One foot of snow already this morning – we can’t take it!
UPDATED SATURDAY MORNING…HOLY BULL STAKES PREVIEW
As southern Ontario gets clobbered by more snow today (already a foot here by 9 a.m.) the HOLY BULL STAKES at Gulfstream is a huge race for American 3yos. Canadian based trainers Katerina Vassilieva and Mark Casse have 3yos in the race (Big Bazinga and Conquest Titan) For more on Big Bazinga, scroll down to our interview with Katerina.
There are 11 sophomores in the 1 1/16 mile Holy Bull and it is very difficult to toss many. I am tossing BEST PLAN YET and OUR CARAVAN and will take a look at the other 9 runners:
1 COUP DE GRACE – unbeaten son of Tapit will be ridden by John Velazquez as Javiar Castellano elects to ride WICKED STRONG. Likely a pace presser from the rail and he goes 2 turns for the first time. Not convinced,
2 FINANACIAL MOGUL – off since Nashua S in November when he was a closing 2nd behind Cairo Price. By Street Boss and trained by Rick Violette, he’s intriguing.
4 ALMOST FAMOUS Has won 2 of 3, both with clear early leads. Cost $500,000 and is by Unbridled’s Song. He’s fast and has stamina, and will make it hard on other speed runners.
6 MR SPEAKER – Fast improving Pulpit colt makes his first dirt start after romping in his 3tyo debut on grass. Shug McGaughey sounds confident.
7 CAIRO PRINCE Nosed out in the Remsen otherwise he would be 3 for 3. Fast workout times at Palm Meadows and hey, his broodmare sire is none other than HOLY BULL!
8. WICKED STRONG – Hard Spun colt tried to rally behind slow pace in Remsen, gets Castellano and looks like a good one for trainer James Jerkesn
9 CONQUEST TITAN – He won his latest on the dirt over General A Rod, who came back and won a stake at Gulfstream. He should get a good pace to chase and he looks legit.
10 BIG BAZINGA – off a November layoff and meeting tough ones with lots of pace up front, Would rather see him try his move from off the pace. Good longshot for exotics.
11 INTENSE HOLIDAY Has only nibbled behind CAIRO PRINCE and others, longshot for Pletcher barn.
PICKS – CAIRO PRINCE, WICKED STRONG, MR. SPEAKER, BIG BAZINGA
THOROUGHBLOG continues to be one of the most read racing blogs for Canadian racing – just look at the stats from 2013:
2013 Pageviews = 131,296
2013 Unique Pageviews = 111,323
Please share your comments, ideas, photos, what would you like to see more of on the ‘Blog.
Thanks for reading!
THE BIG BAZINGA THEORY
BIG BAZINGA, inside at right, gets a big test to see if he’s Kentucky Derby material on Saturday at Gulfstream. The Kentucky bred is trained by Woodbine trainer Katerina Vassilieva. MIKE BURNS/WEG PHOTO
Saturday is a big day for Kentucky Derby hopefuls as several early prospects will do battle in the HOLY BULL STAKES at Gulfstream Park. In the field is BIG BAZINGA, trained by Toronto’s own KATERINA VASSILIEVA, 31, who saddled her first horse just about three years ago.
A horse lover as a child, Vassilieva owns an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forensics and as Masters in Genetics but gravitated to the track to ride and then learn the training ropes. Her small stable has maintained a high winning percentage (she won her first stakes race in May, 2012 with Blues Dancing who took Woodbine’s Lady Angela Stakes.
KATERINA VASSILIEVA, trainer of BIG BAZINGA. Photo stolen from her Facebook page.
Thoroughblog talked to her on Thursday about BIG BAZINGA and the exciting day tomorrow:
TBLOG – Tell us about BIG BAZINGA, what was he like when you got him in your barn?
KV: He was kind of a regular horse, nothing overly exceptional about him. He was sent to me by Derby Dreamers Racing Stables which bought him as a yearling for $25,000 at Keeneland. He’s matured a lot since last year.
