CRISP

It is about -20 Celcius these days in southern Ontario and the further north you go, say, Shelburne, ON, the colder, and windier it gets.

Thoroughblog had a fun visit with owner and breeder and yearling consignor JOHN CAREY at T C Westmeath Stud on Friday. Carey is set to foal some 44 mares (a number that will likely increase) and hopefully be busy breeding mares to his stallions OLD FORESTER, whose progeny earned a whopping $4 million in 2016 and made the horse the leading sire in Canada for the 4th time; POOL PLAY, whose first crop race this year and the physically gorgeous SOUPER SPEEDY, whose first crop are yearlings of 2017.

Carey and his wife Doris also had a collection of ponies and cattle plus 4 cats and 3 dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLEBROOK FARMS WINS AT TAMPA BAY

RESERVED, an Ontario bred by Kitten’s Joy – Sarahs Rahy Dancer by Rahy, scored a 20 to 1 upset on the grass at Tampa Bay Downs on Friday to give Joh and Ashlee Brnjas a big win to start the New Year.
The may 5-year-old mare won he allowance/optional claiming race with a 5 wide rally and was clear by 1 1/4 lengths at the finish. Willie Martinez rode and the time was 1:36.89.
Reserved’s most recent race was at Woodbine in October when she was on a streak of several 4th and 5th place finishes. This was her first win since June 2015 and her Beyer Figure was 80, close to her career best.

At Penn National, the Steven Chircop stable continues to roll as PHIL’S COCKTAIL eked out a win for $5,000 claiming at 5 to 1 in a 6 furlong race on dirt. The winner is an Ontario bred by Philanthropist bred by Ron Clarkson and he was coming off a 42-length loss at a route distance in his previous race at Penn National.

Chircop runs 8 horses in the next 4 days at Penn and Laurel.

FRANK DIGIULIO JR. won with his well bred 3yo filly MINNIE APPLE IS, by Harlan’d Holiday – Indian Apple Is by Indian Charlie, at Penn. The filly led all the way to score by a neck in 1:14.09 for 6 furlongs on dirt as the even-money favourite.
Sandee Martin trains for DiGiulio at Penn National. She won $17,000 (US) for the win and it was her 5th career race.
(A DiGiulio homebred won the very next race as IN THE OLD DAYS took a $5,000 claiming race by 7 1/2 lengths for owner Darryl Lee Myers.)

EIRIGH, ownedby Donegal racing and now trained by Todd Pletcher, won an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs on Friday. The Ontario bred by More Than Ready – Pleasant N Low by Pleasant Tap was making his first start since November of 2015 when he was 6th in the Autumn Stakes at Woodbine for trainer Kevin Attard.
He won the 1 1/16 mile turf race at Tampa Bay by a neck in 1:42.11 at 7 to 2.

 

QUEEN’S PLATE BUZZ BEGINS

and DADDYO AND VIVI in action

 

EXPEDITION, a promising 3-year-old Ontario bred by Pioneerof The Nile – Flashy Got Even by Stephen Got Even, will be well bet to win today’s 5th race at GULFSTREAM Park, a 1 1/16 mile maiden allowance dirt. The Queen’s Plate hopeful was bred by Dom Romeo’s Terra Farm and was a $275,000 yearling purchase by WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club and S F Racing.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the colt was 5th in a sprint in his debut in December and thew winner of that race, Classic Rock, came back to win an allowance race on Friday at Gulfstream with a 79 Beyer Figure.

In the Mucho Macho Man Stakes today at Gulfstream (a one-turn., one mile dirt race), Manfred and Penny Conrad’s STATE OF HONOR will try and stretch his speed in a race full of speed. The son of To Honor and Serve was recently 2nd in the Coronation Futurity to King and His Court.

