Bummer that HAVRE DE GRACE has been retired..but at least the Derby action is exciting, Queen’s Plate stuff is heating up and Canadians buying at the 2yo sale in Florida!
At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Cindy Forster of the New Democrats Party in Canada issued a statement saying that the governing Liberal Party has promised to provide “transitional funding” to the horse racing industry when the slots-at-racetracks program is ended, reports Bullet News Niagara.
“The Liberal government decided to end the slots at racetracks program without consultation. This is not an NDP budget and we would not have made that decision. However, we have stepped in to secure additional funding that will help stabilize the horse racing industry and the jobs that depend on it,” says Forster.
Neither the NDP nor the Liberals have released details defining exactly what is meant by the term “transitional funding,” how much money will be given, nor how that money will be used.
Sue Leslie, president of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, has said the concession to provide some unspecified amount of transitional funding is better than nothing.
CAT FEVER – Incredicat, carrying the colours of Kinghaven Farms, finishes fast and wins the Wando Stakes on Saturday at Woodbine. Goes to the top of the QP contenders list!
Norm Files photo
QUEEN’S PLATE NEWS
INCREDIBLY STRAIT
Incredicat – Strait of Dover take Plate steps
Kinghaven Farms and friends’ INCREDICAT, who trained in Florida during the winter as good as a 3yo could, passed his 2 turn test yesterdsay at Woodbine.
The son of Discreet Cat – Lady Auchamore relaxed perfectly for jockey Luis Contreras, set a slow pace and skipped home to win in 1:44, good for an 85 Beyer Figure.
That zooms the colt straight to the top of the Queen’s Plate contenders list.
Bred by Kinghaven, the colt is owned by the farm as well as Ben Hutzel, John Fielding, Hat Trick Stable and Clay Horner. He is trained by Ian Black.
The slow pace certainly helped the white-blazed colt win although he looked strong in the stretch while his rider stared early fist pumping.
It was not a great race for PFERECT TAY, who tracked and pressed but faded. He may be better with pace to run at.
Bill Sorokolit`s CLASSIC BRYCE ran a super race to be 2nd from off the pace and he lands in the Plate picture as does BIG CREEK, who stayed on well for 3rd.
STRAIT OF DOVER won an allowance race on Sunday for owner/breeder Canyon Farms of British Columbia. Trained by Danny Vella, this dark bay colt is by English Channel, a turf champion who loved long distances and out of a Danzig mare who was a winner. This is the 10th foal from Bahrain Star, who comes from a Euro-family of the champion mare ROSE BOWL (GB), the 3rd dam.
This is a very speedy guy who won in 1:22.89 for 7 furlongs on Sunday, good for a 83 Beyer Figure, Justin Stein rides the 3yo. Another Plate hopeful, PRINCE RAPHAEL (Shakespeare) was 3rd in the race. The slow pace in the sprint of 23 4/5 certainly helped the winner, who did gallop out well, while Prince Raphael finished nicely.
Canyon Farms (Wally and Terry Leong) bought Bahrain Star for $27,000 in foal to Smart Strike in 2002. That foal went on to be a stakes winner in BC.
More Woodbine Saturday/Sunday
WHIMSICAL STAKES – GRACE 3 – EUGENE MELNYK dropped into Woodbine after watching his Ottawa Senators win their playoff game on Sat. night and watched his homebred ROXY GAP rally into time to win the Whimsical with a nice 92 Beyer Figure. The daughter of Indian Charlie ran 6 furlongs in 1:09 under a great ride by Patrick Husbands.
