FRIDAY’S NEWS – WINDFIELDS AUCTION, 3-YEAR-OLD DERBY PREPS, CANADIAN-BREDS WINNING, and MORE!
**Hey, if you want to get the author of THOROUGHBLOG a nice little gift, some nostalgic piece, say, an old sign…. head out to legendary Windfields Farm on March 6 (yours truly won’t be able to go)
OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY
Windfields Farm Confirms Auction Date
Windfields Farm, breeder of 361 stakes winners and 48 champions including the internationally renowned Northern
Dancer, has confirmed that auctioneer Bob Dickenson will conduct a liquidation auction at Windfields Farm on
Saturday, March 6, 2010.
Auction Details:
Items slated to cross the auction block on site at Windfields Farm include tractors, trucks, lawn mowers, farm and equine equipment, tools and more. Item viewing begins at 8:00 a.m. on sale day; bidding begins at 9:30 a.m.sharp. The auction is totally unreserved. The farm is located at 2300 Simcoe Avenue North, in Oshawa, Ontario.
Click here for full auction listings: http://bit.ly/cdUfTh
History of Windfields:
Founded by businessman E.P. Taylor, Windfields Farm became the premier operation for thoroughbred breeding in North America Windfields is the birthplace of world champion racehorse and sire Northern Dancer, winner of the 1964 Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Queen’s Plate. Retired from racing after the 1964 season, Northern Dancer went on to an even more brilliant career at stud, at one time commanding a $1,000,000 stud fee.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association states that Northern Dancer is “one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history.” He is also regarded as the 20th century’s best sire of sires. Windfields bred
Northern Dancer’s sons Nijinsky, Secreto, and The Minstrel, all of whom won England’s most prestigious race, the Epsom Derby.
For more information please contact:
Bob Dickenson, President
BOB DICKENSON AUCTION SERVICE LTD.
(905) 689-3359 or (905) 541-1200
THREE-YEAR-OLDS GETTING GEARED UP THIS WEEKEND
RISEN STAR PREVIEW FOR SATURDAY
Sam-Son’s Hotep starts from post 12
(for more on Hotep read past blog postings on this site)
Honest Pace Assured in Risen Star After Florida Flight Arrival
When an equine charter from South Florida touched down in New Orleans at about 11:30 Wednesday morning, a legitimate pace in Saturday’s Grade II Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Louisiana Derby Preview Day was all but assured.
Aboard the flight was Gainesway Farm’s Tempted to Tapit, a Steve Klesaris trainee who broke his maiden with a front-running victory by 11 1/2-lengths at Aqueduct in his most recent outing Jan. 18; WinStar Farm’s
Drosselmeyer – conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott – a Distorted Humor colt that was just off the
early pace in his last start Jan. 31 at Gulfstream before drawing clear for a 1 3/4-length score; and Paul
Robsham’s Discreetly Mine – trained by Todd Pletcher – a homebred son of Mineshaft who was unable to join up with the early leaders in his last start in Gulfstream’s Spectacular Bid Stakes Jan. 9 after bobbling at the
start and then getting bumped on the turn to finish fourth.
“Tempted to Tapit doesn’t have to have the lead,” said Klesaris, speaking from the Fair Grounds barn area as he awaited the arrival of his horse from the airport. “However, he is tactically very quick. Where he’s going to
be placed – that will be up to the jock (David Cohen). We’ll leave that in his hands.”
Asked about jockey Cohen, probably unfamiliar to most Louisiana racing fans, Klesaris said, “He’s an
exceptionally good rider and he’s having a very good year in New York where he is second to Ramon Dominguez in the standings up there.”
Regarding Risen Star Stakes Longshots Saturday
Can Mountain Justice – a horse who has never won over a dirt surface – prevail in Saturday’s Grade II Risen Star Stakes after being dismissed at 20-1 in the morning line for the race that serves as Fair Grounds’ final designed tune-up for the Grade II Louisiana Derby March 27?
Handicappers who believe in the turf-to-dirt angle would say the sophomore colt by 2005 Preakness and Belmont winner Afleet Alex should not be overlooked.