Other Canadian-breds of note today:

Ontario bred 4-year-old CONQUEST DADDYO, racing for his new owners Hronis Stable, will tackle the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita today. The son of Scat Daddy, bred by James and Janeane Everatt and Arika Everatt-Meeuse won the Toronto Cup Stakes last year.
Saturday, Santa Anita Park, post time: 7:30 p.m. EST
SAN GABRIEL S.-GII, $200,000, 4yo/up, 1 1/8mT
PP HORSE SIRE OWNER TRAINER JOCKEY ML

1 Blue Tone K Birdstone Engelberg or Schroeder Farms LLC or Steeper Hess, Jr. Desormeaux 12-1
2 Point Piper Giant’s Causeway Gatto Racing LLC, Hollendorfer or Russo, Et Al Hollendorfer Gutierrez 8-1
3 Flamboyant (Fr) Peer Gynt (Jpn) Bienstock or Winner Gallagher Prat 6-1
4 Syntax (Ire) Haatef Matthew Schera D’Amato Talamo 20-1
5 Itsinthepost (Fr) American Post (GB) Red Baron’s Barn, LLC Mullins Baze 10-1
6 Conquest Daddyo K Scat Daddy Hronis Racing, LLC Sadler Contreras 15-1
7 A Red Tie Day Indygo Shiner Bloom Racing Stable, LLC Baltas Nakatani 6-1
8 Quick Casablanca (Chi) Until Sundown Pablo Gomez McAnally Ulloa Perez 15-1
9 Twentytwentyvision Pollard’s Vision Ellen & Peter O. Johnson Mandella Smith 4-1
10 Perfectly Majestic K Majesticperfection Griffin Thoroughbred Stables or Schroeder Farms, LLC Hess, Jr. Espinoza 8-1
11 Ring Weekend K Tapit St. Elias Stable or West Point Thoroughbreds Motion Van Dyke 5-2
12 Some in Tieme (Brz) Shirocco (Ger) Some In Time, Inc Lobo Pereira 20-1

Breeders: 1-Far View Stables, 2-Barronstown Stud, 3-SNC Regnier & San Gabriel Inv. Inc., 4-Ringfort Stud, 5-Julien Leaunes, 6-James Everatt, Janeane
Everatt &Arika Everatt-Meeuse, 7-Dapple Bloodstock &Gryphon Investments LLC, 8-Haras Matancilla, 9-Peter O. Johnson, 10-Brereton C. Jones,
11-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd., 12-Haras Santa Maria de Araras
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 4:34 p.m. EDT

 

MUCHO MACHO MAN S., $100,000, 3yo, 1m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML

1 Perro Rojo Birdstone Juarez Zito 20-1
2 Sweetontheladies Twirling Candy Meneses Collazo 20-1
3 Talk Logistics High Cotton Lopez Plesa, Jr. 10-1
4 Even Thunder Even the Score Bravo Orseno 10-1
5 Skyler’s Scramjet Creative Cause Rosario Mareina 5-1
6 Cavil Elusive Quality Velazquez McLaughlin 9-2
7 Han Sense Hansen Saez Maker 15-1
8 Sonic Mule Distorted Humor Castellano Pletcher 6-1
9 Recruiting Ready Algorithms Prado DePaz 6-1
10 State of Honor To Honor and Serve Leparoux Casse 15-1
11 Hemsworth Bernardini Gaffalione Albertrani 7-2

Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 4:03 p.m. EDT
GINGER BREW S., $100,000, 3yo, f, 7 1/2fT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML

1 Lady Alexandra More Than Ready Castellano Brown 6-1
2 India Mantuana Wilburn Reyes Sano 12-1
3 Bahama Halo More Than Ready Saez Pletcher 6-1
4 Conquest Vivi Court Vision Lezcano Casse 5-1
5 Party Boat Into Mischief Rosario Motion 9-2
6 Fields of Song (Ire) Harbour Watch (Ire) Bravo Wilkes 12-1
7 Bellavais Tapit Velazquez Toner 10-1
8 Super Marina Warrior’s Reward Lopez Weaver 15-1
9 A Great Time Street Magician Jaramillo Trombetta 20-1
10 Somebody To Love (Ire) Power (GB) Panici Biancone 20-1
11 Patrona Dialed In Hernandez Negrete 30-1
12 Juenesse Doree Dream Ahead Leparoux Casse 4-1
Main Track Only:
13 Jumby Bay City Zip Velazquez Pletcher 6-1

 

SUPER CHROME!

California Chrome ‘Bright-Eyed’ Upon Gulfstream Park Arrival
Jan 6, 2017
On Course for Arrogate Rematch in G1 Pegasus World Cup Jan. 28

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – California Chrome arrived at Gulfstream Park Friday to begin preparation for a highly anticipated rematch with Arrogate in the inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 28.

Accompanied by a state police escort from Palm Beach International Airport, the van carrying the 2014 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner drove through the stable gate at 5:40 p.m., completing a journey that began at Los Alamitos Race Course in Southern California early Friday morning.

