RIVER RUSH, laid back colt will do this thing today in the Plate, maybe give Reade Baker his first Plate score
M. Burns photo
How thrilling to watch BLACK CAVIAR yesterday at ROYAL ASCOT, winning her 22nd race and coming out of the race with injuries (see below)..the antics of her jockey aside (horses win races and jockeys lose them folks), she was incredibly game and determined. let’s hope she makes it back…
IT’S HERE! PLATE DAY IN CANADA
From coast to coast, B.C.’s Leong family, Alberta’s Dick Bonnycastle, Ontario’s powerhouses of Stronach Stablles, Melnyk, Windhaven and plenty of American owners.
On the cold dope, STRAIT OF DOVER is the most likely winner, from all speed figure point of view, sheets etc. The simply is only 2 other horses with fast enough races, to this point mond you, that look to be the dangers and that is RIVER RUSH and GOLDEN RIDGE. The latter is taking a lot of support and surely will be lower than his 6 to 1 early odds.
In fact, RIVER RUSH was ODDS-ON early in the betting yesterday at Woodbine, it’s not clear what the odds were on him at the end of the day yesterday.
There’s almost a carnival-like area by the walking ring today, food trucks (smoked meat, etc.) , hats and fun stuff galore and 12 races, with the Plate as the 10th.
The only bad news is Mother Nature, who is threatening to rain on the parade (the Musical Ride is on today too, it’s a cool thing to watch 50 horses do those acts).
Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
This is the trophy 14 horses race for today, – 2 fillies, 12 colts and geldings.
TORONTO STAR ANALYSIS
http://photogallery.thestar.com/1216339
BLACK CAVIAR EMERGES SORE FROM MONUMENTAL WIN
BY RAY THOMAS, Daily Telegraph
CHAMPION mare Black Caviar has suffered two muscle tears and severe bruising to her hind quarters in her famous win in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Sunday.
Trainer Peter Moody confirmed Black Caviar had pulled up sore after her narrow win.
Veterinarians inspected the mare this morning at her Newmarket stable base and located the muscle injury and bruising.
Moody said he was unsure at what stage of the race Black Caviar suffered her injuries.
However, the trainer said veterinarians had informed him “she would have definitely felt it during the run”.
“She’s had something like this before,” Moody said.
“She’s entering quarantine today, we’re sending her home, but we’ll be able to have the injuries treated whilst she’s in quarantine.”
Moody said Black Caviar ate up after her Royal Ascot win but admitted the mare was “very flat and tired” this morning.
Moody said no decision on Black Caviar’s racing future would be made until after the mare had returned to Australia, recovered from her injuries and enjoyed a deserved spell.
SATURDAY RACES
HAMMERS TERROR dropped in for the Charlie Barley Stakes for owner Terry Hamilton and trainer Mike Stidham. This is an Artie Schiller guy who has been racing well in 3yo events in the south. He had a dream trip behind the pace duel yesterday and blew away Excaper to win by many with a 92 Beyer Figure, 1 mile on the turf in 1:33 1/5.
Patrick Husbands rode.
In other races, IT’S GAIL remained unbeaten, taking start no. 2 in race 1, an allowance for Ontario sired gals. It was a big day for her sire Niigon and this filly, owned by Rlph Davis, was a $40,000 yearling purchase. She was bred by Auchamore Stud and Robert Tiller trains the 3yo named for his wife.
She posted a career best 77 Beyer Figure and Luis Contreras rode.
Race 2 – gosh, these 2 turn races at Woodbine get silly sometimes, the early pace fractions are painfully slow and who knows what is going to happen..ALPHA BETTOR was not a shock to win the small field of 5 in this allowance race but it was the flop of odds on Perfect Afleet that was shocking, but the 26, 1/5, 51 splits meant you had to be a good sprinter in the stretch. The winner is trained by Dan Vella, trained of Strait of Dover and Tyler Pizarro had 2 winners on the card.
Another slow 2 turn race was the 9th when Chiefswood Stables’s HEATHCOTE remained unbeaten, he’s 3 for 3 now, as he led all the way through 26 and 51 splits under Emma-Jayne Wilson.
He is a homebred 4yo out of Prairie Flame, by Touch Gold.
Nick Gonzalez had 2 winners on the card, Eurico Da Silva had a big day with 3 winners.
