Wonder Where photos from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
HONOURING WONDER WHERE
Northern Queen won the first ever running of the WONDER WHERE STAKES in 1965 AT WOODBINE and the race has blossomed into an important 3yo filly grass race on the Woodbine calendar.
It is the 3rd leg of the TRIPLE TIARA, although the Tiara, like the Triple Crown, does not offer any extra money for winning the series.
Horses like GLORIOUS SONG and RAINBOW CONNECTION have won this race, altough in recent years the vent has lacked a superstar winner.
Some notes about WONDER WHERE from the CANADIAN HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME…
How good was Wonder Where in 1959, the year she won the “toughest race” of her career to earn honors as Canada’s Horse of the Year?
Consider these statistics. The big strapping 3-year-old bay filly earned 10 of the 18 votes in the balloting of sports editors, turf writers, handicappers, the Canadian Press and Daily Racing Form staff. The runner-up with seven votes was New Providence, Canada’s first Triple Crown champion that year. The only other horse to be considered was the superb 2-year-old champion Victoria Park, who received one vote.
Wonder Where frequently challenged the males in stakes competition, winning the Woodstock and Achievement Stakes, placing second in the Challenge Stakes Handicap and Bison City and third in the Durham Cup. She was owned by Larkin Maloney and Conn Smythe, trained by Yonnie Starr, and captured eight stakes races that season. Her other stakes victories came against the fillies or mares in the Canadian Oaks, Belle Mahone, Maple Leaf, Selene, Fury and Star Shoot. Fifteen of her 17 starts in 1959 came in added-money events. The daughter of Occupy was out of the money only once, when she finished seventh in the Canadian International Championship.
At two she won the My Dear Stakes and then beat the boys in the Clarendon, winning five of eight starts. After her remarkable 3-year-old season, Wonder Where was just as dominant at age four, winning five of eight starts – including the Canadian Maturity, Inferno, Nassau and Whimsical Stakes. In 33 lifetime starts Wonder Where won 19 times, finishing second or third on 12 occasions. She was off the board only twice during her incredible career.
Bred by Frank Selke at his Rolling Range Farm in Quebec, she was purchased by Smythe and Maloney for $7,300 at the CTHS’s yearling sales in 1957. Wonder Where was retired to the broodmare shed in 1961 for the Maloney family. A mating with Northern Dancer produced her best offspring, Sno Where, who won the Bison City, Fury and Ville Marie Stakes but finished third in the race named after her mother, the Wonder Where Stakes in 1969. It is now one of the three races that comprise the Royal Tiara, Canada’s Triple Crown event for 3-year-old fillies.
This year, the race is missing the Oaks winner – Milwaukee Appeal has been playing with the boys. The Bison City winner is in the race – DANCE FOR US is blossoming at the right time for Barbara Minshall and she likes the grass it seems.
The 1 1/4 mile distance plus the possibility of very soft grass will surely be an acid test for all the gals.
MISS BLAKELY is going to get a lot of support since she was 3rd in the Oaks and is a stakes winner on the grass. She is an Adena Springs gal by Smart Strike owned by a bunch of folks from New Jersey.
Most wins by an owner in the Wonder Where>
6 – Sam-Son Farm (1972, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2000)
That farm has FOREST UPROAR in the field making only her 3rd career start. She is by Forest Wildcat out of a Smart Strike mare and may find the distance a bit taxing.
Miss Blakely and Eibar Coa
Terence Dulay photo
PIN OAK WINS TWO
Pierce still rolling
Highlights from yesterday include a pair of wins for the blue and white stripes of Pin Oak Stable, owned by Josephine Abercrombie.
Supporting her Ontario stallion Trajectory, Abercrombie bought WE ARE GOLDEN from the local sale and he won his maiden yesterday with a wild show of grit and heart. The colt was pressing T T ‘s Point but relinquished the lead to that one in the stretch only to battle back and win by a head.
In the next race, MUCH OBLIGED won the Victoriana prep allowance,worth over $100,000, by 4 34 lengths as the big favourite, despite the race being moved from grass to the Polytrack.
Also yesterday
CAFE AU MEY was well prepared off the layoff to win her first race since September and win her maiden for the Hat Trick and Double Eagle Stables andtrainer Ian Black.
She is a a Kafwain – Castle Mey filly and her full sister races on Sunday.
The LATE DOUBLE featured 2 very wild finishes and also illustrated how much jockey TODD KABEL is riding with fire and desire.
Kabel had his hands full with the feisty FASHION JENNY in race 8 as she got loose from the pony in the post parade and then was reluctant to load.
Once she was in the race she was all business, however.
She mowed down 3 rivals in the stretch and won by inches for Rocco d’Alimonte and Frank Annecchini and trainer Catherine Day Phillips.
A race later, Kabel was emploring Porters Court for a bit more in the strtech but the speedster was fading in the late stages of the 1 1/16 mile maiden race and ducked out from a whip strike, interfering with rivals.
Mesa Cielo got the worst of it as that one almost fell down.
Meanwhile, 3 horses hit the wire noses apart and the winner was Mario Forgione’s Perfect Soul colt CARCILLO, whom he also bred.