TBLOG – He won his career debut at 1 mile and 70 yards after a troubled trip (Sept. 5 at Woodbine). Did you expect him to win?
KV: I never expect firsters to win. You never know how they are going to handle the whole race day experience. He got into so much trouble that day that I actually stopped watching him for a while, thought to myself ‘well at least he’s getting a good experience’.
TBLOG – In his second race, he had the lead very late in the Grade 2 Grey Stakes before Ami’s Holiday caught him so obviously he has plenty of ability. Tell us about his final race at 2, the Delta Downs Jackpot when he was seventh.
KV: He had a few excuses in that race. It was his first race on the dirt, it was a bullring, he got squished and slammed about plus there was so much shipping just to get him there (Louisiana).
TBLOG – How is he doing now at Palm Meadows, going into the race on Saturday?
KV: He’s been working really well and I expect him to run well. The opposition is really tough and it is going to be his first really big test.
The owners are Derby Dreamers Stable so we are taking a shot, see if he is good enough.
BIG BAZINGA – Bay gelding 2011 – Bluegrass Cat out of Darling Daughter by Marai’s Mon
$25,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase
Born on March 21 2011
Bred by Sheltowee Farm, Alfonso Mazzetti, Dr. Robert J Hunt & Rodney Winkle
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 5:03 p.m. EST
HOLY BULL S.-GII, $400,000, 3yo, 1 1/16m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Coup de Grace K Tapit Velazquez Brown 116
2 Financial Mogul K Street Boss Ortiz Violette Jr. 116
3 Best Plan Yet Hear No Evil Zayas Gold 120
4 Almost Famous K Unbridled’s Song Borel Byrne 116
5 Our Caravan Daaher Lanerie Dilger 116
6 Mr Speaker Pulpit Lezcano McGaughey 120
7 Cairo Prince K Pioneerof the Nile Saez McLaughlin 122
8 Wicked Strong K Hard Spun Castellano Jerkens 116
9 Conquest Titan K Birdstone Bridgmohan Casse 116
10 Big Bazinga K Bluegrass Cat Bravo Vassilieva 116
11 Intense Holiday K Harlan’s Holiday Rosario Pletcher 116
OBS MIXED SALE
ZENSATIONAL STORM, an Ontario-bred, brought the co-high price at OBS yesterday – $75,000. He is headed to Woodbine with trainer Stuart Simon. LOUISE REINAGAL PHOTO – OBSSALES.COM
CANADIAN-BRED 3yo colt ZENSATIONAL STORM co-topped the Ocala Mixed Sale on Day 2 with a bid of $75,000 from Woodbine trainer Stuart Simon, agent for Russ McLellan. The flashy chestnut worked 3 furlongs in :34 over the synthetic surface on Monday at OBS for consignor Paul Sharp, agent and was sure to be a popular prospect in the sale.
The Zensational – Storming Starlet, by Storm Boot colt was bought by Howard Walton for $120,000 as a yearling at Fasig Tipton Kentucky 2 years ago. The colt was bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc. in Ontario.
First session Canadian buyers..
M Featherwing Rockport Harbor Tasso Run Backtalk Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent L Sherry McLean 7,000
Below are all the Ontario-bred horses with SALES PRICES, RESULTS, names and year of birth etc.