“I am living and hoping that such a (turf-to-dirt) scenario will play out,” said trainer Andrew McKeever, who
saddled Charlotte Musgrave’s Diamond Tycoon to win last season’s Grade III Fair Grounds Handicap. “I know we’re throwing him in the deep end of the pool here, but his pedigree is totally dirt and he’s been working on it very well this winter.”
Mountain Justice breezed a half-mile in 50.40 Tuesday morning at Fair Grounds after working a bullet five
furlongs in 1:00.80 on Feb. 2. The Kentucky-bred bay will be making his seasonal bow in the Risen Star after
finishing second in a one-mile $50,000 optional claiming grass test here in his last start Dec. 28.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
FASIG-TIPTON FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH S.-GII,
$250,000, 3yo, 1 1/8m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Aikenite Yes It’s True Garcia Pletcher 116
2 Buddy’s Saint Saint Liam Lezcano Levine 122
3 Pulsion Include Smith Biancone 116
4 Pleasant Prince Indy King Leparoux Ward 116
5 Jackson Bend Hear No Evil Rose Zito 120
6 Prince Will I Am Victory Gallop Lopez Nihei 116
7 Positive Split Repent Prado McPeek 116
8 Eskendereya Giant’s Causeway Velazquez Pletcher 120
9 Lost Aptitude Aptitude Maragh Romans 118
10 Ice Box Pulpit Bravo Zito 116
Click for the brisnet.com PPs
RAHY’S ATTORNEY returns to action at Gulfstream Saturday!
Rahy is back! Terence Dulay photo
Champion RAHY’S ATTORNEY, a Sovereign award finalist in 2009 and a double graded stakes winner on the season, will take part in the prestigious and aptly named CANADIAN TURF HANDICAP as the co-highweight.
Rob Landry is named for Ellie Boje Stable and trainer Ian Black.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
CANADIAN TURF S.-GIII, $150,000, 4yo/up, 1mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Le Grand Cru Dynaformer Lezcano H Jerkens 120
2 Mambo Meister King Cugat Velazquez Gleaves 122
3 Pickapocket Mecke Trujillo Ma Wolfson 118
4 Jet Propulsion Double Honor Leparoux Ma Wolfson 122
5 Cherokee Artist Cherokee Run Rose Motion 120
6 Vanquisher Gulch Garcia Griffith 118
7 Courageous Cat Storm Cat Gomez Mott 124
8 Rahy’s Attorney Crown Attorney Landry Black 124
9 Star Plus (Arg) Alpha Plus Maragh Penna Jr 118
MTO Dream Maestro Concerto Cruz Kaplan 118
CANADIAN-OWNED DANCING IN SILKS, ‘CUP WINNER, IN ACTION
Saturday, Santa Anita
SAN CARLOS H.-GII, $150,000, 4yo/up, 7f, (AWT)
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Hunch Lion Heart Talamo Sadler 113
2 Supreme Summit Cactus Ridge Bejarano O’Neill 113
3 Bob Black Jack Stormy Jack Flores Kasparoff 120
4 Dancing in Silks Black Minnaloushe Rosario Gaines 121
5 Bestdressed Lit de Justice Quinonez Sadler 115
6 Ventana Toccet Espinoza Baffert 114
7 Quietly Mine Belong to Me Beato Carava 114
BUSTIN OUT!
Ghostzapper colt wins, Plate hopeful
Castle Peak Farm and Contstruction Ltd.’s WHO WE GUNNA CALL, a $72,000 2yo purchase in 2009, won his maiden in only his 2nd career start yesterday at Tampa Bay Downs and quickly got on an early list of QUEEN’S PLATE CONTENDERS still 4 months from the big race.
The bay colt is by Ghostzapper out of canadian Oaks winner Touch Dial (Phone Trick) and was bred by Adena Springs.
Trainer by William Phipps, the colt finished 4th in his debut ina sprint and then won a 1 mile and 40 yard race yesterday with a 66 Beyer Figure.
NICE! VELLA HORSE ON FIRE
NICE CASE is loving the 4 1/2 furlong dashes in West Virginia at Charles Town. The Ontario bred by Gold Case – Nicely Nasty by Defrere, bred by Minshall Farms,won his 2nd straight race yesterday when he romped by 5 1/2 lengths in an allowance/optional claiming event (he was offered for $16K) and ran the trip in 51 4/5.
