KEENELAND DAY 1 – REGIS RACING BUYS $1.1 MILLION COLT BY UNBRIDLED’S SONG..
hip 100 at Keeneland, son of SW IRISH SMOKE by Smoke Glacken
Nat Rea’s REGIS RACING(3 starters 1-1-1, not including Regal Farm stats) bought 4 yearlings at the first session of Keeneland yesterday including the above UNBRIDLED’S SONG colt.
The other 3 were a Candy Ride (Arg) colt for $700,000, a Tiznow filly for $400,000 and a More Than Ready filly for $200,000.
KEENELAND – CANADIAN BREDS THAT SOLD
Hip 135 f. Perfect Soul (Ire – La Comete by Holy Bull $270,000 Bridlewood Farm
Hip 153 c. Malibu Moon – Leaveminthedust, by Dabzid, bred by Bill Graham, $160,000 Mark Casse, agent
(2nd dam produced Philanthropist)
Hip 158 f. Distorted Humor- Life Begins, by Unbridled’s Song $250,000 Donamire
Hip 195 c. Awesome Again – Marimba Rhythm by Golden Missile $150,000 Zayat
bred by Adena Springs
BC’s GLEN TODD sold a Speightstown colt out of BC champ HOLY NOVA for $200,000 to Juddmonte. It is the first foal for the mare, a daughter of Pure Prize.
TRADE STORM..CAN HE BEAT WISE DAN?
He has a sharp, late turn of foot and has competed against some of the top milers on the other side of the world. He seems to like his grass more firm that giving (see the Sussex Stakes) and he has been poitning to Woodbine and the famed Mile for some time.
But can TRADE STORM beat the mighty WISE DAN?
ZABEEL MILE at Meydan in March
TRADE STORM..SUSSEX STAKES in July
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmjFctHzzuM
EARLY LOOK AT SUNDAY’S RICOH WOODBINE MILE (6)
Horse/Owner/Trainer/Jockey
Dimension/Riverside Bloodstock LLC/Conor Murphy/David Moran
Excaper/Richard Kaster & Frederick Wieting/Ian Black/Luis Contreras
Riding the River/Dominion Bloodstock, HGHR & Linmac Farms/Dave Cotey/Todd Kabel
Trade Storm/Qatar Racing Ltd./David Simcock/TBA
Wise Dan/Morton Fink/Charles LoPresti/John Velazquez
Za Approval/Live Oak Plantation/Christophe Clement/Garrett Gomez
WISE DAN WILL WORK THIS MORNING, SHIP THURSDAY
Wise Dan, reigning Horse of the Year in the U.S., will arrive at Woodbine on Friday morning to defend his title in Sunday’s $1-million Ricoh Woodbine Mile.
“He’ll leave on Thursday evening from Kentucky to be there Friday morning by 11 a.m.,” said trainer Charlie LoPresti, over the phone from his Keeneland base.
Wise Dan, who was clocked in :59-flat over the Keeneland main strip on September 4, will put in his final Woodbine Mile prep on Tuesday morning at Keeneland.
“It’s not going to be a real serious one, he had a good one last week in :58 and change, out in :11. We’ll let him do a little half-mile or three-furlong breeze just to keep him ticking over. He’s really fit and ready to go,” said LoPresti.
Wise Dan, an impressive 3 1/4-length winner of last year’s Ricoh Woodbine Mile, will have an easy schedule upon arrival at the Toronto oval.
“Maybe we’ll take him over to the paddock and school him and he will have a gallop day, probably on Saturday like he did last year,” said LoPresti.
Wise Dan won five of six starts in 2012, all graded events, taking the Grade 1 Shadwell Mile and Grade 3 Ben Ali at Keeneland; the Grade 2 Fourstardave at Saratoga; and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita in addition to his Grade 1 Woodbine Mile coup.
The now six-year-old gelding’s lone defeat came in a narrow head decision to Ron the Greek in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, raced at 1 1/8-miles over the Churchill Downs dirt.
