And it’s Labour Day.
After a weird summer in which southern Ontario had a couple of days a week of actual summer weather through the last few months, everyone resets tomorrow.
The last few days in Ontario horse racing through this long holiday weekend have also offered some if its own bizarre occurrences and wild results:
TOP WINNING BEYER FIGURES FRIDAY – SUNDAY WOODBINE
94 SAN NICOLA THUNDER
89 NIPIGON
88 DON CAMILLO
84 GHOSTLY PRESENCE
83 GAMBLE’S GHOST
On Saturday – a four horse field in the Colin Stakes for 2-year-olds featured the unbeaten BE VEWY VEWY QUIET, heavily favoured to romp for Frank DiGiulio Jr and partners and trainer Bob Tiller.
Instead, the sizy bay did not have quite enough to kick to reel in the front running LIKE WHAT I SEE and jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson. The winner is a New Jersey bred who cost $13,000 as a weanling and he is trained by Nick Gonzalez for a partnership.
The winning Beyer Figure for the race was 70.
Earlier, in race 4, a scary accident on the grass course saw Soul n Spirit clip heels with D’s Dark Knight when the latter angled out in front of him into the stretch run. Ten pound apprentice Daisuke Fukumoto was tossed and has been not ridden since. Omar Moreno also fell off when his first time starter English Count fell over Soul n Spirit.
The last race on Saturday, the Jackpot High 5 bet that has been carrying over for weeks, was won by favoured WINNING SMILE ahead of a host of huge longshots. But more than one ticket had the correct combination and it paid a whopping $27,000.
Meanwhile, over at Fort Erie for the popular Puss N Boots Stakes, a battle to the wire between HIGH SOCIETY and INCORPORATER appeared to go to the latter from the naked eye however High Society was posted as the winner. Following a winner’s circle ceremony with Marilyn McMullen and owner Robert James McGee and jockey Juan Crawford, another print of the photo was then requested that showed Incorporater had won.
Winning owner and trainer Nicola Wells Scott, already at the test barn with her horse, came back for the ceremony with jockey Jeff Alderson and then they jumped in the lake as it custom for the famous race. The winner is a 7-year-old by Artie Schiller.
Trainer Ross Armata wn his first race of the season when SNOWY LEGACY won race 3 on Sunday, a $62,50 claiming race. In that event, even money favourite PEYTON, an earner for over $500,000, appeared to not want to race and he stopped running soon out of the gate. Peyton was recently brought back to Ontario by owner Bill Graham and trainer Mike Doyle after an unsuccessful trip to California after he was claimed for $40,000 by trainer Robertino Diodoro.
Trainer NORM MCKNIGHT has won 46 races this year and is set to blow by his career mark of 59 set last season. McKnight also claimed 3 horses off the 11 race card on Sunday.
McKnight is just 9 winners behind Mark Casse at the Woodbine meeting and he has a 32% win rate.
In race 10, Marilyn McMullen and owner Robert James McGhee had some solace when GIANT STORM won a $20,00 claiming race at Woodbine.
And over at AJAX DOWNS on Sunday, the $50,760 Bank of America Challenge for older horses at 440 yards was expected to be won by a Bryn Robertson trainee but it was not the one most expected. ONE FAMOUS GLASS, the venerable 7-year-old who was Horse of the Year in 2013, led all the way and upset 2 to 5 fave COUNTRY BOY 123.
Robertson, from Hillsburgh, ON, has won 14 races from 26 starters, a remarkable 55% rate. His The Dominyunator won one of 3 trials for the upcoming Picov Derby on Sunday as well.
Jockey Ramiro Castillo, who has won races at Fort Erie and Northlands in the past two weeks, won 4 races on the card as he tries to capture the leading rider title.
There is racing at Ajax Downs and Woodbine today.
