FORT ERIE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

80TH PRINCE OF WALES – SPOTLIGHT IS ON FORT ERIE

 

 

 

 

It is FORT ERIE RACETRACK’S big afternoon as thousands of fans and horsepeople will descend on the lovely track by the border.

The 2nd jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the PRINCE OF WALES will be run for the 80th time and SHAMAN GHOST, the Queen’s Plate winner, is the first Plate winner to go to Fort Erie for this race since BIG RED MIKE in 2010.

This race will not be run anything like the Plate when the pace was very strong and many horses many early moves and Shaman Ghost took advantage.

The field of 7 will likely go a lot slower early, with supplement CUT TO THE CHASE, who worked on the Fort Erie dirt in :59 recently, a possible pace runner along with Breaking Lucky, who will be close.

The sprint will be on in the stretch run and we will see if the rivalry of the Ghost and DANISH DYNAFORMER sets up again. And does CONQUEST BOOGALOO have a trouble-free trip for once? And if he does, can he beat them?

The way Conquest Stables is going in Canada (3 wins on Sunday), this may be the upsetter of the day.

As Dan Ralph of Canadian press reports, Shaman Ghost’s trainer Brian Lynch knows the race will be a tactical one and he also knows his colt is, at this point, only marginally better than his main rivals.

The TORONTO STAR has picks for the race, as does the TORONTO SUN.

TSN is showing the race from 7 to 8 and you can watch and wager on HPI.

 

FORT ERIE HISTORY

 

 

WITH APPROVAL ekes out the ‘Wales – 1989 (last 30 seconds shows amazing stretch run)

 

 

CANADIAN PRESS –

RAFAEL HERNANDEZ IS KEY
Dan Ralph THE CANADIAN PRESS

Trainer Brian Lynch believes jockey Rafael Manuel Hernandez will be a key figure Tuesday night at the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes.

Hernandez will ride Queen’s Plate champion Shaman Ghost in the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie Racetrack. And with just seven horses in the field, Lynch believes the 1 3/16-mile event will be a jockey’s race.

“Tactically (horses) can put you in awkward positions, pin you in or someone might try to stretch them out and show speed,” Lynch said Monday. “Traditionally that track can be a bit fast this time of year and usually it does cater to speed-favouring horses.

“Rafael is a very patient, shrewd rider and hopefully he’s the better tactician out of the gate.”

Shaman Ghost rallied late under Hernandez to overtake Danish Dynaformer and register a 11/4-length victory in the $1-million Queen’s Plate on July 5 at Woodbine Racetrack. The win was the fourth straight for the three-year-old, Stronach Stables-owned colt, the early 7-5 favourite who’ll break from the No. 4 post Tuesday night.

“He comes into the race in good order,” Lynch said. “Usually when they come out of a 11/4-mile race you’ve taxed them a little bit so it’s a matter of trying to read him properly to get him to come back in three weeks and duplicate the second performance.

“Our horse will have a target on his back for sure. The public expects him to win and there’s a lot of pressure on him.”

Lynch is certainly bucking recent tradition by having Shaman Ghost at Fort Erie. He’ll be the first Plate winner to run in the Prince of Wales since 2010 and attempt to become the first horse to claim the opening two legs of the Triple Crown since ’03 when Wando accomplished the feature en route to becoming the last to sweep the series.

“No doubt about it, it would be quite an accomplishment to be able to pull it off,” Lynch said. “It’s just a nice situation to be in to even be able to talk about these opportunities.

“We’ll get through this one first and re-evaluate it after that.”

The Prince of Wales is the lone Triple Crown event run on a traditional dirt surface. The Plate goes on Woodbine’s poly track while the 11/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes will be run on Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor turf course Aug. 16.

But Lynch, who won the 2010 Prince of Wales with Golden Moka, isn’t concerned about running on dirt because Shaman Ghost’s first two career wins came on that surface at Gulfstream and Keeneland.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/1301744-hernandez-key-to-prince-of-wales-stakes-win

 

 

NICK COSTA ANALYZES PRINCE OF WALES

Queen’s Plate winner Shaman’s Ghost appears to have scared off the competition for Tuesday night’s $500,000 Prince of Wales at Fort Erie Race Track, and was installed as the 7-5 morning line favorite in a field of seven.

In addition to Shaman’s Ghost, three returning rivals from the Plate, plus three newcomers, make up the 80th edition of the Prince of Wales and the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. The Canadian-bred 3-year-olds will run a distance of 1 3/16 miles over the dirt course.

If Shaman’s Ghost can defeat the competition again, he’ll be one win shy of completing the Triple Crown–an honor that only 7 horses have accomplished since the series was established in 1959, the last being Wando (2003).

read more!
    
http://www.horseracingnation.com/blogs/Trackside/2015_Prince_Of_Wales_Stakes_Is_There_A_Ghost_Buster_123#

 

SUNDAY WOODBINE

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONQUEST STABLES won 3 races, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, owners of the late BARBARO, won 2 races and were in town and AGELESS edges COURSE RECORD for 6 furlongs on turf at Woodbine – 1:07.17 winning Royal North for 2nd straight year.

She posted a 94 Beyer Figure.

Hot, hot , hot, that is what it is this week has been and the competition at Woodbine is hot too.

Race 1- Sunday – while the Everatt family in St. Thomas will  be cheering for its homebred, sales yearling CONQUEST BOOGALOO in the Prince of Wales this evening, they had another Scat Daddy from their farm win on Sunday – the 2yo CONQUEST DADDYO. This long striding colt was a $350,000 yearling for James and Janeane Everatt and Arika Everatt-Meeuse and he won his debut at 6 furlongs over the stakes placed colt Neil’s Diamond.

The race was a 59 Beyer Figure rated event.

It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for trainer KEVIN ATTARD, who won his 23rd race of the season with GET A GRIP for $62,50 claiming but then watched as stakes winner SURTSEY broke down in the Royal North on the very firm turf. The mare was vanned off and everyone is hoping this popular mare will recover.

Marc Berzins’ homebred gelding FOREST BROTHER won his maiden for $9,500 on Sunday, getting Lasix and winning easily in his 3rd race of the season.

The Jacksons, who own AGELESS, also won with 30 to 1 shot SOLEMN TRIBUTE, who won a maiden allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf in his first race since 2 losses for claiming at Tampa Bay Downs. The $385,000 son of Medaglia D’Oro sure took to the Woodbine turf.

CONQUEST PACEMAKER led all the way to win the Toronto Cup in only his 3rd career race. He is a Kentucky bred by Eskendereya and he was one of 3 winners on the day for jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva.