BELMONT STAKES MADNESS BEGINS (let us know what you think, a Triple Crown winner or no?? Be prepared for a lot of wacky media coverage, especially from those who don’t know much about the game…see CNN STORY BELOW
The first long weekend for the summer is complete, the weather was hot and bright. Action packed weekend in racing included 3 stakes at Woodbine (SEE SUNDAY’;S POST FOR SATURDAY’S WRAP).
BLUES DANCING WINS LADY ANGELA
Domenic Triumbari’s BLUES DANCING won her first stake and so did trainer Katerina Vassilieva in Sunday’s restricted Lady Angela Stakes. The 3yo by Survivalist – La Belle Bleu by Beau Genius was given a heady ride by Luis Contreras and led all the way. The time of 1:24.60 was good for a 69 Beyer Figure.
The filly was bred by Sycamore Stable. She was a buy back as a weanling at $9,000 and then bought by Triumbari as a yearling for $8,000 from consignor Richard Hogan.
The winner is the 6th foal of the mare, who comes from an Alberta family.
Sunday’s fastest winners were PORT STANLEY (a lovely 10 to 1), who once again won his season debut, this time in a $40K claiming race on the grass for trainer Dave Bell and owners Russ and Lois Bennett, Charles Fipke and Bob Ross. The winner ran an 85 Beyer.
Also hitting 85 on the Beyer scale was GENTLEMAN JACKSON, who won for $25,000 claiming for Frank Cirillo and trainer Marty Drexler. He sped 6 furlongs in 1:1017.
STRIKE RED, a 4yo filly from Sam-Son Farms, posted an 84 Beyer when she won the 6 1/2 furlong turf allowance, the finale on the day. ETERNAL RULE remained unbeaten when he won the 2nd race, an allowance/optional claimer in 1:10.20, good for an 83 Beyer. The winner is owned by Don Myers and trained by Sid Attard.
GYPSY RUNS RINGS AROUND FIELD
Paul Buttigieg’s homebred GYPSY RING edged Paso Doble in the restricted New Providence Stakes and is now 8 for 24 in his career with earnings of over $655,000. These Buttigieg homebreds are unreal runners, dealing with modest breeding but simply cleaning up. This son of Where’s the Ring was a finalist for a Sovereign Award last year and he has won 2 stakes this season now. Justin Stein rides him. The mare, Gypsy Genna, has had 9 foals of racing age including a 2yo full brother of this year called WHERE’S THE BEAR (owned by Bear Stables).
The 5yo posted a 91 Beyer Figure.
More Monday
KIAMA (Ghostzapper) led all the way through 5 furlongs to win her maiden for $30,000 claiming, her 9th attempt. The Brian Lynch owned and trained 3yo filly was 8 to 5 and ridden by Luis Contreras. Her time was a snappy :58.00.
Tremendous CLEMENTIS won race 2 at 13 t 1in her 2nd race of the season. The filyl was given a lovey ride by David Garcia to reel in a pace duel and then edge clear of Alamanda Drive to win the $40,000 claiming event at 1 mile on the grass. The daughter of Perigee Moon is owned by Tequesta Racing and trainer by Alison Crook. The 5yo mare is 4 for 30 in her career. The tri and superfecta paid large as the 2 to 1 favourite Two Wonders was unplaced. The tri was worth $9,000 and the 20 cent super was $21,000.
The 2yo colts were on the stage in race 3 and the quickest of the babies was MILLIONINTHEMAKING, a compact looking bay 2yo by Ontario sire Saffir and from the super Great Gladiator mare Pretoria. The half brother to stakes winner stonetown and top jamaican mare Priceless Beauty was a $34,000 yearling purchase.he is owned by Wolsley Finch and trained by Abraham Katryan.
The colt held off a stretch bid by The B’s and E’s and then a late run by Honorable Guest to win at 6 to 1, The latter pair were both 7 to 5 on the odds board.
Oh Joe! CONSOLIDATOR JOE is a winning machine and he won the bob on the wire over an improving and game ZIP IT NANCE in race 4. The allowance/optional claiming event was the 6th win in just 9 races for the Consolidator 4yo gelding. He is owned and was bred by Syd Cooper’s RMC Stable. His Beyer Figure was 84.
ROMAN GAMES, claimed from a big return outing on May 5 for $9,500 by Scott Fairlie, won for $12,500 in race 5. the grey 5yo gelding had not won in a couple of years. David Garcia gets win no. 2 on the day.
