GET HIP!! – Last evening at Woodbine,a reception for the CTHS Ontario yearling sale was held, sponsored by BFL Canada Insurance, was packed with the who’s who if the local game plus lots of news faces ready to buy horses at the sales. Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday, some 450 youngsters bred in Canadian are up for auction. Read more below…
Dave Landry photo
WELLOILEDMACHINE, family ties
(With apologies to Charles Schultz)… this is the stuff that horse racing is all about Charlie Brown.
Christine Windsor groomed multiple stakes winner MOBIL for trainer Mike Keogh and owner Gus Schickedanz and then went off to the yearling sale 2 years ago to buy one of his offspring.
“When I saw him coming out of the barn (at the annual CTHS Yearling Sale at Woodbine), I just thought, ‘That’s the horse,’” said Windsor, who co-owns with her husband, Dennis Windsor. “He just reminded me of his dad. I was just hoping for him to get to the finish line. I was about to cry. I did cry.”
There were a whole lot of emotions as the long striding guy, bred by John Kennedy, held off the gritty but hard luck CELTIC CONVICTION to win the 1 mile Vice Regent Stakes yesterday on soft turf.
He earned an 84 Beyer Figure.
In the winner’s circle was Kim McAleney, wife of Jim McAleney, all of who have ties to Keogh and the old days of Kinghaven Farms.
Welloiledmachine’s dam is Sleek and Powerful by Sir Cat and she has a 2yo full sibling to the stakes winner named Sleek and Mobil.
More Sunday –
Polytrack was simply sizzling fast yesterday after some rain here and there over last couple of days.
Trainer WILLIE ARMATA doubled his win amount for the entire year with 2 wins yesterday – the 2nd with recent claim HANK’S HILL and the 10th with old timer CAPTAIN RAUCOUS – both are owned by Pietro Armata. The latter, winning for $20K claiming, scorched 7 furlongs in 1:21 4/5.
GALAN’S WINGS was a very impressive 2yo debut winner yesterday as the 2 to 1 second choice. The Bwana Charlie filly had a number of rapid workouts and was expected to be heavily bet – she won by a long margin for Harlequin ranches in 1:10 4/5 – a 56 Beyer Figure.
The Pick 4 kicked off with a 20 to 1 shotin a small field – the 2yo beginner VIBRANT WORSHIP ran down a whole bunch of highly touted fillies, good workouts and all, to win her debut for Live oak Planatation with a 57 Beyer.
Later LAS MALVEGAS won her 3rd career race in a 2yo filly maiden allowance with a whopping 76 Beyer Figure. Josham Farms owns the Kentucky bred by Half Ours.
GET YOUR CATALOGUES OUT – its Sales day!
It’s going to be a lot cooler and breezier today that it has been in a week but the premier yearling sale in Canada begins tonight and there are a lot of hopeful, anxious and interested horsepeople.
The track was abuzz with a lot more faces yesterday in various parts of the plant as prospective buyers have arrived for shopping.
One of the newer faces on the scene is Kenny LeJeune, who runs a top 2yo-year training centre at Oak Ridge in Florida and a purchase of many top horses. LeJeune has never been to Woodbine before and will be
purchasing for a variety of owners.
Today’s sales stakes races will inject some power into the action as many owners. breeders and consignors havevested interests in the entrants in today’s races.
The catalogue, while skewed to the Ontario sired program, still has a selection of American sired youngsters that shold attract attention.
Last year’s single select session saw 128 horses sell for $3,686,700. The average of $28,802 was down 4%
from the previous year.
Theatre Queen (Bob and John) at last year’s sale – she is in the MUSKOKA STAKES today for James, Janeane and Arika Everatt and Pam Edel. Dave Landry photo
SALES STAKES DAY !
The 2yos run for $200,000!
The races are full and the 76 sales stakes are very bettable and intriguing today – so much so that THOROUGHBLOG’S FAMOUS PROGNOSTICATOR – JAKE, is going to make a pick in this edition of JAKE’S TAKE….
GO WITH..ROSE AND SHINE in the 6th, to upset the faves!
GREY ON A GREY DAY
Labatt Cup at Fort Erie
September 4th, Fort Erie….After heavy rain throughout the night and morning, the Labatt Cup, originally scheduled for turf, was moved to the main dirt track which was listed as fast. A host of scratches took place as a result of the surface change with a field of seven going to the gate for a purse of $30,000.
The switch in surface didn’t bother the favourite and eventual winner Gray Minute who was last seen winning the Mike Anderson Memorial Cup on August 2nd over a fast main track. “I have been doing the rain dance since Wednesday,” said jockey Kirk Johnson.
Setting the pace was Your Fantasy under rider Eldridge Lindsay. The bay filly reached the opening quarter in 24.1. She was challenged by Gee Pari, under Brian Cheyne, near the half mile mark and the two battled it out to the head of the stretch. Gray Minute sat several lengths off of the front runners and began a wide rally when the field turned for home. At the wire the grey filly had pulled away by two lengths stopping the clock in 1:45.4.
