Welcome to Feb. 1- Woodbine backstretch opens
January 2007 went by in a whizz and here it is the 1st of February and horses and horsemen will begin to crowd into the Woodbine backstretch.
The 51st meeting begins March 31. Polytrack opens for training on Feb. 11.
It could be a huge year for Woodbine, which already saw a lot of interest from out-of-towners in 2006. The task of getting the Polytrack recipe right to handle the cold temperatures and weather changes will be the story this spring as it is currently at Turfway Park.
While locals will brave frigid temps this weekend (it's going to be -20 Celcius with the wind chill) there are still tons of stables with horses in the south.
It will be fun to monitor what's happening as the opening of Woodbine gets closer.
Prominent and personable Woodbine trainer Cliff Hopmans Jr. will start his prized filly TIS UNASWERABLE (Florida-bred) at Tampa today in an allowance race on the grass. It is the mare's first race since November of 2005. Hopmans trains his horses at Nelson Jones Training Centre in Ocala.
Mike Mareina, who trains for Keuhne Racing, is a smart 3 for 7 at Fair Grounds and HAMMERING HENRY looks like a good prospect in today's 5th race.
Malcolm Pierce continues to roll with 8 wins in his first 25 starters and PECTORALIS MAJOR is a minor contender in race 7.
This Saturday, Canadian-bred BUFFALO MAN, who is atop Thoroughblog's Hot Canadian-Bred list, will attempt another step towards the Kentucky Derby in the Holy Bull Stakes, which will also be the season debut for an early Derby fave, Nobiz Like Shobiz. BUFFALO MAN is a bay son of EL PRADO, the champion 2yo in Ireland in 1991 who has sired more than 57 stakes winners including champions like Kitten's Joy and stars Borrego and Medaglia D'oro.
Buffalo Man, a $190,000 purchase from Frank Stronach's Adena Springs 2yo sale last March, is the fourth foal of the stakes winning mare PERFECT SIX (Saratoga Six), who was a 4-time stakes winner and Grade 1 placed at 2 in the Hollywood Starlet Stakes. Perfect Six's average win distance in her career was 6.8 furlongs.
Perfect Six's dam, Goodbye Heart (Tsunami Slew) is also the dam of COMMITISIZE, a graded stakes winning miler who loved the grass and RUSTY SPUR, a very fast stakes winning sprinter by West by West.
The mix of Northern Dancer-Sadler's Wells on the top and Raise a Native - Alydar on the bottom (Saratoga Six) says this colt (for dosage buffs, he fits nicely at 1.43) should handle a route distance. Of course 10 furlongs in May is another question.
The 51st meeting begins March 31. Polytrack opens for training on Feb. 11.
It could be a huge year for Woodbine, which already saw a lot of interest from out-of-towners in 2006. The task of getting the Polytrack recipe right to handle the cold temperatures and weather changes will be the story this spring as it is currently at Turfway Park.
While locals will brave frigid temps this weekend (it's going to be -20 Celcius with the wind chill) there are still tons of stables with horses in the south.
It will be fun to monitor what's happening as the opening of Woodbine gets closer.
Prominent and personable Woodbine trainer Cliff Hopmans Jr. will start his prized filly TIS UNASWERABLE (Florida-bred) at Tampa today in an allowance race on the grass. It is the mare's first race since November of 2005. Hopmans trains his horses at Nelson Jones Training Centre in Ocala.
Mike Mareina, who trains for Keuhne Racing, is a smart 3 for 7 at Fair Grounds and HAMMERING HENRY looks like a good prospect in today's 5th race.
Malcolm Pierce continues to roll with 8 wins in his first 25 starters and PECTORALIS MAJOR is a minor contender in race 7.
This Saturday, Canadian-bred BUFFALO MAN, who is atop Thoroughblog's Hot Canadian-Bred list, will attempt another step towards the Kentucky Derby in the Holy Bull Stakes, which will also be the season debut for an early Derby fave, Nobiz Like Shobiz. BUFFALO MAN is a bay son of EL PRADO, the champion 2yo in Ireland in 1991 who has sired more than 57 stakes winners including champions like Kitten's Joy and stars Borrego and Medaglia D'oro.
Buffalo Man, a $190,000 purchase from Frank Stronach's Adena Springs 2yo sale last March, is the fourth foal of the stakes winning mare PERFECT SIX (Saratoga Six), who was a 4-time stakes winner and Grade 1 placed at 2 in the Hollywood Starlet Stakes. Perfect Six's average win distance in her career was 6.8 furlongs.
Perfect Six's dam, Goodbye Heart (Tsunami Slew) is also the dam of COMMITISIZE, a graded stakes winning miler who loved the grass and RUSTY SPUR, a very fast stakes winning sprinter by West by West.
The mix of Northern Dancer-Sadler's Wells on the top and Raise a Native - Alydar on the bottom (Saratoga Six) says this colt (for dosage buffs, he fits nicely at 1.43) should handle a route distance. Of course 10 furlongs in May is another question.
posted by Jen Morrison @ 7:19 AM
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