Happy Thursday! – Jan 14 and the temperature still chilling in Ontario, plenty of snow but rain and plus 3 to come this weekend..
Ontario-bred AMI’S FLATTER has posted the highest Beyer Speed Figure on dirt of 2016 in North America thanks to his sizzling win on Wednesday..wow!
AMI’S FLATTER, captured by Leslie Martin for Gulfstream Park
LEXIE LOU SOLID IN COMEBACK, 3RD AT TAMPA BAY DOWNS
“I was very happy with her, she ran a 85 Beyer and considering how wide her trip was and one-year layoff, not sure you could ask for more. If she stays healthy you’ll be hearing a lot more about her ” – trainer Mark Casse to Thoroughblog.
LEXIE LOU is back and here’s hoping we get to enjoy this Ontario bred gal throughout 2016. She is all class and, well, her buddy California Chrome (she was 2nd to him in the Hollywood derby two years ago) hs also come back strongly in 2016.
She looked great on post parade, she raced wide and evenly, finishing fairly well an no doubt needing the race.
Tampa Bay Downs media:
by Mike Henry
“You know what, I thought she ran all right,” the trainer said after the 2014 Canadian Horse of the Year finished a non-threatening third behind the lightly raced Bureau de Change and Lovely Loyree, both also 5-year-olds. “I said going in this was not an easy field, and she hadn’t run for a year. The turf had a little give to it, and she had a wide trip. It’s something to build on and that’s what I was looking for,” Casse said.
Bureau de Change, owned by Amerman Racing and Brian Lynch, sped the mile in 1:35.87 under jockey Fernando De La Cruz to post a length-and-a-quarter victory. Lovely Loyree was a length-and-three-quarters ahead of Lexie Lou, with Christie’s Ready a head back in fourth.
Lexie Lou, the winner of the Queen’s Plate against males and three other stakes during her championship season, was making her first start since last Jan. 17. She had been ticketed to return to competition in a turf event at Woodbine in Toronto last August, but scratched her left eye, delaying her comeback until today.
Starting from the far outside post in the eight-horse field, Lexie Lou was within striking range while racing wide throughout, but lacked the necessary finish to pull off a victory.
“She did a good job, but I think maybe she needed a race,” said jockey Antonio Gallardo. “She got a little bit tired and didn’t have that kick at the end, but she ran good.”
Lexie Lou won three Sovereign Awards in 2014 as Canada’s Horse of the Year, Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Champion Grass Mare. In her next-to-last start before her layoff, she finished second to Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome in the Grade I Hollywood Derby on the turf at Del Mar.
Off today’s effort, Casse is optimistic she will be back to top form soon. “I have no worries. We’ll get her back to where she was before,” he said.
The victory on Bureau de Change, which is now 4-for-8 lifetime, was one of three on the day for De La Cruz.
“We got a good position and I was able to save ground all the way to the stretch,” he said. “When I asked her at the sixteenth pole, she kept going.” Bureau de Change paid $16 to win.
The Grade III, $150,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes is part of the track’s Festival Preview Day Presented by Lambholm South card on Feb. 13.
FLATTERING! Canadian colt posts 104 Beyer Figure in return
Ivan Dalos’ AMI’S FLATTER, who was on the Kentucky Derby trail last spring before returning to Ontario to try the Queen’s Plate, came off a July – January layoff yesterday at Gulfstream and wowed the crowd.
The 4-year-old son of Flatter – Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop won a 7 furlong allowance race in 1:21.58 with powerful strides, posting a 104 Beyer Speed Figure, easily the highest of his career.
Ami’ Flatter was 2nd in the Tampa Bay Derby and 3rd in the Grade 1 Florida Derby but he was sent to Woodbine to avoid the Derby. He ten flopped in the Marine and Plate before going on hiatus.
Josie Carroll trains the colt who is now 2 for 2 at the distance of 7 furlongs.
The colt’s younger half brother is the unbeaten 2-year-old from 2015, the now 3 AMI’S GIZMO.
From Gulfstream Park media:
Confidently handled by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, in his second mount since returning from riding the Magic Millions program in Australia last weekend, the 4-year-old Ontario-bred son of Flatter ran the seven-furlong allowance in 1:21.58 over a good main track.
“We were really excited about running this horse back. He had a pretty exciting campaign last year and got very fatigued at the end of it so it was nice to see him come back in good order,” winning trainer Josie Carroll said.
Breaking from post eight in the nine-horse field of older runners as the 6-5 favorite, Ami’s Flatter ($4.40) raced uncharacteristically close to a 22.62-second quarter mile set by Sun Magic and a 45.71 half from To the Victor. Sitting in the clear three wide down the backstretch, Ami’s Flatter took command at the top of the stretch and shook off a bid from Muntij before drawing away impressively.