LoPresti’s charge, perfect through four starts in 2013, is already well on his way to defending his Horse of the Year title with wins in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark, at Keeneland; the Grade 1 Turf Classic and Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 Fourstardave at Saratoga, all on the grass.
While some observers are calling for Wise Dan to stray from his comfort zone of the turf mile, LoPresti is keen to remind potential detractors of the gelding’s impressive resume.
“People forget this horse won a Grade 1 on the dirt (Clark Handicap); was second beaten a head in a Grade 1 on the dirt (Stephen Foster Handicap); and he broke a track record on synthetic (Ben Ali),” offered LoPresti. “They also forget he won a Grade 3 sprinting on the synthetic (2010 edition of the Phoenix, at Keeneland). He’s done all that before but they want him to do it again. At this point in time, I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. I want to do what’s right for my horse and what the owner wants to do. He pays the bills and we’ll do what’s right for him and the horse.”
So, Wise Dan will set out to impress once again this weekend as he looks for his ninth consecutive graded score.
“It’s not like he’s a stallion and we’re trying to prove anything as far as breeding or standing him at stud,” explained LoPresti. “We just want to put him in places where we can keep him undefeated and we can enjoy him.”
DIMENSION SET FOR UPSET OF WISE DAN
Riverside Bloodstock’s Dimension, a surprise winner of the Play the King Stakes on August 25, will try to become the first horse since Soaring Free in 2004 to also win the Ricoh Woodbine Mile.
Trained and co-owned by 29-year-old Irishman Conor Murphy, Dimension, a five-year-old British-bred son of Medicean-Palatial, has shipped to Woodbine twice already from his home base in Kentucky, finishing second, just a neck behind champion sprinter Essence Hit Man in the Bold Venture over the Polytrack on July 17, before his blazing, front-running score in the Play the King, when coming within three-fifths of a second of the seven furlong turf course record.
“(Jockey) David (Moran) said after the race (Play the King) that he’s a very uncomplicated horse,” explained Murphy. “He doesn’t need to make the running. He can be happy to sit in behind horses. It’s good to have that versatility.”
Dimension, who was overlooked at 10-1 in the Play the King, gave Murphy his first stakes win as a trainer since he arrived from his homeland last fall, fresh on the heels of a monstrous winning wager of one million pounds which allowed him to form Riverside Bloodstock and set up shop at the Skylight Training Center in Goshen, Kentucky, where he breaks and trains horses for various clients.
Murphy only owns two horses, including Dimension, which he purchased privately last year after his windfall from the owner-breeder Cheveley Park Stud.
“It’s unbelievable to have a horse like Dimension,” Murphy continued. “He’s a thorough professional. You can do anything with him. I bought him to be a miler. I’m not worried about the distance. He wasn’t stopping in the Play the King. The ground doesn’t have to be firm, but he needs at least good ground.
“There’s no doubt about it. Wise Dan is a great horse. You have to admire him. But you can’t be afraid of one horse. There’s also the horse from Europe (Trade Storm) and (locals) Excaper and Riding the River are very good. You could make a case for any of them,” continued Murphy.
SUNDAY AT WOODBINE
Thoroughblog would be remiss not to mention some performances at Woodbine on Sunday, even if there was no stake race.
HANK’S HILL is 3 for 3 this year for Pietro Armata and this gelding is a winning machine who is now 13 for 33 in his career…
GEORGE BIGLIARDI‘S giant, homebred 3yo filly CLUB ONE TWO won her maiden in her 2nd career race in an Ontario sired 1 1/8 mile maiden allowance…
BIG BAZINGA, a 2yo by Bluegrass Cat, won his debut at 2 turns, 1 mile, 70 yards, in a maiden allowance for Derby Dreams Stable and trainer Katerina Vassilieva – 55 Beyer.
VICTOR RAMOS saddled his first winner in a couple of seasons (he was absent from training game) when SPIDER DUST won a very, very close photo in a $50,000 maiden claiming race. The winner is owned by Track West and she was making her 4th career race.
