JOCK, JACQUES TALK

(UPDATE) STOP...WHAT'S THAT SOUND?

Canadian-breds 1-3 in Grade 2 Beaumont

It's STREET SOUNDS - whew, yet ANOTHER Canadian-bred, graded stakes winner for 2007 as this Street Cry filly dueled 3 wide all the way and then drew off to win the Grade 2 Stonerside Beaumont Stakes today at KEENELAND. Bred by Rod Ferguson and Bob Anderson in Ontario, STREET SOUNDS defeated the previously unbeaten Forever Together by about a length.

Street Sounds is owned by Hidden Creek Farm and trained by Michael Matz. They bought the filly from Anderson as a yearling in 2005 for $400,000. The filly won 2 of 5 last year including the Selima Stakes on turf. The Beaumont was her first win on Polytrack and her first win on anything other than grass. She is not currently at Woodbine Oaks eligible.

Full marks to Bill Sorkolit's PALACE PIER (Out of Place), who dueled between fillies and then inside of Street Sounds to the head of the stretch and was very game to hold 3rd, beaten about 3 lengths.

Palace Pier is an Oaks eligible and she is trained by Darwin Banach.

(UPDATE) 48 4/5?? FOR 4 1/2 FURLONGS?? WORLD RECORD???

I can't find any evidence anywhere that a faster 4 1/2 furlongs on ANY surface was run than ONE HOT WISH, today on the KEENELAND SUPER-HIGHWAY.
A 2YO filly, bred and co-owned by trainer WESLEY WARD, ONE HOT WISH scorched 4 1/2 furlongs in 48.87, which is faster than the 49.20 I found in record books as the fastest time for a 4 1/2 furlong race.
Okay, so the Bring the Heat - Wish for a Jeanne, Roar filly was racing on Polytrack that has been producing absurd times, but hey, she won by a pole and looked like a rocketship flying through the stretch.
Bring the Heat was a very fast horse by In Excess.

PATRICK HUSBANDS WINS APPEAL


According to a story by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corp., Patrick Husbands had his 60-day suspension and $5,000 fine wiped out for simply a $2,500 fine from the altercation he had with jockey Constant Montpellier last fall. The two ended up in a skirmish in the jockey’s room and reportedly later on the track.
His agent Gary Kemplen confirmed this Thursday morning, saying the hearing took only about 3 hours.
"He was very pleased," said Kemplen, about his rider, who had just returned from riding in Barbados on Monday.
Montpellier also was slapped with a big fine and a suspension and his appeal will be heard next week.
Here is the report…
http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/10320/83/


BABY BOOM!

There is little trouble filling a 2 furlong 2yo race at Woodbine even if the fields for other classes have been very small all season. Fourteen (14) little girls were entered for the first baby race of the season on Saturday, although only 10 will be allowed to start.
Lots of interesting gals in the race but two stand out – trainer STEVE ASMUSSEN, who was denied stalls by Woodbine this spring, has entered WILD LOGIC, an Ontario-bred from the first crop of former Ontario sire D’Wildcat. Wild Logic is owned by Vinery and Fog City and she was bred by Tony and Leslie Russo. The dam, Logical Reasoning (Lord Avie) is a 2yo winner and dam of a 2yo stakes winner by Skip Away.
Jim and Alice Sapara and trainer Josie Carroll have a baby all ready to go, and she was a pricey miss. SARCASM could be serious as she’s by the world class sire Distorted Humor out of Point Gained (Hennessy) – the mare is a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Point Given. A $500,000 yearling purchase, Sarcasm has an inside post in the short straightaway dash.
No whips are allowed in the 2yo races at 2 furlongs.

CANADIAN-BRED CLEAN UP

As reported yesterday afternoon, there was a Canadian theme to the first race at 3 different tracks yesterday (see post below). Claimer EASTERN CROWN ran an 83 Beyer Figure, CAMBRIDGE BELLE, a maiden allowance winner at Keeneland, ran a 68 and there was no Beyer Figure available on Woodbine Oaks eligible BELLEPLAINE, a 14 length winner at Laurel, as of this morning.
(While Cambridge Belle was winning her maiden, her little sister EBON LEE continued her training at Woodbine, working yesterday morning at 4 furlongs).
Later at Keeneland, another Canadian-bred 3yo filly (currently not eligible to the Oaks), CHRISTIES TREASURE, won her 2nd race in just 5 starts (all over the grass) with a rallying win in allowance company, earning an 83 Beyer Figure. She is by Belong to Me – Roses at Sunset, Valid Appeal and was bred by Cam Allard. She is trained by Todd Pletcher.
Canadian-bred QUIET ACTION (Forest Wildcat) finished fourth beaten 2 ½ lengths for trainer Mark Casse.
In the 5th race, Sam-Son Farms’ maiden filly FOREVER RED stalled in the stretch after making the lead and was beaten about 2 ½ lengths. She had posted an 80 Beyer Figure in her career debut over the Fair Grounds grass.

