CAN TRIBAL BELLE GET BACK ON TRACK? May have only 3 to beat tomorrow in the Seaway…Dave Landry photo
TOP CANADIAN BREDS FOR 2010
1 – EL BRUJO (106)
2 – STERWINS (103)
3- ESSENCE HIT MAN (100)
4. Society’s Chairman (95)
5 Grand Adventure (105)
6 Smokey Fire (103)
7. Rahy’s Attorney (95)
8 Tribal Belle (94)
9. Impossible Time (92)
10 Roxy Gap (89)
WOWEE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
you gotta have speed!
That may have been the last hot day of 2010 and the heat was on at Woodbine last night for a lovely evening of racing.
DANIEL BE GOOD kicked things off with a mild upset in race 1, the non-winners of 2 other than allowance/optional claimer at 7 furlongs on the grass. The gelding, a 4yo who was coming off a 2 month break for trainer Nick Gonzalez and Terra Racing, battled back to win the event over the win shy Paso Doble. Daniel Be Good is a Trajectory gelding out of Flashy n’ Sheikh by Sheikh Albadou.
Trainer MIKE PINO won his 16th race of the meeting (close to 40% winners) when TIGRA MARA strolled home in race 2, also at 7 furlongs on turf. The race was for 3yo fillies for $40K claiming and the Roar of the Tiger filly escaped the madness of traffic that was behind her and delayed some fillies.
Among those that were mired in woe were MEDAL WINNER, trained by Steve Asmussen, who will be at the top of every trip handicappers list when she appears next time. Also note that Hint of Lemon was squeezed a bit and VINDYS LUCKYSTRIKE was blocked.
The 3rd race, another allowance event, when to the Grand Reward filly SHUKRIYA, who led all the way to win the 6 furlong race in an upset at 7 to 2 over favoured Stranger Things, The winner was one of several big wins for the barn of Mike Mattine this season.
INTERREGNUM won the 4th race for Ontario sired mares and it was her 2nd win in 8 races this season. The Wonneberg mare made an early move in the 1 1/16 mile allowance and held on for trainer John LeBlanc.
Speed continued to rule when COUNTER MOVE, owned by Don Amos, finally broke through for a win. The grey colt, favoured for his last pair but just not getting it done, battled back to beat stakes winner Rumbling Cloud, trained by Mike Pino. Counter MOve was winning for the 1st time in 7 races. Dan Vellaa was the winning trainer.
Race 6, a maiden filly claimer for $12,500 went to Tweedhill Farms’ MARY VERONICA, the 5th winner for the John Cardella barn this season. The 3yo Perfect Soul filly had come in from Arizona this spring and had been 2nd and 3rd a few times.
Top 2yo filly ROXY GAP’S big brother PINDERS GAP (he’s by Deputy Commander) won a non-winners of 2 in race 7 for owner and trainer Nick DeToro. The 3yo was the 3rd winner on the night for the track’s leading rider EURICO ROSA DA SILVA.
The speed bias took ahold of 27 to 1 shot PLAYFUL DANCE in the finale, a maiden race for $12,500 and the filly led all the way to win in her 8th career race for the Molinaro Stable. Trained by Vito Armata, the filly was coming off a ‘deemed non-strater’ outings and before that, she had raced twice and was showing improving form. She is a 4yo by Dance to Destiny and it was the 1st win at Woodbine for jockey Rui Pimentel in 2010.
AN EARLY LOOK AT THE WOODBINE MILE
The locals who could appear include:
SMOKEY FIRE
JUNGLE WAVE
RAHY’S ATTORNEY
SAND COVE
GRAND ADVENTURE
Visitors:
VICTOR’S CRY
GIO PONTI
VIOLON SACRE (pictured below when 2nd in Oceanport Stakes, Vanessa Ng photo)
SEAWAY KICKS OF WOODBINE LONG WEEKEND
It’s a labour of love to cover horse racing anywhere – especially on long weekends when there is tons of racing and stakes action.
The stakes races at Woodbine this year have generally been very small fields, however, and not many have been strong fields. The SEAWAY is another example as the race drew just 5 horses and it could be down to 4 if MOTHER RUSSIA elects to run in Sunday’s Avowal Stakes on the grass.
Last year’s champion female sprinter TRIBAL BELLE has been a tad short of her top form this year and she renews her rivalry with the up and coming INDIAN APPLE IS.