LAURIE SILVERA won 2 races (and jockey OMAR MORENO won 3) including a MSW for ONtario sired 2yos with GRANGE HILL, a homebred who had the rail post.
SILENT NAME (JPn) sired 2 winners but note that the Ontario sire’s next 2 years of 2yo crops will not be Ontario sired…Don Amos’ homebred SWINGIN IN THE PARK went gate to wire to win a hot maiden allowance in race 9 in his 4th career start. He is by Divine Park and trained by Dan Vella.
SATURDAY AT NORTHLANDS PARK!
SUBMITTED BY Kathy Butkovic
Saturday September 14th at Northlands Park they are holding the 1st Annual “Powder Puff Derby” during the days race card (1pm start time)
The Powder Puff Derby is a race for women only that have never rode in an official race.
There are 7 fabulous women taking part in the race and they are a mix female trainers & exercise riders from Northlands Park including:
Kirsty Luft – Nault (Trainer at Northlands Park and new mom)
Jill Klubi (Exercise rider at Northlands Park)
Diana Feuerhelm (Trainer at Northlands Park, 20th in the Standings with over $100,000 in earnings)
Jennifer Shafer (Trainer at Northlands Park)
Amanda Dixon (Exercise rider at Northlands Park)
Twylla Bensmiller (Trainer at Northlands Park, 17th in the Standings with $122,000 in earnings thus far)
Crystal Leriger (Exercise rider and Race Analyst at Northlands Park.)
We are lucky that so many women trained race horses in Edmonton? Pretty cool!
The women have been matched up and training with their “Jockey Mentors” in preparation for the race. Crystal Leriger has been matched up with Jockey Amie Pooli who is a 25 yr old female jockey here in Edmonton and also currently sits 2nd in the Jockey standings with over $750,000 in earnings which is amazing because she hasn’t been riding that long and there are only 2 women in our jockey colony.
The ladies are taking pledges not only from members of the racing community but the Edmonton community the day of the event on track.
All funds raised are going towards to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Men are on board showing support as well! Jockey Jorge Espitia is donating his 100% of his earnings for the day to the cause! Jorge is currently #4 in the jockey standings with $586,778 in earnings.
PROSPECTIVE RETIRED
One of Canada’s top 3yo’s of 2012
John Oxley’s dual graded stakes winner Prospective has been retired from racing and will stand his first season at stud in 2014. By Malibu Moon, Prospective captured the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Grade 3 Ohio Derby in 2012.
“Prospective was a pleasure to train,” said trainer Mark Casse of the four-year-old colt. “He was immensely talented, versatile and sound. He possesses a great mind and outstanding conformation, key qualities that should serve him well in his stallion career.”
Purchased by Oxley for $250,000 at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale, Prospective proved his versatility winning at multiple distances over different surfaces throughout his racing career.
As a juvenile in 2011, Prospective captured the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine over Polytrack. The following year at age three, he won the Pasco Stakes at seven furlongs over conventional dirt at Tampa Bay Downs and was narrowly defeated, finishing second, in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, the traditional prep race for the Tampa Bay Derby.
Rebounding from the runner-up effort in the Sam F. Davis, Prospective won the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby in impressive fashion. His final time of 1:43.35 for the 1 1/16 miles in the Tampa Bay Derby was only .52 of a second off the track record of 1:42.83.
Unplaced in the Blue Grass and Kentucky Derby, Prospective resumed his winning ways in the $153,300 Victoria Park over 1 1/8 miles at Woodbine, and added another graded stakes score to his slate with a sharp 2 1/2-length victory as the odds-on favorite in the Ohio Derby at Thistledown. He closed out a stellar 2012 season with a score in the Delta Mile at Delta Downs.
Bred by Spendthrift Farm, Prospective was produced from the stakes-winning Awesome Again mare Spirited Away. All told, Prospective won seven of 17 career starts, placed in three others and earned $719,130.
Stud plans have not yet been finalized.
www.brisnet.com
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