Woodbine, day 3 of the season and the new Tapeta surface was much different than it was last Sunday and during the week.
The times were very slow for the Saturday card; a hard pace battle in race 7 between Copperplate and Flashy Margaritta was clocked in just :22 4/5, 46.00. Only once in 2 years has Flashy Margaritta gone that slow for half a mile.
How you decipher the results from Saturday’s races going forward will be an interesting handicapping puzzle. It seemed to be a fair track, just a slow one that some horses did not handle.
Top Beyer Figures according to Daily Racing For,m for Woodbine Saturday:
OMAR – 90
SKY RACER – 88
SWEET GRASS CREEK – 86
MORE DATA – 84
TREASURED -80
Let’s get to the results of the day…
TREASURING snuck through a narrow rail opening to steal the Star Shoot from Jennifer Lynnette at Woodbine. Thank you to Mr. Will Wong for the super images.
TREASURING and her rider Luis Contreras made a bold and brave move up the rail to pip favoured over Jennifer Lynnette in a thrilling renewal of the $134,750 Star Shoot Stakes, at Woodbine on Saturday.
Trained by Josie Carroll for owners Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. (John Sikura) and Edward McGhee, the Kentucky-bred Smart Strike chestnut arrived at the six furlong Tapeta sprint for three-year-old fillies off a fourth-place effort in an allowance sprint at Santa Anita when under the tutelage of Bob Baffert.
Tiz Imaginary broke quickest of all in the Star Shoot, but it was Jennifer Lynnette, under Gary Boulanger, who took command leading a field of five through the opening quarter in :23.62 under pressure from Swoop and Strike.
Treasuring, with Luis Contreras up, settled in fourth position along the rail and waited patiently as Jennifer Lynnette took the field through the turn in a half-mile of :47.37. Jennifer Lynnette put away Swoop and Strike at the top of the lane and tried to kick clear, but an energetic Treasuring surged up the rail and won a furious stretch battle by a nose. Tiz Imaginary came on late for show. Treasuring stopped the clock in 1:11.43.
The Beyer Figure was 80. Contreras was pleased with the brave effort from Treasuring to squeeze up the rail.
“I was a little nervous, but the filly came home really well,” said Contreras. “I had a lot of horse. At the middle of the turn I was waiting to make my move, and when they opened the rail, we went through.”
A full sister to Grade I winner Streaming, Treasuring is from the same family as Rags to Riches, Jazil and Casino Drive. Carroll is familiar with the family line having trained Treasuring’s dam, Teeming, through a pair of wins at Woodbine in 2005. She also conditioned Teeming’s first foal, Cascading, to a victory in the 2009 Glorious Song Stakes.
Indeed, the black-type score by Treasuring just added somewhere in the neighbourhood of low 7 figures to the family of which Sikura has many members.
Jennifer Lynette is an Ontario bred and thus a Woodbine Oak contenders but it was the solid run by Bill Grhaam’s TIZ IMAGINARY that points her out as a major Oaks hopeful.
RACE 1 – a maiden allowance, open, went to Gulfstream-raced MORE DATA, making his 2nd career start for Norseman Racing Stable, which bred the Kentucky colt by More Than Ready. He zoomed to the lead and won easily under Luis Contreras, who went on to win 3 races on the card. He was heavily bet at 3 to2.
A pair of Mark Casse beginners including the very large Leavem in Malibu who broke very slowly and was up for 3rd. He is a Canadian-bred full brother to Danzig Moon who races for Conrad Farms. The time of 1:17.23 translated into an 83 Beyer Figure.
Race 2- The first starter at Woodbine this year (and in many years) for the high percentage trainer ROBERTINO DIODORO is OMAR, who was no surprise to be odds-on on the big class drop in his first Woodbine start. This classy, 13-time winner had big Beyer Figures and a 5 for 11 record in 2015.
Under Emma-Jayne Wilson, the son of Bertrando was gone from the start and he ran fast over the slow surface, earning a 90 Beyer Figure for his win in 57.81.
Diodoro has a 32 percent win rate in the last year.
Race 3- a maiden race for $12,500 was quite a slow affair and the winner was odds-on MARCH TO MY TUNE, the 2nd winner of the season already for trainer Dave Cotey and Linmac Farms. Triple K also owns part of this Marchfield 4yo who is now 1 for 15 in his career. Contreras rode the gelding from far off the pace (48.29 for half a mile doing 7 furlongs!) to wear down Pretty Master, who was in from Tampa.