Roxy Gap wins the Whimsical Grade 3 – Norm Files photo
Saturday: It was a good day of racing for many folks, not so much for handicappers. Toronto Star had some nice longshots hit the tickets – NO EXCHANGES, picked 2nd, was a fun winner for Emma-Jayne Wilson, who rode 2 big longshots to wins on Sat.
race 1 – BOBBY BOUCHER came in from Florida off one race when claimed by Tino Attard. The leggy grey fellow won his maiden for $12,500 with a late inside rally under Patrick Husbands,
NO EXCHANGES won race 2 with a bold rally from well back. The grey by Exchange Rate was dropping from maiden allowance to claiming for his 3yo debut,was well prepared by trained David Bell, who co-owns with Gus Vlahos. The 3yo was a $14,000 purchase at auction,
PRIZED HUMOUR won race 3 on the pace. It was a $40,000 claiming non-winners of 2 and 3 (he was a non-winners of 3) and the son of Distorted Humor was making his 2nd start of the season having raced at Tampa on the grass. The 6yo hates grass, won nicely as a logical contender under new `daddy`Eurico Rosa da Silva.
Da Silva and his wife Claudia welcomed William Christoper to the world on Wednesday.
Started liking my PIck 4 ticket when EXECUTIVE FIVE fought hard to win the allowance. This fellow, a $1,000 purchase at auction, was 2nd in the Debut Stakes on opening day and was very logical to win yesterday. He had to work hard to beat a tough Red Eagle. Ken Katryan is the 4yo`s 3rd trainer.
MAN STUFF won her debut at 9 to 2 in race 5, a filly who was easy to like based on huge workout times dating all the way back to last May. The Belong to Me gal, owned by Mike Coll and Martha Gonzalez, was on the pace all the way and then drew off.
Race 6 went nicely too for the Pick 4 from this corner – MOUNTAIN ECHO was taking a big edge and came from far back to win for Richard Davis under jockey Cory Spataro. She was a nice 5 to 1.
Then the bottom fell out as 8 to 1 PENNYWHISTLE led all the way to win race 7, a maiden $12,500 for fillies and mares. This gal had shown little in 1 race in 2009, missed all of 2010, and then did little in 2 races last year. She bore out after the strat a bit and was involved in a big chain reaction that wiped out Rageing brooke, but she righted herself, battled on the pace and drew off. Glenn Magnusson trains.
The last 2 races of the day went to FINALLY TOGETHER, a firster from trainer John Charalambous, well prepared for owners Equilease and Alan Schaefer. The Bold Executive fellow, bred by Gardiner Farns, was bought in Kentucky for $40,000 as a yearling. The 3yo is a three-quarter brother to stakes winner LEGAL MOVE.
Firster FINALLY TOGETHER gets up to win his debut over SNIPER (6) on Sat. Norm Files photo
FLIM FLAM, the day`s best bet in the Star, won the final for Mark Casse, who won the last race on Friday too.
Sunday – for the second straight card. trainer Tino Attard won race 1 – Sunday with BAKERS WOODS, winter raced in Florida. The Forestry 4yo led all the way to win easy for $20,000 claiming.
In race 2, DREAMY MOONLITE edged big fave ANYWHERE, who was previously unbeaten, in the non-winners of 1 ‘other than’ allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs. The winner is a John Staples homebred by Dance to Destiny.
Trainer Mike McDonald got his first win when MALIBU SKYLINE overcame some stubborness behind the gate to win his maiden for $12,500 in race 3. The son of Malibu Moon was taking a large class drop and was winter raced.
Sam-Son Farms’ ARROW’S CONQUEST was an impressive winer of race 4, an allowance/optional claiming race at 7 furlongs. He earned an 80 Beyer for his win over Cold Harbor. In that race, Lord of Greatness had a rein break early in the race and jockey Steve Bahen was simply lucky to keep the gelding going along and they wound up 4th.
Tough luck for jockey TODD KABEL in race 5 as he led all the way aboard Rockabyebaby in the $10,000 claimer but the filly was nabbed right on the wire by Blues Music, who was making her first start since August for trainer Scott Fairlie.
Ballycroy Training Centre’s PROUD OF MY ROOTS is 2 for 2 this season as she won an allowance race for Ontario sired gals. The Bold Executive filly, out of Ring Star, was bred by Ballycroy and Bill Hicks.
Kelly Callaghan, owner and trainer, had the beginner BOLIVAR very ready to win his debut at the maiden allowance class. The flashy Kentucky bred by Flashy Bull was up to beat Any Given Saturday by a long neck. Slade rode for his wife.