$23,000 SFD Bloodstock 6 09 M Holy Wine Holy Bull Flows Like Wine Ontario Beth Bayer, Agent V
$10,000 J. Brocklebank, agent 34 07 M Supertunia War Chant Heliotrope Ontario Beth Bayer, Agent V
$12,000 C. Schumer,agent 57 04 M Pugilistic Maria’s Mon La Macarena Algorithms Ontario Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent XII
NOT SOLD ($1,500) 98 09 M Glow Tomahawk Old Flame Ontario Abbie Road Farm (Lisa McGreevy), Agent for Blue Valley Farm, Inc. #2
$30,000 J. Ropes 184 06 M D’ Country D’wildcat Western Melody Soaring Empire Ontario Kaizen Sales (Richard Kent), Agent X
NOT SOLD 31,000 213 99 M Lentil Alphabet Soup Black Tie Diamond Tale of the Cat Ontario TdM Sales (Tristan & Valery de Meric), Agent VII
264 $3,200 P MARCONDES 264 – 11 C Sligo Bay (IRE) Geriano Ontario Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent VIII
OUT 283 out 11 C Old Fashioned Jo Zak Ontario James Layden, Agent I
$10,000 RACING CANADA 307 G 12 F War Cry More to Prove Ontario FAV Racing
$6,500 GARY PATRICK 340 PP’s – 11 G Where’s That Cat Where’s the Ring Runaway Cat Ontario Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent VIII
$25,000 TONY PENNINGTON 342 PP’s 48.4 11 G Lucky Coin Bluegrass Cat Sancoin Ontario Moonshadow Farm, Agent
$4,000 ADENA SPRINGS 348 – 11 F Atlantic Zip Stormy Atlantic Sentebale Ontario L & S Bloodstock
$75,000 STUART SIMON, AGENT 361 34.0 11 C Zensational Storm Zensational Storming Starlet Ontario Paul Sharp, Agent
OUT 385 40.3 11 C Strut the Stage Waltzing Around (IRE) Ontario Moises Ovando Sales, Agent
$22,000 K.O.I.D. 401 – 12 C Arch Athena’s Gift Ontario Tradewinds Farm, Agent
$5,000 GARY PATRICK 403 36.1 11 F Coco’s Lute Midnight Lute Baby Blaze Ontario Whitman Sales, Agent V
SELLING TODAY…
520 04 M Peaks Diamond Peaks and Valleys Gilded Diamond Exclusive Quality Ontario Beth Bayer, Agent IX
571 05 M Fast Miss Sligo Bay (IRE) Little Miss Fast Field Commission Ontario Racehorse Consignment, Agent I
577 95 M Queen St West Smarten Lucky Minister Hold Me Back Ontario TdM Sales (Tristan & Valery de Meric), Agent IX
675 03 M Archeress Archers Bay Should Say Wildcat Heir Ontario Journeyman Bloodstock Services, Inc. (Brent & Crystal Fernung), Agent
713 08 M Pleasant Vale Awesome Again Sweet Vale Flower Alley Ontario Casse Sales LLC (Justin Casse), Agent I
783 13 C Court Vision Best Diamond Ontario Select Sales, Agent
802 Y 10 F Laynes Road Harlington Chancery Lane Ontario Casse Sales LLC (Justin Casse), Agent I
NEARCTIC STAKES DOWNGRADED TO GRADE 2
19 stakes lose black-type status for 2014
The Jockey Club of Canada’s Graded Stakes Committee held its annual review of the Graded and Listed Stakes in Canada and while the number of Graded Stakes in Canada remains unchanged at 43 there is one notable downgrade for 2014.
The Graded Stakes Committee meeting, conducted by Committee Chair, Jeff Begg with all Committee Members as well as Chief Steward, Jim Lawson and the race secretaries from Hastings Racecourse, Northlands Park and Woodbine Racetrack, was held on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.
After reviewing the NARC and RQS figures for all Graded and Listed races in Canada, the Committee determined that the Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine would be downgraded to Grade 2 status in 2014. The status for all other Graded and Listed Stakes in Canada will remain unchanged in 2014 (see listing below). Canada will host four Grade 1, sixteen Grade 2 and twenty-three Grade 3 races in 2014.
The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee evaluates and reviews the Graded Stakes in Canada annually and determines whether races should be upgraded, downgraded or remain the same. The Committee bases their decisions on the cumulative NARC ratings for five consecutive years along with the new Race Quality Score (RQS) figures introduced last year by the North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC).
