POLAR

CHIEFSWOOD, IVAN DALOS DOMINATE SOVEREIGN AWARD NOMINEES

The Jockey Club of Canada released the finalists for the 2018 Sovereign Awards Thursday evening, honouring Canada’s Champions and recognizing their outstanding achievements in Canadian Racing. The winners of the twelve horse categories and the five human categories will be announced at the 44th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at Chateau Le Jardin in Woodbridge, ON.

CHIEFSWOOD STABLE, owned by Robert and Mark Krembil of King City, had  a very strong 2018 season in Canada and it is up for Outstanding Owner and Breeder while 6 of its homebreds are nominated in various categories. TIZ A SLAM, a son of Grand Slam, is up for Champion Older Male and Champion Turf Male and was a 2-time graded stakes winner at 4 last season winning the Grade 3 Dominion Day and Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes on turf. He was also 2nd in the Grade 3 Sky Classic and 3rd in the Grade 2 fair Grounds Handicap. His main competition in both those categories is Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry’s Mr Havercamp. also a double graded stakes winner on turf and synthetic in 2018.

Chiefswood’s 2-year-old filly BOLD SCRIPT, 3-year-old colt NEEPAWA, turf female NIIGON’S ECLIPSE and sprinter YORKTON are also nominated.

Toronto’s IVAN DALOS, who has built up one of the most potent breeding operations in Thoroughbred racing in Canada is nominated for Outstanding Owner and Breeder while 5  horses he owns or bred are also nominated. His 2-year-old colt AVIE’S FLATTER is the likely winner of Champion 2-year-old Colt, GAMBLE’S GHOST is nominated for Champion Older Mare, JOHNNY BEAR (owned by Colebrook and Bear Stables) is up for Turf Male and two Dalos broodmares, the late IN RETURN and AVIE’S EMPIRE are up for Outstanding Broodmare. Dalos mares have won the last 2 Outstanding Broodmare awards.

Western Canada is well represented as Manitoba Horse of the Year ESCAPE CLAUSE is up for Older Mare and Female Sprinter. SKY PROMISE is up for Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and  HERE’S HANNAH made the short list for Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.

The HORSE OF THE YEAR finalists will be announced on the night of the ceremony but is sure to include WONDER GADOT, the shoo-in for Champion Three-Year-Old Filly who won the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales and was a close 2nd in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks (G1). Wonder Gadot’s dam Loving Vindication is up for Outstanding Broodmare but in a surprise, David Anderson’s Anderson Farms did not make the top three for top Breeder.

There are other double-nominees including PINK LLOYD, last year’s Horse of the Year who should be named Champion Sprinter, STARSHIP JUBILEE, last year’s Female Turf champ, DIXIE MOON and MR HAVERCAMP.

The Outstanding Trainer Sovereign should be hotly contested between NORM MCKNIGHT, MARK CASSE and KEVIN ATTARD.

Casse has won the award 7 straight years and 10 times in total.

Thoroughbloig’s ballot can be found here.

Champion Two-Year-Old Female:
Bold Script
My Gal Betty
Tiz Breathtaking

Champion Two-Year-Old Male:
Avie’s Flatter
Solidify
War of Will

Champion Three-Year-Old Female:
Dixie Moon
Here’s Hannah
Wonder Gadot

Champion Three-Year-Old Male:
Lookin to Strike
Neepawa
Sky Promise

Champion Older Female:
Escape Clause
Gamble’s Ghost
Starship Jubilee

Champion Older Male:
Mr Havercamp
Pink Lloyd
Tiz a Slam

Champion Female Turf Horse:
Dixie Moon
Niigon’s Eclipse
Starship Jubilee

Champion Male Turf Horse:
Johnny Bear
Mr Havercamp
Tiz a Slam

Champion Female Sprinter:
Code Warrior
Escape Clause
Moonlit Promise

Champion Male Sprinter:
Ikerrin Road
Pink Lloyd
Yorkton

Outstanding Broodmare:
Avie’s Empire
In Return
Loving Vindication

Outstanding Breeder:
Adena Springs
Chiefswood Stables Limited
Tall Oaks Farm

Outstanding Owner:
Gary Barber
Chiefswood Stable
Ivan Dalos

Outstanding Trainer:
Kevin Attard
Mark E. Casse
Norman McKnight

Outstanding Apprentice Jockey:
Daisuke Fukumoto
Kazushi Kimura
Lenny A. Seecharan

Outstanding Jockey:
Luis Contreras
Eurico Rosa Da Silva
Rafael Manuel Hernandez

Horse of the Year:
Finalists to be announced during the 44th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony

In addition to the 17 Sovereign Awards listed above, Gustav Schickedanz and the late William D. Graham will each be honored with the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit for their life long dedication and outstanding contribution to the Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding industry in Canada.