Supervised by trainer Art Sherman’s son and assistant, Alan, California Chrome quickly settled into Stall 2 in Barn 2 on the Gulfstream backstretch.

“He looks great. He traveled well. He’s drinking and looking for his hay,” Sherman said. “He’s bright-eyed. He looks good.”

Sherman said California Chrome will walked the shedrow Saturday morning and is scheduled to get acquainted with the Gulfstream racetrack Sunday morning.

Thoroughbred racing’s most enduring star is scheduled to make his 27th and final start at Gulfstream Park, the ninth racetrack he has visited during a career that has spanned nearly four years.

California Chrome achieved immortality in 2014, when he won the first two legs of the Triple Crown before being named 3-year-old champion and Horse of the Year. After overcoming chronic physical issues that cut short his 2015 campaign after a second-place finish in the Dubai World Cup (G1), the son of Lucky Pulpit returned better than ever this year, capturing his first six races, including the Dubai World Cup, only to fall a half-length short of holding off Arrogate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Nov. 4.

California Chrome and Arrogate are finalists for the 2016 Horse of the Year title, which will be announced at the 46th annual Eclipse Awards Dinner in Gulfstream’s Sport of Kings facility Jan. 21, a week prior to the Pegasus World Cup.

Art Sherman is expected to travel to South Florida in time to attend the Eclipse Awards and complete his 6-year-old trainee’s preparation for the Pegasus World Cup.

Win or lose, California Chrome will be retired after the Pegasus World Cup and begin his career as a stallion at Taylor Made in Nicholasville, Ky.

 

PEGASUS WORLD CUP

ERAGON TESTS OUT GULFSTREAM

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Undefeated in two previous starts at Gulfstream Park, Starlight Racing’s Neolithic will have the chance to make it three in a row when he competes next in the world’s richest race, the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 28.

The 4-year-old son of Harlan’s Holiday is the eighth confirmed starter for the inaugural running of the historic and innovative 1 1/8-mile event, which will feature a rematch of Arrogate and California Chrome, who finished 1-2, respectively, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5 and are each finalists for the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year.

Starlight Pegasus Partners is one of 12 stakeholders that put up $1 million apiece for a spot in the starting gate in the Pegasus World Cup, conceived by Gulfstream Park owner Frank Stronach. Starlight founder and co-managing partner Jack Wolf also serves as CEO of the Pegasus World Cup.

“He’s run well at Gulfstream every time and he’s coming off a big-figure win,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Neolithic. “Obviously Starlight owns a spot, so he’s certainly the horse of Starlight’s that makes the most sense. I think it’s a tall order for anybody except for California Chrome and Arrogate, but it’s $12 million and he’s doing very good.”

Neolithic punched his Pegasus ticket with a front-running nine-length romp in a 1 1/16-mile allowance Dec. 14 at Gulfstream under three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Javier Castellano, who had a hard time pulling his mount up after completing the distance is 1:41.58.

Last winter, Neolithic broke his maiden at Gulfstream, coming from off the pace to win by three-quarters of a length, also at 1 1/16 miles. Second in the Discovery (G3) Nov. 12 at Aqueduct, he returned to the work tab with a bullet half-mile breeze in 48.60 seconds, the fastest of 30 horses Dec. 31 at Palm Beach Downs.

Pletcher will also saddle Keen Ice in the Pegasus World Cup after owner Donegal Racing worked out a deal with stakeholders Ronald and Jerry Frankel. Third behind Arrogate and California Chrome in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Keen Ice is winless since his upset of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers (G1), most recently finishing second in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec.17 at Gulfstream.

Neither of multiple graded stakes winners Stanford or Madefromlucky are being pointed to the Pegasus World Cup, Pletcher said, but could wind up on the undercard in the $400,000 Poseidon, also for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. The stablemates finished first and fourth, respectively, in the Harlan’s Holiday.

“I think right now the plan would be for Stanford to go in the Poseidon and Madefromlucky…I need to talk to the connections about it,” Pletcher said. “He’s a possibility for the Poseidon or also maybe shipping out of town.”

Other horses confirmed for the Pegasus World Cup are Eragon (Jim McIngvale), Semper Fortis (Reddam Racing), Shaman Ghost (Adena Springs) and War Story (Dan Schafer/Loooch Racing & Partners).