TODAY’S STUFF

Kinghaven Farms-bred THREE IN THE BAG – allowance race at Aqueduct on turf – 9 to 2

Manitoba-bred YONG MUSICIAN (Yonaguska-Alljazz), half-sister to Woodbine Oaks winner KIMCHI and stakes placed King of Jazz, 12 to 1 in race 4 at Keeneland

He’s not Queen’s Plate eligible yet but DAN MCGREW (Windfields Farm raced a horse of the same name years ago) is interesting in race 5 at Keeneland. Allowances, he’s 8 to 1. Dan is by Smart Strike – Blushing Maggie and won his maiden by 10 lengths last year with an 83 Beyer Figure. He was 5th to Any Given Saturday in his 3rd and final start at 2. Bred by Michael Lauer and Louis Wright.

Keeneland race 7, WELCOME AGAIN (El Prado) 4 to 1 in $62,000 allowance/optional claiming. Horse looks like a stakes caliber guy for Woodbine. Trained by Bobby Frankel. SIDCUP, another Canadian bred, is 10 to 1.

BEAUMONT STAKES – PALACE PIER, (Woodbine Oaks eligible) is 15 to 1 in a tough spot in this graded stakes but STREET SOUNDS (Not Oaks eligible currently) is 6 to 1 with Edgar Prado for trainer Michael Matz.

Race 9 – Stuart Hyman’s ROMAN LEGION competes for $30,000 claiming and is 12 to 1.

Oaklawn Park, race 1, THUNDERING JILL (Thunderello-Jilly), bred by Hal Snowden, is 6 to 1 in a maiden allowance race for 3yo fillies.


FREEMAN WINS

Woodbine trainer EDWARD FREEMAN, a board member of LONGRUN, scored a nice win with ANGELETTA yesterday at Bay Meadows in maiden allowance company. Freeman and co-owner Weila Ye, sent out the British-bred miss by Vettori – Supreme Angel, Beveled to win by a head for a $31,000 purse. Freeman has often specialized in bringing fillies form Europe to race well in North America (Silver Highlight is his most recent).

JUDITH BLOWS OUT

Three-time champion JUDITHS WILD RUSH deserves more than just Sovereign Awards. He is one cool dude who has a club-foot and is as sturdy as any racehorse can be.
The 6yo horse (Wild Rush), owned by Harvey Tenenbaum is gunning for another JACQUES CARTIER Stakes score on Saturday after a busy winter where he was dabbling in route races. In order to sharpen him up, his interests (which include American trainer JULIAN CANET) and Woodbine trainer JERRY SEYMOUR as well as Tenenbaum sent him out for a 3 furlong Polytrack workout yesterday morning and he went fast – 35 3/5.
Judith is a Woodbine ace but wait – a Woodbine ace BEFORE Polytrack. He is 0 for 2 on Poly and 0 for 1 on Woodbine’s Poly. Of course, that one Poly outing was over a speed biased surface late last year and he was 3rd in the Kennedy Road to Main Executive.
He’s only $83,000 away from $1 million, has 11 wins in 38 starts and who knows how many different caretakers (grooms) he’s had. The horse was trained by Scott Fairlie, Reade Baker (who all of a sudden is not training the horse this year having had him up until last November, and Canet.
And, TODD KABEL is Judith’s 12 different rider of his career.
The horse was installed the 2 to 1 favourite for the 6 furlong ‘Cartier over 7 to 2 VIBANK (who won the prep) and the very fast STRADAVINSKY (4 to1).

WORKOUT PATROL

SEALY HILL, the leading contender for the Labatt Woodbine Oaks, worked 5 furlongs at Keeneland yesterday morning in 1:00 3/5 as she prepares for a start in the Kentucky Oaks on May 4.
The Point Given – Boston Twist, Boston Harbor filly comes off a win (87 Beyer Figure) in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Stakes at Turfway Park for Eugene Melnyk and trainer Mark Casse.
SEDUCTIVELY, owned by Kinghaven Farms and trained by Ian Black, sped 4 furlongs yesterday in :48 on Polytrack, the 2nd fastest for the distance, and appears set to make her season debut in Sunday’s WHIMSICAL STAKES for older mares at 6 furlongs.
Speaking of Melnyk Canadian-breds – MARCHFIELD is not the only one who has not worked since his last start. OISTINS BAY, a maiden winner (89 Beyer) on Mar 23, has been idle since that score.

TRIVIA ANSWER

Congratulations to the shrewd reader from the Allen AbboTt camp (owner of stakes winner SUMMER GIRLFRIEND) who guess that WHIMSICAL (for whom Sunday’s Woodbine stakes race was named) was a Preakness Stakes winner. In 1906, Whimsical became the first filly to win the Preakness.
More on this long-running Woodbine stake as Sunday nears.


**Send a photo in of your horse, foal or co-workers to my e-mail and I'll put it in Braggers Corner for a small donation (you pick the amount!). It's easy and very secure (through PayPal).