DISFUNCTION is working well, thank you and Woodbine’s Polytrack speeds up.
• It is snowing heavily in the suburbs of Toronto today with sub-zero temperatures in store for a few days – welcome to a Canadian spring.
But British Columbia-bred DISFUNCTION (Vying Victor) came back to racing action in hot form with a gritty, front running score in yesterday’s $91,000 Jacques Cartier prep at 5 ½ furlongs. The prep was the featured event on the second day of racing of Woodbine’s 2009 season.
The 5yo gelding, owned b JMJ’s Stable and Weila Ye, was well prepared by trainer Julia Carey who had her graded stakes wining gelding in Florida during the winter.
Over a Polytrack surface that was much faster than it was on Saturday thanks to a bright sun shining on it, Disfunction battled on the pace all the way with pesky Rouse the Cat and simply held on by a snout in a time of 1:03, good for a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.
Eye-catching in the race was LEGAL MOVE’S furlous rally in the late stages to be 3rd, beaten only inches. Legal Move was bought by Bruno Schickedanz last fall from Woodford Racing and he is a multiple stakes winner.
Yesterday’s Polytrack surface seemed to be a bit different other than just faster. (How fast was the surface? Yesterday morning the Julie Carey trainerr Awholenewballgame worked in :45 4/5 for 4 furlongs.)
Without the strong winds and clouds of Saturday, a calm sunny day helped front runners later in the card yesterday.
The DAILY DOUBLE was not easy to predict as big favourites in both races went down to defeat.
First time starter BRIEF NOTE barged his way through rivals to win the opener for $16,000 claiming maidens and give Dominion Bloodstock et al its first win of the season. The Skimming colt was ridden by Steven Bahen, who bagged a couple of wins yesterday. Dave Cotey is the trainer.
Big favourite ZOUNDS was well beaten in RACE 2 as John Cardella and Mel Morris’ solid gelding GARZON won his season debut with a late rally under Patrick Husbands. The Elajjud Ontario bred was 8 to 1 in the $25,000 claiming event.
Then the speed runners took over – 7 straight front running winners.
Race 3- BARE WITH ME ran a 94 Beyer Figure in a stunning 11 ¼ length romp in an Ontario-sired 3yo allowance. He scorched 5 furlongs in 56.86, very close to the track record. Owned, trained and bred by Ralph Biamonte (plus Vince Kerrio), Bare With Me is by Bold ‘n Flashy.
Race 4- Ontario-bred TUGASKE won his season debut in a $72,200 allowance race providing a big thrill for Hillsbrugh’s GAIL WOOD, who leases the 6yo Richter Scale gelding (and bred him). Lightly raced Tugaske led all the way under Emma-Jayne Wilson and Phil Gracey is his trainer.
Race 5- GLADYS IRENE was long gone from $10,000 claiming rivals to win for the 2nd time in her career for centennial farms (Niagara inc.) and trainer Don MacRae. The filly, by Arrested, was heavily bet and paid just $5.50 to win in a 10 horse field.
In race 6 favoured BEAR LAHAINA was fractious in the gate and was scratched at the last minute. Favoritism honours went to MIMI COOPER, who led all the way for Geoff Roy and trainer Wray Lawrence. The winner, a 4yo Florida bred filly won the allowance/optional claiming in her first race since August 2008 and incredibly, it was her 5th win in just 8 starts.
Champion WHOLELOTTAOURBON does not have a lot left to prove but his owners sure were happy and proud of him yesterday as they cheered and leaped in the air as the 7yo gelding led all the way to win for $7,500 claming. The Kentucky bred by Foxtrail has only raced 21 times in his career and he has won 9 times and banked about $450,000. He is owned by Martha Gonzalez and the M.A.D. Racing Stable and trained by Nick Gonzalez.
Trainer John MacKenzie notched his first win of the season when FLASHY TATTOO sped to a big win in the 9th race for $10,000 maiden claimers. The British Columbia bred by Millenium Allstar was dropping to a new low level for his season debut and he coasted home under Steve Bahen.
Race 10 went to stalker MISS CAITLIN, the first winner for trainer Steve Attard and 2nd on the day for jockey Emile Ramsammy. The Ontario bred filly by Mutakkdim won the $10,00 claiming race from just a few lengths off the pace.
$2.1 million was bet the card.
SUTHERLAND MEETS FLAT STANLEY
• If you read Saturday’s THOROUGHBLOG post after the first race was run for the 2009 season at Woodbine, you would have noticed a photo of winning jockey CHANTAL SUTHERLAND being interviewed but holding up a funny friend.
Who/what is Flat Stanley?
From WIKIPEDIA: THE FLAT STANLEY PROJECT… was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a grade three schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document what Flat Stanley has done with them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project.
The Flat Stanley Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who’ve signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper “Flat Stanleys” (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. Flat Stanley is a character from a book series by Jeff Brown in 1964.
Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/03/02/flatstanley/index.html
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS
Eddie blazes 6 furlongs
• The BLUE GRASS STAKES this Saturday is the last chance for big-name 3yo’s to get a spot into the Kentucky Derby.
Canadian owned PATENA, also owned by IEAH, attempts to turn things around on Saturday after he was drubbed in the slop in the Louisiana Derby.
The Seeking the Gold colt has 30% ownership from Ontario including Glenn Sikura and Centennial Farms (Niagara).
The Blue Grass is at Keeneland racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky and among the possible starters are HOLD ME BACK, the WinStar colt closely related to Canadian champion AVOWAL.
