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ELUSIVE COLLECTION is the star of Woodbine last weekend

First-time starter ELUSIVE COLLECTION, owned and bred by Ivan Dalos and trained by Josie Carroll, posted one of the most impressive Beyer Figures for a first-time starter in Woodbine history when she won her maiden with a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for a time of 109.38.
She is a Kentucky bred.
The Sam-Son Farms’ firster Southern Ring was a close 2nd and received a 96 Beyer Figure.

 

 

TOP WINNING BEYER FIGURES LAST WEEK – FRIDAY AUG 7 – 9

 

ELUSIVE COLLECTION – 98 (runner-up SOUTHERN RING, 96)
MELMICH – 96
MARBRE ROSE –  91
IDA BAMBINA  – 88
SHE’S EXPLOSIVE –  85
SHE’LL DO IT  – 85
COASTLINE  – 84
FLASHAWAY (DQ) –  84

 

 

RECAPS FOR WOODBINE

SUNDAY

What a day for Ontario breeder SEAN FITZHENRY who bred the Wonder Where Stakes winner SEASON TICKET (Lemon Drop Kid – Game (fr) by Montjeu (Ire) and owns part of GET RHYTHM (Street Boss-Holy Eclair by Holy Bull) who won the Ontario Debutante Stakes.

SEASON TICKET finally put it all together for her first win of the year as she rallied in time to power away for the WW win, her 2nd in 8 career races. A $120,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland, the long, sizy bay is owned by Woodford Racing LLC and Patrick Husbands rode for Mark Casse.

Get Rhythm rallied wide down the lane to earn her first stakes score in Sunday’s $140,000 Ontario Debutante Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Catherine Day Phillips for an ownership group that includes Anderson Farms Ontario, Inc., Kingview Farms, Sean Fitzhenry, and John Fielding, Get Rhythm arrived at the six furlong ‘Poly’ sprint for juvenile fillies from a fifth-place run in the Shady Well Stakes when racing on the engine.

Eurico Rosa da Silva settled into third position along the rail in the Ontario Debutante as Un Po Di Vino set splits of :23.23 and :46.87 under pressure from mutuel favourite Amira J who shipped in from Arlington Park off an impressive 14-length debut score that earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure.

Londie Lou, with Justin Stein up, was urged into contention through the turn as Amira J took after the pacesetter and da Silva left the rail with Get Rhythm in search of racing room.  Amira J surged clear midway through the stretch run, but Get Rhythm found his best stride late and arrived in the nick of time to secure a 1/2-length win. Amira J won a place photo by a nose over Londie Lou.  Get Rhythm covered six furlongs in 1:10.82.

Da Silva believes the off-the-pace tactics made all the difference in the Ontario Debutante as the filly redeemed her previous front-running effort in the Shady Well Stakes.

“We always train her from behind, but I got a little overexcited last race and put her on the lead. I think that was a big mistake,” said da Silva. “We continued training by coming from behind with her and she was very relaxed today and ran wonderful.”

Day Phillips was pleased with the maturity of her filly who graduated at first asking on June 20.

“She just seemed more relaxed in general today,” said Day Phillips. “She was maybe a little excited after her first race and now she’s a little more confident. I think she’s got it going now.”

Get Rhythm, bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. and Marette Farrell, banked $90,000 in victory while improving her record to two wins from four starts.

Also on Sunday, IDA BAMBINA, by Where’s the Ring, won an allowance race with an 88 Beyer Figure for owners Charles Buscaglia and Samotowka Stable. Mike DePaulo trains the 4yo who was bred by Mark Hughes.

