BREAKING NEWS – Frankel IS 9 FOR 9 AFTER STUNNING, HARD WORKING SCORE IN QUEEN ELIZABETH at Ascot – could have been caught but he powered ahead…hope we see this superstar at the Breeders’ Cup!…notes for today’s Woodbine races, the big races tomorrow….keep reading!
CUP AND SAUCER KICKS OF SUPER WEEKEND
The turf will be quite soft for the big races tomorrow, and 2yo’s are going to test the surface today in the prestigious CUP AND SAUCER STAKES.
The $250,000 event for Canadian foaled babies is a class 2yo event, around 1 turn, and has been won by the some of the best locals we have ever seen:
NEW PROVIDENCE, KENNEDY ROAD, SKY CLASSIC, ETC. The race was first in 1937 on the dirt at old Long Branch, the first winner was SUFFERN!
The Sam-Son Farms has won the race 13, YES, THIRTEEN, times but not in the last 10 years. It is back with the funnily-named ALDOUS SNOW (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who was a super debut winner. He has 11 rivals today including the promising HAMPSTEAD HEATH.
CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL – EP TAYLOR – NEARCTIC IN THE NEWS:
REDWOOD, looks good, fresh, loves Woodbine, could it be that easy??
Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
RACING POST PREVIEW:
Visitors set to dominate EP Taylor at Woodbine
By Nicholas Godfrey 6:24AM 15
Preview: Canada, Sunday 9.35pm BST (live on ATR and RUK)
Woodbine: EP Taylor Stakes (Grade 1) 1m2f, turf, 3yo+ f/m
OVERSEAS horses account for nearly the entire field in Sunday’s EP Taylor at Woodbine, where the French-trained pair of Adventure Seeker and Dream Peace look well placed to follow up last year’s victory with Reggane.
The Wildensteins’ Adventure Seeker (Alain de Royer-Dupre/ Christophe Soumillon) represents last year’s winning trainer/jockey partnership; Royer-Dupre also scored with Khariyda in 1987.
Robert Collet, who saddles Dream Peace (Gerald Mosse), is also looking for his third victory, having won with 31-1 shot Choc Ice in 2001, seven years after Truly A Dream.
Both French fillies are three-year-olds. Adventure Seeker won a Listed race at Longchamp last month, and her trainer reckons recent rain in Toronto will help her cause.
JAY HOVDEY TALKS WOODBINE’S BIG RACE/ROGER ATTFIELD
(*note – although note that Steady Power was not a Queen’s Plate winner as mentioned)
http://www.drf.com/news/serious-green-north-side-border
TORONTO SUN FEATURE
by Richard Mantauh
TORONTO – A year ago, they were separated by just a head.
And in the 12 months since their meeting in that Canadian International, Joshua Tree, Mores Wells, and Redwood have traveled different roads. But here they are back at Woodbine ready for another go at the $1.5 million turf classic.
Joshua Tree came into the 2010 International as an under-the-radar three year old. Since his thrilling win, his passport has been stamped with a 10th-place finish in the Japan Cup, a win in four starts wintering in Qatar, and a second and a third in England and Germany respectively.
He also went from the barn of Aidan O’Brien to that of Marco Botti.
“He’s been training well, he looks well, and he’s in good condition,” Botti said. “Hopefully he’ll be spot on for the race.
Mores Wells was dismissed at 20-1 in last year’s race, coming off a Group 3 win in the Stockholm Cup in Sweden. But
after a strong late stretch run, he managed to just outfinish Redwood for second.
www.torontosun.com
GLOBE & MAIL – ROGER ATTFIELD
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/a-horse-trainers-secret-weapon-stuffed-toys/article2202074/
Independent.ie – O’BRIEN FINDS SOFT TARGET FOR TREASURE
By Richard Forristal
TREASURE BEACH – overseas punters say he’s tough to beat! Vanessa Ng photo
Aidan O’Brien sends Treasure Beach in search of further international spoils in tomorrow’s Canadian International at Woodbine.
Since landing the Irish Derby in June, Colm O’Donoghue’s mount has run three times, twice coming up short at Longchamp in the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix de l’Arc. In between, he just scraped home in the Secretariat Stakes in Arlington.
O’Brien may well have found another soft target for Treasure Beach tomorrow. Among his rivals are former Ballydoyle representatives Joshua Tree, Mikael Glinka and Quest For Peace, as well as the ex-Kevin Prendergast-trained Mores Wells.
None of that quartet are likely to trouble Treasure Beach, though the still unexposed Quest For Peace is worthy of some respect. Twice a winner for O’Brien, the Galileo colt went on to beat Arctic Cosmos — which re-opposes here — by two lengths at Ascot on his debut for Luca Cumani.
Quest For Peace should progress from that, but whether he has the quality to contest a race like this just yet is another thing altogether. In short, if you were to re-run the Irish Derby now, you’d struggle to make much of a case for Kieren Fallon’s partner.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/obrien-finds-soft-target-for-treasure-2907028.html
MIKHAIL GLINKA FAVOURED BY FANS
from Woodbine website:
Arctic Cosmos 16
Bronze Cannon 3
Celtic Conviction 23
Joshua Tree 27
Kara’s Orientation 18
Laureate Conductor 9
Miami Deco 6
Mikhail Glinka 60
Mores Wells 10
Musketier 22
Quest For Peace 23
Rahystrada 12
Redwood 19
Sarah Lynx 18
Simmard 34
Treasure Beach 37
RAPID REDUX 18 IN SUCCESSION
goes for record early November
http://www1.drf.com/replays/savedreplays.jsp?RACE=2265
