TRANQUILITY – a perfect Woodbine morning in July PHOTO BY JEFF BOWEN
4 SCORES FOR NICK AND MARTHA, 3 for TUCCIS
Unspurned battles to Bison City bounty
Rebounding from a drab Woodbine Oaks run, the Roger Attfield trained/Christine Hayden- owned and bred UNSPURNED led all the way in the Bison City – WEG/MICHAEL BURNS PHOTO
Christine Hayden’s UNSPURNED, a popular pick in the Woodbine Oaks in her previous race, bounced back from that dull effort to win the Bison City Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday. It was the 2nd leg of the Triple Tiara, the first going to LEXIE LOU, who came back to win the Queen’s Plate. On Oaks day, Unspurned became a bit hot during pre-race and on Sunday, she saddled outside. She also put up a good fight as she set a hot pace and held off a persistent Hot and Spicy all the way through the stretch to win for the 3rd time in her career.
The late pace was quite slow and the final time of 1:45 2/5 translated into a 75 Beyer Figure.
Hayden, from the Lucan area where the family has water well companies, bought the dam, Banga Ridge, for $130,00 in foal to Lemon Drop Kid and this carrying the chestnut filly. Banga Ridge is a stakes winner by Snow Ridge and a half sister to two nice stakes winners.
Interesting, however, that Unspurned went unsold as a yearling twice – $59,000 at Fasig Tipton October and then $90,000 at Keeneland September.
The filly races without Lasix.
NATALIE VOSS wrote a story about UNSPURNED here:
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/the-filly-who-was-unspurned/
And, what a day at the races for Nick and Martha Gonzalez, whose stable of trainees won 4 races of the 10 and 3 of them are owned by Carlo and Lou Tucci.
STARLESS NIGHT, a 2yo filly by Grand Slam – Victory Romance, bred by Donver Stakes, is now 2 for 2 having won Sunday’s Shady well Stakes. This speedy gal was a $40,000 purchase from the April 2yo sale and she is the first foal to race of Victory Romance, an Alberta stakes winner who was 2nd in the Woodbine Oaks. Eurico da Silva rode Starless Night.
The Shady Well earned a 65 Beyer Figure.
More Sunday
Race 1- The Tuccis started the day with a win by another of their 2yo in training purchases. IMPERIAL DREAM won big in this opener. The Stormy Atlantic colt out of Nicki Knew (won the Bison City Stakes) was bred by Stan Dodson and he was a $70,000 March Ocala 2yo. Eurico da Silva rode this dark bay colt.
Race 2- Emma-Jayne Wilson rode WILD N CLEVER to a gate to wire win as the favourite in this $20,000 claiming race for the Tuccis. She was dropping from stakes and allowance races.
Race 3 – AISLE ALTAR HYMN, a Where’s the Ring filly, won again off the maiden score in which she earned only a 39 Beyer Figure. This gal was ridden by Da Silva for Ralph Biamonte and she won for $12,500.
Race 4 – Five furlong scramble and it was LAST MINUTE LUCY cutting back from 6 1/2 furlongs who led all the way for D. Muha and J. Stavropoulous, trainer Danny O’Callaghan. She is a Giant gizmo filly who is 2 for 5 this year. David Garcia rode.
Race 5 – A very nice maiden allowance on the grass was won by a very nice prospect that we had to wait a long time to see. GO BRO was 2nd in the Summer Stakes – Grade 2 last year to My Conquestadory, but had not been seen since. That is until Sunday when he broke slowly, trailed but rallied in time to win the 7 furlong turf dash for Gus Schickedanz and trainer Mike Keogh. He is by Proud Citizen out of Six Sexy Sisters by Langfuhr and was the 3rd winner for the stable this year.
Race 7 – The 4th Gonzalez winner was Ivan Dalos’s homebred WILD DYNA, a 3yo filly by Offlee Wild out of Dynaco by Dynaformer. She was in for $40,000 claiming and racing on turf at 1 1/16 miles. The filly is 2 for 7 in her career now and she was ridden by Luis Contreras.
Race 9 – Rallying wide in this allowance race for Ontario sired fillies and mares was WHY THE RING. owned by Don Ross and Gill Howard and trained by Ian Howard. Gerry Olguin ride the Ross-bred by Where’s the Ring who is 2 for 6 in her career now.
Race 10 – No shortage of hard-to-watch stuff in this race – BAY KING, the favourite, clipped heeled badly on the turn for home and essentially fell down, got back up and finished the race. Neither the horse nor jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson were reportedly seriously hurt. That incident left the race open for SINE METU to win for the second straight time. This Rebellion fellow won his maiden last time for Nadia White and Tom O’Keefe abnd had Wilson on board. Jesse Campbell rode the 3yo Hickory Tree Farm-bred in his grass debut at 10 furlongs and it was a very hard race but he got it done.
This and That
A little know fact is that LEXIE LOU was not event eligible for the Queen’s Plate until Gary Barber/Mark Casse made sure the $5,000 was paif in early May to nominate her.
Jim Bannon, WEG’s ace handicapper, has the information on workouts and gave fans a nugget when he remarked on a poor prep by Cristina’s Halo before she bombed in the Passing Mood Stakes. The workout info is available in his comments in the program and Bannon is the only handicapper that sees all the preps and rates them.