The track has played fair the last couple of days but we would not want to see any rain today since that tends to firm up the track and make it speed favouring.
MORE PLATE DAY STAKES
from Woodbine…
While the major focus on Sunday will be on the 153rd Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most famous horse race, there are a number of other stakes on the undercard that merit their own preview.
Three of them will be contested on the grass over Woodbine’s renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course – the Highlander, King Edward and Singspiel. There is also the $150,000 My Dear Stakes, set for five furlongs on the Polytrack.
The $200,000, Grade 2, six-furlong Highlander, presented by Pizzaville and carded as Race 5, has drawn an excellent field of 10 crack sprinters, headed by the morning line 5-2 choice Gypsy Ring, the multiple stakes winner Essence Hit Man and import Fiddlers Patriot. Post time is 1:59 pm.
Gypsy Ring, a six-year-old gelded son of Where’s the Ring, has proven to be a money machine for his breeder, owner and trainer, Paul Buttigieg. Last year, he won two of seven starts, $251,068 and was a game third, just a neck behind Regally Ready and Bated Breath, in the Grade 1, six furlong turf Nearctic Stakes in October.
This year, he’s perfect in two outings, the Debut and New Providence Stakes, earning $135,000 while pushing his career bankroll to $674,834. Justin Stein rides.
Locally-based Essence Hit Man, the 4-1 third choice, is also perfect in two 2012 outings, taking the Jacques Cartier on April 7 and Vigil Stakes May 6 over Woodbine’s Polytrack. The chestnut five-year-old son of Speightstown, trained and co-owned by Audre Cappuccitti, has won nine of 20 career starts and $958,261, but hasn’t hit the board in two turf tries. Jesse Campbell retains the mount on last year’s Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s top male sprinter.
Lightly-raced Fiddlers Patriot, trained by George Weaver, arrives from Pimlico after easily winning the $100,000 Turf Sprint in his season debut on May 18. The six-year-old gelded son of Proud Citizen ventured to Woodbine twice last year, just missing in the Highlander, a nose back of two-time defending champion Signature Red, who he’ll face again on Sunday, before finishing fifth in the Nearctic. Julien Leparoux climbs aboard the 3-1 second choice for the first time.
The leading money winner in the field is Fatal Bullet, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2008, with over $1.3 million.
The one mile, Grade 2, $250,000 King Edward, presented by TVG, goes as Race 7 at 3:21 pm and drew seven hopefuls.
Hollinger, trained by Roger Attfield and ridden by Luis Contreras, is the 2-1 favourite but is winless in four starts this year. Canada’s champion two-year-old in 2009, the gelded son of Black Minnaloushe most recently finished second to Artic Fern here on the Polytrack, but earlier was fifth to Data Link in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland in April and was second to Get Stormy in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in February.
Trend, the 5-2 second choice, returns to Woodbine for trainer Mark Frostad after four solid outings south of the border this year. The five-year-old gelded son of Sligo Bay was most recently eighth to Hudson Steele in the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico but twice was the runner-up in March at Gulfstream Park – in the Grade 3 Appleton and Canadian Turf Stakes. Julien Leparoux rides.
The $150,000, Grade 3, mile and one-half Singspiel, slated for 4:16 pm as the eighth race on the 12-race Plate card, also drew seven hopefuls, including the venerable Musketier, the 5-2 second choice and his stablemate Simmard, the even-money favourite, both trained by Roger Attfield.
Ten-year-old Musketier, who began his career in Deauville, France in 2004, has won 10 of his 46 starts and over $1 million in purses. The German-bred grey son of Acatenango is the defending Singspiel champion, after defeating Grassy by a neck in last year’s renewal.
This year, in only two starts, he was third to Simmard in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream Park in February, then fourth in the mile and one-half Grade 2 Elkhorn, April 27 at Keeneland. Ramon Dominguez rides the co-highweight (along with Simmard, both at 125 pounds) for the first time.
Seven-year-old Simmard, a son of Dixieland Band, enters off a one and one-quarter length score in the Grade 3, mile and one-half Louisville Handicap at Churchill Downs on May 26. It was his second stakes score of the year after opening his campaign with a nose win in the Mac Diarmida February 26 at Gulfstream Park.