“I didn’t have the best trip, it was a tight jam. I took her back and she relaxed,” explained Johnson. “When I asked her for her best, she was all business.”
Your Fantasy held for second and Gee Pari crossed the line in third. With the win today the three year old daughter of Niigon now has four wins from 11 lifetime starts and career earnings of over $70,000.
“This win was more impressive then her last victory considering the obstacles she had to overcome,” said trainer Mel Widenmaier who owns the filly as well.
Gray Minute returned $4.70 to win, $3.40 to place and $2.70 to
show.
SENGARA AIMS FOR BC DERBY WITH CLAIMS..
Excitement Building for BC Derby Sept. 11 at Hastings
If BC Cup Day is the biggest one of the Hastings Racecourse season, the 66th running of the BC Derby is its single most celebrated race of the thoroughbred year.
Mark September 11 on your must-do calendar, then. With the BC Oaks and five other stakes races that Sunday, Derby Day is going to be 1A on the Hastings improving landscape.
Besides the races, part of the celebration will include the return of a couple of important owners in Jeff Sengara and Bob Cheema, who have been absent for a couple of years. Both will ship in challengers for the 1 1/8-mile Grade III $200,000 Derby to battle local favourite Inhisglory, who lost some of his shine after a disappointing but explainable fourth-place in the Canadian Derby in Edmonton.
Owned by Peter Redekop and trained by Craig MacPherson, Inhisglory came down with a temperature the day of the Canadian Derby after winning three straight stakes races at Hastings and Northlands.
Sengara, who was a big player at Hastings, recently claimed a pair of three-year-olds with hall of fame trainer Mike Mitchell. Besides paying $50,000 to claim Hurricane Lake (by Friends Lake) , Sengara has paid the $5,000 supplemental nomination fee to make him eligible for the BC Derby, a race he has never won. Hurricane Lake beat
Richmond Derby trial winner Northern Causeway at Golden Gate before he was claimed by Mitchell for Sengara.
He also has Celestial Night entered to run in the $100,000 El Cajon at Del Mar Friday.
“I’ve usually had older horses (Budroyale, who won the Longacres Mile, for instance), but I’ve always wanted to win the (BC) Derby,” said Sengara. “I can’t pick between them, but Hurricane Lake will give it his all. I know that.”
Cheema, who sold his stable and was on the sidelines for a couple of years is shipping in Line Change after a third-place finish in the Canadian Derby.
And among the Todd/Kinsella nominations, Richmond Derby trial runner-up Commander looks best and will be looking to get even against California invader Northern Causeway, Richmond trial winner. Canadian Derby runner-up Northern Indy and trainer O.J. Jauregui and Terry Jordan and Line Change will ship in to Hastings from Northlands to add to the Derby intrigue.
Even though he finished third, Line Change could be the one to beat considering the early fractions
he set – 23.60 seconds, 47.60, and 1:13.80 in the Edmonton race. Besides the Derby, which is almost
certain to have all 12 post positions filled, they will also run the $100,000 BC Oaks for the
top 3-year-old fillies in which Castinette Dancer will likely be
favoured. There will also be four other stakes including the Derby
Bar and Grill Express, The Derby Bar and Grill Ladies Express as
well the CTHS Sales Stakes for colts and geldings and fillies bringing
the purse total to more than $500,000.
ONTARIO BRED WINS CLIFF HANGER
Yummy With Butter, Slip Along Band and Deputy Fling all earned black-type as Monmouth Park hosted a triumvirate of stakes races on Sunday afternoon (at Monmouth)
In the featured $100,000 Grade 3 Cliff Hanger Stakes, Bruno Schickedanz’s Yummy With Butter split rivals near the quarter pole and opened up at will to score by 3 ¾ lengths.
“He’s really at the top of his game right now,” said winning trainer Yvon Belsoeur. “There was plenty of speed in the race and we got an inside trip. Sometimes thing don’t work out with that kind of a trip, but today things opened up perfectly.”
YUMMY WITH BUTTER was bred by Richard Lister.
chart from THOROUGHBRED DAILY NEWS..
Sunday, Monmouth
CLIFF HANGER S.-GIII, $100,500, MTH, 9-4, 3yo/up,
1mT, 1:32 3/5, fm.
1–YUMMY WITH BUTTER, 118, g, 7, by Silvador
1st Dam: Sophisticatedbagel (SP), by Kris S.
2nd Dam: Settle It, by Judgable
3rd Dam: Windy Stage, by Stage Director
O-Bruno Schickedanz; B-Richard L Lister (ON);
T-Yvon Belsoeur; J-Paco Lopez; $60,000. Lifetime
Record: 32-7-7-8, $576,824.
2–Cherokee Lord, 118, g, 4, Sir Cherokee–Sequins n’
Lace, by Mari’s Book. O/B-Millard R Seldin Revocable
Trust & Estate of Hoss Inman (KY); T-Charles
Livesay; $20,000.
3–Sleepless Knight, 116, h, 5, War Chant–Dream
About, by Cherokee Run. ($60,000 yrl ’07 KEESEP).
O-George & Lori Hall; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Kelly J Breen; $10,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, 3/4, 3 1/4