Graded Stakes in North America must carry the following minimum purses and minimum cumulative NARC: $250,000 and 112 NARC for Grade 1; $150,000 and 105 NARC for Grade 2 and $100,000 and 100 NARC for Grade 3.
In 2013 the Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee was made responsible for evaluating all Listed Stakes in Canada using the same evaluation process mentioned above. All Listed races in North America must have a minimum purse of $75,000 and a minimum cumulative NARC of 90.
Changes to the requirements for stakes in North America to receive non-listed black type in SITA catalogues (those compliant with guidelines required by the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers) were implemented by the North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAISCS) on January 1, 2014. (see attached North American Black-Type Requirements from the NAICSC website).
The primary change to the requirements was the implementation of the Race Quality Score (RQS) as an additional quality control for non-listed black-type races in North America.
The RQS is the average of the Annual Race Quality Score for each of a race’s last three renewals. The Annual Race Quality Score is the combination of the speed figures assigned to a race by Bloodstock Research Information Services (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph and is calculated within 30 days after the date of the race. The speed figure assigned to a race is the average of the speed figure assigned to each of the top four placed horses in the race.
Non-Listed black-type races that receive an RQS below the minimum age/sex requirements and have a three-year cumulative RQS below the minimum requirements will automatically lose their black-type status without evaluation. The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee has been made responsible for informing host racetracks of any black-type races that do not meet the RQS requirement and subsequently have lost their black-type status. The Committee will also communicate a warning to host tracks if a stakes is at risk of losing their black-type status in any given year.
The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee reports that the following Stakes races in Canada have lost Black-type status effective 2014:
Alberta Oaks – Northlands Park
Beaufort Stakes – Northlands Park
Bird of Pay Stakes – Northlands Park
Buffalo Stakes – Assiniboia Downs
Chariot Chaser Handicap – Northlands Park
CTHS Sales Stakes – 3YO Filly Division – Hastings Racecourse
Duchess of York Handicap – Northlands Park
Fall Classic Distaff Handicap – Northlands Park
J. W. Sifton Stakes – Assiniboia Downs
Matron Stakes – Assiniboia Downs
R.C. Anderson Stakes – Assiniboia Downs
R.K. (Red) Smith Handicap – Northlands Park
Red Diamond Express Handicap – Northlands Park
Sturgeon River Stakes – Northlands Park
Sun Sprint Championship Handicap – Northlands Park
Three and Four Year Old Filly Sales Stakes – Northlands Park
Three and Four Year Old Sales Stakes – Northlands Park
Two Year Old Sales Stakes – Northlands Park
With Approval Stakes – Woodbine Racetrack
The following Black-Type Stakes Races are at risk of losing their black-type status in 2015 if the minimum age/sex RQS and the minimum cumulative RQS is not achieved in 2014:
Assiniboia Oaks – Assiniboia Downs
CTHS Sales Stakes – 2YO Male division – Hastings Racecourse
New Westminster Stakes – Hastings Racecourse
Northlands Oaks – Northlands Park
Rainbow Connection Stakes – Fort Erie Race Track
Sonoma Hanidcap – Northlands Park
Western Canada Handicap – Northlands Park
Any new stakes races created and existing races with material changes to their conditions must now be submitted to the NAICSC for review and black-type approval no less than 30 days prior to the day the new race or changed race is to be run. New stakes races with a purse of less than $75,000 available to all entries must run twice under essentially the same conditions before being evaluated for black-type status.
For complete information on the RQS Black-Type requirements (see attached) and/or for Black-type race status updates go to www.northamericanicsc.com or contact Jeff Begg, Graded Stakes Committee Chair at The Jockey Club of Canada 416-675-7756 or jockeyclub@bellnet.ca.
HORSE CARE IN THE BITTER COLD
Lexington, Ky.
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Jan. 23, 2014) – Bitter cold temperatures have been a theme this winter, and are now here again. Experts at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment offer tips for managing horses during extremely cold weather.
http://news.ca.uky.edu/article/horse-management-tips-cold-temperatures
