Are you talking about me? AURORA WAY is a beautiful 3-year-old gelding who loves to play. He also had a sizzling dirt workout recently and could be a strong factor in Tuesday’s Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie – JM
82ND PRINCE OF WALES – FORT ERIE – JULY 25 2017
Probable starters
AURORA WAY – 3rd career race, fast dirt workout
COOL CATOMINE – to be supplemented for $12,500 – recent maiden winner
JUROJIN – stakes winner at 2
SPIRIT OF CALEDON – 6th Plate
STATE OF HONOR – great dirt form from winter/spring
TIZ A SLAM – 2nd Queen’s Plate
WOODBRIDGE – stakes placed on turf
The PRINCE OF WALES buzz this week centred on the dirt workout by the sleek, almost black gelding AURORA WAY, who will be 1st time with Lasix in the 1 3/16 mile classic on Tuesday afternoon.
Trainer Stuart Simon, among other onlookers, said the 58 4/5 breezing move on the Woodbine training track under one of the barn’s exercise riders was “as good as a horse could work”.
The big, playful Aurora Way was an impressive debut winner on June 19 for Chiefswood Stabe’s son of Giant’s Causeway before racing rank and then bleeding internally in the Queen’s Plate.
The gelding has trained on dirt in Florida and obviously likes the surface based on the July 16 workout.
Rafael Hernandez will ride.
Chiefswood holds an impsing hand for the ‘Wales as TIZ A SLAM is expected to run and he was 2nd in the Pate to the top filly Holy Helena.
He has never raced on dirt but he had a workout on July 19 (Wednesday) in 1:00 3/5 on the Woodbine dirt training track for trainer Roger Attfield.
Tiz a Slam is 3 for 8 in his career and could rule as a slight favourite over his stablemate.
STATE OF HONOR, who ran so well on the dirt in races such as the Grade 1 Florida Derby, may still take betting support but the big son of To Honor and Servce has had such a long campaign already and seems to have trouble with longer distances.
COOL CATOMINE, a son of Spring at Last, came to life with blinkers on recently and he won his maiden for John Ross and Jack of Hearts racing.
JUROJIN, a stakes winner at 2, went to Fort Erie for a workout recently and posted a good time of 1:00 1/5. He has been unplaced in 4 races this year or trainer Harold Ladouceur.
WOODBRIDGE worked on the Woodbine dirt on July 10 in 1:00 4/5 for trainer Mike Keogh. Owned and bred by Gus Schickedanz, Woodbridge was 3rd in the Charlie Barley Stakes on turf on July 2 after a wide trip late in the race.
SPIRIT OF CALEDON was also at Fort Erie for a dirt workout and he went 5 furlongs in 1:04, the slowest of 6 to work at the distance that morning.
He earned a career best 86 in the Plate when finishing 6th.
Aurora Way’s trainer STUART SIMON talks about Aurora Way and dirt racing with TALKIN HORSE RACING (www.talkinhorseracing.com)
**Welland Tribune preview
Upwards of $600,000 will be wagered on the 82nd running of the Prince of Wales Stakes next week in Fort Erie if interest in the Triple Crown race last year is any indication.
In 2016, $635,074 was bet on Fort Erie Race Track’s biggest race of the year.
At the Fort Erie track, the Prince of Wales isn’t only its most-prestigious event, but the day of the race is the most popular of the year in terms of interest from bettors.
“Prince of Wales Day is our signature event at Fort Erie Race Track,” Tom Valiquette, the chief operating and financial officer of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, said.
“If you’re new to the sport or a seasoned horseracing enthusiast, we encourage you to join us on July 25 for a truly exciting day of racing.”
He pointed out $2,188,171.82 was wagered over the nine races that made up the Prince of Wales program last year.
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2017/07/19/prince-of-wales-set-to-run-tuesday-at-fort-erie-race-track