 

SATURDAY

She did it! Brereton Jones’ 2yo filly SHE’LL DO IT, making her debut in a 5 furlong maiden allowance for 2yos, won big and ran an 85 Beyer Figure for 57.33. The chestnut with the unusual “smeared” marking on her head chased wide and then drew off under Jim McAleney. Reade Baker trains the Kentucky bred by Badge of Silver, who now stands in Ontario.

race 2- ALLOWED has won 2 consecutive races after he fell hard to the ground in a May 10 race. This Ontario bred by Full Mandate, owned and bred by Franz Crean, tracked a bizarrely slow pace set by Arthur’s Pass (6 furlongs in 1:118!) for 9 furlongs and then ralleid 3 wide to edge that rival under Steve Bahen. The 4yo is 3 for 9 in his career.

race 3- UNCORKED SPIRIT popped for his maiden win in this $12,500 claiming dash at 6 1/2 furlongs. The 3yo colt by Strut the Stage – Stormin Wife by Stormin Fever, a half brother to top filly Paladin Bay, rallied from 5 lengths off the pace and won by 5 lengths as a “double advantage” Beyer Figure horse (his last 2 Beyer Figures were higher than the last 2 Beyers of any of his rivals).
He paid $5.40 and was owned by Dura Racing and Mike Doyle. Ericka Rusnak is the breeder and the flashy colt was claimed by Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman.

Race 4- Super training job by Lorna Perkins who had QUIDI VIDI ready for her first outing since November  and it was the 3yo filly’s first grass race. The daughter of Marcavelly out of El Tara bySchossberg, bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms and owned by Perkins, led all the way and won the 6 furlong grass race in 1:10.53  under Simon Husbands, good for a 73 Beyer Figure.

race 5 FLASHAWAY finally got a win, dropping out of stakes races and turning back to a sprint distance on turf – except then he was disqualied. The John Oxley colt, a $500,000 purchase, had been 2nd in the Charlie Barley and 3rd in the Toronto Cup but seemed to have trouble with the route distances.  He ralied 6 wide under Patrick Husbands on his way to winning but was seemed guilty of interfering with Wake Up Joe in the stretch and was taken from 1st to 8th. SPANISH RIVER was placed first for Ruvee Stables.The  Beyer Figure was 84.

race 6 DRINKS AFTER WORK, an Ontario bred by Milwaukee Brew – Kaleidoscope Kerry by One Way Love, won in his 2nd race of this year, taking this $20,00 claiming race for 3 and up. The Nick Gonzalez trainee tracks 3 wide and then was fanned 4 wide before charging to a one-length win in 1:1-.53. Owned by Lewis, Rizzo, Klicke and Gonzalez, the 3yo is 2 for 4 in his career and Jesse campbell rode.

race 7 a maiden allowance on turf for Ontario sired fillies went to SHE’S A RINGER for Nick Nosowenko. The 3yo dark bay by Where’s the Ring – Executive Affair was making her grass debut and her 6th start of the year. Patrick Husbands rode the 9 – 1 shot.

race 8 MARBE ROSE, by Smart Strike, made her Polytrack debut a winning one, rolling late to nab ENDLESS LIGHT in the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes for fillies and mares  at 7 furlongs. The Christophe Clement trainee was bred in Ireland and Alan Garcia rode, Her Beyer was 91 for 1:22.32.

race 9 John Oxley and mark Casse and Husbands got a win anyway with COASTLINE, the odds-on favourite in this 7 furlong allowance. The 4yo stakes winner who was 3rd in the Spriral last year but had been nibbling in races on grass and dirt, was solid in this class drop. He posted an 84 Beyer Figure after splitting rivals in the 2 path to win.

race 10 SILENT AUCTION led all the way for $9,500 claiming under Alan Garcia. The 9-2 shot, the BEST BET in the THOROUGHBLOG picks, is 2 for 19 in her career and Peter Armata owns.

race 11 – this was the cancelled race from a week ago when a storm struck Woodbine. SARAH TOGA SAINT bounced back from a  drubbing on the Polytrack when she went too fast onthe pace to win this  1 1/16 mile turf maiden allowance. Owned by Steve Owens and Mary Breeze, who claimed the filly for $20,000 2 starts ago, this Singing Saint – Halo of Silver by Halo’s Image filly was bred by Harold and Jessie Ladouceuer. She was mking her 4th career start. Another win for jockey Patrick Husbands.

$4.46 million wagered on the Saturday card.