BIGSTORMBREWIN sizzled in race 6, 1:15 1/5 for 6 1/2 furlongs on the grass, in an allowance race. The Sam-Son Farms 4yo gelding is 2 for 7 in his career now and is a Stormy Atlantic offspring out of Eye of the Sphynx, a Woodbine Oaks winner. Eurico da Silva got his 2nd win of the day.
FIFE NESS is a nice 3yo Ontario sired filly and she won her maiden by 7 lengths for Rita and Steven Shefsky and trainer Dan Vella. The daughter of Vibank, who was a sprinter, won the 2 turn race at 5 to 2 in her 9th career race. She as made over $80,000 and was a $30,000 purchase last spring as a 2yo.
GO BLUE OR GO HOME put up an 81 Beyer Figure with his front running debut score in the last race. At 7 furlongs on the grass, the Jim and Susan Hill colt, a $90,000 weanling purchase, was very strong under Gerry Olguin and he was the 13th winner for trainer Reade Baker.
HIPPOLYTUS PUT DOWN
Queen’s Plate runner-up HIPPOLYTUS was put down recently when he became ill.
Trainer Mark Casse told Thoroughblog:
“We really don’t know what happened to him, he was out in his paddock and when groom went to get him to bring him in for the evening he couldn’t walk behind. He went in for surgery and they put him down on the surgery table.”
The son of Philanthropist, bred by John Carey, earned over $460,000 for Horse n Around and Richard Lederman. He was stakes placed many times and gave jockey Tyler Pizarro a huge thrill when he led into the stretch of last year’s Plate.
Hippolytus – Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
WOODBINE OAKS – COMING UP JUNE 3
Dixie Strike looms heavy favourite
The prestigious Woodbine Oaks is coming up in less than 2 weeks, the weekend before the Belmont Stakes, and DIXIE STRIKE, off her resounding Selene Stakes score figures to be a huge favourite. That is based on the thought that Hard Not to Like will be in the Queen’s Plate rather than the Oaks. Should Hard Not to Like be in the Oaks, then Dixie strike will still be a slight favourite.
The Oaks may not be a very big field and DIXIE STRIKE is a certainty to do that race first.
Whether she goes back into the Plate 3 weeks later (remember, she just ran a lifetime best effort in the Selene, am 89 Beyer) is a question, she has been busy this year.
Here are the likely entries:
AWESOME FIRE
ch.f.3 by Strong Contender(Maria’s Mon) – Awesome Lass(Awesome Again)
Urban Fire Corp. Nicholas Gonzalez
BLACK BIRD ROCK
dk b/.f.3 by Flower Alley(Distorted Humor) – Black Rock Road(Bertrando)
Melnyk Racing Stable Inc. Mark E. Casse
DIXIE STRIKE
b.f.3 by Dixie Union(Dixieland Band) – Noble Strike(Smart Strike)
John C. Oxley Mark E. Casse
HARD NOT TO LIKE
gr/ro.f.3 by Hard Spun(Danzig) – Like a Gem(Tactical Cat)
Hillsbrook Farms Gail Cox
HORSESHOE HILL
b.f.3 by Street Sense(Street Cry (IRE)) – Leaveminthedust(Danzig)
Windhaven Michael J. Doyle
IRISH MISSION
ch.f.3 by Giant’s Causeway(Storm Cat) – Misty Mission(Miswaki)
Robert S. Evans Mark R. Frostad
NORTHERN PASSION
ch.f.3 by First Samurai(Giant’s Causeway) – A Touch of Glory(Golden Gear)
John C. Oxley Mark E. Casse
PART THE SEAS
b.f.3 by Stormy Atlantic(Storm Cat) – Go Marching Thru(Smart Strike)
ROSE AND SHINE
dk b/.f.3 by Mr. Sekiguchi(Storm Cat) – Yellowenglishrose(Colonial Affair)
James Sabiston Ralph J. Biamonte
NEW YORK POST
Belmont $eats through roof
By ED FOUNTAINE
Anyone who wants to attend the 144th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 9, when I’ll Have Another bids for the Triple Crown, can walk up the day of the race and pay $10 general admission to get into the grandstand at Belmont Park, or $20 for the clubhouse. Plenty of benches and picnic tables are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.Plenty of benches and picnic tables are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
But if you want to sit in one of the reserved seats overlooking the racetrack and didn’t buy your ticket yet, be prepared to pay through the nose.