Muntij was a clear second, 10 ¼ lengths ahead of Grade 3-placed Juan and Bina.
“He never breaks that sharp but he’s been off a good while so I think he was just feeling good. Once he was in that position, Johnny just sat on him,” Carroll said. “He’s such a good judge of what he has under him, I really wasn’t worried. I knew who was on him and I figured he’s not going to be there if he doesn’t have horse.”
Ami’s Flatter opened his 3-year-old campaign running second in the Mucho Macho Man last January at Gulfstream. From there he was fourth in the Sam Davis (G3), second in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and third in the Florida Derby before returning to Carroll’s northern base at Woodbine.
Back at home, Ami’s Flatter was seventh in the Marine (G3) and eighth in the July 5 Queen’s Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, before getting the rest of the year off. Carroll said she will see how the horse comes out before picking out a return spot.
“He’s really a lovely animal,” she said. “This was our first step and now we’ll sort of focus on where we’ll go next.”
KEENELAND JANUARY SALE – SESSION 3
Hancock busy buying mares
BETH HANCOCK of Caledon, ON purchased 6 broodmares at Keeneland on Wednesday as agent. Hancock collected some nicely bred gals:
CLASSIRA (IRE), sold by Sam-Son Farm for $30,000, she is a Danehill mare in foal to Verrazano
MISS M V P , a Grand Slam mare from the immediate family of We Miss Artie, in foal to Trappe Shot, an $8,000 purchase
SMART MUSIC, impeccably bred Smart Strike mare out of Illeria, thus a half sister to Include, Magic Broad etc. She cost $20,000 in foal to Algotrithims
WISTLA, an Ontario bred 16-year-old by ascot Knight, in foal to Sligo Bay. The mare cost just $3,000 and she has produced stakes winners Resentless and Isabella Bay.
ASHECA, by Quiet American and out of a half sister to Unbridled, was bought for $11,000 in foal to Flat Out
BEPPIN, A $9,500 mare by Forest Wildcat in foal to Sidney’s Candy
More Canadian buyers
CAL BRITTON of Alberta bought a Canadian bred (Ontario) colt by Haynesfield out of Grand Marq y King of Kings for $2,000.
NICK NOSOWENKO paid $1,000 for Great Start, a broodmare prospect by Jump Start
TOD MOUNTAIN THOROUGHBREDS through agent James Demetrick, bought stakes winner QUESTUARY, from Hill ‘n’ Dale sales Agency for $25,000 in foal to Gio Ponti. The Archers Bay mare was one of several mares sold by Hill ‘n’ Dale for Don Ross.
Sam-Son Farm sold the session topper:
Keeneland media report:
Ready for Romance, winner of the 2015 Ontario Damsel Stakes at Woodbine, sold to Mike Ryan, agent for Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, for $240,000 to top Wednesday’s third session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.
Sam-Son Farm, who bred and raced Ready for Romance, sold the filly as a racing or broodmare prospect. The 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready out of the winning Mr. Greeley mare Strange Romance, is from the family of Grade 3 winners Matt’s Broken Vow and High Button Shoes and stakes winner Victory Thrill.
On Wednesday, Keeneland sold 220 horses for $3,817,300, for an average of $17,351 and a median of $9,000. Gross sales dipped 6.31 percent from last year’s $4,074,300 for 242 horses, while the average rose 3.06 percent from $16,836 in 2015 and the median increased 9.09 percent from last year’s $8,250.
CLASSY LANE VIGIL – remembering the lost horses
It has been a little over one week but the loss of 43 horses is as fresh as it was hours after a fire began at Classy Lane Stables on Jan. 4. The pain is almost insurmountable for the owners, trainers and caretakers as they try to find a way to rebuild. A vigil on Tuesday took place at the training facility:
ASSINIBOIA DOWNS expansion update
WINNIPEG PRESS
by ALEXANDRA PAUL
It took less than 20 minutes Tuesday evening for Peguis First Nation and the Manitoba Jockey Club to make their first public pitch to turn Assiniboia Downs into the city’s largest urban reserve.
And about two minutes for the city’s Assiniboia community committee to give it an initial green light.
The approval was a critical first step for a multimillion-dollar expansion of the racetrack.
The plan can now be registered with the city’s land titles office.
“Now it will be over to land titles. We were successful in the first step of many. Our master plan was reviewed and very positively received,” said Darren Dunn, CEO of the Downs.
“We are looking forward to re-establishing our presence in and around Winnipeg,” Peguis Chief Cindy Spence, as the pair paused for questions outside the committee room.
The Assiniboia community committee meeting Tuesday represented a small but influential step to launch a lengthy process.
The end result is to turn 36 acres of the Downs over for development to Peguis with the jockey club as a partner.
The First Nation and the jockey club intend to expand the racetrack into a regional racing and entertainment hub complete with one or more hotels and, down the road, a casino.
