TODAY’S NEWS (Sunday morning) – BIG CANADIAN FINISH in Appleton …Florida Derby flatters the big E…TODAY SHOW does feature on Paragallo horses and Canadian Stuart Hyman’s photo in Toronto Star appears!
SOCIETY’S CHAIRMAN, photo by Cindy Pierson Dulay
THE CHAIRMAN beats the law
Attfield vs. Black again
During a thrilling and wild afternoon of racing action from all over, Gulfstream Park had its best day of
racing yesterday and of the four big graded races, one was particularly exciting to Canadians.
Ontario-breds SOCIETY’S CHAIRMAN and RAHY’S ATTORNEY hit the wire beside each other yesterday in the Grade 3 Appleton Handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf with the former winning by a head for owner Charles Fipke and
trainer Roger Attfield.
Attfield’s good friend IAN BLACK, the former farm manager for Kinghaven Farms (whom Attfield trained for, for many years) trains RAHY’S ATTORNEY, the champion grass horse from a couple of years back who led very late in this event.
The time of 1:27.79 was close to the course record and earned the horse a 95 BEYER SPEED FIGURE.
“He’s had his share of problems over the years, which explains why he hasn’t run that many times (20),” said
Attfield of the 7-year-old Society’s Chairman. “But I space his races and give him time when he needs it, and
he runs his race for us just about every time. A mile is probably his best distance and he likes a shorter
stretch rather than the longer one at Woodbine. I’ll take him to Kentucky and perhaps run him once there or
just wait until we get back home (Woodbine) and run in the Connaught Cup early in the meet (May) again.”
A pristine bay by the late Not Impossible (brother to stallion Perfect Soul) from the mare Athema’s Smile,
Society’s Chairman was bred by Errol Bailey. Bailey sold the horse for $40,000 Canadian through agent RICHARD HOGAN at the yearling sale in Ontario six years ago.
His rider yesterday was Jose Lezcano – “This was my first time on the horse, so I watched a couple of his
previous races. It looked like he may have been asked to move a bit too soon, so the trainer (Roger Attfield)
told me to take him back and just wait. I knew at the quarter-pole that I had plenty of horse, and when the
other horses started to move, it was time to ask my horse for his run. And when I asked him, he gave a big kick from the quarter to the wire.”
Rahy’s Attorney was ridden by Javier Castellano – “”I have no complaints. I had a dream trip. It was tough to
get beat that way, but they (the connections) should definitely be looking forward with him.”
How cool will the Connaught Cup (at 7 furlongs this year) be in May?
Other CANADIAN RUNNERS YESTERDAY DID NOT FARE VERY WELL : AURORA LIGHTS, a recent Grade III winner in Florida for CHiefswood Farm, had a dream trip in the Grade III Rampart at Gulfstream but stalled and landed 5th.
BICKERSONS, a Canadian bred graded stakes winner, was next-to-last in the Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct.
FLORIDA DERBY RESULTS FLATTER ESKENDEREYA
99 Beyer for ICE BOX
What we learned from the famous FLORIDA DERBY yesterday was that a colt who was not in the race, ESKENDEREYA looked reaalllly good now as a Kentucky Derby hotshot.
The race was moved to 6 weeks from the Kentucky Derby for this year and led to Eskendereya being scratched in favour of the Wood Memorial in new York.
There were some interesting horses in the race yesterday including the speedy RULE, who had won four races in succession.
But on paper, the pace scenario looked too hectic and those who spotted that in the DAILY RACING FORM got their wish as RULE was sent hard to the lead and joined by Miner’s Reserve, who is owned and trained by the same folks who wound up winning the race with the stretch running ICE BOX (Pulpit).
A chestnut 3yo, ICE BOX earned a 99 Beyer Figure for his last lunge win by a nose over Pleasant Prince (Indy King). The winning owner is Robert LaPenta and Nick Zito is the trainer.
Ice box has a rich pedigree as his 3rd dam is BELLE DE JOUR, the Speak John mare who produced Kentucky Derby winner SPEND A BUCK.
from the Miami Herald:
Ice Box blows by field to win Florida Derby
BY JIM FREER
Miami Herald Writer
A red-hot pace proved to be what Ice Box needed for a big breakthrough, as he raced in last place until the
final turn and then rallied to nose out fellow long shot Pleasant Prince in Saturday’s $750,000 Florida Derby.
Rule, the 9-5 favorite, led until the final 100 yards in the Grade 1 stakes before being caught and finishing
third. He ended up 1 1/4 lengths behind Pleasant Prince in the 1 1/8-mile stakes.
Lentenor, a full brother of the late Barbaro, finished fourth.
The winning time was 1:49.19, good but not scorching, on a track rated fast.
Ice Box, at 20-1, was on the outside of Pleasant Prince, at 29-1, as they reached the wire in tandem.
“I was hoping and praying it would be us [in the photo finish], and more praying,” said Robert LaPenta, Ice
Box’s owner.
Read more:
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IMPERIAL COMMANDER UPSETS GOLD CUP
Kauto Star stumbles, later falls
Spine-tingling race from Cheltenham, huge crowds in the rain and what a finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au3NmkMyz-I
THE SUN.CO.UK REPORTS:
From CLAUDE DUVAL at Cheltenham
Published: 19 Mar 2010
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IMPERIAL COMMANDER ruled supreme in the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Wednesday was supposed to be St Patrick’s Day but it came 48 hours late if your surname is Brennan.
Galway-born jockey Paddy Brennan stormed up the hill on Nigel Twiston-Davies’ 7-1 third-favourite.
Denman (4-1) came home second, seven lengths adrift.
Grand National winner Mon Mome finished third at 50-1 and last night bookies needed Securicor to get the
readies off the track as this year’s Festival produced a bloodbath for punters with only four favourites
winning from 26 races.
This year’s Gold Cup thriller was hailed as ‘The Decider’ between much-loved Kauto Star, the 8-11 favourite,
and his Paul Nicholls stable companion Denman. Imperial Commander didn’t know the script.
Kauto Star was never travelling with his usual fluency and gave the eighth fence an almighty bashing.
Read more:
CANADIAN STUART HYMAN shown in feature on TODAY SHOW ON NBC
tear-jerking news item on 1 year anniversary of Paragallo horses
This is a super 5 minute piece from the TODAY SHOW last week where JILL RAPPAPORT goes to see some of the horses rescued from Ernie Paragallo’s New York Farm. The TORONTO STAR photo of Toronto businessman STUART HYMAN appears as Hyman collected and adopted a bunch of the horses himself.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/#35947169
