WE GET LETTERS AND PHOTOS!
Thank you KRISTA KOCOT at Kingsgate Farm who sent Thoroughblog a nice note and adorable photos of this little girl:
Thought I would send a couple of pictures of our first foal of 2015 – a filly by Legal Jousting(IRE) out of Cherokee Lynn (half sister to the good winners Consolidator Joe & Kettle Rapids). She was born February 6.
Keep up the good work on the blog, I eagerly anticipate every new post!
Krista Kocot
WOODBINE BACKSTRETCH OPENING SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY
Horsepeople get ready for very cold temperatures when Woodbine opens for training later this week – MICHAEL BURNS/WOODBINE PHOTO
Bone-chilling temperatures, far below the normal for this time of year in southern Ontario, has played havoc with the water pipes on the Woodbine backstretch, delaying the arrival of horses and horsepeople.
The normal temperature for this time of year is about -1 Celcius. It has been in the range of -17 to -25 for a couple of weeks (wind chills hit -40 on the weekend) and Environment Canada reported this Tuesday morning that “normal” will not return until late March.
The backstretch was expected to be open today but will now open Friday the 20th, 50 days before the 60th Woodbine seaosn starts.
Thoroughbreds around Ontario are already back in light exercise at spots such as Pine Valley Training Centre where Paul Caine reports some 60 horses galloping in the indoor arena.
In the brutal cold, horses are training at Buttigieg Training Centre and Woodlands (Gail Wood), which is also busy welcoming foals into the world.
Trainer STEVE OWENS, who has Woodbine Oaks contender LONDON TOWER among his team, has already started giving his horses some equicizer exercise.
Thoughblog even ran into trainer ALEC FEHR at a recent Minor Peewee hockey game and he reports that his horses will be coming in by mid-March.
Indeed, the majority of locals who stayed north have been doing something with their horses since early January since the season comes up quickly with the 1st of 133 days to be draw on April 8.
QUEEN’S PLATE NEWS
NIPIGON has 2 workouts under his girth in Florida – TERENCE DULAY/HORSE-RACES.NET PHOTO
CONQUEST TYPHOON finished 3rd in the El Camino Real derby (Grade 3) at Golden Gate on Saturday on synthetic dirt. The probable 2yo colt champion in Canada pressed the pace 3-wide most of the way in the 1 1/8 mile event and slipped back a bit to be 2 3/4 lengths behind winner Metaboss. His Beyer Figure of 80 was the best of his career.
While the colt’s preferred distance is likely 1 mile, the Queen’s Plate has often yieleded winners who were not at their best at 10 furlongs.
Current Plate favourite according to Thoroughblog’s TOP TEN LIST is AMI’S FLATTER who was 2nd in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes with a 90 Beyer Figure on Jan. 3 and then 4th in the Sam F Davis on Jan 31 with an 82 Beyer Figure.
The colt had a workout on Sunday at Palm Meadows, 4 furlongs in :49 1/5 breezing. He is a Flatter colt owned and bred by Ivan Dalos and trained by Josie Carroll.
The colt could come back in the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.
NIPIGON, 2nd in the Coronation Futurity, had his 2nd workout of the year as he went 3 furlongs in a bullet 38 1/5 at Payson Park in Stuart, FLA for trainer Rachel Halden. Chiefswood Stable owned and bred the colt.
CONQUEST CURLINATE, by Curlin, races on Thursday at Oaklawn Park (weather permitting) and he just won his maiden on Jan 31 with a 74 Beyer Figure for a 1 1/16 mile dirt race. He is trained by Mark Casse.
CPMA to test for COBALT
In January, three well known trainers in Australia came under scrutiny for irregularities in cobalt use in their horses. The investigation continues.
Recently, Meadowlands racetrack owner JEFF GURAL has barred two trainers from his trainer for cobalt use.
The Paulick report came out with a startling viewpoint about cobalt, summing it up well for readers:
“Experiments with laboratory rats show that Cobalt improved endurance. Administration of Cobalt in human athletes has similar results to recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), adding red blood cells. It is inexpensive and easy to acquire, but difficult to find in drug tests because the detection window is brief – between four and six hours.
Cobalt also can be fatal.”
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/is-cobalt-a-killer-in-horses/
In November, the Courier-Journal reported:
Dr. Mary Scollay the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, told a Kentucky legislative subcommittee that early testing is showing that the use of cobalt — a blood doping agent increases stamina by spurring the creation of red blood cells — may contribute to exercise-induced respiratory hemorrhaging (EIPH), a respiratory bleeding condition that limits horses’ running ability and is deadly in the worst cases.
Now the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency is getting serious about cobalt:
CPMA release on Standardbred Canada:
Given the recent publicity surrounding cobalt, the purpose of this notice is to provide the racing industry with information with respect to the CPMA’s position on this substance.
Cobalt is a naturally occurring, trace element present in all horses at very low levels. It can also be found in several feedstuffs and supplements such as vitamin B12. The CPMA has not tested for cobalt since it is not listed in the Schedule of Drugs in the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations (the Regulations).
Horse racing regulators around the world are investigating allegations that large amounts of cobalt have been administered to racehorses in the belief that they will enhance performance by inducing the production of red blood cells.
As you may be aware, a threshold of 100ng/mL in urine has been proposed by several international regulators and, in the United States, several jurisdictions have implemented thresholds between 25 and 70 ng/mL in blood.
Recently, the CPMA has undertaken a number of research initiatives in regard to the use of cobalt in Canada. We have worked with Maxxam Analytics (our official laboratory), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the University of Kentucky. The CPMA presented these research findings at the International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians late last year. The CPMA has also collaborated with other racing jurisdictions and has made considerable progress towards understanding the complexities in controlling the use of this naturally occurring substance.
Effective immediately, the CPMA will begin testing for elevated levels of cobalt in official samples collected at Canadian racetracks however Certificates of Positive Analysis will not be issued by the CPMA until the Regulations have been amended to include cobalt in the Schedule of Drugs. Results of this testing will be used to establish an appropriate threshold in Canada and data will be shared with Provincial Racing Commissions who may wish to initiate more immediate measures to address the use/misuse of this substance.
Cobalt levels may build up over time when given repeatedly and its elimination from the horse can take an extended period of time. As such, owners and trainers should govern themselves accordingly as, once the Regulations are amended, Certificates of Positive Analysis will be issued immediately based upon the established threshold.
At this time, there are no elimination guidelines for therapeutic doses of cobalt or veterinary approved forms of injectable cobalt. However, current knowledge would suggest that under no circumstances should supplementary oral cobalt be given within 48 hours of racing.
As with all medications and supplements, owners and trainers should discuss the use of cobalt supplements with their veterinarian.
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/2-16-15/cpma-test-cobalt.html
In 2009 the ONTARIO RACING COMMISSION issued a warning about Cobalt use:
http://www.ontarioracingcommission.ca/whatsnew.aspx?id=609
This past weekend, this story appeared from ‘down under’:
“WIDESPREAD” use of Cobalt in Standardbreds
Cobalt chloride – from Wikipedia
