CLIFF COTTAGE remains unbeaten.
Norm Files photo from Apr. 2
SATURDAY AT WOODBINE
Tiller is the cat’s meow
AMAZON BELLE won her maiden with an 86 Beyer Figure in the 6th race yesterday at Woodbine and who knows? may have got on the crowded list of Woodbine Oaks contenders. The Ontario bred by Tenpins – Marina Bella is from the family of Kinghaven Farms’ stakes winner ARCROYAL – her dam Arch Miss is the 3rd dam of Amazon Belle.
A $32,795 yearling from breeder Jennifer Keuty through agent Sue Foreman, Amazon Belle is owned by Rolh Davis and trainer by Robert Tiller, whose stable is on a serious surge.
Also for Tiller, ARE YOU KITTEN ME was a debut winner on a stakes-less card Saturday at Woodbine. The Frank DiGiulio Jr. homebred is by Ontario sire PEAKS AND VALLEYS (he’s now had 2 debut winners at the meeting) and she had the rail post in a big field and broke last.
Under Eurico Rosa Da Silva, the daughter of the unraced mare Win Kitty (a half sister to Win City, Horse of the Year) stayed 8 lengths off the lead and just off the rail, had smoth sailing around the turn to pass runners in the 3 path and then she inhaled the wobbly late pace to win in 1:05 2/5 for 5 1/2 furlongs.
The fastest dude of the day was Bruno Schickedanz’s homebred WOULD IF I COULD, bred by Florida, who posted a 98 Beyer Figure for 1:02 4/5 for 5 1/2 furlongs in race 7 for $25,000 claiming.
A 5-year-old horse, WOULD IF I COULD won for $10,000 claiming on opening day with a 93 Beyer Figure (changed from the original 83 printed in Daily Racing Form). Zooming up in class was easy and he led all the way for trainer Greg de Gannes.
The featured event of the day was a neat win by the still undefeated CLIFF COTTAGE (Carson City), a half brother to Barbados Gold Cup winner Sterwins. A 5yo horse who just started his career in January at Tampa, he’s 4 for 4 thanks to the allowance win from off the pace yesterday. He won the 7 furlong race in 1:23 3/5, good for a 75 Beyer Figure. He is owned and was bred by Eugene Melnyk and Mark Casse’s team collected another win.
Other races:
Race 1 was the second win of the season for Bud and Jackie Reynold’s JAM JAR and trainer John Ross as NORAM battled on the pace all the way and won his maiden for $20,000 in his season debut. The Northern Afleet gelding was ridden by Rob Landry, who was winning his first race of the meeting.
Doubling up in wins for 2010 at Woodbine was BWANA Z who romped in race 2 for Heiligbrodt Stable and trainer Steve Asmussen. The Bwana Charlie filly won for $15,000 claiming.
In race 5, the 7-year-old PORTS N PORSCHES looked like a young buck as he stormed on the outside to win with his ears pricked in his season debut for trainer Ross Armata and the SA Racing Group and partners. The son of Native Regent – Ritzy Lady has always run well fresh but he was 19 to 1 yesterday in that $10,000 claiming event.
Sammy DiPasquale is running his horses in winning spots. Fresh off Grand Mobil’s big win on Friday, the trainer dropped GO JUICE from Ontario sired allowance to just $10,000 claiming yesterday and the filly got up in the final strides to win by a neck under a strong Tyler Pizarro. The filly, owned by the trainer and F. Panza. Go Juice is by Where’s the Ring and she is 2 for 15 in her career now.
And veteran trainer MORT HARDY won the last race with the maiden OCCASIO who won the $10,000 claiming event in his 2nd outing of the season. He was claimed from trainer Vldamir Cerin for $20,000 last year and is a son of Northern Afleet.
FRIDAY AT WOODBINE
Oh-Mar!
Apprentice OMAR MORENO bagged three wins on Friday afternoon at Woodbine as he continues to show he is among the best young riders on the continent.