And Woodbine’s current leading trainer, ROBERT TILLER, won the finale on the day with HOOF AIN’T IT, a beginner who was somehow a fat 13 to 1, being by top debut sire Old Forester. The filly, who had been working in 47 and change for half a mile last season, edged Love in Egbert (One Way Love) to win her debut with a 70 Beyer Figure. Steve Bahen rode his 3rd winner of the season.
www.horse-races.net photo of Roxy Gap and owner Eugene Melnyk
AFTER NINE (Woodbine racing days)
LEADING TRAINERS
1 Robert P. Tiller 24 6 6 5 $299,016 25% 17 71%
2 Reade Baker 14 5 4 1 $268,008 36% 10 71%
2 Michael J. Doyle 17 5 1 3 $150,433 29% 9 53%
2 Wesley A. Ward 13 5 1 1 $105,887 38% 7 54%
5 Mark E. Casse 29 4 6 5 $324,504 14% 15 52%
5 Scott H. Fairlie 14 4 2 1 $79,943 29% 7 50%
5 Jim Ensom 4 4 0 0 $69,656 100% 4 100%
8 Audre Cappuccitti 18 3 2 1 $155,096 17% 6 33%
8 Josie Carroll 10 3 0 1 $125,437 30% 4 40%
8 Paul M. Buttigieg 8 3 2 1 $122,420 38% 6 75%
8 Ricky Griffith 10 3 1 2 $86,166 30% 6 60%
8 Brian A. Lynch 4 3 1 0 $73,618 75% 4 100%
LEADING JOCKEYS
1 Luis Contreras 53 11 10 10 $530,031 21% 31 58%
2 Patrick Husbands 44 9 8 4 $493,507 20% 21 48%
2 Eurico Rosa Da Silva 50 9 8 6 $460,605 18% 23 46%
4 Emma-Jayne Wilson 49 8 9 10 $377,754 16% 27 55%
5 Justin Stein 52 7 7 5 $336,652 13% 19 37%
6 Gerry Olguin 35 6 5 3 $210,662 17% 14 40%
7 David Moran 43 5 3 4 $178,694 12% 12 28%
7 Jesus M. Rios 13 5 1 1 $105,887 38% 7 54%
ROGER ATTFIELD – CANADA’S OWN TO BE INDUCTED IN U.S. HALL OF FAME
Eight-time Queen’s Plate-winning trainer Roger Attfield, who is based at Woodbine Racetrack, Ghostzapper, the 2004 Horse of the Year, jockey John Velazquez and conditioner Robert Wheeler, have been elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.
The class of 2012 will be inducted on Friday, August 10, in Saratoga Springs, New York, at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony is free and open to the public.
Attfield, Ghostzapper, Velazquez and Wheeler were elected in the contemporary category by the 183 members of the Hall of Fame voting panel.
Having saddled the winner of 1,731 races, including 369 stakes, Attfield has purse earnings of more than $88 million. He has won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Canadian Trainer a record eight times and trained three Canadian Triple Crown winners (Izvestia, With Approval, and Peteski).
Attfield has won a record-tying eight runnings of the Queen’s Plate and seven editions of the Breeders’ Stakes. He won his first Breeders’ Cup race in 2011 when Perfect Shirl took the Filly and Mare Turf. The many other stakes races he has won in the United States include the Wood Memorial, Flower Bowl, Shadwell Turf Mile, Maker’s Mark Mile, Elkhorn, Yellow Ribbon, Orchid, and Carter Handicap. He is also a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Ghostzapper (Awesome Again-Baby Zip, by Relaunch) won 9 of 11 career starts and earned $3,446,120. He was named Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male in 2004 when he posted a 4-for-4 record. Trained by Hall of Fame member Bobby Frankel, Ghostzapper won the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic in stakes-record time, covering the 1¼-mile distance in 1:59.02.
That year, he also won the Woodward Stakes, Tom Fool Handicap, and Iselin Handicap. At 3, Ghostzapper won the Vosburgh Stakes. He closed out his career with a victory in the Metropolitan Handicap at age 5. Ghostzapper raced for Frank Stronach and is currently a stallion at Stronach’s Adena Springs in Kentucky.
