BREEDERS’ STAKES – Is Danish Dynaformer ready to get back on track?
DANISH DYNAFORMER is a turf ace, the Plate Trial winner who was a close 2nd in the Plate, but he comes off a drab outing in the Prince of Wales on the dirt.
BREAKING LUCKY moved too soon the Plate and then won the Prince of wales – but he has never been on the grass and he comes off a career top effort.
FIELD OF COURAGE’S sire won the Breeders’ and CONQUEST BOOGALOO ran well on turf last year.
LUCKY LINDY comes off a good run in the Toronto Cup – this Breeders’ Stakes should be a dandy.
NORTHLANDS PARK PHOTO OF ACADEMIC and JUSTIN STEIN
HORSE RACING – a learning experience
Two days of wild longshot winners at Woodbine, a ton of great racing from Saratoga to Arlington, and one thing is for certain – one can never stop learning in the world of horse racing.
And the Thoroughbred can do anything – rally.
ACADEMIC is a feisty, living and breathing example of this as the little, bossy gal crushed a weak field in the 86th Canadian derby at northlands park in Edmonton after a long van ride from Woodbine.
The Woodbine Oaks winner and track record setter stalked favoured Blue Dancer early in the 1 3/8 mile race which is twice around the Nortlands track. She then just powered away and won easily under Justin Stein, who rode her in the Oaks.
The story of Acamdeic in this race is an odd one: she bombed so badly in the Queen’s Plate because she chased a 45 second half mile at 10 furlongs. owner Danny Dion of Bear Stables took the filly from Woodbine and sent her from trainer Reade Baker to a new trainer, Tim Rycroft, 10 days before the race.
There were not any riders who were able to take the mount on the filly and while Dion was unhappy with Stein in the Plate, hired the personable jock anyway and it was a good move.
Meanwhile, somewhere in there, Dion sold part of the filly to top western Canadian owners RIVERSDEDGE RACING of Robert Vargo and Norm Castiglione. Academic ran in their silks.
The B.C. Derby at Hastings Park is likely next.
ACADEMIC romps in CANADIAN DERBY – 87 BEYER FIGURE
CURTIS STOCK report from EDMONTON JOURNAL
EDMONTON – Now, finally, Tim Rycroft might be able to get some sleep after sending out Academic to a most convincing win in Saturday’s $200,000 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park.
“There’s been a lot of waking hours,” said Rycroft, after watching Academic romp home by eight lengths for owners Danny Dion, Robert Vargo and Norm Castiglione. “I’ve been worried about Academic since I got her 10 days ago.
“I was worried about how she would handle the track because she had never run on dirt before,” he said. Academic had previously only run on the artificial poly track at Toronto’s Woodbine.
“I was worried about what would happen if she didn’t get the lead. In The Queen’s Plate she didn’t get her own way and was eased. If she didn’t get her own way here I was worried that she wouldn’t run at all.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Academic+romps+convincing+Canadian+Derby/11293897/story.html
JIM AND SUSAN HILL HAVE A GRAND DAY
Jim and Susan Hill’s Grand Arch struck the front in mid-stretch and had just enough left to hold off a late charge from 2-1 favorite Ironicus and take the Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
Grand Arch, a 6-year-old son of Arch, won his 2015 debut in promising fashion on April 15 at Keeneland, but had failed to recapture that form in two subsequent starts: a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs and a fifth in the Forbidden Apple at Belmont Park.
Under Luis Saez on Saturday, Grand Arch worked out a perfect stalking trip behind champion New York-bred King Kreesa, who led the field through moderate splits of 24.20 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, 48.30 for the half, and 1:12.03 through three-quarters.
Eased off the rail turning for home, Grand Arch took off after the front-runner, collaring him at the eighth pole and gamely fending off Ironicus, who swung widest into the stretch and closed furiously to be second, with defending champion Seek Again in third.
The victory was redemption for Grand Arch, who a year earlier received a similar trip in the Fourstardave before being nipped on the wire by Seek Again.
“He’s a horse that we’ve sort of campaigned toward this time of year,” said winning trainer Brian Lynch. “He usually gets good and we were hoping he was going to bring his ‘A’ game today. We felt like he needed his last race there at Belmont but he certainly ran big in this race last year and he got the job done today.
“I’m a big fan of King Kreesa’s after his last couple of races, and to beat him in a hard-fought stretch drive, it was a thrilling race,” Lynch added. “When the fractions came up I thought King Kreesa was ridden very comfortably the way he was looking around. I thought he had a lot more gas in the tank, but Luis never let him get too far out of reach and we were able to grind him down.”
Grand Arch completed one mile in 1:34.65 on Saratoga’s inner turf course and returned $18.20 on a $2 win wager. The bay gelding boosted his career earnings to just over $1 million with the winner’s share of $300,000.
Despite a final quarter run in 22.62 seconds, the Shug McGaughey-trained Ironicus made up several lengths in the stretch to miss by a neck, while it was another neck back to Seek Again. The 4-year-old Distorted Humor colt was making only his second foray into stakes company. Earlier this year, he won the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico in runaway fashion in his previous stakes appearance.
WOODBINE SATURDAY
Thank goodness for RUTH LESS BLUE. The 2yo by Giant Gizmo won the Vandal Stakes at odds-on to give most handicappers 1 winner on a card filled with longshots.
A homebred for Scott Fairlie and Rijack Farm led all the way to win the 6 furlong dash with a 70 Beyer Figure. He is a son of Giant Gizmo out of Luna Blue, a Lemon Drop Kid mare claimed by Scott Fairlie for $12,500 when she was racing.
She has a full brother in the CTHS yearling sale coming up on Sept. 8.
The colt had a scary run through the stretch as he veered inside to the rail when he was hit with the whip and he straightened out briefly before he veered in again when hit right handed again. He held off a charging Conquest DaddyO just in time, however, for the win. Michelle Rainford rode.
The other stakes race on the card was the Flaming Page at 1 1/2 miles on the grass and HABIBI won this race for her first win since she was a multiple champion in Australia. This classy mare had run hard in her local debut when she just missed, bounced in the Singspiel (a key race) and then bounced right back for this 7th win in 15 races. Mark Frostad trains for George Strawbridge. Emma-Jayne Wilson rode.
Habibi posted the day’s best Beyer Figure of 90.