Moreno took the 1st race with the Saarland filly YOUBE, who had raced once at Tampa Bay and had a bad start but dropped to $10,000 maiden claiming for owner/trainer Dave Cotey and won at 7 furlongs.
Moreno provded trainer JAMES HATCHETT with his first win of the meeting (in his first season of stabling at Woodbine) as the well bet CRAFTY PEACE, making his 2nd career start off a 59 and change bullet work, zoomed to the lead in the maiden $32,000 race and won handily.
Later, M oreno won on the Sid Attard trainee EXECUTIVE DEED in an Ontario sired allowance race.
The feature on Friday’s card went to classy DISFUNCTION, who may not be quite as good as he was but he’s now a 50% winning type as he took his 9th score in his 18th start. The race was 6 furlongs and an allowance/optional claiming event and Disfunction, a British Columbia bred by Vying Victor, was offered for $77,500. Owned by Doscovery Racing and JMJs Stable and trained by Julia Carey, Disfuncion held off an upwardly mobile SIGNATURE RED to win.
Trainer SAMMY DIPASQUALE continues to roll with win 3 from his 9th runner when the 3yo GRAND MOBIL (Mobil) won for $20,000 claiming in his first race since last June. He is owned by James Redekop.
RALPH BIAMONTE took win no. 3 on the meeting with 1st time Lasix runner GRAEME WAFER, who won for $19,000 claiming under Eurico Rosa Da Silva.
Congratulations to BETTY JO WILLIAMS, who guided SIR HEART THROB to a win for $16,000 for 3yos in race 4. The jockey, who hails from Ornageville and whose father Robert Williams trains at Fort Erie, was winning his first race at Woodbine. She is a 10-pound apprentice rider. Sir Heart Throb is owned by Mark Casse and partner and is an Olmadavor gelding bred by Harilyn HIllier.
BETTY JO WILLIAMS AND HER BUDDY SIR HEART THROB
Norm Files photo
SCOTT FAIRLIE saddled his first winner with BOB N WEAVE, who had a dream trip for $9,500 claiming and won race 5. She is an Ontario bred Where’s the Ring filly.
And the maiden allowance event to end the card was full of hot items including a firster, BEARS GOAL, who was bet down to 6 to 5 at post time. The 3rd highest yearling purchase in Canada 2 years ago, the Bear Stable’s colt was 6th while HOT PEPPERS BRO, a Swampster colt owned and bred by Cyril Simek, overcame a very slow start and being rushed up the rail, to lead all the way. He is trained by Alex Patykewich.
ROGER ON A ROLL
Attfield, Velazquez in a big pot of looove stew
Roger Attfield left Keeneland in the dust with a pair of stakes wins .. the following stories are from:
Musketier wins $200,000 Elkhorn Stakes on final day of Keeneland Spring Meet
Musketier (Ger) returned to Keeneland this spring for another shot at the Fifth Third Elkhorn Stakes (gr. 2), a race he finished second in last year. For the 8-year-old gray horse and his connections, it was the right move to make.
After a rough ride in which jockey John Velazquez struggled to control his mount along the backstretch, Musketier (profile) settled down coming around the final turn, made a charge down the stretch, and took the lead near the eighth-pole to go on to win the 25th running of the Elkhorn by 1 3/4 lengths over a quick charging Brass Hat (profile) in 2:31.32.
SHE WINS FOR THOU
Finally, the stars align for Lady Shakespeare
Under the guiding hand of jockey John Velazquez, Charle’s Fipke’s Lady Shakespeare ran a patient race, then passed front-runner Changing Skies with less than a furlong to go to win the 49th running of the $150,000 Grey Goose Bewitch Stakes (gr. 3) at Keeneland on Thursday, April 22 by 2 1/2 lengths in 2:31.42.
