The sun is setting on the 2014 Woodbine Thoroughbred season. MICHAEL BURNS/WEG PHOTO
165-160
That is the jockey score heading into the last 3 cards of racing at Woodbine this year. PATRICK HUSBANDS leads LUIS CONTRERAS with 43 races left (13 on Sunday).
For fans and handicappers, the last 3 days is an extravaganza of large field, maidens, short races, long races and hey, the VALEDICTORY drew an intriguing field that includes $3 million earner and 3-time Group 1 winner Manighar, shipping for Graham Motion.
MANIGHAR, a star in Australia, arrives this weekend in Toronto
London’s Calling
LONDON TOWER led all the way to win the Ontario Lassie Stakes over Gary Barber’s Galina Point on Sunday, posting a 79 Beyer Figure in her 3rd career start. The Steve Owens and Beverly Lewis Owens homebred was ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson who slowed the pace down in the 1 1/16 mile race and then let the filly streak through the stretch run. London Tower is by the Owens’s own stallion Head Chopper, who is now advertised in Canadian Thoroughbred Sire Book and looking for mates next spring.
“I thought if I could get away with an easy enough half, that if I needed to I could use her for that third quarter and gain myself a couple lengths through the turn,” said Wilson. “We were engaged on the backside but it was such an easy half, when I let her out a notch going into the turn I knew I had a lot of horse and a lot of gears.”
Owens has enjoyed a remarkable 2014 campaign with his stallion Head Chopper who has provided a number of thrills with limited runners including La Prevoyante Stakes winner Zazinga and winning claimer Chopper At Bay.
Head Chopper, under Owens’ tutelage, compiled a record of 5-6-7 from 30 starts, including a second-place finish, by a nose to Halo Steven, in the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings in a racing career that spanned five seasons from 2005 to 2009.
“I’m so proud of that horse. I trained him from day one. We had fun racing and we’re having a lot of fun now, too,” said Owens of Head Chopper.
Owens noted that London Tower owns a distinctly different personality than her humble sire.
“She’s mean, she’s nasty. That’s what separates her,” laughed Owens. “Head Chopper is a gentleman, but this filly just wants to be the boss.
London Tower banked $90,000 in victory while improving her record to 2-0-1 from three starts.
Thundering home
SAN NICOLA THUNDER won a bizarre running of the Sir Barton Stakes, winning a furious battle to the wire by a head over Freitag and Spadina Road. The race changed dramatically when 4 to 5 favouruite and champion PENDER HARBOUR reared up in the gate a couple of times and was then scratched. San Nisola Thunder ended up the 8 to 5 favourite.
This son of Silent Name (Jpn) out of San Nicola Flyer by Altdeed has been a remarkable story for John Cardella who trains for Paul Cooper and Joe Pirone.
The 4-year-old started getting some better results in stakes races early in 2013 before he won the Vice Regent Stakes at 23 to 1 in September. He was a bit slow to come around this year but finished 2nd in the Shepperton and Overskate Stakes before he won the Bunty Lawless. This win was his 2nd in his 10th race and now he has won stakes on turf and Polytrack and his earnings stand at over $435,000 for his owners/breeders. Jesse Campbell gave a shrewd ride on the gelding. His Beyer Figure was 71.
LEIGH COURT TO FAIR GROUNDS
Leigh Court, who was the Sovereign Award winner for champion Canadian 3-year-old filly of 2013 and who has won five stakes in her 12-race career is now in the care of veteran trainer Mike Stidham. The daughter of Grand Slam was last seen on the racetrack finishing an even fifth in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint – a race in which she competed after having to be vanned from Woodbine in greater Toronto to Santa Anita Park in greater Los Angeles because of a reported refusal to load an airplane.
“She’s due in here (Sunday) and we’re very lucky to have her,” Stidham said. “John Adger, who has been a friend and partner of ours in horses like Upperline, Willcox Inn and now Toutsie Rules, used to be the manager for Stonerside Farm and we have been associated with and training for him for 20 years. He is friends with the new owner and recommended we train her.”
Always well regarded, Leigh Court actually commenced her career at Fair Grounds in 2013, winning on debut despite leaving the gate belatedly and encountering trouble throughout the race under James Graham. She would go on to win by 3¼ lengths and then prove her versatility while under the tutelage of Josie Carroll for breeder and owner Eugene Melnyk.
Leigh Court reeled off wins in three sprint stakes – two on Polytrack in the Listed $125,000 Duchess Stakes and Grade III Seaway Stakes at Woodbine and one on dirt in the Grade II Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland prior to her Breeders’ Cup attempt – as well as going a turf mile in the Grade III Ontario Colleen at Woodbine. Also valiant in defeat, the dark bay filly made all the running – setting a torrid :46.56 and 1:10.55 pace – in the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in Oct. 2013 before finishing fourth behind Grade I fillies Kitten’s Dumplings, Alterite and Caroline Thomas, while beaten only 1¼ lengths.
Following the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 1 of this year, she was auctioned at The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Kentucky on Nov. 3 and sold for $1 million to Speedway Stables.
“She was bought as an eventual broodmare prospect, but she has a lot of good racing left in her and I’m honored they decided to send her to me,” Stidham continued. “She started her career here and I think maybe the weather was getting a little rough at the farm she’s at in Kentucky. We’ll certainly be looking at stakes races at Keeneland with her in the spring and along the way we’ll get her ready and hopefully she can run here in New Orleans before then.”
CANADIAN THOROUGHBRED MAGAZINE makes appearance on funny commercial
CONQUEST – TYPHOON AND AN OWNER’S UPDATE
from Facebook
Canadian-bred CONQUEST TYPHOON won the Cecil DeMille Stakes at Del Mar last weekend to solidify his position as Canada’s champion 2-year-old male.