Except for about 1,000 remaining seats that will be available to walk-up customers tomorrow at Belmont, the rest are sold out at their original cost, ranging from $20 to $120, with most of those in the $45-$65 range.
But thousands of seats are still available at greatly inflated prices from ticket brokers such as Stubhub.com and other on-line sites. According to Chris Matcovich, director of data and communications for TiqIQ, the average ticket price for the Belmont Stakes as of yesterday was $405, more than double the $182 average for last year’s Belmont.
OUCH, CNN KICKS OFF BELMONT STAKES WEEK WITH DREADFUL ERIN BURNETT VIDEO
WOODBINE 2012 MEETING – AFTER 25 DAYS
TRAINERS
Rank Trainer Name Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Win% Top3 Top3%
1 Mark E. Casse 75 16 16 10 $1,215,409 21% 42 56%
2 Reade Baker 55 13 14 5 $697,036 24% 32 58%
3 Robert P. Tiller 66 12 10 13 $599,565 18% 35 53%
4 Scott H. Fairlie 42 11 8 5 $257,745 26% 24 57%
5 Sid C. Attard 41 8 6 4 $348,240 20% 18 44%
6 Josie Carroll 33 7 3 3 $351,428 21% 13 39%
6 Michael J. Doyle 42 7 6 5 $292,371 17% 18 43%
6 Nicholas Gonzalez 38 7 6 8 $276,126 18% 21 55%
9 Paul M. Buttigieg 25 6 6 3 $321,177 24% 15 60%
9 Paul Attard 21 6 2 0 $153,146 29% 8 38%
9 Jim Ensom 6 6 0 0 $119,268 100% 6 100%
12 Daniel J. Vella 37 5 5 5 $331,261 14% 15 41%
12 Ricky Griffith 26 5 4 5 $199,027 19% 14 54%
12 Wesley A. Ward 18 5 1 4 $126,953 28% 10 56%
JOCKEYS
1 Patrick Husbands 141 29 25 17 $1,667,732 21% 71 50%
2 Emma-Jayne Wilson 141 25 27 22 $1,106,325 18% 74 52%
3 Justin Stein 153 24 21 24 $1,166,978 16% 69 45%
4 Luis Contreras 145 23 24 21 $1,230,854 16% 68 47%
5 Eurico Rosa Da Silva 125 20 21 17 $1,060,327 16% 58 46%
6 Gerry Olguin 94 12 12 7 $474,204 13% 31 33%
7 Tyler Pizarro 91 11 14 13 $556,653 12% 38 42%
7 Steven Ronald Bahen 84 11 10 13 $465,592 13% 34 40%
9 Omar Moreno 63 8 4 5 $276,067 13% 17 27%
10 Jesse M. Campbell 72 7 5 9 $543,859 10% 21 29%
10 David Moran 100 7 5 10 $298,667 7% 22 22%
10 Todd Kabel 67 7 6 4 $262,127 10% 17 25%
OWNERS
1 John C. Oxley 17 5 5 2 $444,289 29% 12 71%
2 Melnyk Racing Stables, Inc. 10 5 1 0 $400,749 50% 6 60%
3 Bear Stables, Ltd. 43 8 8 4 $353,155 19% 20 47%
4 Paul M. Buttigieg 19 5 5 2 $271,084 26% 12 63%
5 Cappuccitti, Audre and Gordon 24 2 1 1 $239,106 8% 4 17%
6 Sam-Son Farms 12 4 2 0 $207,360 33% 6 50%
7 William A. Sorokolit, Sr. 20 2 2 2 $199,227 10% 6 30%
8 Donver Stable 11 3 0 1 $167,390 27% 4 36%
9 Debmar Stables 18 4 2 4 $164,804 22% 10 56%
10 Harlequin Ranches 8 4 1 1 $151,786 50% 6 75%
11 Brereton C. Jones 5 1 2 0 $147,270 20% 3 60%
12 Domenic Triumbari 4 4 0 0 $143,788 100% 4 100%
WINDSOR STAR FEATURE ON J. PAUL REDDAM AND HIS DAD
Triple crown within reach for Reddam
Windsor native toast of horse racing world
By Jim Parker, The Windsor Star
Paul Reddam’s home is now in Southern California but every day, the 56-year-old Reddam reconnects with his Windsor roots.
“He calls me at least once a day,” said his 82-year-old father, John Reddam, who still lives in Windsor.
