REMINDER: Voters for the SOVEREIGN AWARDS have until Friday to get their votes in for the 2014 awards – be diligent in your selections and vote for the best of 2014.
KEENELAND JANUARY STARTS TODAY
Canadian champion YOUCAN’TCATCHME is one of hundreds of horses offered in the 2 book January Horses of All Ages sale at Keeneland beginning today. Murray Stroud’s top sprinting mare will be sold by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency.
A new consignment in the sale is South Point Sales Agency, a venture owned by ARIKA EVERATT-MEEUSE, from the Ontario based Shanondoe Farm, and Mike Recio of Ocala, Florida.
SOUTH POINT began late last year and has 35 horses entered in the sale.
97 BEYER FIGURE is good number for CALCULATOR
CALCULATOR – Santa Anita Press Box/Benoit photo
The pretty grey Florida bred 3yo CALCULATOR (In Summation – Back to Basics by Alphabet Soup) won the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita to win his maiden in his 5th career start.
Jennie Rees covers the race for the Louisville Courier-Journal:
Calculator already ranked among the contenders for the May 2 Kentucky Derby. Now he’s also a winner.
The gray colt — the most accomplished maiden among last year’s 2-year-olds — earned his first victory by taking Santa Anita’s $100,000 Sham Stakes by 4 1/4 lengths over stablemate Rock Shandy, racing wide on both turns while making his first start in 3 ½ months. Calculator, the odds-on favorite trained by Peter Miller, cruised to the lead midway on the far turn and powered through the stretch to cover the mile in 1:34.88 under jockey Elvis Trujillo. The Mark Casse-trained Pioneerof the West finished third in the field of eight 3-year-olds.
“It was a perfect trip,” Trujillo said. “I went wide because I’d rather go wide than be in between horses, or caught inside. I wanted a clean trip. He did it very easy today. Stretching out will be no problem for him, he’s very good.”
SKYLANDER GIRL, KATHERINE do well in Marshua’s River
SKYLANDER GIRL (inside) and WHY KATHERINE battle for 2nd in a Grade 3
While Parranda charged clear to win the Marshua’s River, Grade 3, at Gulfstream on Saturday, Ontario bred gals SKYLANDER GIRL and WHY KATHERINE completed the triactor in good runs. The former, owned and trained by Alex Patykewich, has been a brave battler with her speed. The daughter of Stroll – Heliotrope was the leader to the midway mark of the stretch run and was beaten 3 lengths. She held off Why Katherine by a nose for 2nd place money. The latter is a Terra Farms homebred by Include.
The pair posted an 86 Beyer Speed Figure and the final time for 1 1/16 miles on turf was 1:42.53.
BOLD THUNDER has flashy win
The 5-year-old Bold ‘n Flashy horse BOLD THUNDER, bred in Kentucky, won the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday for his 2nd stakes win. He also set a course record for 5 furlongs on the grass, speeding the distance in 54.63. He won by 3 1/4 lengths and earned $45,000.
Bold Thunder is out of Stormy Kristine (Storm Creek) who is a half sister to Cruising Kris, the dam of KAIGUN, the good graded stakes winning grass horse of Gary Barer. The female family comes from local owner/breeder Bill Sorokolit’s program.
REBEL REBEL
WANDO’S REBEL won a maiden allowance race at Penn National on Saturday, taking the bulk of the $29,127 purse. The Wando – Bear Hzael by Mt Livermore filly is a 3yo bred by Box Arrow Farm and owned by Scott Fairlie. Fairlie was also 2nd in the race with Sick Love.
GAME BALL, WILCOX, DR. ‘FUNK’ still battling
MICHAEL BURNS PHOTO
GAME BALL has been a lot of places, seen a lot of things and has met a lot of people. The 8-year-old Sky Mesa gelding, bred by John Oxley, began his career at Tampa Bay Downs in 20009 and ran in the Grade 2 Illinois Derby in his 4th career start following his maiden.
He eventually found a home racing for Oxley in the starter allowance $10,000 range, racing at Woodbine and Fort Erie through 2011.
It was early in 2012 when Game Ball snuck out of the starter allowances, raced for a $50,000 claiming price and was claimed by Dorothy Gentner and Napual Chatterpaul. In not time, the gelding was racing in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Sword Dancer, Man o War etc. He did not threaten in those races and soon was claimed for $25,000 in 2013 from a race at Gulfstream.
From there, Game Ball has changed owners 5 more times and on Saturday he raced for $5,000 claiming at Parx and finished 7th beaten 17 lengths. He has been beaten 44 lengths in his last 3 races. His career earnings stand at $241,000.
WILCOX, a 6-year-old Giant’s Causeway gelding, is also at the low claiming levels these days but he has not been as successful as Game Ball. The Eugene Melnyk bred fellow was unplaced in the Queen’s Plate and Breeders’ Stakes and he has been sliding down in class while racing in Louisiana. He was far back on Saturday in his claiming event at Fair Grounds.
DR. FUNKENSTEIN, an Ontario bred by Proud Citizen, won for the 11th time at Charles Town on Saturday, The 9-year-old got out of a funk of poor races to win the $5,000 claiming race by 4 lengths at 6 to 1 for new owner John Connor.