Woodbine’s 2018 Player of the Year, Nick Noce of Rochester, N.Y. will be presented with the Award for Outstanding Handicapper and once again, the Award for Outstanding Groom will be presented by Sponsor OLG.

Winners of the three 2018 Media Awards will also be presented at the 44th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony. Media Awards are judged by the Journalism Professors at Humber, School of Media Studies & Information Technology, in Toronto, Ontario. The three finalists in each of the three media categories will be announced on or before March 1, 2019.

Tickets to the 44th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony are available for purchased online. Tickets are $250 each, with tables of ten discounted to $2,000. Early-Bird tickets are available for a discounted price of $225 until March 15, 2019. You can also purchase tickets by contacting The Jockey Club of Canada at 416-675-7756 or by email jockeyclubcanada@gmail.com.

PICK 6 MANIA @ SANTA ANITA & GULFSTREAM PARK

Kentucky Derby preps spice up Saturday racing 

Large carryover jackpot bets lure fans to horse racing wagering. And wagering fuels purses.

The Pick 6 at Santa Anita is charging to a wonderful mandatory payout on Saturday as the bets carryover stands at $1.5 million following Thursday’s racing. The bad news is, the weather has been dreadful on the west coast and yesterday, the track was sloppy and fields were very small. Should there be no single winner of the Pick 6 today, fans will get a chance to play the mandatory payout on Saturday which the track estimates will be over $10 million and there are a few nice stakes races on the card.

**Check Thoroughblog on Saturday for a couple of Pick 6 tickets for both tracks

In a key prep to the $1 million Santa Anita Derby April 7, Jerry Hollendorfer’s Gunmetal Gray and Bob Baffert’s Mucho Gusto head a field of six sophomores in Saturday’s Grade III, $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

In his best performance to date, Gunmetal Gray rallied from off the pace to take the Grade III, one mile Sham Stakes by one length here on Jan. 5 and thus stamping himself a serious Derby hopeful.

A first-out maiden winner going six furlongs at Los Alamitos Sept. 20, Mucho Gusto then took the Grade III, seven furlong Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 17 prior to running second in the Grade I Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 8.

The Lewis winner will receive 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with the second, third and fourth place finishers receiving four, two and one point(s), respectively.

Gulfstream has a carryover of almost $1 million heading into today but does not have a mandatory payout on the docket as of yet. The track also has some nice stakes races on Saturday.

Gulfstream’s 3-year-old stakes race is the popular Holy Bull Stakes (G2) which could be a pivotal stop on the Road to the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, where the Triple Crown potential of many starters will hinge on how they handle the two-turns of the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds.

Canadian-bred COME ON GERRY (Elusive Quality – Halo’s Verse), foaled at Anderson Farms, is making his stakes debut against a tough field.

Trainer Robert “Butch” Reid Jr. will saddle Maximus Mischief for the Holy Bull with the confidence the son of Into Mischief won’t be sidetracked on the Triple Crown trail by distance limitations. While others in the field will be stretching out around two turns for the first time in the Holy Bull, Maximus Mischief will actually be cutting back in distance for his 2019 debut.

“He’s already been a mile and an eighth, which I think is a pretty good advantage. It puts us a little bit ahead of the curve with the other 3-year-olds around,” Reid said. “We have an opportunity to run him a mile and a sixteenth, a distance we know he can handle, and the timing was just perfect for us.”

Maximus Mischief, who romped to commanding victories at sprint distances at Parx in his first two starts, successfully stretched out around two turns in his most recent start, scoring a 2 1/4-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Dec. 1.

Owned by Chuck Zacney’s Cash is King LLC and Glenn Bennett’s LC Racing, Maximus Mischief was purchased for $340,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds-in-training sale. The Kentucky-bred colt paid immediate dividends with a dazzlingly 8 3/4-length triumph in his Sept. 29 debut and a six-length victory in a seven-furlong first-level allowance Oct. 20. His two Parx showings earned him a trip to Aqueduct for his stakes debut in the Remsen, in which he set the pace and drew off in the stretch.

TOP TRAINER’S CHARGES THREATEN AUSTRALIAN HORSE RACING

The raid and subsequent arrest and charges to one of Australia’s top trainers Darren Weir and Jarrod McLean has rocked horse racing around the world. The sport, which has struggled with public perception from the use of the whip to rumours of drug use, has been on shaky ground in Australia for some time and the Weir story is very damning.

“…in this country you might get a slap on the wrist or we see court appeals dragging on for years. The first Victorian cobalt positive was mid 2014 , it’s just been resolved in the last month with lengthy disqualifications, ironically the time taken to reach the final verdict is longer than the penalties.” – Dr. Glenn Robertson-Smith

From The Guardian:

One of Australia’s most respected veterinary surgeons says the future of Victorian racing is under threat following this week’s alleged discovery of electronic devices known as “jiggers” on a racing property.

Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith claims the alleged discovery of the “go fast” devices has set Victorian racing back decades and fears dramatic consequences unless Racing Victoria show strong leadership and sends a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

OCALA WINTER MIXED SALE ENDS

Fasig Tipton starts next week

For the entire Winter Mixed Sale, 399 horses sold for a total of $4,497,900, compared to 409 horses bringing $5,969,600 last year. The average was $11,273, compared with $14,596 in 2018 while the median price was $6,000, unchanged from a year ago. The buyback percentage was 18.6%; it was 24.9% in 2018.

The overall sale topper was Hip No. 251, Golden Notion, a 3-year-old son of OBS graduate Goldencents consigned by Woodside Ranch, Agent, sold to S B M Training and Sales, Agent, for $200,000 to top the Horses of Racing Age Section. The bay colt, who worked a half mile in :44 flat at the Under Tack Show, is out of stakes placed Angels Trace, by Bellamy Road.

Next on the OBS agenda is the March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, scheduled for March 12 – 13. The Under Tack Show is set for March 7 – 9, beginning each morning at 8:00 a.m.

Some Canadians who bought at OBS Mixed Sale:

Barbara Minshall $25,000 (yearling by Declaration of War)
Barry Arnason – 2 for $15K each including a 3-year-old by Feb Biz
Anthony Russo – 5 Horses of Racing Age purchases including a winner by Even the Score, $3,500
Tony Gattellaro – $11,500 private purchase of maiden 3-year-old Keep Your Word from Sam-Son Farm

On Feb 4 and 5 the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed sale begins and there are plenty of recognizable Canadian horses in the catalogue and some Ontario-breds offered by Robert Harvey, Derek Chin and others:

Hip  Type In foal to (if applic) Breeding  Consignor Barn
47 Y SHACKLEFORD-CALLING RHY RHY, CH C SOUTH POINT SALES AGENCY AGENT V ONTARIO 9

53 BP CATCH THE FIRE KITTEN’S JOY-CATCH THE FLAG, CH F PARAMOUNT SALES AGENT VIII ONTARIO 5

104 Y MUCHO MACHO MAN-DYNASHEALS, DKB C BRENT P. TERRY AGENT ONTARIO 14

145 B HALLNOR LEMON DROP KID HORSE CHESTNUT (SAF)-DYNAMITE COCKTAIL, GRR M SOUTH POINT SALES AGENCY AGENT V ONTARIO 9

156 B HOMESTEADER GUN RUNNER PIONEERING-SUGARLOAF, B M SUMMERFIELD (FRANCIS & BARBARA VANLANGENDONCK) AGENT ONTARIO 3

192 RB KASUGA TEMPLE CITY-GLASLYN, DKB M GAINESWAY AGENT I ONTARIO 6

198 BP KING’S GHOST GHOSTZAPPER-FOURTH POWER, B M ST GEORGE SALES AGENT VII ONTARIO 8

244 B MOMENT OF MAJESTY STAR GUITAR SAINT LIAM-LADY INDY, B M JAMES B. KEOGH (GROVENDALE) AGENT I ONTARIO 9

289 BP PURE PURITY PERFECT SOUL (IRE)-RITTA, B M JAMES B. KEOGH (GROVENDALE) AGENT FOR ANN HANLEY (PARKINSON’S RESEARCH FUND) ONTARIO 9

335 Y VIOLENCE-SILVER ALLURE, GRR F HILL ‘N’ DALE SALES AGENCY AGENT ONTARIO 4

390 RB TRINI BREWNETTE MILWAUKEE BREW-DANCING ALLSTAR, B M SOUTH POINT SALES AGENCY AGENT II ONTARIO

394 RB TWO TRIBES UNION RAGS-INDIAN APPLE IS, DKB F TAYLOR MADE SALES AGENCY AGENT XII ONTARIO 2415 B WILKO’S QUIET GIRL CITY WOLF WILKO-QUIET LEADER, DKB M BRENT P. TERRY AGENT ONTARIO 14

435 B FORWARD RATE MAJESTIC CITY EXCHANGE RATE-B. B. BELLE, DKB M STUART MORRIS AGENT ONTARIO 4

448 RB DANCE FOR DADDY SCAT DADDY-DANCE TO THE SEA, DKB F PARAMOUNT SALES AGENT VIII ONTARIO 5

495 BP SPRING TEMPEST SPRING AT LAST-HOLD THE SUGAR, DKB M SOUTH POINT SALES AGENCY AGENT XXII ONTARIO 9

497 RB MOKA LATTE UNCLE MO-STATE CUP, B F TAYLOR MADE SALES AGENCY AGENT XXIII ONTARIO 2506 B SKY LANI VANCOUVER SKY MESA-SNOW LADY, CH M
STUART MORRIS AGENT I ONTARIO 4

526 BP MARINA VIEW INTO MISCHIEF-ONEBADKITTY, B F BLUEWATER SALES LLC AGENT XVI ONTARIO 8