Race 4 – Many of us thought that LIGHT THE PATH would romp here in her return to Woodbine, with Contreras, on the drop to $20,000 claiming. But the 4yo filly could not catch up to front runner WOVEN LADY, who led all the way for Nathan Squires (owner, trainer) and jockey Emile Ramsammy.
It was a much better result for Squires and Ramsammy as they had been last in the previous race with Benin. Woven Lady was 0 for 10 last year but won this 6 1/2 furlong race without ever feeling the whip.
Ramsammy rated her very well and then let her open up and simply shook the lines at her to keep going. Nice win for the Hard Spun mare.
race 5 – fillies and mares, non-winners of 3 for $40,000 claiming and OUR GABRIELLE burst between horses in late stretch to win for John Russell and George Schramm. The Philanthropist filly out of Timeless Silver by Silver Deputy was making her season debut and she was one win last year, for $20,000 claiming. Omar Moreno rode the Mike DePaulo trainee.
Four horses lined up on the turn as co-favoured I Scream Sunday loomed up nicely but that one bore out badly off the turn and took Trip Over the Line with her.
race 6 – an allowance race for Ontario sired non-winners of 2 or one other than went to favoured CONQUEST CAVALRY, a $140,000 yearling purchase who was first time as a gelding for Conquest Stables and trainer Mark Casse. The son of Old Forester was bred by Ballycroy Training Centre and he dueled on the rail with Moon Doogie through a fairly decent pace for the pace, won handily in 1:04.67. He is 2 for 6 in his career.
race 7 – as mentioned earlier, this race did not go well for speedy Flashy Margaritta who may not have handled the slow surface. He was inside in a pace battle and when Copperplate wisely took back off the pace, this guy was joined by Stormy Rush and Sweet Grass Creek.
The latter, that same fellow who wild on the pace in the Queen’s Plate last year, dragged Jesse Campbell to the lead off the turn and he was very strong in his win in this allowance/optional claiming race. The son of Wando is a homebred for Gus Schickedanz and he is 4 for 12 in his career for trainer Mike Keogh.
The Schickedanz runners continue to be very sharp this spring.
Race 9 – Well, Gus Schickedanz’s team could not come right back with Go Bro as the very fragile SKY RACER dominated this 6 1/2 furlong dash off the one-year layoff in just his 6th career race. The bay colt by Sky Mesa, bred in Ontario by Bob Harvey, tracked 4 wide and wore down Go Bro before pulling away in a good time of 1:17.12. Patrick Husbands rode for John Oxley.
Race 10 – heavily favoured speedball Geocentric looked like she was going to be tough to beat in this 5 1/2 furlong race but she got some heavy pace pressure from Mi Hat Mi Coat. The opening 2 furlongs of 22.74 was very fast for the day and this was a $10,00 claiming race. No surprise then the winner came from off the pace and it was another Wando offspring, this time, SNIPPETS OF TIME, who was 0 for 10 last year but now 1 for 1 in 2016. Devon Johnson had a nice rider for Gord Colbourne
KENTUCKY DERBY STUFF
CREATOR rallies from last to win Arkansas Derby, Collected takes Blue Grass
CREATOR, yet another grey colt by Tapit who has done big things this year, is on his way to the Kentucky Derby with a charging win in the Arkansas Derby – Grade 1, a $1,000,000 ‘prep’ event for the Run for the Roses.
Trained by Steve Asmussen for WinStar Farm LLC, Creator had 4 second-place finishes in his first 5 races before he won his maiden in Feb. He was then 3rd in the Rebel behind Cupid.
In the Arkansas Derby, Cupid chased a wild pace set by Gettysburg and was all done by the time the field turned for hom.
The big galloper SUDDENBREAKINGNEWS was a flying 2nd for trainer Donnie Von Hemel and that Mineshfat gelding looks very enticing as a Derby challenge.
WHITMORE, who is also improving, was 3rd and he had been 2nd in the Rebel behind Cupid.
The time of 1:50.14 was good for a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.
At Keeneland, COLLECTED won the Lexington over a modest field. He is a City Zip colt who sold for $170,000 at the March 2yo in training sale and he is owned by Speedway Stable. Bob Baffert trains.
Collected won the Sunland Derby and the Shan Stakes (Grade 3).
The time of the Lexington , 1:43.33, was a 90 Beyer Figure, certainly making Collected a longshot as a Derby contender.