Justin Nixon is the listed trainer for Danny Vella, an owner and trainer from Ontario.
DAVE COTEY will be on a roll when he starts horses at the Woodbine meeting on April 2. The owner/trainer sent horses to PENN NATIONAL this winter and has done well.
Wednesday, SKIP THE PAGE won her maiden at 17 to 1 in her first race since December at Woodbine.
The Read the Footnotes filly won for $5,000 claiming.
Cotey’s horses are being condiionted by SAM WEBB.
And the K.K. Sangara horses are loving the 5 furlong turf dashes at Gulfstream. For the second time in a little over a week, a Canadian-owned fellow from that stable, trained currently by Julia Carey but during the year by Lorne Richards, won suich a race.
Yesterday, DANCING ALLTHE WAY, an Ontario bred by A Fleets Dancer – Roses at Sunset by Valid Appeal, won an allowance optional claimer in 55.14 by a head at 5 to 1.
At TAMPA BAY DOWSNS yesterday, MISSION GAP (Speightstown- Chase Gap by Hennessy) won his maiden for owner/breeder Eugene Melnyk for $12,500 claiming by 5 1/2 lengths as the favourite.
Joe Ambrosia trains.
CANADIAN-OWNED CROWDED HOUSE GETS BEAT IN DUBAI
J. Paul Reddam’s colt alters course
from Press Association (UKPA)
Ally accounts for House challenge
Crowded House suffered his second defeat at Meydan as he was beaten by Godolphin’s Allybar in the Shadwell Estate-sponsored Al Maktoum Challenge R2.
Brian Meehan’s four-year-old, runner-up on his UAE debut two weeks ago, was towards the rear in the early stages and had to be switched to the outside by Jamie Spencer to make his challenge.
However, Ahmed Ajtebi had managed a smoother passage through on Allybar, who had also been at the back, and got first run on the favourite. Try though Crowded House might, he could not peg back the Saeed bin Suroor-trained four-year-old.
Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said: “We will probably bring him back for Round Three of the Maktoum Challenge and he is progressing nicely. Ahmed has given him a nice ride and the horses are going very well.”
Victory in the Group Three contest was the highlight of a four-timer for Godolphin and bin Suroor with Ajtebi also scoring on Calming Influence in the Muhtathir Sponsored By Shadwell Estate (Handicap).
Frankie Dettori was aboard the first two winners with Emirates Champion (11-8 favourite) staying on really well to take the Naaqoos Sponsored By Shadwell Estate (Handicap) by a length and a half from Monte Alto.
Sirocco Breeze powered down the centre of the course under Dettori to slam the market leader Mutheeb in the Nayef Sponsored By Shadwell Estate (Handicap).
Bin Suroor said: “They are two lightly-raced young horses who we hoped would go close. The horses are running well and we have made a great start to the Carnival.”
Musir was a convincing winner of the UAE 2000 Guineas Sponsored By Shadwell Estate, Sakhee. The former champion two-year-old in South Africa pulverised the opposition as he stormed home in the hands of Christophe Soumillon.
The evens favourite had advertised his claims with victory in the Guineas Trial and the horse he beat that day, Frozen Power, had to settle for second spot again, while Jeremy Noseda’s Leahurst took the Aqlaam Sponsored By Shadwell Estate (Handicap).
Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
EDMONTON OWNERS SCORE WITH A.P. INDY
from thehorses.com
by Jonathan Huntington
BIG VICTORY: Great win for Edmonton owner John Stavropoulos on Saturday at Santa Anita with Big Wig in a $32,000 claimer. “If you were at Northlands Park (last Saturday) you would have heard me cheering like a maniac down the lane – very exciting race,” said Stavropoulos in an email.
“I noticed Big Wig (in) the summer of 2008 running in New York as a three year old. He has incredible breeding – by A.P. Indy and is a half brother to Grade 1 winner Rutherienne,” he continued. “I tried to arrange a private purchase in time for the 2008 Canadian Derby, but the owners wouldn’t sell. Even though I missed him for the Derby, I picked him up later in the summer at Saratoga.