DRF REPORT BY STEVE ANDERSON – DEL MAR, Calif. – Conquest Typhoon seems to thrive on activity.
Making his sixth start of the year, Conquest Typhoon closed from last in a field of eight to win Sunday’s Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for 2-year-olds on turf at Del Mar.
The victory was the third stakes win on turf in as many days for trainer Mark Casse, who won Friday’s $250,750 Seabiscuit Handicap with Kaigun and Saturday’s $151,500 Jimmy Durante Stakes with Ol’ Fashion Gal. The Casse-trained filly Lexie Lou was second to the 3-year-old star California Chrome in the $300,250 Hollywood Derby on Saturday.
Casse said after the Grade 3 DeMille Stakes that he was concerned that Conquest Typhoon’s fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 31 would affect the colt.
http://www.drf.com/news/conquest-typhoon-rallies-win-cecil-b-demille-stakes
OWNER’S UPDATE: We’ve had many questions from our fans about Conquest Tsunami after his recent race at Delta Downs, and now we want to give you all the inside story on what happened that day, why we made the decisions we did and most importantly, how Conquest Tsunami is doing right now.
Initially, I was an absolute no on this race and Mark Casse was a semi-exploring no. I was reacting with a bit of a knee-jerk reaction like an overly protective dad. Mark was evaluating as a trainer leaning negative, but still watching.
So, why my initial “absolutely not”?
1) My job is to get all input, assess the situation with our team, and first protect the athlete but let him achieve at the highest levels possible with the least possible physical risk. Mark and his team are incredible at spotting even the most minor warning signals right up to the race. We monitor everything and closely access track conditions. Our athletes are given the best of everything and we aim very high. We want them prepared to hit our targets.
2) I was “iffy” on the surface as it seemed cement-like. I was very, very iffy on the layout and the banked “hairpin” turns. It seemed like a lot to adjust to in a day without any practice.
3) I don’t mind going anywhere with Tsunami especially, he is blazing fast! But he is still learning and he went from poly, to turf, to brief dirt training very quickly. This was now a whole new surface and configuration.
As to why Tsunami went to Delta Downs… Under Norman Casse, Mark Casse, and the Churchill team he was training ” lights out” on the dirt. He still needed some conditioning but was very, very solid. We entered Tsunami in a very tough stakes at Churchill (The Street Sense Stakes) and with a terrific ride by Shaun Bridgmohan, he won without ever being pushed hard.
We felt that with some additional conditioning and with Shaun being familiar with the track, the speed surface would play very, very well. Tsunami was 100% ready. Mark, Norman, myself, and Shaun all decided that he deserved to blister that track, so we shipped out!
Shaun had him positioned perfect and relaxed and ran a blazing 22 and small change first quarter. Tsunami was still coasting and ready to go up a gear… And then our hearts stopped.
We saw him and were devastated. On the turn we thought Tsunami had essentially kicked himself. We feared from the look of it that it was a very, very serious tendon injury. We flew him straight to Ocala, and thankfully the vet confirmed there was no tear, it was just very swollen.
Tsunami will have a nice, deserved vacation, as you see can see in the picture You will see him next year for certain at 100%. He’ll be bigger, more beautiful if possible, and burning holes in the track. We are so grateful for all the concern from our fans. This is your team, too!
I have a couple of other announcements that I hope will thrill you! I’ll be releasing our yearling draft, which Mark, Dr. Bob, Mike Lightener, Sarah, Dory and myself put in hundreds of hours into. I think you will all be very very pleased!
Also, I will be releasing first to you, on our Facebook page and website, our royalty, My Conquestadory’s winning suitor and gladly accepted mate for this new year! We have also matched up several other beautiful fillies and have them set to add new Conquest quality babies in the future. Our first foal will be here in February from Conquestadory, a blazing fast filly that got injured just enough for me to not race her. She will be bringing us a Candy Ride male foal very soon!
Watch for more news, we have some other surprises in store for our valued partners and supporters!
Much thanks,
Ernie, Dory, and Team Conquest
SOVEREIGN AWARDS – who is in contention…
Mark Casse trainees could collect 7 Sovereigns
Here is a look at some of the contenders for Sovereign Awards for championship honours in Canadian racing – 2104:
2yo filly – CONQUEST HARLANATE won the Natalma and Mazarine, both graded stakes and is the top contender over BROOKLYN’S WAY, the Princess Elizabeth winner
2yo colt – CONQUEST TYPHOON
3yo filly – LEXIE LOU
3yo colt – Since ALERT BAY, a multiple graded stakes winner for Peter Redekop this year in California and British Columbia (he won the BC Derby and beat older horses in the BC Premier’s while also taking the Echo Eddie Stakes at Golden Gate and placing in stakes at Santa Anita.) is no eligible, the race is between Coltimus Prime, the Prince of Wales winner, and Ami’s Holiday, the Breeders’ Stakes winner.
Older male – LUKES ALLEY has the edge over SKY CAPTAIN, PENDER HARBOUR and HIS RACE TO WIN
Older female – STRUT THE COURSE is the leader here based on her Maple Leaf win but it is a weak category
Male Turf – Looks like KAIGUN will be the champion over stablemate DYNAMIC SKY.
Female Turf – LEXIE LOU
Male Sprinter – The Kennedy Road partially muddled the picture – SHARP SENSATION has won 3 stakes at 3 different tracks on 3 different surfaces already. CALGARY CAT won 2 stakes and beat SS in the Kennedy Road.
Female Sprinter – SPRING IN THE AIR could have the edge currently. Silent Treat?
HORSE OF THE YEAR – Lexie Lou.