Finding a topic of conversation hasn’t been tough this month. The younger Reddam is the toast of the horse racing world after I’ll Have Another, Reddam’s horse, moved just one victory from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years.
After winning the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, I’ll Have Another took the second jewel Saturday by again chasing down two-to-one favourite Bodemeister to win the 137th Preakness by a neck before a record crowd of 121,309 at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore.
“(I’ll Have Another) got a lot of respect with Saturday’s win,” said Paul Reddam, the owner whose horse went off at three-to-one odds. “I think people felt he won the Derby because he got a perfect ride. If he hadn’t got that ride, they felt he wouldn’t have won. Having seen him Saturday, I would say some would have changed their mind.
“The sheer will and determination was a sight to see.”
An Assumption high school grad, Reddam developed his love of horses as a teenager at Windsor Raceway.
His father spoke of his friendship with driver Ron Henderson and the son talks about buddy Ron Fisco, who worked as a groom while in high school.
“He dragged me out and that’s how I got into horses,” Reddam said.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/life/Triple+crown+within+reach+
reddam/6656790/story.html#ixzz1vbKgUyRR
FASIG TIPTON MIDATLANTIC SALE
ONTARIO BREDS SOLD
61 F EXCHANGE RATE MINSTREL SHOW TIP EQUINE SALES AGENT DARMINDRA DHARAMJIT $10,000
179 F SONGANDAPRAYER SIERRA PASSION CRANE THOROUGHBREDS AGENT FOR DIAMANTAIRE LLC DARMINDRA DHARAMJIT $10,000
433 $21,000 C MACHO UNO EVER ELUSIVE SAB SALES (SCOTT A. BERGSRUD) AGENT I JOEL ZAWITZ
CANADIAN BUYERS
F FLATTER ANNIE’S APPLE MCKATHAN BROS. AGENT SUSIE HART FOR WINDWAYS FARM $120,000
EQUISPORT PHOTO
FROM SUNDAY’S BLOG….AND ANOTHER!!
Racing world roars as I’ll Have Another gets up to win Preakness – 109 Beyer
It was a finish that had not just 120,000 people trackside on their feet, but thousands worldwide.
Horse racing and all its members and fans, rose as I’ll Have Another got ever so closer to the brilliant speedster BODEMEISTER through the stretch run at Pimlico racecourse, ‘Old Hilltop’, the site of wins by the greats like Secretariat and Citation.
Owned by a man who once traipsed around the now-unsettled Windsor Raceway in the outskirts of Canada, ridden by a jock who learned his lessons from Vancouver horsepeople (and yes, the footage from Hastings Park yesterday was wild stuff as the fans cheered their boy on) and trained by a guy, who has had his battles with reputation but maybe, just maybe is being forgiven a little?
I’ll Have Another is just one win, hey, it’s a biggee, away from being the first horse in 34 years to win the American Triple Crown, the glorious crown, won only by Affirmed, Seattle Slew, ‘Big Red, Citation, Gallant Fox, Omaha, Assault, Sir Barton, Whirlaway, Count Fleet and War Admiral.
These are legends of the sport that many who write about racing and watch racing today only have ever heard a bit about, probably have not even read about them. They are the legends of a sport that was so much different than it is today.
The Triple Crown is a coveted prize, just 11 winners in 138 years. A prize essentially brought together thanks to a Canadian owned fellow, a chestnut colt named Sir Barton, who upset the 1919 Derby, swept the series and then ran one of his most famous races in Windsor, Ontario.
The ties are too hard to resist.
It was J.K.L. Ross who bought and raced Sir Barton and gets some credit for the invention of the American Triple Crown.
“…it as the fierce competitive spirit of a distinguished Canadian sportsman, who was most anxious for his horses to run in the 1919 Derby, that was in some respects the catalyst which brought east and West together.” – Marvin Drager, “The Most Glorious Crown
So, while I’ll Have Another is not whole-heartedly Canadian (he has a Canadian born physio therapist, a Canadian-born 2nd granddam and lots of Northern Dancer blood, we will think of him a bit as our own. And cheer with the rest of the world not only for this colt to bring down destiny in three weeks time but lift the great sport that we love, the age-old sport of ‘my horse is faster than yours’ back to the heights of yesteryear.
ALYDEED’S SON ‘NORMAN’, THE ONE-EYED WONDER
TORONTO STAR FEATURE..