Saturday, Woodbine
SEAWAY S.-GIII, C$150,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f (AWT)
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Hooh Why Cloud Hopping Ramsammy MacRae 117
2 Tribal Belle Tribunal McAleney Jordan 119
3 Indian Apple Is Indian Charlie Sutherland Tiller 119
4 Mother Russia Mayakovsky Luzzi Rice 117
5 Carem Crescent Distorted Humor Da Silva Pierce 117
MINE THAT BIRD STILL HANGIN ROUND
in tough on Saturday
Saturday, Saratoga Race Course
WOODWARD S.-GI, $750,000, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER
1 Convocation K Pulpit Castellano J Jerkens
2 Mine That Bird Birdstone Maragh Lukas
3 Quality Road K Elusive Quality Velazquez Pletcher
4 Arcodoro K Medaglia d’Oro Cohen Guillot
5 Indian Dance Indian Charlie Desormeaux Murray
6 Tranquil Manner A.P. Indy A Garcia McLaughlin
7 Mythical Power Congaree M Garcia Baffert
TODAY – TOP CANADIAN BRED 2YO COLT ‘SLAM AT THE SPA
Friday, Saratoga, post time: 6:22 p.m.
WITH ANTICIPATION S.-GIII, $100,000, 2yo,
1 1/16mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Typhoon Slew Stormy Atlantic Leparoux Maker 6-1
2 Powhatan County K Fusaichi Pegasus Castellano Weaver 3-1
3 Grigio K Stormy Atlantic Borel Baker 12-1
4 Air Support Smart Strike Maragh McGaughey 8-1
5 Lou Brissie Limehouse Dominguez Howard 6-1
6 Manchurian High The Daddy Lenclud Phipps 20-1
7 Silver Medallion K Badge of Silver Gomez Brown 8-1
8 Kid Curry Posse Velasquez Hough 20-1
9 Soldat K War Front Garcia McLaughlin 6-1
10 Sensational Slam K Grand Slam Velazquez Pletcher 4-1
MTO Madman Diaries Bring the Heat Solis Ward 5-2
MTO Running Tap K Tapit Maragh (2) Weaver 6-1
BRUNO IS BACK IN ACTION – AT MONMOUTH
aptly named Legal Move
Sunday, Monmouth Park
RED BANK S.-GIII, $200,000, 3yo/up, 1mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Boots Ahead K Storm Boot Coa Weaver 116
2 Strike Again Dixie Union Trujillo Mott 116
3 Nownownow Whywhywhy Bravo Biancone 116
4 Get Serious City Zip Fragoso Forbes 123
5 At the Disco Disco Rico Castro Hartmann 118
6 General Perfect Perfect Lopez Costa 116
7 Legal Move K Bold Executive Vega Wright Jr 116
INTERESTING STORY ON THE $2 BET, WHERE IT GOES
The complicated life of a $2 bet
By ERIC ANDERSON Business Editor
Saturday is Travers Stakes day, when the “Midsummer Derby” that brings in some of the biggest crowds at Saratoga Race Course will be run. Lots of people will be betting, but not every $2 bet is created equal, particularly in the eyes of the New York Racing Association.
How and where bets are placed determines just how financially healthy NYRA is.
Charles Hayward, CEO of NYRA, says technology has played a major role in how people bet, and in how much of that NYRA shares.
First, some background.
NYRA has three betting, or “takeout,” structures.
http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/The-complicated-life-of-a-2-bet-635050.php
ROBERTS AT JCC
Jim Lawson, Chief Steward of The Jockey Club of Canada, is pleased to announce that Stacie Roberts has been named its new Executive Director effective September 7, 2010.
The former publisher of The Game Thoroughbred Newspaper, Stacie Roberts has been involved in the thoroughbred industry in Ontario with her family for more than 25 years.
“Stacie’s knowledge of the thoroughbred industry in Canada coupled with her creative and communication skills will help to promote the Canadian Thoroughbred industry both nationally and internationally through The Jockey Club of Canada initiatives,” said Mr. Lawson.
Along with her administrative duties for The Jockey Club of Canada, Stacie will also be responsible for the administrative duties of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) under the leadership of OHRIA’s President, Sue Leslie.
QUARTER HORSES USED TO PORTRAY SECRETARIAT
There were six or seven horses used to portray Secretariat, and Copper Locks isn’t one of the primary stars … he was used only in some of the racing scenes where his speed was called upon. But Bubba says he’s anxious to see the movie, to see if he can pick out his horse.
Copper Locks was joined on the set by several other American Quarter Horses that Rusty owns. Plumb Twisted, a bay son of the nice reining horse Dun It With A Twist, and Drifts Wood, a black Driftwood- and Joe Hancock-bred gelding, are two of the pony horses used in the film.
If you can’t quite wait until October to get into the “Secretariat” spirit, you’ve got some options. Disney has a “Secretariat” website, Facebook page and Twitter account.
http://www.discoverhorses.com/quarter-horse-secretariats-double.html