 

FRIDAY

SWINGIN TO THE SKY won his maiden for $20,000 to kick off the afternoon, the 2nd winner of the season for trainer John Leblanc Jr. The Don Amos homebred was making his 2nd start with Lasix and first start at 1 1/16 miles and Steve Bahen rode the 3yo son of Sky Conqueror.
Race 2- on the turf at 9 furlongs and this maiden allowance was won by RANSOM THE MOON who scored by 2 1/4 lengths at 5-1 under Luis Contreras. Owned and bred by Sam-Son farms and trained by Malcolm Pierce, the son of Malibu Moon – Count to Ten by Red Ransom was making his 3rd start of the year and he went in 1:49.50, a 74 Beyer Figure.

race 3- maiden 2-year-old fillies for $32,000 and the beginner LEEN AND CLASSY by Indygo Shiner, was the 2nd debut winning 2yo for owner Brad Auger and trainer Ralph Biamonte this summer. The $3,000 yearling purchase was ridden by Jermaine Bridgmohan, his first win at the meeting.
The winner was claimed by Empress Stable and trainer Steve Owens.

race 4- CHEDINGTON led all the way to win this $37,500 claiming race for fillies and mares on the grass. The Langfuhr mare out of Emma Anne by Honour and Glory was bred by Edmund Odette and she races for Mike Doyle. It was the 6th career win for the 6yo mare from 18 races. Sheena Ryan rode.

race 5 – a maiden 3 and up filly race at 5 furlongs, Ontario sired, went to returnee SUPER SARAH, a Giant Gizmo 4yo owned by RCC Racing and trained by John Mattine. The dark bay was bred by Kurt and Kathi Gsell and it was her first race in 1 year. Patrick Husbands rode.

race 6 – Congratulations to trainer Kathryn Ranford who sent out BYZIE LIZZY to win for $11,500 claiming forco-owner and breeder Jennifer Monk and Woodsprings Farm. This Point Given mare, a 5yo, was the first winner for Ranford at Woodbine in several years. Matt Moore rode.

race 7 – “Like a hurricane” it was BLURRICANE said Robert Geller as the 3yo by Rebellion came from well back to win this 6 furlong $20,00 claiming race for JIm Vlahos and trainer Paul Buttigieg. David Moran had the filly covered up and well back on the turn, sent her 6 wide late ont he turn and she took off. Bernard and Karen McCormack are the breeders.

race 8 – a small field of allowance/optional claiming runners at 1 1/16 miles and despite a slow start, Tuscan getaway got away to a clear lead early in the race, going 24 4/5 and 49 1/5 for the first half of the race.  The slow pace did not help, however, as 2 to 5 favourite MELMICH won for the 3rd time this year, cantering to victory under Eurico Rosa da Silva in 1:43.90 – good for a huge 96 Beyer Figure.
This son of Wilko – Little Swoon by You and I, is owned by Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman and trained by Kevin Attard. The 4yo was bred by Andrew Stronach in Ontario,
Tha is 6 wins in 14 races for Melmich, a $20,00 claiming last September.

SHE’S EXPLOSIVE took the 9th and final race, a 6 furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares, non-winners of 1 other than. This white-faced filly by Old Forester ran the distance in 1:08 3/5 and posted a career best 85 Beyer Figure in this, her grass debut. Owned and bred by Norseman racing, she is trained by Sid Attard and Contreras rode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CANADIAN HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME- CLASS OF 2015

Mine that Bird, Stewart Elliott, Laurin, Bannon and Anderson inducted:

Roger Laurin  saddled the first winner of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984, Chief ’s Crown, and conditioned Eclipse Award winning filly Numbered Account for Ogden Phipps in 1971. Born in 1935, Roger was involved in horse racing as a youngster. He galloped horses for his father before going to school while living in Florida or where Lucien was racing at the time. At age he 16 earned a trainer’s license at Narragansett, RI. Roger came into prominence in 1964 when he took charge of the conditioning of Miss Cavandish, a $1,500 purchase by Harry Nichols.

“I’d like to thank my father for being born before me,” Laurin quipped to the delight of the crowd while accepting his award. “Thank you for the induction; it’s greatly appreciated and a great part of my life.”

Laurin was of course referring to Lucien Laurin, whom he coaxed out of retirement to help train at Penny Chenery Tweedy’s Meadow Stable in Virginia in 1971 “on a temporary basis” which culminated in the elder Laurin conditioning 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat for Chenery.