“From there, he put on a lot of miles – he ran at Belmont Park, then Churchill Downs and then Fair Grounds with trainer Cody Autrey. He tailed off at the end of 2008, and Cody discovered he had knee chips. He had surgery to remove the chips and was turned out at a rehabilitation facility in Texas. After many months of rehab and swimming, I sent him to Jeff Mullins at Santa Anita in September of 2009. Jeff has done a great job keeping him happy and sound.
“This was his third start off the layoff, and it was a brutally tough race for a $32,000 claimer – 10 other
turf specialists, including Becrux, winner of the 2006 Woodbine Mile and over $1 million – needless to say,
when he got up to win by a long nose I was absolutely ecstatic.”
COMING UP AT MARCH OBS SALE
Ontario-breds
HIP COLOR YEAR
NO. NAME SEX FOALED SIRE DAM
5 …………………….B C……….08 Forest Wildcat………..Acadia
14 Hughes Your Dad……….CH C………08 Henny Hughes………….Alycheer
30 …………………….CH C………08 Badge of Silver……….Bacall
44 …………………….CH C………08 Niigon……………….Bob’s Choice
96 Duettina……………..B F……….08 Roman Ruler…………..Duet
146 …………………….B F……….08 Badge of Silver……….Hold the Spirit
174 …………………….DKB/BR C…..08 Tomahawk……………..Ligurian
239 …………………….CH F………08 Speightstown………….Quite a Ruckus
243 Benjamin Britte……….B C……….08 E Dubai………………Raphael Rose
256 …………………….CH C………08 Grand Slam……………Roman Romance
269 …………………….CH F………08 First Samurai…………Santerra
Manitoba-bred
HIP COLOR YEAR
NO. NAME SEX FOALED SIRE DAM
89 …………………….CH F………08 Lemon Drop Kid………..Devious Dame
CARA BLOODSTOCK ON THE WEB
Your source for stallions, young horses, or advice – this is a snazzy website with lots of information:
http://www.carabloodstock.com/index.php
HILL ‘N’ DALE NEWS: FOALING AND BREEDING 2010-
Knob Hill to breed all its mares to Leo
LEONNATUS ANTEAS will get all of Knob Hill’s mares in2010
Dave Landry photo
Hill ‘N’ Dale Canada has had 12 foals to 2/15/10. 11 of the 12 foals are colts. Many of the foals are by Hill ‘N’ Dale Kentucky stallions-SEEKING THE BEST (now standing in Ontario at Colebrook Farms), INDYGO SHINER, SEEKING THE DIA, and MIDNIGHT LUTE.
Other foals are expected by sires such as-HOLY BULL, BOLD EXECUTIVE, MARCAVELLY, HEATSEEKER, EL CORREDOR, SKY MESA, A.P. INDY, HARLINGTON, STORMY ATLANTIC, ROMAN RULER etc…
In total, Hill ‘N’ Dale Canada will foal 53 mares this season, 29 of these mares will be bred back to Ontario stallions. Among the Ontario sires that will be most utilized are LEONNATUS ANTEAS, MARCAVELLY and SEEKING THE BEST.
Champion 2 year-old LEONNATUS ANTEAS will breed an excellent group of mares in 2010 including the complete broodmare inventory of Knob Hill Stable (Champion-CHOPININA, stakes winners-SIWA, KNICKI KNEW (and her dam), KLISSURA, G2 SP-Lady Danza etc.).
MARCAVELLY is a second year sire and boasts very strong credentials for success. He is a legitimate GSW and miler from a strong female family.
SEEKING THE BEST has 2 year-olds of 2010 but they are from his initial Kentucky crop. He will stand in Ontario for the first time in 2010. His pedigree and race record are extremely noteworthy.
FINANCINGAVAILABLE-Millionaire, multiple Champion and Graded Stakes winner and course record setter at Woodbine is expecting a PHILANTHROPIST foal in 2010 and will be bred back to AWESOME AGAIN.
HANDPAINTED is G1 S.P. and a multiple stakes winner. She is a full sister to Champion SERENADING and her first foal is stakes winner PATENA. She will be bred to ZENSATIONAL in 2010.
VERY COOL, CANGAMBLE MAKES MAP OF TRACKS!
Google Map and takeout info on blogger CANGAMBLE’S site at this link:
http://cangamble.blogspot.com/2010/02/map-of-thoroughbred-racetrack-inthe-us.html