Some 18 lengths behind of Collected was Canada’s champion 2-year-old male of last year, RIKER, his second straight drubbing since he returned to racing this year for Gary Barber and Team Valor, new co-owners, and his new trainer Mark Casse.
The Include colt, who is still owned in part by Tucci Stables is 4 for 4 on synthetic so perhaps the Kentucky bred will find his way back to Woodbine one day.
The Casse barn actually had a scattering of wins from GUlfstream to Keeneland and 2 at Woodbine yesterday but no doubt it’s biggest win was with the remarkable TEPIN, who posted another 107 Beyer Figure in her crushing of the Jenny Wiley field, a Grade 1 race at 1 1/16 miles. One of the only horses to have beaten Tepin last year, Dacita, was in the field, but Tepin was too strong. Robert Masterson owns the Bernstein mare who is out of a Stravinsky mare.
Prince of Wales winner BREAKING LUCKY was a good third in the Ben Ali Handicap (Grade 3) behind Eagle and Noble Bird. Thoese two birds flew away with the race but the Ontario bred Breaking Lucky, in his 2nd start this season, did well to get into the picture late.
The winning Beyer Figure of the Ben Ali was 101.Breaking Lucky earned a 92.
Eagle is fast imprving colt by Candy Ride owned by Woll Farish, who also bred the 4-year-old.
DERBY POINTS – Rank Horse Points Owner(s) Trainer Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Gun Runner 151 Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) & Three Chimney Farms (Goncalo Borges Torrealba)
Steve Asmussen $849,200
2. Nyquist 130 Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam) Doug O’Neill $3,289,000
3. Exaggerator 126 Big Chief Racing LLC (Matthew W. Bryan), Head of Plains Partners LLC, Rocker O Ranch LLC et al. Keith Desormeaux $1,628,000
4. Outwork 120 Repole Stable (Mike Repole) Todd Pletcher $660,000
5. Brody’s Cause 114 Albaugh Family Stable (Dennis Albaugh) Dale Romans $1,100,000
6. Creator 110 WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Trout) Steve Asmussen $690,000
7. Lani 100 Koji Maeda Mikio Matsunaga $1,300,119
8. Mor Spirit 84 Michael L. Petersen Bob Baffert $616,800
9. Mohaymen 80 Shadwell Stable (Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum) Kiaran McLaughlin $807,850
10. Danzing Candy 60 Halo Farms (Teddy Aroney), Jim Bashor & Diane Bashor Cliff Sise Jr. $290,000
11. Destin 51 Twin Creeks Racing Stables LLC (Steve Davison & Randy Gullatt) Todd Pletcher $338,000
12. Suddenbreakingnews 50 Samuel F. Henderson Donnie Von Hemel $637,000
13. Cupid 50 Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derek Smith Bob Baffert $542,857
14. $+Oscar Nominated 50 Ken & Sarah Ramsey Mike Maker $321,360
15. Shagaf 50 Shadwell Stable (Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum) Chad Brown $270,000
16. Whitmore 44 Robert V. LaPenta, Harry T. Rosenblum & Southern Springs Stable (Ron Moquett)
Ron Moquett $400,000
17. Tom’s Ready 44 G M B Racing (Gayle Benson) Dallas Stewart $270,670
— +f-Polar River 40 Valentin Bukhtoyarov & Evgeny Kappushev Doug Watson $700,000
18. My Man Sam 40 Sheep Pond Partners, Newport Stables LLC & Jay Bligh Chad Brown $200,000
19. Majesto 40 Grupo 7C Racing Stable (Alejandro A. Ceballos) Gustavo Delgado $190,000
(Career: $239,500)
20. Trojan Nation 40 Julie Gilbert & Aaron Sones Paddy Gallagher $190,000
(Career: $213,290)
21. Mo Tom 32 G M B Racing (Gayle Benson) Tom Amoss $268,326
22. Fellowship 32 Jacks or Better Farm Inc. (Fred and Jane Brei) Mark Casse $206,590
23. Adventist 32 Treadway Racing Stable (Jeff Treadway) Leah Gyarmati $155,000
24. Laoban 32 Southern Equine Stable LLC (Michael Moreno) & McCormick Racing LLC
Eric Guillot $142,000
25. Dazzling Gem 30 Steve Landers Racing LLC Brad Cox $150,000
— Uncle Lino 29 Tom Mansor, Purple Shamrock Racing & Gary Sherlock Gary Sherlock $174,000
26. Cherry Wine 25 William Pacella, Frank L. Jones Jr. & Frank Shoop Dale Romans $145,000
