RAHY’S ATTORNEY WRAPS IT UP BUNTY-STYLE
Dave Landry photo
For the third time, RAHY’S ATTORNEY won the BUNTY LAWLESS STAKES, taking the Saturday event at Woodbine on the engine and beating the ultra tough Sand Cove.
The race, named for one of the best Canadian-breds of all time, is 1 mile on the grass and it was run over a less than firm turf.
Rahy’s Attorney is nearing $2 million in earnings (Soaring Free is #10 on the leading Canadian bred list at 2.1 million).
It was a full-circle kinda deal yesterday as SLADE CALLAGHAN was back to ride the son of Crown Attorney for the fist time since last year’s Woodbine Mile.
The Ian Black trainee had 4 different riders since then.
Sporting a record of 12-for-34, Rahy’s Attorney, who won Sovereign Award honours as Canada’s top turf male in 2008, has a record of two wins and three seconds from eight starts this year.
“We haven’t overused him,” said Black, of the horse’s consistent ways. “We’ve spaced out his races and tried to look after
him.”
Black noted Rahy’s Attorney, owned by Ellie Boje Farm, Jim and Jean MacLellan, Mitch Peters and Dean Read, will likely be done for the year.
Rahy’s Attorney paid $3.40, $2.20, combining with Sand Cove ($2.80) for a $6.20 exactor. Guipago completed a $15.50 triactor. There was no show wagering available.
also on SATURDAY – LESSONS LEARNED
Some research is always good when handicapping races – and not just watching videos or seeing what is in front of you on the list of previous races.
MEDIDOCIHOSPISURG had not raced in a 2 turn event since last fall and those outings, 3 of them, were not on his previous races listed in the program of the DRF.
But he had run his BEST CAREER BEYER FIGURE of 81 at the 1 1/16 mile distance.
He returned to that distance last time and with Callaghan riding for trainer Lorna Perkins, the 5yo Thunrder GUlch fellow won and paid a fat 4 to 1.
The 2nd race was a minor upset by LADY’S FIRST CAT who beat the promising Arrow’s Conquest in the allowance/optional claiming race and multiple champion TRUE METROPOLITAN. Owned and bred by John and jessia Pastorek, the D’wildcat 5yo horse is a dream horse for the breeders. He has won 5 of 22 races, is often lightly used and well managed by trainer Tino Attard, and he has picked up more than $340,000 in earnings.
Trainer MIKE PINO only does things one way at Woodbine – runs his horses when they can win. So HOSANNAH’S SONG on Saturday dropped from allowances to $12,500 claiming and led all the way and was not claimed. The trainer has a record of nearly 40% wins from about 50 starters at the meeting.
JESTER’S BID, owned by George Tharrenos, won her 2nd lifetime race yesterday for the breeder when she took an Ontario sired allowance. She is by young local sire Mr. Jester and she was racing with blinkers off and getting the other jockey-to-LUIS CONTRERAS move, made popular in recent weeks by the winning rider. Abraham Katryan trains Jester’s Bid.
How about STRUT THE STAGE? This 1st year sire is carving a swath in the local stallion ranks right behind Old Forester. Owned by Sam-Son Farms, who stands the son of Theatrical, Strut the Stage is the sire of Cup and Saucer winner CELTIC CONVISTION and yesterday sired a debut winner around 2 turns. MEGHA, owned by Joanne Mattine and partner and trained by husband JOhn, won her debut for $20,000 under Contreras. The $8,000 yearling purchase was the first foal of a mare who was unplaced (Mehek, by Woodman) and she was bred by Amy and Surinder Banghoo.
Speaking of first time starters, there was a nice one that won on the turf yesterday named SMART STING, a Smart Strike gak out of champion and $2 million earner Perfect Sting. The Adena Springs homebred is the 3rd foal of Perfect Sting, her first is winner Perfect Bullet. She is trained by Roger Attfield and she eked out her win over the talented Lode Lady, by Posse.
The AUTUMN STAKES PREP was not a surpirse, STUNNING STAG (Running Stag) mototred from well back off a ridiculosuly slow pace to win the $91,100 race over Queen’s Plate winner BIG RED MIKE, who was ridden perffectly by Contrerras but he just could not hold off the older runner, who is the king of the stakes preps.
