When I grow up I want to be a ….
COVER BOY!! Rahy’s Attorney as a baby and as a grown up, thanks to Janet Black and Ellen McLellan for the photos.
BREEDERS’ STAKES – SUNDAY AUGUST 2
NO CROWN, BUT PLATE / WALES WINNER SQUARE OFF
The Canadian Triple Crown wraps up Sunday at 1 1/2 miles on the Woodbine turf, which was soaked with rain last weekend as much as we’ve seen in recent years.
Queen’s Plate winner EYE OF THE LEOPARD will make his grass debut in the BREEDERS’ and meet up with GALLANT the Prince of Wales winner who has raced once on the grass and was 4th beaten 14 lengths to Utterly Cool ast year as a 2yo.
Eye of the Leopard, from the family of Queen of Egypt, Quiet Cleo (dam of turf champion Quiet Resolve) might be a better colt on the grass. His dam was 2nd in the 10 furlong Wonder Where Stakes on the grass.
The Breeders’ field will be a mixed bag of sophomores.
How about a bunch of grass loving, long distances guys from Fieldstone Farms and trainer Analisa Delmas? That barn seems to be getting a roll and a Breeders win would be the biggest ever for Ron Delmas and his family.
EYE OF THE LEOPARD Sam-Son Plate winner
FULL THROTTLE Gus Schickdanz maiden
GUIPAGO Fieldstone maiden winner on turf
HISAKI Fieldstone stakes placed maiden on turf
KEINO WEST Track West unplaced Plate/Wales
MENSCH Fieldstone 2nd Guipago, maiden
MR. FORICOS TWO U 2nd Plate
PARABOLA turf allowance winner
RESERVOIR turf winner
GENIUS KINSHASA turf winner
PERFECT SHOWER maiden winner
It says here that EYE OF THE LEOPARD will be even better on the grass…www.horse-races.net photo
RED HOT AND BLUE LOVE
The hottest trainers according to the Daily Racing Form’s awesome Formulator product include STEVE ASMUSSEN, who is 6 for his last 15 starters during the last 10 days.
ROGER ATTFIELD is 4 for his last 12 starters.
Speaking of trainers, here’s a big shout out to Thoroughblog reader and new trainer STEVEN CHIRCOP, who saddled his first winner on July 17 . REDEPLOY returned to racing just 4 days after an outing at Fort Erie and won nicely in the big leagues for Chircop, who also owns.
Chircop has owned horses and had other trainers and now is a trainer with clients himself.
WOODBINE SCOREBOARD – TRAINERS
Mark E. Casse 160 26 24 21 $2,073,143
Sid C. Attard 115 26 15 16 $1,134,573
Steven M. Asmussen 108 24 19 15 $983,612
Malcolm Pierce 98 23 11 10 $1,719,549
Terry Jordan 49 23 5 10 $834,194
Robert P. Tiller 161 21 32 20 $1,084,635
Nicholas Gonzalez 123 20 17 15 $1,069,836
Scott H. Fairlie 137 19 24 25 $1,428,876
Josie Carroll 82 19 11 17 $1,191,616
Reade Baker 147 18 23 24 $1,161,204
Roger L. Attfield 74 18 14 8 $1,092,824
Sam Di Pasquale 56 12 10 6 $364,873
WOODBINE SCOREBOARD – JOCKEYS
Jockey LUIS CONTRERAS is 6 for his last 20 mounts while EURICO ROSA DA SILVA, who has a big shot at the Sovereign Award this year for top jockey, is 10 for his last 37 mounts.
Patrick Husbands 438 86 75 70 $5,173,795
Chantal Sutherland 424 67 68 62 $3,709,063
James McAleney 284 55 36 45 $2,775,087
Eurico Rosa Da Silva 327 54 51 42 $3,733,626
Emile Ramsammy 367 51 44 44 $2,405,039
Tyler Pizarro 330 50 47 42 $2,480,519
Emma-Jayne Wilson 393 41 53 50 $2,525,776
Luis Contreras 130 31 21 17 $1,301,181
Justin Stein 308 27 38 30 $1,281,846
Jono C. Jones 226 20 20 26 $1,326,462
Todd Kabel 120 17 13 10 $860,205
Gerry Olguin 223 16 21 29 $888,946
WEST VIRGINIA DERBY
SATURDAY – MINE THAT BIRD VS. MONTY’S BEST VS. AWESOME RHYTHM
No sure thing
A win at the West Virginia Derby is never a guarantee
By BILL MOONEY, Special to The Review
Results of horse races don’t always play out the way they’re expected to, even for the most sophisticated bettors.
The rule of thumb is that about one-third of post-time favorites win. In the West Virginia Derby over the years, the ratio has been slightly higher – 34.1percent of wagering choices have been victorious. But there have been many surprising winners, too.
When Mind That Bird goes to the post in next Saturday’s 40th edition of the Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby, his odds will likely be less than even money, rendering him a prohibitive favorite. And, if so, there will be good reason for this. His 6 -length victory in the Kentucky Derby was the largest in the first jewel of the Triple Crown in 63 years.
http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/517015.html?nav=5010
Strrrrrretch – Awesome Rhytm is headed to West Virginia and the country roads.
Terence Dulay photo.
SUNDAY
RACHEL VS. THE OTHER BIRD in ‘JERSEY
NEW YORK POST
Rachel Alexandra, Summer Bird clash in Haskell
by Ray Kerrison, New York Post
Rachel Alexandra might be the most glamorous horse in America today, but anyone who thinks she is a cinch to waltz off with Sunday’s $1.25 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth should have a chat with Tim Ice.
Ice trains the Belmont Stakes surprise winner Summer Bird, who has been bedded down at Monmouth in Oceanpark, N.J. for a month and is taking dead aim at the wonder filly.
“We’ve got to outrun Rachel,” Ice said at the barn this week. “But they’re not giving her a check before the race. The Haskell is always a competitive race, and when they put up a million dollars it’s not going to be an easy race for anyone. They don’t give the money away. It has to be earned.”
Summer Bird is coming to run, and if Rachel is to get the prize, she will have to earn it the hard way, by running her eyeballs out.
http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/9861148/Rachel-Alexandra,-Summer-Bird-clash-in-Haskell
