BAYERN set a slow pace and took off to win the PENNSYLVANIA DERBY with a lopsided 111 Beyer Figure (inflated too). Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero California Chrome was never clear and wound up 6th. Vanessa Ng photo
CANADIAN 3-YEAR-OLD COLT CHAMPIONSHIP STILL UP FOR GRABS
When 10 to 1 shot FLORIDA WON, a Kentucky bred by Birdstone, rallied past Coltimus Prime and Ami’s Holiday in Sunday’s Grade 3 Ontario Derby, it it left the Sovereign Award for top male 3yo in Canada still up for debate. There is lots of time left for these guys to continue the battles and of course, out west, KOFFEE GRINDER, 2nd in the BC Derby (Grade 3) and a 3-time stakes winner with Beyers of 88, 85 etc. is also in the hunt.
Florida Won, owned by Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation, was a $385,000 yearling purchase at the 2012 Keeneland Sept. yearling sale and he is a handsome chestnut who had been 3rd and 5th in the Charlie Barley and Toronto Cup Stakes on turf respectively. The Casse team regrouped the colt for 2 months, worked him on Polytrack a number of times and he moved nicely from last place and rallied for the win , posting an 84 Beyer Figure.
The race to the wire for 2nd was a good one as Coltimus Prime held off Ami, but that result did not do much for either colt’s “poll numbers”. They have both been solid, hard knocking warriors this year and maybe we will see them again in another showdown.
Sunday also featured a $125,000 stakes races for 3-year-old fillies, the La Lorgnette. With Lexie Lou not involved, it was Bison City winner Unpsurned rating as one of the players in this 1 1/16 mile race. For a while, it appeared that she was going to win the race too until SWEATER WEATHER rallied late to win as the favourite for Frank DiGiulio. Bred by Osprey Stable, the Milwaukee Brew – Susur filly by Cape Canaveral was a $39,000 yearling purchase 2 years ago. This was her 2nd stakes win and first in open company. She won the Eternal Search Stakes on Aug. 2. She is trained by Robert Tiller and has earned over $250,000.
The mare Susur is owned by Jeff Norman’s Oxney Stone Farm.
FLORIDA WON had a litany of good workout time son Polytrack and won his first try on the surface in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby – Michael Burns photo/ Woodbine
HANG ON! Something made LLANARMON put up a fuss before the running of the la Lorgnette Stakes on Sunday. The filly was okay and went on to be 3rd behind Sweater Weather – PHOTO COURTESY WILL WONG, mrwillwong.com
More from Sunday at Woodbine
Saturday – race 1 – a nice maiden score for EIRIGH, an Ontario bred who began his career in New York and Kentucky but did not show much before he was eased in April in a race at Aqueduct. The son of More Than Ready out of Pleasant n Low by Pleasant Tap, came to trainer Nick Gonzalez for Donegal Racing and was 2nd and 3rd in his first 2 local starts before winning Saturday by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:16.13 – good for an 81 Beyer Figure, one of the highest of the weekend.
Race 2 – A 1 1/2 mile grass maiden allowance and the favoured INTERPOL, who was just 2nd in the Breeders’ Stakes to Ami’s Holiday, won his maiden in game fashion over the newly gelded Johnny Bear, the most expensive yearling in Canada from 2 years ago. Interpol is owned by JMJ Racing and trained by Sid Attard. He is an English Channel 3yo colt out of Adel by Strawberry Road, bred by Richard Lister.
Race 3 – a maiden allowance for Ontario sired 2yos at 1 mile and yards. The classic big race-bounce-bounce back was at work for CUT TO THE CHASE, who led most of the way to win this race in his 3rd career start. The son of Giant Gizmo out of Initfortheroses by Crown Attorney had been 2nd in his debut, 4th at odds on and then won this race by a neck over a charging Bear At Last in 1:43.88. Lind and Robert Fawns bred the gelding and Nick Nosowenko owns and trains him. Jesse Campbell rode.
Race 4- What a roll ANFIELD PARK is on, she became the first 4-time winner of the meeting with this score for $10,000. She had won for $11,500 in 2 previous races and for $7,500 in May. Mario Maver owns and trains this 4yo by Silver Train. Luis Contreras rides.
Race 5- a maiden $25,000 claiming race at 7 furlongs on the main track and CLASSY KID touted himself on post parade as he pranced and looked shiny for trainer Mark Frostad. He romped to a 4 3/4 length win under Patrick Husbands and it was his 6th career start for Stronach Stables and Mark and Inez Corrado.
Race 6- AVOWAL STAKES, fillies and mares on the grass at 7 furlongs and the sizzling hot Kevin Attard stable struck with SURTSEY, who was returning to her home turf course after a trip to Mountaineer went wrong (off the turf). This Heatseeker filly was let go at long odds even though she was dropping into a smaller stakes event from graded races. Luis Contreras rode for owner and breeder Yvonne Schwabe.
Race 7 – SKY HIGH CLASS rallied from off the pace to win for the 2nd time this year for Nick deToro, Eurico da Silva rode and thge filly was making her first start in a Polytrack sprint since she won on May 3.