Trainer DALE CAPUANO won his first race of the meeting with his 9th starter- LIME GREEN, a 2yo filly who won her maidn by 5 lengths but then had to be vanned off as she came back lame according to the Equibase chart. She is a City Zip homebred2yo for Rickard Schultz.
John Richter has a nice 2yo it appears in KID CANUCK, who won his 2nd career strat in a maiden allowance at 6 furlongs yesterday. The Kitten’s Joy youngster won the off the turf dash despite being trapped off the turn. He is an Ontario bred out of the mare Draxhall Jump, by Tale of the Cat and is strongly bred for grass – should be reappear in the Summer Stakes later this fall.
The colt was bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who foaled many mares at Windfields Farm two years ago.
ELSEWHERE
*TWISTED WIT, a multiple stakes winner in Canada who now competes for $12,500 claiming and lower, races today at Monmouth Park. He is an 8yo who has won $917,000 in his career and was bred in Ontario by Ron Clarkson. He raced in Canada for Rolh Davis and Robert Tiller.
*DASHING ADMIRAL, $500,000 earner plus, is in for $4,000 claiming at Fort Erie tomorrow.
*Tough sledding for folks who dished out $25,000 to claim first time starter 2-year-old INCLUSIVITY from the first race at Arlington ON Thursday.
Sent off at even money, the Include colt, trained by Mike Stidham broke a leg in deep stretch.
*DON VALLIERIE MEMORIAL CUP – tomorrow at Fort Erie. Multiple champion horse Judith’s Wild Rush still battling…
1 Fearless Buzz (ON) 6/G L D Johnson 116 R Davies 30/1
2 Wild Diamond (ON) 5/G L E K Lindsay 118 H Keen 12/1
3 Break Even (KY) 5/G L M J McMullen 118 R Gilyana 12/1
4 Great Addiction (ON) 7/G L R M Pimentel 120 A Concessi 3/1
5 Vikrant (KY) 6/G L D Garcia 116 A Concessi 8/1
6 Judiths Wild Rush (KY) 8/H L K Robinson 116 G E Seymour 4/1
7 Cusack (ON) 4/G L C Griffith 116 S G Smith 20/1
8 Harveys Victor (KY) 4/G L S Singh 116 T L Patterson, Jr. 7/2
9 Hear the Beat (KY) 6/G L N Davis 118 Y Belsoeur 12/1
10 Spread the News (ON) 5/G L M Pinto 120 J Simms 8/1
11 Mystical Mount (FL) 3/G L S P Husbands 112 P Herrington 20/1
LOOKING FOR A WYN
Canadian bred in a Grade 1 today!
WYNNING RIDE, bred by Jim and Alice Sapara, is only 8 to 1 for the CCA Oaks today at Belmont.
Reportedly, the filly, who did not do much in the Woodbine Oaks, did not like Polytrack and she missed third place by a nose.
JEREMY PLONK
CCA Oaks scouting report
HorseplayerPro.com
Saturday, July 25, Belmont Park
The Low-Down: With Rachel Alexandra, Saturday’s $300,000 feature from New York would have had more pizzazz. Without her, however, horseplayers have more to sink their chompers in to. A field of eight very well-matched sophomore fillies will contest the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, which should be the great separator. All carry equal weights of 121 pounds.
Our Eyes: None of the CCA Oaks runners has attempted the 10-furlong challenge, and quite honestly several have been suspect even at 1 1/8 miles. Outside of UAE Oaks winner Devotee, the remaining contestants are 0-for-4 beyond 1 1/16 miles. But when you evaluate Devotee’s performance July 3 against return rival Funny Moon, it’s hard to get overly excited about the Godolphin chances.
Funny Moon, despite being shuffled back on the turn, won so easily and was so dominant, that she would have to own the head-to-head edge. Sure, that was a mile, and we’re talking 10 furlongs Saturday. And while Funny Moon has yet to race beyond one mile, her pedigree certainly screams for it. Half-brother Throng won at 1 3/16 miles on the Keeneland Polytrack, and this filly is a granddaughter of Belmont Stakes winners (A.P. Indy and Easy Goer) on both sides of her lineage.
read more:
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=4352354
Saturday, Belmont Park, post time: 5:17 p.m. EDT
COACHING CLUB AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $300,000,
3yo, f, 1 1/4m
PP HORSE SIRE TRAINER ML
1 Livin Lovin Birdstone Klesaris 3-1
2 Wynning Ride Candy Ride (Arg) Baffert 8-1
3 Don’t Forget Gil Kafwain Hennig 15-1
4 What a Pear E Dubai Parker 12-1
5 Devotee Elusive Quality bin Suroor 12-1
6 Casanova Move Langfuhr Pletcher 4-1
7 Hightap Tapit Asmussen 5-1
8 Funny Moon Malibu M
THE RETURN OF FALLON
Brough Scott has a fascinating one on one interview with KIEREN FALLON, ready to make a comeback….
watch the video, it’s good stuff…
RACING POST PREVIEWS NIJINSKY STAKES AT WOODBINE