Meanwhile, Canadian bred SQUARE EDDIE seems to be coming around very quickly and it appears that his Kentucky Derby plans are still alive.
The chestnut son of Smart Strike, bred by Kinghaven Farms in Ontario, skipped 6 furlongs in 1:13 at Hollywood Park on Sunday morning.
He is a Queen’s Plate favourite but that race is June 21 – the Derby is May 2.
THE PAMPLEMOUSSE OUT
Excerpt from Sign-on San Diego.com
By Hank Wesch (Contact) Union-Tribune Staff Writer
The Pamplemousse will be sidelined indefinitely, possibly for the rest of the year, because of the injury that prompted the opening-line favorite’s scratch hours before Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby.
The highly rated Kentucky Derby contender was withdrawn from the Santa Anita Derby when a veterinarian making a regular morning check found “heat” in a tendon in the left front leg.
A veterinary procedure yesterday morning revealed what part-owner Alex Solis II described as a “small lesion” on the tendon. Bill and Jeffrey Strauss of Del Mar, who own 20 percent of the colt, were among the first notified by Solis, around 9 a.m. yesterday.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/06/1s6mousse192840-pamplemousse-likely-out-year/
Betting is closed now for Kentucky Derby Future Wagers, Pools 1-3.
Here are Pool 3 odds:
2009 KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER POOL 3
Apr. 2-5, 2009
# HORSE (SIRE) Final Odds
1 Charitable Man (Lemon Drop Kid) 45-1*
2 Chocolate Candy (Candy Ride (Arg)) 18-1
3 Desert Party (Street Cry (Ire)) 16-1
4 Dunkirk (Unbridled’s Song) 11-1
5 Flying Private (Fusaichi Pegasus) 77-1*
6 Friesan Fire (A.P. Indy) 8-1
7 Giant Oak (Giant’s Causeway) 53-1
8 Hold Me Back (Giant’s Causeway) 24-1*
9 I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even) 9-2
10 Imperial Council (Empire Maker) 54-1
11 Mafaaz (GB) (Medicean (GB)) 73-1*
12 Musket Man (Yonaguska) 25-1*
13 Mr. Hot Stuff (Tiznow) 96-1*
14 Old Fashioned (Unbridled’s Song) 12-1
15 Papa Clem (Smart Strike) 47-1
16 Pioneer of the Nile (Empire Maker) 9-1
17 Quality Road (Elusive Quality) 6-1
18 Regal Ransom (Distorted Humor) 42-1*
19 Take the Points (Even the Score) 99-1
20 Terrain (Sky Mesa) 47-1*
21 The Pamplemousse (Kafwain) Suspended
22 Theregoesjojo (Brahms) 49-1
23 Win Willy (Monarchos) 16-1*
24 Mutuel Field (All Others@) 17-1
*New wagering interest in Pool 3
KEENELAND 2YO SALE TONIGHT, TOMORROW
• There are a handful of Canadian-bred youngsters in the 2-day Keeneland juvenile sale beginning this evening. And one made it to today’s Thoroughbred Daily News in “Hip Happenings”:
Hip no. 52, filly by Cherokee Run – Get It Straight by Black Minnaloushe bred by Gail Wood in Ontario. Consigned by Kirkwood Stables, Agent XIV.
Out of a half-sister to MGSW and MGISP Bending Strings (American Chance), the February foal got a quarter in :21 2/5 at the under-tack show (video). The dark bay was picked up for $100,000 by Jim Perrone, agent, at the 2008 KEEJAN sale. “She’s just a big, strong, well-balanced, very nice filly,” Kirkwood’s Kip Elser said. “And she’s a Canadian-bred, eligible for all kinds of good money in Canada–that’s a wonderful program up there.”
COMING UP THIS WEEK
• Canadian champion BEAR NOW, the Sovereign Award winning older mare of 2008, meets up with Ontario – sired AUTHENICAT, a stakes winner at Woodbine last year, in the Grade 1 Vinery Madison on Thursday. The race features the mighty mare VENTURA, however.
Thursday, Keeneland Race Course
VINERY MADISON S.-GI, $300,000, 4yo/up, f/m,
7f (AWT)
PP HORSE (SIRE) JOCKEY WT
1 Informed Decision (Monarchos) Velazquez 121
2 Proud Heiress (Broken Vow) Felix 117
3 Dubai Majesty (Essence of Dubai) Desormeaux 117
4 Ventura (Chester House) Gomez 123
5 Authenicat (D’wildcat) Albarado 117
6 Bear Now (Tiznow) Theriot 123
7 Bsharpsonata (Pulpit) Coa 117
PARAGALLO HORSES UPDATE
(for more information see posts from Friday and Sunday)
ASSOCIATE PRESS REPORTS PARAGALLO TAKES TOTAL RESPONSIBILIITY
• Thoroughbred breeder and owner Ernie Paragallo takes “total responsibility” for the four former racehorses he owned who were rescued last month, reportedly one step from slaughter.
The New York Times reported Saturday the undernourished and neglected mares were among 20 horses given away by Paragallo four months ago. Paragallo told the newspaper he was not aware they were sickly.
“It is my total responsibility,” Paragallo said April 4 at Aqueduct, a few hours before he sent out Cellar Dweller in the Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I). “I should have made sure who the hell I was dealing with. It’s a major screw-up. I don’t feel very good about it.”
Paragallo told the Times he gave the horses to an unidentified Florida-based breeder in December. The horses were taken from Paragallo’s Center Brook Farm in Climax, N.Y., for breeding purposes.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/50069/paragallo-takes-total-responsibility