“It makes me feel I belong,” Jim Bannon said of his induction. “I don’t think anyone wants anything else than to feel they belong to such a distinguished community.”  Bannon recalled fondly his first introduction to the sport of horseracing. “I was seven years old and my grandmother took me down to Greenwood Racetrack,” he began. “This isn’t your ordinary grandmother. Grandmothers take you to the Exhibition. This grandmother, who was the mother of 16, took me to Greenwood and put me right where I could see the start of a 7 Furlong race.” “She held my hand as the horses came out of the gate,” he continued. “I got a picture that I would have all my life; the yelling, horses thrusting, the screaming. She looked down at me as if to say “did you get that”, and I got it. I still have it 60 years later.”

Bannon, who won a Gemini Award in 2010 as Canada’s best sports analyst
acknowledges that “an act of providence” was the main factor in his achievements. A
deeply religious and emotional human, Bannon admits it was “an unmistakable evidence of God’s providence, which is everywhere in my life.”
The late Robert Anderson, who died suddenly at the age of 64 in 2010, led one of the most influential breeding operations of the 1970s and 1980s. In the heyday of thoroughbred breeding and selling, Anderson surged to the top of the breeders charts. He sold yearlings for millions and bred numerous graded stakes winners.

In 1985, Anderson Farms was the leading consignor at Saratoga and Keeneland yearling sales. For more than 41 years before his death Anderson did exactly what he wanted to do for a living. It was something he predicted when he was very young. “I went to Wellington Street School and I remember one day in Grade 5 a teacher asked everybody what they wanted to
do, and I said I wanted to raise horses and sell them,” he once said. Anderson’s son David, accepted the induction with his sister Jessica Anderson Buckley remembered his father as a “true sportsman” that did something that he truly loved, traveling millions of miles up and down the 401 corridor following his racehorses. He was also remembered as a man who “treated everyone equally” by his son. That’s one of the things I loved about my father,” he remarked. “One minute he’d be rubbing shoulders with a Fortune 500 executive the next minute he’d be out drinking a Bud Lite with a Hot Walker laughing and telling jokes.”

 

 

 

 

 

ONTARIO-BREDS IN SARATOGA YEARLING SALE AUG 10-11

One of Woodbine’s leading owners, JOHN OXLEY, has bought an Ontario bred from Christine and Jay Hayden for $425,000. at the Saratoga Sale on Monday.The solid dark bay filly by Speightstown out of the A.P. Indy mare ENDLESS JOURNEY is named CAT ON CAT and she is a half sister to the useful 3yo of this season, Dion.

The yearling has a 2yo half sister at the track with Roger Attfield named SONIC CYSTER.

Endless Journey was bought for $380,000 by the Haydens (see the feature on them in the July issue of CANADIAN THOROUGHBRED) in foal to Distorted Humor (Dion) and they sold that offspring for $300,000.

The Haydens also sold a $200,000 Unbridled’s Song colt, a half brother to their stakes winner Unspurned.

The sale continues today.

$220,000  hip 41 SPENDTHRIFT/BEN MCELROY  C     UNBRIDLED’S SONG     BANGA RIDGE     SNOW RIDGE     ONTARIO      CARA BLOODSTOCK (BERNARD MCCORMACK) AGENT

OUT  55     C     UNION RAGS     CLASSIC NEEL     EL CORREDOR     ONTARIO     2     HILL ‘N’ DALE SALES AGENCY AGENT

$425,000 JOHN OXLEY  77     F     SPEIGHTSTOWN     ENDLESS JOURNEY     A.P. INDY     ONTARIO         CARA BLOODSTOCK (BERNARD MCCORMACK) AGENT

SELLS TODAY 137     C     MALIBU MOON     NICKI KNEW     TETHRA     ONTARIO     4     JAMES M. HERBENER JR. AGENT II

SELLS TODAY 153     F     STREET CRY (IRE)     PINAFORES PRIDE     SAINT BALLADO     ONTARIO     2     ANDERSON FARMS AGENT