27 days until 1st card at Woodbine!

2YO SALE IN FLORIDA TODAY, BLACK ONYX STRAIGHT TO DERBY, UNCAPTURED TO BLUE GRASS..BIG WEEKEND COMING UP!

Thoroughblog wants to thank Woodlands for a lovely visit on Sunday. Great to see PENDER HARBOUR looking sleek and happy, and what a gentleman he is! Coming up this week, the Florida Derby and the Dubai races!!

Visiting with a foal by Belong to Me at Woodlands on a Sunday morning

Trish Borczyk photo

 

 

THIS MORNING AT PAYSON PARK – Mike Welsch of DRF reports on ORB’S workout…

 

“Orb 12.68 24.68 48.89 out 101.29 as easy as can be in co. at Payson Park for Fla. Derb”

 

 

 

 

KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE BET ODDS

Official Field – Pool Three
#    Name    Pool 1 Final Odds    Pool 2 Final Odds     Pool 3 M/L Odds     Pool 3 Final Odds

1    Code West    56-1    28-1    30-1    29-1
2    Den’s Legacy    77-1    68-1    50-1    43-1
3    Falling Sky    114-1    79-1    50-1    95-1
4    Flashback    12-1    12-1    12-1    15-1
5    Goldencents    20-1    24-1    30-1    49-1
6    Hear the Ghost    –    –    20-1    15-1
7    Itsmyluckyday    13-1    13-1    10-1    10-1
  8    Java’s War    –    –    30-1    31-1
9    Mr Palmer    –    –    50-1    54-1
10    Noble Tune    –    –    30-1    50-1
11    Normandy Invasion    15-1    17-1    20-1    18-1
12    Orb    –    12-1    10-1    13-1
13    Overanalyze    33-1    37-1    30-1    49-1
14    Oxbow    26-1    31-1    20-1    49-1
15    Palace Malice    –    40-1    50-1    42-1
16    Revolutionary    13-1    15-1    15-1    12-1
17    Shakin It Up    –    48-1    30-1    36-1
18    Shanghai Bobby    14-1    16-1    15-1    18-1
19    Uncaptured    40-1    35-1    20-1    31-1
20    Verrazano    11-1    9-1    7-2    7-1
21    Vyjack    49-1    11-1    10-1    10-1
22    War Academy    –    –    30-1    18-1
23    Will Take Charge    61-1    –    20-1    19-1
24    Mutuel field (all other 3-year-olds)    8-5    3-1    6-1    5-1

2YO SALE AT PALM MEADOWS TODAY
TWO ONTARIO-BREDS ENTERED –

WITHDRAWN 62 (was a $120,000 yearling purchase)      C     ZENSATIONAL     STORMING STARLET     STORM BOOT     ONTARIO     29     PAUL SHARP AGENT (bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings)

120, worked 10 1/5  “CAB RIDE”, $150,000 KeeSept yearling  120     C     ROMAN RULER     FANCY DEED     ALYDEED     ONTARIO     29     SGV THOROUGHBREDS (STEVEN VENOSA) AGENT
(bred by Robert Harvey and A, Wortzman)

 

CANADIANS ELSEWHERE

LUIS CONTRERAS had a big day at his hometown track of Sunland yesterday. Woodbine’s leading rider won a pair of stakes on the big race card – the New Mexico breeders Oaks on Back Seat Roll (Roll Hennessy Roll) ans the Bill Thomas Memorial on Isn’t He Clever (Smarty Jones). Both horses are trained by Henry Dominguez.

Contreras was also 2nd  on Show Some Magic (Any Given Saturday) in the big race, the $800,000 Sunland Derby. That colt ran an 87 Beyer while 5 lengths in arrears of the easy winner Govenor Charlie (Midnight Lute).

The READE BAKER stable had 2 near misses on the weekend with firster GLAMOROUSLY and TURKISH, who raced at Gulfstream Park.

 

FAMILY AFFAIR FOR NICK ANDREWS

Below is a super shot of –   From the left ~14 year old stakes placed El Habanero on the left, his 2 year old niece by Sligo Bay, his 29 year old mother Touch Your Toes and his 19 year old stakes placed half sister Shannon River  – Image from Ericka Rusnak.

 

DUBAI, BROTHERS
(and sisters)

The big card of racing for the Dubai World Cup is coming up Saturday and the link here are the notes for training this morning of some of the entrants in the big races. Canadian-bred PRIVATE ZONE will compete in the Golden Shaheen. Private Zone  remained in the quarantine area on Monday after training on the main track the previous two days. He’s doing really well,” said Tony Romero, the longtime exercise rider for trainer Doug O’Neill.
Below are the World Cup notes:

Group 1 US$10M Dubai World Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airline

Royal Delta – Royal Delta galloped once around Meydan and visited the starting gate as part of the typical routine trainer Bill Mott follows with his runners before a race. The two-time American champion stood quietly in the gate as assistant starters patted her neck.
“Everything is good so far,” said Mott’s assistant Rodolphe Brisset, who also serves as Royal Delta’s exercise rider. “She just flew over this track.”

Animal Kingdom – Animal Kingdom galloped approximately 2400 meters and appeared more relaxed than he had in his first two days of training at Meydan.
The 2011 Kentucky Derby winner and American champion “is settling into the routine now,” said Alice Clapham, assistant to trainer Graham Motion and exercise rider. “He was very happy this morning. He galloped great, and we’re very happy with him.”
Motion is due to arrive in Dubai on Monday night and will decide what the 5-year-old will do over the next four days prior to the race.

Dullahan – American trainer Dale Romans’ duo of Dullahan (Dubai World Cup) and Little Mike (Dubai Duty Free) both walked in the quarantine barn area on Monday following their 1000-metre workouts on Sunday. They will return to training on Tuesday, with both scheduled just for jogs, said exercise rider Tammy Fox.

Meandre – The Andre Fabre-trained Meandre arrived like all of the French-trained horses on Saturday and made his first contact with the track he will encounter in the Dubai World Cup on Monday morning. Travelling head lad, Richard Lambert said, “We went to the track this morning where he trotted and then cantered over 1200 metres. This is what he will be doing for the rest of the week. He travelled well and looks in good form.”

Planteur – The Marco Botti-trained horse, a late-closing third in last year’s US$10million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates, arrived in Dubai early morning March 24 and is eligible to train on the main track beginning March 26. The 6-year-old warmed up for his second tilt at the world’s most valuable race by winning the February 23 Winter Derby Trial Stakes (Eng) on Lingfield’s synthetic surface over the World Cup trip of 2000 metres

Red Cadeaux –Ed Dunlop’s Hong Kong Vase winner has been in Dubai for a little over a week and exercised 1800 metres on the Tapeta track. The globetrotting 7-year-old will be having his first start in Dubai on World Cup night and boasts excellent International form having finished a nose second in the 2011 Emirates Melbourne Cup. Dunlop’s travelling head lad Robin Trevor-Jones said, “He seems in good form and his rider said that today was the best he has felt since he arrived on Sunday last week. He did a canter over 1800 metres today and the plan may be to exercise him on grass on Wednesday or Thursday.” Red Cadeaux will again be ridden by his Hong Kong-winning pilot Gerald Mosse.

Treasure Beach – “We were very happy with him on Super Saturday and he ran a very good trial on his first all-weather start, staying on well having been last turning in,” said trainer Mike De Kock.  “He has definitely improved a lot, both mentally and physically since then and is continuing to do so. Perhaps ideally I would have preferred another couple of weeks but he is in good shape and we expect him to go well.”