FIRED UP

A great racing day in all parts of the world and Canadians should be proud of its horses.

Sombering moments when learning of deaths of TRADING LEATHER (Japan Cup), CHEROKEE ARTIST ($20K claiming race) and the breakdown of STRAPPING GROOM (stake at Penn National yesterday)…

 “She ran great. She beat them all but one. You’ve got to tip your cap to the winner. He’s a heckuva horse. But my filly is a real runner. She fired it up today.” – jockey Corey Nakatani

LEXIE LOU ran a remarkable race in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Saturday at Del Mar, chasing home California Chrome in the Grade 1 event at 1 1/8 miles on grass. The Ontario bred by Sligo Bay, bred by paradox Farm and owned by Gary Barber, let CC and another rival battle it out early before she moved up into position before the last turn and then rally to chase the big guy home. She galloped out in front.

The Queen’s Plate – Woodbine Oaks winner was already Canada’s Horse of the Year going into the race and she likely wrapped up Turf Female to go along with her champion 3-year-old filly Sovereigns.

NO LUCK FOR BIRDS IN JAPAN

Sam-Son Farms’ UP WITH THE BIRDS was far back throughout the 1 1/2 mile Japan Cup early this morning in Tokyo. The Canadian Horse of the Year was 16th under the wire behind an easy winner in 20 to1 shot  EPIPHANEIA (By Symboli Kris S) making his 3rd start of the year. The time of 2:23 1/5 was just a second off the course record.

Up With the Birds was a bit sweaty and was not sharp coming out of the gate.

Trainer Malcolm Pierce remarked, “He was tense with all the noise from the crowd, but I honestly can’t say what the cause was for his defeat”. Jockey Eurico Da Silva also said,” He was a bit too keen today. He missed his break and wasn’t able to perform well. I think the surface suits him but the Japanese horses were very strong”.

Race report:

Epiphaneia partnered with Christophe Soumillon exerted an explosive late charge in the last two furlongs for a four-length victory against a strong field that included 12 G1 horses to register [his] second G1 and fourth graded victory.

Out of Cesario (JPN, by Special Week) who won the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and American Oaks in 2005, Epiphaneia was runner-up in the first two legs of the Trip le Crown last year then captured the last leg Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) in the fall. Third in his kick-off start this year in the Sankei Osaka Hai (G2, 2,000m), the colt was unable to demonstrate his best perform ance in his first overseas challenge, finishing fourth in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,000m), and was sixth in his comeback race, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m)at the beginning of this month.

Godolphin’s TRADING LEATHER, the 2013 Irish Derby winner, was put down after the race after pulling up with a fractured leg.

The four-year old colt, Godolphin had hoped would help the stable land its first victory in Japan’s most prestigious race, was pulled up in the final turn of the 2,400-metre running.

“Trading Leather was much adored and had a tremendous career, the highlight being his Irish Derby win,” his trainer Jim Bolger said on the stable’s website (www.godolphin.com).

“His passing is tough for us all, especially my staff. This is a very sad loss,” he said.

Godolphin bought a majority stake in Trading Leather at the end of 2013 after the Irish Derby win and the colt started running in its blue silks this year. It finished third in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September and has earned $2.2 million since its debut in 2012.

DONVER’S DECISION DAY DOES IT

great finish! THE CORONATION FUTURITY, episode 1111, does to DECISION DAY (rail) over Nipigon (third from right) and Shez a Masterpiece (pink) Terence Dulay/horse-races.net

It was a thrilling 111th CORONATION FUTURITY, the biggest race for Canadian-born 2-year-olds and the highly regarded DECISION DAY, a recent maiden winner, fended off a charging NIPIGON to win the 1 1/8 mile race in 1:52. 50 – good for a 76 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest of the day at Woodbine.

DECISION DAY, owned and bred by Donver Stables, was eager early so he was allowed to battle on the pace. Meanwhile, Chiefswood Stables’ NIPIGON was having a great trip under a good hold under Steve Bahen and he made a wild rush through the stretch but he was repelled.

Interesting that DECISION DAY is owned by Donver and trained by Josie Carroll, who won the Queen’s Plate with Inglorious and NIPIGON has same owner and breeder as Niigon (his sire), a Queen’s Plate winner.

The filly SHEZ A MASTERPIECE, owned by Gary Barber, was a gallant third as the surprising favourite. She is by Mast Track, an Ontario sire.

Jesse Campbell: “The connections made a bit change and he’s been going very nice with the new bit. I thought if he broke clean, we’d be close up. I didn’t think we’d be on the lead, but I knew we were going slow and he was a real live horse so I just let him be happy.

