
La Voyageuse S. – WOODBINE
5 Furlongs (All Weather Track) | Fillies | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $100,000
Prg. # PP Horse Jockey Trainer Wt. Claim $ Equip. Med. ML
1 1 Pretty Katherine Clark D Hollendorfer Jerry 118 L 9-5
2 2 High Mist McAleney J S Baker Reade 120 Blk-Off L 5-2
3 3 Sans Sousi Sutherland C Doyle Michael J 116 L 10-1
4 4 Forcefully Fraser C Black Ian 116 L 8-1
5 5 Mullins Beach Husbands P Pierce Malcolm 118 L 8-1
6 6 How Far Is Heaven Landry R C Casse Mark 116 L 12-1
7 7 Double Malt Da Silva E R Pierce Malcolm 120 L 4-1
ELSEWHERE:
Saturday, Aqueduct
WOOD MEMORIAL S.-GI, $750,000, 3yo, 1 1/8 Miles
PP HORSE (SIRE) JOCKEY
1 I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even) Talamo
2 Lord Justice (A.P. Indy) Lopez
3 Cellar Dweller (Rahy) Napravnik
4a Atomic Rain (Smart Strike) Bravo
5a West Side Bernie (Bernstein) Elliott
6 Imperial Council (Empire Maker) Prado
7 Just a Coincidence (Forestry) Velazquez
8 Lime Rickey (Lemon Drop Kid) Castellano
Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA DERBY-GI, $750,000, 3yo, 1 1/8m
(AWT)
PP HORSE (SIRE) JOCKEY
1 Chocolate Candy (Candy Ride (Arg)) Rosario
2 Z Day (Five Star Day) Gryder
3 Unbridled Roman (Roman Dancer) T Baze
4 Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) Gomez
5 Mr. Hot Stuff (Tiznow) Nakatani
6 Feisty Suances (Suances (GB)) Espinoza
7 Take the Points (Even the Score) DeCarlo
8 Cape Truth (Cape Town M) Baze
9 Gallant Son (Malabar Gold) Bejarano
10 The Pamplemousse (Kafwain_ Solis
(Stardom Bound, photo by Cindy Pierson Dulay)
Saturday, Keeneland Race Course
ASHLAND S.-GI, $400,000, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m (AWT)
PP HORSE (SIRE) JOCKEY
1 Nan (High Yield) Albarado
2 What a Pear E (Dubai) Hill
3 Third Dawn (Sky Mesa) Garcia
4 Be Fair (Exchange Rate) Ocampo
5 Gozzip Girl (Dynaformer) Mena
6 Dream Empress (Bernstein) Desormeaux
7 Stardom Bound (Tapit) Smith
8 Hooh Why (Cloud Hopping) Douglas
9 Boleyn (Proud Citizen) Theriot
WOODBINE PREVIEW
TORONTO STAR
Off and betting at Woodbine for 167 days
by Dave Perkins
Around the racetrack, about the only thing that never goes up in price is the $2 bet.
Could that little fact be the reason there’s a glimmer of optimism for horse racing around here, as the thoroughbreds prepare to return to Woodbine tomorrow afternoon?
There are new trainers on the backstretch and at least one familiar face, Todd Kabel, back in the jockeys’ room after weight battles limited him to 53 mounts in 2008. But as the runners begin their 167-day season with a disappointing 88 horses entered in 10 races, one large difference might be in the betting itself.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/HorseRacing/article/612905
MORE KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS
• Some of the big possible players for the May 2 Kentucky Derby are racing tomorrow in major prep events around North America.
QUALITY ROAD’S BEYER FIGURE GOES UP! The leading Kentucky Derby player according to Thoroughblog’s rankings (see below) is QUALITY ROAD. The colt, who ran a 113 Beyer Speed Figure in the Fountain of Youth 2 starts ago, had been awarded a 103 Beyer for his Florida Derby win but that Beyer has not been moved up to 111.
SQUARE EDDIE, the Canadian-bred Smart Strike colt who is favoured for the Queen’s Plate, is still on track for the Kentucky Derby. He will work this Sunday according to the Thoroughbred Daily News as trainer Doug O’Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam try to nurse the colt along to the big race. According to sources, the team has not indicated any interest in racing the colt in the Plate to this point.
You can get free Formulator Past Performances from DAILY RACING FORM for the big Derby preps this weekend here:
GRAND NATIONAL TOMORROW
from The Independent
The Big Question: Is the Grand National being hit by the recession, and should racing change?
By Ed Howker
Why are we asking this now?
Because tomorrow brings us the stirring sound of hooves on grass and the thunder of the crowd as 40 runners and riders race over four miles and four furlongs and 31 fences of the Aintree racecourse in the eagerly awaited 2009 Grand National.
First held in 1839, and known as the “People’s Race”, the National has a place in the nation’s affections like no other horse race, bringing us such indelible sporting moments as Devon Loch’s fateful falter within yards of the finishing post in 1956, Foinavon’s 100-1 win in 1967, Red Rum’s three triumphs in the 1970s, and Bob Champion beating cancer to triumph on Aldaniti in 1981. More infamously there was the “non” National raced in 1993 when half the field went off too soon. The race is also the biggest betting day of the year – but it comes against a backdrop of increasing pressure on the sport as a result of the economic downturn.
SHE’S A BARBIE GIRL
from press release
LOUISVILLE, KY (April 2, 2009) – With Kentucky Derby® 135 on May 2, 2009, quickly approaching, Churchill Downs, the legendary racetrack that hosts the annual “Run for the Roses®,” and Mattel are pleased to announce that they have teamed up to create the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll.
From the celebrities and socialites who attend to the awe-inspiring hats, the Kentucky Derby is more than just a horse race – it is a famed fashion event. This year, Barbie®, the ultimate fashion icon, showcases legendary Derby fashion with the launch of the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll, dressed in a playful floral sun dress, faux pearl necklace and sassy spring sandals. True to Kentucky Derby fashion, Barbie doll’s look is topped off with a stylish, oversized white hat with blossoming flower accents.
In addition to the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll, Churchill Downs and Mattel will give Barbie® enthusiasts and collectors a chance to own their very own life-sized Kentucky Derby® BarbieTM replica hat. Renowned milliner Christine A. Moore will create up to 135 replica hats to commemorate the 135 Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky® Derby Barbie®.
The Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll is available for purchase through Walmart, Walmart.com, Barbie® Collector Dealers, Barbie Collector Catalog, www.barbiecollector.com and www.thederbystore.com.
HORSES FROM TOP NEW YORK STABLE, PARANECK, headed to slaughter
• RAY PAULICK’S PAULICK REPORT blog reported this link from ANOTHER CHANCE 4 HORSES, which found a number of thoroughbreds at a slaughter and several were well bred winners from Ernie Paragallo’s Paraneck Stable (owner of Unbridled’s Song).
http://www.ac4h.com/TBHelpNeeded.htm