Discovery Racing and trainer Julia Carey, who have orchestrtated a super Daily Bred Food Bank fun raiser at the track, won the 9th race with 7 to 1 shot HA LONG BAY, who came out of a turf sprint to win the turf maiden route in his 7th start. He is a Military gelding.
The last race of the day went from 9 horses to just 6 was won by the logicial GNARLY’S SHOT, owned by Paul Buttigieg, Rick Hoyaski and others. The 3yo filly was making her 4th start and won for $11,500 claiming.
Mobil S.
TODAY AT WOODBINE – RAIN
It has not stopped raining in the southern Ontario region since yesterday so there is not shot the races will be on the grass today.
The MOBIL STAKES, a recent invention (like only a couple of months ago), is an overnight race slated for turf, drew the minimum 5 runners and could come off the turf anyway, ,aking it quite a silly event.
But it means a lot for STORMY LORD as a win gives him a big chance to be champion 3yo male in Canada.
MOBIL STAKES
About 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $100,000
Prg. # PP Horse Jockey Trainer Wt. Claim $ Equip. Med. ML
1 Riley Ripasso Sutherland C England Deborah 117 L 20-1
2 Hotep Husbands P Frostad Mark 121 L 3-1
3 Cognashene Da Silva E R Pierce Malcolm 119 L 7-5
4 Stormy Lord McAleney J S Black Ian 121 L 6-5
5 Archon Jones J Attard Kevin 117 L 12-1
A bit more interesting is the FANFRELUCHE STAKES, which, like most stakes race at Woodbine this year, is plagued by a short field.
The favourite is the unbeaten PHILANTHROPIST filly MEDABUCK who may have her hooves full with MAGICAL MERRY, a Canadian bred who was purchased by Americans and is the first foal of Canadian stakes winner ona Rose. The Aragorn gal will be ridden by Luis Contreras.
Fanfreluche S.
6 Furlongs (All Weather Track) | Fillies | 2 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $150,000
Prg. # PP Horse Jockey Trainer Wt. Claim $ Equip. Med. ML
1 Inglorious Sutherland C Carroll Josie 115 FTL 6-1
2 Magical Merry Contreras L Pino Michael V 117 L 5-2
3 Medabuck McAleney J S Jordan Terry 120 L 3-2
4 Dreamy Moonlite Stein J Staples John 117 FTL 8-1
5 Weekend Romance Husbands P Day Phillips C 117 3-1
6 Lassair Olguin G L Costigan Carolyn M 115 L 20-1
FORT ERIE, 3 DAYS LEFT
Saturday’s Quarter Horse Stakes Recap
Fort Erie Race Track rolled out the welcome mat for the Grand Finale weekend of Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing. Children young and old enjoyed EquiMania! an internationally renowned educational exhibit dedicated to horses, focusing on horse health, safety around horses, and careers in the racing industry. “We were at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky just about a week ago,” said Equine Guelph representative Diane Gibbard. “We are pleased to be at Fort Erie for the weekend to help wrap up the season.”
The Canadian Cowgirls “wowed” the home crowd with their precision riding drills between races, and Q Aces handicapping expert Denis Blake was on hand to demystify the Quarter Horse handicapping experience. “The American Quarter Horse Association is really supportive of Quarter Horses racing at Fort Erie,” said Blake. The day’s Souvenir Program also featured a comparison between handicapping Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.
Saturday’s Quarter Horse – Thoroughbred Challenge going 440 yards seemed to scare off the Thoroughbred entries with only one Thoroughbred stepping up to the plate to take on seven Quarter Horses, including one of Canada’s fastest horses Fast Flung Floyd. The Mike Newell trainee Black Napkins, a four-year-old filly by Yonaguska, seemed to get the fright of her life leaving the gate with her head in the air and nearly losing her rider Krista Carignan. Sadly, she never got into the chase.
