AROUND THE WORLD (okay North America) with ROGER ATTFIELD
Woodbine, Arlington, Del Mar, Saratoga.
That’s where you will find stakes horses trained by Roger Attfield toay. It will be a whirlwind for the conditioner.
Attfield will be at Arlington for the big stakes day there – AVE is in the Beverly D and Canadian -bred PERFECT SHOWER is in the Stars N Stripes.
Out west, PERFECT SHIRL is in the grade 1 DEL MAR OAKS while NO EXPLAINING is at Saratoga for the Lake Placid.
Saturday, Arlington Park, post time: 4:06 p.m. EDT
STARS AND STRIPES TURF S.-GIII, $100,000, 3yo/up,
1 1/2mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Big Al Repent Jaen Yanez 12-1
2 Perfect Shower Perfect Soul (Ire) Dominguez Attfield 3-1
3 Lemonade Kid Lemon Drop Kid Leparoux Mitchell 12-1
4 Memorial Maniac Lear Fan Graham Demeritte 6-1
5 Blushing Bear Rahy Karlsson Dodgen 5-1
6 Armstrong Mill Dynaformer Fallon Clement 9-2
7 Rumor Has It K Awesome Again M Baze Hinsley 30-1
8 Free Fighter Out of Place Torres Block 5-2
9 Weggie Behrens Perez Block 20-1
Saturday, Del Mar, post time: 9:00 p.m. EDT
DEL MAR OAKS-GI, $300,000, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Berg Bahn (Ire) Big Bad Bob (Ire) Solis Lyons 8-1
2 Antares World Decarchy F Alvarado Specht 10-1
3 Perfect Shirl Perfect Soul (Ire) Sutherland Attfield 6-1
4 Evening Jewel K Northern Afleet Espinoza Cassidy 5-2
5 Distinctive (GB) Tobougg (Ire) Blanc Smart 15-1
6 Harmonious Dynaformer Smith Shirreffs 3-1
7 It Tiz K Storm Creek Flores Glatt 8-1
8 Weekend Magic Ecton Park Quinonez Cho 12-1
9 Crisp K El Corredor Bejarano Sadler 6-1
10 Warren’s Jitterbug Affirmative Valenzuela Gutierrez 20-1
CANADIAN DERBY TODAY
from Edmonton Journal
Favourites have had little luck running at the Derby
By Curtis Stock, Edmonton Journal August 21, 2010
Let’s get one thing straight. Favourites don’t win the Canadian Derby.
So much for No Hesitation’s chances today at Northlands Park.
Yes, everybody likes the splashy grey colt who has won his last four races by, as the legendary Jim Coleman used to say, “As far as a strong-armed farmboy can throw an apple.”
No Hesitation won the Count Lathum Handicap by two lengths in his last start despite being hounded all the way. He won his previous start the Ky Alta by eight lengths– eight lengths that could have been 28 if jockey Rico Walcott didn’t have a bear hug on the reins coming down the stretch.
Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Favourites+have+little+luck+running+Derby/3426323/story.html#ixzz0xFMYfzbU
Saturday, Northlands Park, post time: 5:46 p.m. EDT
CANADIAN DERBY-GIII, C$300,000, 3yo, 1 3/8m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Gold WinnerK Medallist Beauregard Petrowski 20-1
2 Stachys Candy Ride (Arg) Bell Biehler 10-1
3 Gold MedallionK Medaglia d’Oro Heiler Diodoro 8-1
4 No Hesitation Siberian Summer R W Walcott Meyaard 2-1
5 Dyna Stroll Stroll Gutierrez May 6-1
6 Professor Pollard Pollard’s Vision Salgado Meyaard 4-1
7 Kara’s OrientationK Orientate Ramsammy Chircop 5-2
8 Ranger Heartley Lost Soldier T Maragh Cone 12-1
9 Judge BrewK Milwaukee Brew Lara Rycroft 15-1
10 Distorted DaveK Distorted Humor P Alvarado Sadler 12-1
All carry 126 pounds.
FEATURE ON TRAINER JIM MEYAARD
by Curtis Stock..
EDMONTON – Who knew that, four decades later, thoroughbred trainer Jim Meyaard would still be playing the childhood game King of the Castle? Only now, getting to the top hasn’t been a lot of fun. And a lot of people sure seem intent on pushing him off.
Meyaard, who has two of the favourites — No Hesitation and Professor Pollard — for Saturday’s $300,000 Canadian Derby, was the leading percentage trainer in Alberta last year. He is again this year. In fact, Meyaard’s winning percentage — both this year and last year — was among the highest in North America.
And where has that got him?
Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Winner+vicious+circle/3421120/story.html?cid=megadrop_story#ixzz0xFOGJOtX
WRAP OF WOODBINE WEDNESDAY – FRIDAY
Friday – Ontario stallion PHILANTHROPIST had his first winner when the quirky colt CHARLIE BULL won his maiden at 9 to 1 in a maiden allowance in his 2nd career start. Well, actually, the colt had been set to run a couple of times but he got loose twice and had to be scratched. He looks like a pretty good one for the Hard Eight and Ace Racing Stables of Scott Fairlie and partners. He’s a half brother to stakes winning 2yo CAWAJA BEACH.
Whitney Stakes winner BLAME has a half brother at Woodbine – TEND won an optional claiming race in the 2nd second for Centential Farms (Niagara) and trainer Don MacRae.
Thursday – RAPID SURFACE, dramatically different after Wednesday night, speed getting better as day went on…too tough for closers later on the card… The latest racing syndicate at Woodbine made its first claim – the SEVEN GRASSHOPPERS (yes, there is a story to that name) and trainer Paul Attard picked out EVEN THE ODDS from a maiden race and the filly finished second. Good luck to the ‘Hoppers!
Wednesday – SLOW TRACK, VERY SLOW, BASICALLY FAIR – RED JOHNSON won his first race of the season when DON’ THINK TWICE returned to racing in 7 days and won his maiden for Robert O’Grady. The Ontario homebred by A Fleets Dancer had just finished 2nd in a B level maiden allowancebu romped Wed. night at the A level.
LUNAR LINDA, popular at Woodbine only because she has been second 9 times in her 23 races and has not won in more than a year, finally broke through with a win in a turf sprint and perhaps trainer Ian Black has found the key to this Perigee Moon 4yo Ontario bred. She makes a ton of cash – she is almost at $300,000 for the Hat Trick and Double Eagle Stable.
BEST OF THE BESTS (Ire) is off to a super start at the meeting with his first North American crop. He has a trio of 2yo winners including CHARMING BEAUTY, who won for HJT Racing Stable and trainer Earl Barnett in an maiden allowance. She was 1st time Lasix, 2nd time out and was bred by Cavendish INvesting.
SALVATORE MELI won his first race of the meeting as he saddled TWO WONDERS in race 5 and won the allowance race with the Florida bred at 16 to1. She was getting a rider change from Patrick Husbands to Gerry Olguin.
THE KEY-MAN
Key Spirit 1986-2010
I accompanied KEY SPIRIT to CHURCHILL DOWNS years ago for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint – he was owned by Big Bux Stable and trained by Stephen Barnes. Mickey Walls rode the personable chestnut, but a bad start from the gate ruined his day. He was last.
He was a fun gelding to remember and thank goodness, when he was found starving in a field years ago (the story made it int the TORONTO STAR), he was rescued…
from THE BLOOD-HORSE
By David Schmitz
Key Spirit, who was a multiple stakes winner during the early part of his career and a $3,000 claimer near the end, was euthanized Aug. 18 because of complications from laminitis. The 24-year-old gelding had resided at Moreland Farm near Berryville, Va.
Patrice Fleck and J.O. Wallace adopted Key Spirit from a ReRun rescue program in 1998 and cared for him until the end. “He was as spoiled as could be,” Fleck said.
Key Spirit initially raced as a homebred for Ontario-based Kinghaven Farms until the summer of 1990, after which he was campaigned by numerous other owners. A winner every year he raced, from ages 2 through 11, he won 28 races and placed in 35 others from 115 starts. He earned $775,268.
Key Spirit came from the same crop as Kinghaven homebred With Approval, who developed into a Canadian Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year. Key Spirit, by Key to the Mint, was produced from the Personality mare Shy Spirit, whose half-sister, Passing Mood, produced With Approval.
WORK OF ART (DECO)
A busy week precluded Thoroughblog from re-hashing the wild BREEDERS’ STAKES, the 1 1/2 mile turf jaunt at Woodbine that wraps up the Canadian Triple Crown.
For 6 years now, the Crown races have been won by 3 different horses and that has caused some pause as to any possible adjustments to making the Crown a bit more interesting, as well as still challenging.
This year’s Breeders’, much like last year’s, wound up with a bizarre result. The maiden MIAMI DECO, making his first start on the grass and being a son of top 2yo and a Secret Hello mare, zipped up the inside to win the race at 65 to 1 for Calgarians Jim and Susan Hil, who bought the colt as a 2yo sale for just $47,000.
The colt was bred by James A. Everatt, Janeane A. Everatt & J. Arika Everatt, owners of Shannondoe Farm.
PHOTO – Nancy Hill (third from left) with her brother Jim’s MIAMI DECO, the perplexing winner of the Breeders’. CINDY PIERSON DULAY photo