With the win in the 1 1/2-mile turf race for fillies and mares 4-years old and up, Lady Shakespeare’s (profile) takes home the $90,000 first-place prize money, which raises her career earnings to $405,608. She now has six wins in 11 career starts, with two seconds and three thirds.
“Once I got her running – once she switched to her right lead and she started running really well – I knew I got ’em them,” Velazquez said after the race.
JIM DAY WILL TRY TO COME BACK
Earlier this week, a number of horsepeople received an email that more than a dozen horses owned by JIm Day’s Day by Day Stable in Everett, Ontario were up for grabs – free – and that a contact was Ian Howard, a trainer.
According to Day’s wife Vicky, this was not true, the horses are for sale and doing well, it’s just that the Hall of Famer is downsizing.
In (Saturday’s) TORONTO STAR, the story was followed up more by CHRIS YOUNG:
KENTUCKY DERBY CONTENDERS
from www.horse-races.net
WILL ANYONE BEAT ESKENDEREYA??
SHOW OFF – Line of David is a beauty…will he be next Saturday?
Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
Horse Trainer Dosage Jockey
A Little Warm Anthony Dutrow 2.43 David Cohen
American Lion Eoin Harty 3.57 Julien Leparoux
Awesome Act Jeremy Noseda 3.57 * Julien Leparoux
Backtalk Tom Amoss 2.56 Miguel Mena
Conveyance Bob Baffert 4.33 Garrett Gomez
Dean’s Kitten Mike Maker 1.15 Cornelio Velasquez
Devil May Care Todd Pletcher 2.53 * John Velazquez
Discreetly Mine Todd Pletcher 2.76 * Javier Castellano
Dublin D. Wayne Lukas 2.33 * Rajiv Maragh
Endorsement Shannon Ritter 2.73 Robby Albarado
Eskendereya Todd Pletcher 2.43 John Velazquez
Homeboykris Richard Dutrow Jr. 3.67 * John Velazquez
Ice Box Nick Zito 3.36 Jose Lezcano
Interactif Todd Pletcher 2.83 * Rafael Bejarano
Jackson Bend Nick Zito 6.20 Jeremy Rose
Line of David John Sadler 3.00 Jon Court
Lookin at Lucky Bob Baffert 3.33 * Garrett Gomez
Make Music for Me Alexis Barba 3.31 * Mike Smith
Mission Impazible Todd Pletcher 4.09 Rajiv Maragh
Noble’s Promise Ken McPeek 3.36 * Rafael Bejarano
Paddy O’Prado Dale Romans 1.20 Kent Desormeaux
Rule Todd Pletcher 4.60 John Velazquez
Sidney’s Candy John Sadler 1.86 Joe Talamo
Stately Victor Mike Maker 1.91 Alan Garcia
Super Saver Todd Pletcher 3.00 * Calvin Borel
FRIDAY’S FASTEST FIVE FURLONG PREP AT WOODBINE
After watching one of the latest WORKOUT VIDEOS on Woodbine’s new website, many folks will want to know – just who is BETWEEN RAINDROPS?
She is a Hill ‘n’ Dale filly by A.P. Indy who is unplaced in 3 races but all on Fair Grounds dirt. This workout looked interesting enough…
http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/Woodbine/News/Pages/Videos.aspx
GEORGE ‘JAKE’ NEMETT
COURTESY DAILY RACING FORM
George “Jake” Nemett, a longtime trainer on the Ontario circuit, died in a hospital on Thursday at age 77.
Nemett, who had retired after suffering a stroke in 2006, is best remembered for sending out upsetters Tiny Tinker here in the Breeders’ Stakes and Regent Miss in the Canadian Oaks.
Tiny Tinker thwarted the Canadian Triple Crown bid of Norcliffe in 1976, while Regent Miss returned $345.80 in winning the Oaks in 1981.
In more recent years Nemett trained Kabul, who never won a stakes race but earned almost $800,000
His survivors include a brother, Jim Nemett, a trainer and a former steward for the Ontario Racing Commission.
