HAPPY MONDAY – LONGRUN HOEDOWN TONIGHT – BE THERE!!! PRESENTED BY THE KREMBIL FOUNDATION…COURT VISION AND REDWOOD AND SOME GOOD CANADIAN GUYS TOO.
COURT VISION surges to a WOODBINE MILE WIN over THE USUAL Q.T. and Ontario bred longshot WOODBOURNE (he’s in yellow cap). Cindy Pierson Dulay/horse-races.net
EYE-CATCHING
Court Vision states his case, earns 102 Beyer
That was a wild WOODBINE MILE yesterday – how great that the betting on the card was up from last year? There was a good crowd and the Q107 party was loud and boisterous.
While some of the promotions yesterday were not likely to bring anybody out to the track on a repeat basis, there was action in the crowd and the money was flying (a lot of from yours truly, eeks).
My pick CROWDED HOUSE ran okay but he’s just not a winning type at that level. But a decent horse.
COURT VISION is a lovely dark bay and how much do you love a horse than can race on 9 different grass courses and win almost everywhere? He handles Polytrack too.
The training job was another masterpiece by Dutrow Jr. but gosh, can’t some of these guys warm up a little before and after the race and not be so grumpy? It seems as if every trainer in the world now is annoyed when media asks about the horses, the training etc.
COURT VISION, a half brother to a litany of good horses including Woodbine based SMART SURPRISE (a Sovereign Award nominee last year) is out of a half sister to A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.
The horse wastraded about as a baby – he was a $180,000 yearling purchase by WHITEHORSE STABLES and then a $350,000 2yo purchase in February, three years ago by LAS OLAS RACING.
He then raced for WinStar and was a graded stakes winner on dirt at 2. IEAH bought in with Winstar and Resolute Group joined up before WinStar then got out and the horse was moved from trainer Bill Mott to Dutrow.
The fun part of the day was seeing the reactions of the locals when WOODBOURNE was 3rd in the Mile, earning $110,000 for THE VERY DRY STABLE, a popular set of owners at Woodbine.
(They have a martini after a win but reportedly may be switching to champagne!)
WOODBOURNE had been claimed by the group for $50,000 3 starts back from Eugene Melnyk.
Robert Tiller orchestrated yet another good claim.
And David and Susan Willmot were over the moon with FIFTY PROOF’S run in the NOrthern Dancer (Grade 1). Also owned by Ben Hutzel and John Fielding, the gigantic chestnut son of Whiskey Wisdom – Phi Beta led almost all the way and just about held on to win before REDWOOD came and got him.
The big guy had never raced in a stakes event before.
REDWOOD earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure- so Fifty Proof was a 100 or 99.
And, trainer IAN BLACK, acting as agent, paid $30,000 for the half sister to Fifty Proof at the sale, a Kafwain miss sold by Anderson Farms, agent.
WOODBOURNE made THE VERY DRY GUYS VERY HAPPY!
MIKE WATCHMAKER DISCUSSES MILE
and the TV COVERAGE…
So the European shippers were only 1 for 3 in Sunday’s three big turf stakes at Woodbine, and not an especially impressive 1 for 3 at that. But if you, like me, thought that the Breeders’ Cup grass races this year would be easy pickings for overseas invaders after the mediocre likes of Chinchon and Debussy came over and won two of our biggest turf races of the summer, the United Nations and Arlington Million, then nothing that happened at Woodbine Sunday should have made you think differently….
One other note about the Woodbine Mile. I watched the race on TVG, and I’m not sure if TVG received a special broadcast from Woodbine that differed from the traditional split-screen in house feed, or if a TVG director took control of the race broadcast. Whichever the case, there were some poor directorial decisions made during the running that made the race incredibly frustrating to watch. A few strides out of the gate we got an isolated shot of front runner Straight Story at the total exclusion of the 12 other runners in the race. So unless you bet on Straight Story (if you did, sorry, he wound up last), you had no idea for a few very long and important seconds if your horse was running second, seventh, or 13th, or if he had trouble, or lost the rider. Then, on at least two occasions on the far turn, we got a close up shot of the first three runners at the total exclusion of the other 10. This took away any sense of the important move The Usual Q. T. was making.
I have complained about this for years, unfortunately to no avail, so one more time won’t hurt. Making numerous camera cuts during a race shows less of the action and provides less information, not more, and is an enormous disservice to bettors. Just tell us the story with a simple pan shot, or split screen if you must. All we as bettors want to know is where our horses are. Not being able to see where our horses are, especially at crucial stages like four jumps out of the gate or around the far turn when critical moves are made, is wrongheaded and makes you feel like you’re betting in the dark. Sometimes, “coverage” like that makes you wonder why you bet in the first place.
http://www.drf.com/blogs/europeans-look-stronger-ever
REDWOOD GETS READY TO DUCK OUT AT THE WIRE AFTER WINNING THE NORTHERN DANCER OVER ONTARIO-BRED FIFTY PROOF.
REDWOOD WINS FOR THE HILLS
Racing post report:
Redwood lands Canadian Grade 1 for Hills team
By Nicholas Godfrey 7:49PM 19 SEP 2010 Report: Canada, Sunday
Woodbine: Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (Grade 1) 1m4f, turf, 3yo+
THE Barry Hills-trained Redwood landed a lucrative success in Toronto on Sunday when he won the Northern Dancer Turf at Woodbine under abrilliant ground-saving ride from Michael Hills.
Sent off 19-10 favourite on the local tote for the Can$750,000 contest, Khalid Abdullah’s four-year-old hugged the inside rail after being slowly away from gate five in a nine-runner field.
The son of High Chaparral – not racing on anti-bleeder medication – was sent towards the inner, well off a tepid pace being set by outsider Fifty Proof and last year’s winner Marsh Side.
After making up a few lengths on cutting the first corner, Redwood moved up comfortably on the back straight to sit just off the leaders, looking as if his rider just needed a hole to open up in front of him.
As if Hills was also pulling his strings, Fifty Proof obligingly moved a couple of widths off the rail after turning for home to leave an inviting passage for Redwood, whose jockey needed no second asking.
Redwood kept on in determined fashion to score by a comfortable half-length from 25-1 chance Fifty Proof, who stayed on doggedly for second in front of Windward Islands. Both the second and third were locally trained.
Michael Hills had sounded confident beforehand about the chances of Redwood, runner-up in the Grand Prix de Deauville on his previous outing after a Grade 3 victory at Glorious Goodwood.
FIRST WINNER FOR NIIGON!
Queen’s Plate winner had his first winner yesterday at Woodbine when OJIBWAY SIGNAL, owned by trainer David Bell and Alberta’s Gus Vlhos won a maiden allowance for ONtario sired guys yesterday. Bred by Robert and Beth Hancock, the sleek dark bay is out of Apache Signal and he was making his 4th career start.