It was an extreme close photo finish with Fast Flung Floyd winning by a head, followed by Six Pack of Corona with Michelle Raekelboom aboard and Tony Phillips on Royal Evening Dash finishing third. Jockey Brian Bell clenched a hat trick winning the $50,000 Challenge, in 21.91 seconds. “I thought they were going to catch up,” said Bell. “But this horse had another gear.”
Fast Flung Floyd is owned by Roger Girard and trained by Clint Crawford, a force to be reckoned with in Ontario Quarter Horse racing. Fast Flung Floyd was Ontario’s horse of the year in 2009 and has won four races from six starts this season, including the $100,000 added Alex Picov Memorial Championship on October third.
“We’re blessed to have this horse,” said trainer Crawford. “We hope to get another one just like him.” The win solidifies Girard as the leading owner in Ontario Quarter Horse racing with more than $850,000 in earnings with his stable in only 45 days of racing.
The fourth race on Saturday’s card was the $50,000 Fort Erie Futurity, for two-year-old Quarter Horses going 400 yards. The ten-horse race zinged home in 20.21 seconds with a decisive win by Blr Nanny Bee, her fourth win from six races this season, despite a bad break from the gate in the race. Pyc Cruiser with Jeff McLaren on board was second and Ramone Dominguez on Call Him Country was third.
Trainer Tom Dunlop was busy multi-tasking aboard his pony and was unavailable for comment, but winning jockey and local favorite Marty Mercieca praised the training. “The filly had great form coming into the race. She was great to ride. I just sat on her and she did everything else,” said Mercieca.
unday’s race card (Oct. 24th) will see another set of four races for Quarter Horses at Fort Erie, including the second in the Battle of the Breeds Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse match-up races. The Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred Distance Challenge will pit four Thoroughbreds against four Quarter Horses at 870 yards.
To close out the 2010 Quarter Horse meet at Fort Erie, Sunday, October 24th will also see the field for the $50,000 Fort Erie Maturity.
On the Thoroughbred side, The Fan’s Cup for 2 year olds will be run on Sunday as well as the Longshots OTB Cup for 2 year old fillies.
1st race post time is at 12:30.
ASKMEN.COM
COOL INTERVIEW WITH JOHN MALCOVICH ON SECRETARIAT MOVIE
by John Scott Lewinski
If you’re casting a Hollywood movie and you need intensity with an aura of the offbeat, you call John Malkovich’s agent.
From his debut as a poor and blind survivor in Places in the Heart to the creepy lothario in Dangerous Liaisons to his Academy Award-nominated turn as an assassin opposite Clint Eastwood in In the Line of Fire, he specializes as the quiet guy you must keep your eye on at all times.
In his latest film he stars as Lucien Laurin, the eccentric trainer of the great (and titular) race horse Secretariat. Historically, the French Canadian was reluctant to take on the job of training the eventual Triple Crown winner. At a recent Hollywood press event, he discussed the challenges of playing a historical figure in the inspiring sports movie.
Q1: AskMen.com : In horse racing circles, Lucien Laurin is a legend. Do you consider it a special challenge to play a real character as opposed to a fictional creation? John Malkovich : As for the real man, there isn’t a lot of material available — written or on video — featuring Lucien, aside from a little bit of footage in a nice documentary ESPN did on the Triple Crown win. I decided not to base the performance on the actual person because he and I were so different. He was a jockey before becoming a trainer, so he was very diminutive. It wouldn’t have made a lot of sense that way.
I had to create someone who served the film. For me, the challenge is always the same — to try and do something well. I don’t often think of that challenge in terms of playing a specific role. I think about it in terms of, “What can I bring to the film that would help? What can I do that would help the film as a whole?”
Q2: AM : What did you bring to Secretariat, and what did you take away from the film? JM : Not to be immodest, but it’s hard for me to say what I brought to this film or any film. It’s really up to the audience. I hope I communicated the love I felt — and that the character felt — for that horse and its story. They’re big, powerful animals, and I always was aware of that while working on the film. I took that away from the experience.
But, I took something away from it. Unlike my grandfather or my brother, I’ve actually been able to make some money at a racetrack. That’ll be a family first and has great meaning for me.
http://ca.askmen.com/celebs/interview_400/447_john-malkovich-interview.html