The last thing I wanted to do was get him behind a slow pace and get too tricky about it. I knew he could get the distance so it made those decisions a little easier.  Great job by the barn to have him ready. It was really nice to see this horse grow up.

When he won his maiden race he was quite green, but he really let me get into him down the lane and he fought hard.”

Trainer JOSIE CARROLL should be considered as a nominee for outstanding trainer of 2014 after another big win. She leads in Decision Day after the Coronation Futurity for owner’s Vern and Donna Dubinsky. TERENCE DULAY/HORSE-RACES.NET

A gritty stretch battle goes to DECISION DAY over Nipigon. Jesse Bellanca got the mount from an absent Luis Contreras. TERENCE DULAY – HORSE-RACES.NET

IN THE ZONE – CANADIAN-BRED PRIVATE ZONE wins Grade 1 Cigar Mile

another big winner for MACHO UNO

Stretch-out sprinter Private Zone rocketed to the front and never looked back in the Grade 1, $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack, besting a star-studded group of older horses by five lengths.

Breaking from the rail, last year’s Cigar Mile runner-up took full advantage of a racetrack that had been kind to inside speed. The 5-year-old gelding, ridden by Martin Pedroza, launched to the front and set a rapid pace of 22.18 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.18 for the half while hugging the fence.

Private Zone showed no signs of fatigue after three-quarters in a grueling 1:08.34, and continued his charge along the rail into the stretch, sailing home to complete the mile in 1:34.39.

“The fractions didn’t bother me because he was doing it easy,” said winning trainer Alfredo Velazquez, who trains Private Zone for Good Friends Stable. “When I saw :44 [for the half], I said, ‘They’re going to have to come and get it.’ [The break] was very important because of the track. Everything inside today was running.”

Private Zone, a son of Macho Uno virtually mirrored his race in the Cigar Mile from a year ago, in which he set a lively pace but succumbed late to Flat Out, save one important detail – he held on to win. The victory came as no surprise to Velazquez, who took over training duties for the speedy gelding in September.

“He was great,” said the Pennsylvania-based trainer. “That was the way I was expecting him to run because he was training super. I worked him here the other day and it was [the slowest] track I have ever seen, and he worked 1:01 and 4/5 [seconds].”

Private Zone, who returned $11.60 on a $2 win wager, was one of three horses who entered the Cigar Mile off a top-four finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, in which he finished third.

A back-to-back winner of the Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational at Belmont Park, Private Zone was eligible for a New York Racing Association purse incentive available to any previous Grade 1 winner, making his Cigar Mile triumph worth $450,000. His career bankroll now stands at just over $1.5 million.

OTHER SATURDAY NEWS – trainer MARK CASSE won the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Dela Mar with OL FASHIONED GAL for Bill and Vicki Poston. The SKY MESA 2yo was bred by John Oxley…

Queen’s Plate winner, 2013, MIDNIGHT ARIA, was last and eased up in the Hawthorne Gold Cup, but reportedly the Tucci Stables’ 4yo is okay…

Jockey Luis Contrera is in 13th before the final races of the Jockey Challenge in Japan…

Suguru Hamanaka (Jpn) 25
Yuichi Fukunaga (Jpn) 24
Hironobu Tanabe (Jpn) 21
Arnold de Vries (Ger) 17
Patrick Smullen (Ire) 16
James McDonald (Aus) 16
Shuji Akaoka (Jpn) 16
Zachary Purton (HK) 15
Christophe Soumillon (Fr) 12
Richard Hughes (GB) 11
Ryan Moore (GB) 5
Yasunari Iwata (Jpn) 5
Luis Contreras (Can) 3
Keita Tosaki (Jpn) 2
Hiroshi Kitamura (Jpn) 2
Masayoshi Ebina (Jpn) 2

CTHS MIXED SALE

DOMASQUERADE PARTY, a grey 9-year-old mare by Domasca Dan sold by Shannondoe Farms, brought the sale topping bid of $12,000 at the CTHS Mixed Sale at Woodbine yesterday. The mare’s 2yo, Masquerade Party, is a winner this year. She sold in foal to Grade 2 winner DOMINUS son of Smart Strike. The buy was Ralph Biamonte for CEC Farms.

The second highest price of the sale was the $9,500 bid by T & T Stud for a weanling filly by COURT VISION out of Danish Fairytale, sold by Gail Wood, as agent for Mentec Mississauaga Indus.

GROSS    $215,650
SOLD          55
NOT SOLD  27
AVERAGE $3,921
MEDIAN    $3,200

(there was no sale in 2013)
2012

GROSS 193,600
SOLD 71
NOT SOLD 21
AVERAGE 2,727
MEDIAN 1,800

Results here.