Nick Eaves, President and Chief Executive Officer of Woodbine Entertainment Group on the election of Roger Attfield into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, announced Monday morning.
“On behalf of all of us at Woodbine, we are enormously proud of Roger Attfield and his election to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. There is no one more deserving of this honour than a Woodbine icon who has made Canada and Canadian horse racing respected across the world through his numerous accomplishments.”
OBS 2YO SALE THIS WEEK – BEAR AND HILLS BUYING
Listed are Canadian-breds up for sale and Canadian buyers – DAY ONE OF THE SALE:
Buyers:
F. MORE THAN READY /VIOLETINHA (ARG) $50,000 HARLEQUIN RANCHES
F. HARLAN’S HOLIDAY /WATERTOWN $52,000 BEAR STABLES
DKB/BR F.. Macho Uno…………….Whiskey and Low :10 2/5 BEAR STABLES $50,000
C. COWTOWN CAT /ASHLEE’S LADY $35,000 BEAR STABLES
F. FROST GIANT /CAMEO MIO $100,000 JIM AND SUSAN HILL
267 10 C. HARLAN’S HOLIDAY /CITA MY DEAR $220,000 JIM AND SUSAN HILL
F. BLUEGRASS CAT /CHIT CHATTER $37,000 BEAR STABLES
BC BRED
1123 My Classical Rose……..B F……. Corinthian……………Switch Lanes 10 4/5
ONTARIO BREDS IN APRIL SALE WITH UNDER TACK SHOW TIME (after three gallop shows)
33 …………………….CH F…… Circular Quay…………Waltzing Around (IRE) :11.00 NOT SOLD $9,000
54 …………………….DKB/BR F.. Macho Uno…………….Whiskey and Low :10 2/5 bear stables $50,000
245 OUT …………………….DKB/BR F.. Silent Name (JPN)……..Catalina Cat
274 OUT One Hyde Park…………GR/RO C… Macho Uno…………….Classical Miss 22 3/5
290 OUT Chepstow……………..DKB/BR C.. Harlington……………Collymore Hall
406 …………………….DKB/BR C.. J Be K……………….Essie’s Link :10 4/5
427 …………………….B C……. Philanthropist………..Financingavailable :22 1/5
438 …………………….B F……. Any Given Saturday…….Flawless Diamond :10 3/5
472 OUT…………………….DKB/BR C.. Dixie Union…………..Gentle Jazz
533 OUT Hall’s Village………..B C……. Graeme Hall…………..Highgate Park
599 …………………….B F……. Harlington……………Jungle Storm 10 2/5
636 Chelsea Road………….CH F…… Speightstown………….Lambert Point 10 3/5
641 …………………….CH C…… Songandaprayer………..Launch the Rocket :10** tied for fastest
656 …………………….DKB/BR F.. Bernstein…………….Lillians Choice 10 2/5
660 OUT …………………….GR/RO F… Macho Uno…………….Lip Gloss
668 …………………….B F……. Where’s the Ring………Lonesome Girl 10 4/5
676 Bathsheba Park………..DKB/BR C.. Harlington……………Lucas Street :22
710 Sufficientevidence…….CH C…… Pleasant Tap………….Matter of Law 22 2/5
801 OUT Rosa Roja…………….DKB/BR F.. Spring At Last………..Numberonetreasure
827 …………………….GR/RO C… Bob and John………….Pandora’s Secret 10 2/5
900 …………………….DKB/BR F.. Tap Day………………Queen of the Realm 21 2/2
933 …………………….DKB/BR C.. Street Boss…………..Reportedly 10 2/5
987 …………………….B C……. Dehere……………….Saving Ground 11 1/5
1012 …………………….B C……. Midnight Lute…………Shebandowana 22 /4
1093 …………………….DKB/BR F.. Grand Slam……………Street Cat 10 3/5
1105 …………………….CH F…… English Channel……….Summer Lass 10 4/5
1125 Take a Hold…………..DKB/BR C.. Milwaukee Brew………..Take a Look 21 2/5
KENTUCKY DERBY STUFF
