Clearing off the desk, news and notes:
*If you are not a subscriber to Canadian Thoroughbred magazine you are missing out on Thoroughblog’s enews, sent out each Monday and Friday via email. Friday’s edition also includes a Top 5 chart, yesterday was a fun one:
5 Things To Get You Through Sleepy Summer Racing
1 Saratoga starts soon
2 Fort Erie trip for “Wales”
3 Two-Year-Old Racing
4 Yearling Sales Begin
5 Air Conditioned Simulcast Room
Fabulous racing overseas today with big events at Newmarket, York and Ascot. The 142nd Darley July Cup at 6 furlongs is one of the highlights:
DARLEY JULY CUP – 142ND RUNNING
This morning at Newmarket
Contenders include US Navy Flag, Redkirk Warrior and Blue Point.
From Racing Post:
It is crunch time for Blue Point who is out to prove he is as strong a sprinter at six furlongs as he is at the minimum trip in his pursuit of a rare big-race double.
Not since Never So Bold in 1985 has a horse won the King’s Stand Stakes and the Darley July Cup in the same season and connections’ confidence is high Blue Point can do the double on the back of his Royal Ascot defeat of Battaash.
MR HAVERCAMP at BELMONT
As if there has not been enough excitement in the Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry camp this year (Dixie Moon’s Woodbine Oaks win), their exciting Court Vision gelding MR HAVERCAMP goes for $150,000 US in the Forbidden Apple at Belmont today.
This listed stakes race is a toughie, a lot of good horses in the field that can post a 100-105 Beyer Figure in the 1 mile turf event. Mr. Havercamp is certainly a contender and his rail post can only help.
Saturday, Belmont Park, post time: 5:50 p.m. ET
FORBIDDEN APPLE S., $150,000, 3yo/up, 1mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Mr Havercamp Court Vision Alvarado Day-Phillips 8-1
2 Disco Partner Disco Rico Ortiz Jr. Clement 9-5
3 Offering Plan Spring at Last Castellano Brown 6-1
4 Voodoo Song English Channel Franco Rice 5-1
5 Blind Ambition Tapit Saez Pletcher 8-1
6 Pocket Change Unbridled’s Song Lezcano Servis 6-1
7 Projected (GB) Showcasing (GB) Rosario Brown 3-1
ONTARIO BREDS IN THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER COMPETITION (Oct. 4-7)
Mike is ready to go!
MIKE, a full brother to champion Pender Harbour and a nice winner on the racetrack, has a new career now and he is set to take part in the popular Thoroughbred Makeover series at the Kentucky Horse Park this fall.
Hundreds of off-track Thoroughbreds, each with 10 months or less of retraining. Three days of competition in 10 different disciplines, vying for a share of $100,000 in prize money. Thousands of spectators watching online and in person. And at the end, one overall winner, crowned America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred.
Mike, a son of Philanthropist, is owned and trained by James Phillips.
Other Canadian horses on the entry list include COCONUT ROLL (Victor’s Cry) , BIG CAZANOVA (Giant’s Causeway), KOJI KONDO (Victor’s Cry) , MINNOW MONEY (Sligo Bay), and TERRA EXPRESS (Mast Track).
https://www.tbmakeover.org/horse-entries
WOODBINE WINNERS
Shout out to some of the recent winners at Woodbine. ZELKO KRCMAR has sent out 4 winners form his last 9 starters at Woodbine and Fort Erie and is clocking at a 30% win rate this year.
Krcmar won again on Friday with COOLSHADE, a Paddy O’Prado gelding who took a 1 1/8 mile turf maiden race for $16,000 claiming. Paul Ryder owns this Ontario bred who was ridden by Daisuke Fukumoto.
JIM ENSOM has won with 5 of his last 10 starters and won 2 races on Wednesday night and 2 more yesterday. Ensom has a stable of his own horses and is also manning the stable of suspended trainer Martin Drexler.
SID ATTARD is 2 wins away from 2,000 career victories, an amazing accomplishment. Sid is at 1,998 and has 3 runners today, none on Sunday.
Congratulations to trainer READE BAKER and owner IAN DE SOUZA who won at Woodbine on Friday with CHILLING SECRET, a son of Ice Box making his first start since last fall. This is the 3rd win for the year for Baker and first at Woodbine. Baker and De Souza combined to win with beginner Stormy Leo at Fort Erie recently.
Other stuff:
Two-year-olds go in the VICTORIA STAKES today. Did you know this is the 111th edition of the Victoria, a race that gets few entries these days but has been a fixture in Canada for more than a century. (*Note, the race was not held on 3 occasions early in its history)
George Smith and jockey Johnny Loftus
In 1915, the winner was GEORGE SMITH, who went on to win the next year’s Kentucky Derby!
Alydeed won in 1991 and went on to win the Queen’s Plate!
The race this year is now 5 1/2 furlongs after being run at 6 furlongs for the last couple of years and 5 furlongs for most of the time in modern history.
There are just 5 runners this year but the exciting ARMISTICE DAY, by Declaration of War, will attract a lot of attention. He is a Kentucky bred for Bruce Lunsford and Landson Robbins trained by Barb Minshall.
DENVER TESOR
O was an impressive winner in Japan yesterday, winning the 1000m dash at Hakodate in her 3rd career start.
This is a Canadian bred 2-year-old filly by Violence – Cloud of Smoke by Smoke Glacken bred by Debbie Collum and Patricia Fairbairn
LOVELY STORY ABOUT the filly MOLECULES racing today at Indiana in the Oaks
Einstein filly bequeathed to new owners
https://indianagrand.com/racing/molecules-looking-to-continue-rare-story-in-indiana-oaks/