Race 8 – The 8-year-old PASO DOBLE is in top form these days and he won the Overskate Stakes with a never-say-die stretch run where he was getting challenges from all sides. San Nicola Thunder and champion Pender Harbour surrounded this Kentucky bred by Bold ‘n Flashy but he would not give in. The Centennial Farms (Niagara) and Craig racing gelding is trained by Mark Fournier, who took over from Mark Casse this year. The gelding has won 12 of 45 races and is closing in on $1 million in earnings.
Race 9 – Grandma’s House won this turf allowance sprint for Paul Cooper and John Cardella who claimed the filly for $16,000 in her 3rd career race. The filly had been 2nd in her only other race for the stable. Another winner for Eurico da Silva.
Race 10 – the High 5 went to one lucky winner betting through Twinspires at a cool $502,000. The winner was Terra Racing’s Chris’s Brew, now 2 wins in a row for the Milwaukee Brew gelding trained by Kevin Attard. Oh, and Da Silva was on this winner as well.
LEADING OWNERS
Rank Owner Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings
1 John C. Oxley 125 26 24 14 $1,924,190
2 Sam-Son Farm 53 17 6 9 $1,369,277
3 Gary Barber 26 7 1 2 $1,154,982
4 Conquest Stables 27 11 6 3 $923,590
5 Frank Di Giulio, Jr. 75 16 12 12 $862,857
6 Tucci Stables 68 13 10 7 $800,823
7 Ivan Dalos 50 7 5 8 $798,439
8 Bear Stables, Ltd. 105 14 14 10 $742,113
9 Hill, Jim and Susan 62 11 5 8 $665,207
10 Bruno Schickedanz 87 18 12 10 $554,780
SUPER SATURDAY COMING UP!
watch some workouts!
from BloodHorse.com
Belmont Park‘s TVG Super Saturday card Sept. 27 looks to be shaping up as a stellar day of racing with a number of elite runners listed as likely to compete in six graded stakes, including five grade I races, worth combined purses of $3.4 million.
Of the top-level races on Super Saturday, four are Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” events, including the card’s marquee race, the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I).
The 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I), is expected to attract V. E. Day, Wicked Strong, and Tonalist, the top three finishers of the Travers (gr. I) Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course. Also probable are Whitney (gr. I) winner Moreno, Suburban Handicap (gr. II) victor Zivo, Big Cazanova, Last Gunfighter, Prayer for Relief, and Stephanoatsee. Speak Logistics is possible.
Fillies and mares will travel 1 1/8 miles in the $400,000 Beldame (gr. I). Stopchargingmaria, victorious in the Alabama and Coaching Club American Oaks (both gr. I) at Saratoga, is slated to take on older runners for the first time. Probables also include Delaware Handicap (gr. I) winner Belle Gallantey, Hot Stones, and Stanwyck.
A star-studded field is expected for the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (gr. IT), a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. IT). The prospective lineup for the 1 1/2-mile turf marathon is likely to feature last year’s runner-up Big Blue Kitten and Sword Dancer (gr. IT) winner Main Sequence.
Big Blue Kitten, trained by Chad Brown for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, returned off a 10-month layoff to take the 1 1/16-mile Lure Stakes Aug. 2 at Saratoga and was a fast-closing second in the 1 1/8-mile Cliff Hanger (gr. IIIT) at Monmouth Park. Main Sequence enters the Turf Classic off victories in the United Nations (gr. IT) at Monmouth and the Sword Dancer, both races having been won by Big Blue Kitten in 2013.
The field is also likely to include multiple grade I winner Real Solution, whose lone win on the year came in the grade I Knob Creek Manhattan at Belmont, former 1 1/2-mile world record holder Twilight Eclipse and graded stakes winners Hangover Kid, Medal Count, and Micromanage.
Another Brown/Ramsey horse, Stephanie’s Kitten, is likely to headline the $600,000 Flower Bowl (gr. IT) at 1 1/4 miles on turf for fillies and mares. The race is a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (gr. IT).
Stephanie’s Kitten is winless in 2014, but has finished second in each of her past two starts, the TVG Diana (gr. IT) at Saratoga and the Beverly D. (gr. IT) at Arlington International Racecourse. The 5-year-old daughter of Kitten’s Joy became a grade I winner last year in the Just a Game at Belmont, but her season ended prematurely after a third-place finish in the Diana on July 27.
The 1-2 finishers from the Ballston Spa (gr. IIT) at Saratoga are both expected to enter the Flower Bowl. Abaco, a neck winner of the Ballston Spa, will likely represent Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, while runner-up Strathnaver is probable for trainer H. Graham Motion.
Rounding out the list of probables are Alterite, also trained by Brown, and Tannery, second in this race a year ago. Either Aigue Marine or Irish Mission, both trained by Christophe Clement, is anticipated to be among the field, with the other going to Santa Anita Park‘s Rodeo Drive (gr. IT), also Sept. 27.
Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/87513/fields-shaping-up-for-super-saturday-card#ixzz3E2apgYS2
Yawwwwn, these yearling sales are a bore! DAVE LANDRY PHOTO
PENN NATIONAL 1 1/2 MILE GRASS RACE
Not much to say about this race, you simply have to watch.
