SENS-ING A WIN

The Ottawa Senators, owned by top racing owner Eugene Melnyk, are in Anaheim again tonight for game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They are down 1-0 in the best of 7 series.
The new THOROUGHBLOG poll is up for this weekend's Plate Trial Stakes...the last poll, regarding if your track does enough to educate or bring in new fans to the races offered 66% of folks saying 'No'.

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QUEEN’S PLATE BATTLE ROYAL

The first week of the voting for the initial set of Queen’s Plate match-ups (a bit unclear if we are voting for our favourite race or who we think will win the match-up, but hey, let’s just vote!) is completed and here are the results. (The match-ups and stretch runs can be seen on The Score Race Night tonight for the Woodbine card).

1989 (With Approval) * 68%

1992 (Alydeed) * 32%                      

*-----------------------------------------

1991 (Dance Smartly) - 83%

1999 (Woodcarver) - 17%

*----------------------------------------

1988 (Regal Intention) * 59%                                                     .

1995 (Regal Discovery) * 41%             

*----------------------------------------

2000 (Scatter The Gold) - 47%

2004 (Niigon) - 53%

*--------------------------------------

1994 (Basqueian) * 49%

2002 (TJ's Lucky Moon) * 51%

*These 5 winners will face off against the winners from the next batch - which will air (tonight.  

Tonight’s match-ups…

1990 (IZVESTIA) VS. 1998 (ARCHERS BAY)

1993 (PETESKI) VS. 2006 (EDENWOLD)

1987 (MARKET CONTROL) VS. 2005 (WILD DESERT)

1996 (VICTOR COOLEY) VS. 2003 (WANDO)

1997 (AWESOME AGAIN) VS. 2001 (DANCETHRUTHEDAWN)

 My favourites – Izvestia for sure – he won by 13 lengths and
ran one of the fastest Queen’s Plates (I calculated a 113 Beyer Figure) in
history.

Edenwold, my next favourite, I bet him and he was bred by my close friends Gail Wood, Bill Diamant and Vicki Pappas.

Market Control was a real fond memory for me – I worked for Kinghaven Farms, his owner and breeder, at the time. Trainer ROGER ATTFIELD was watching ‘Pudgy’ graze a few days before the Plate and said – this guy just might surprise us). Afleet was in the Plate that year and Kinghaven Farms/Attfield had 3 in the race and it was Pudgy who swept past to win with Ken Skinner on board.

Wando, one of my favourite horses of all-time, was a colt I fell in love with before he even raced.

The 97 one is tough…Awesome Again would beat Dancethruthedawn but was the former race my favourite edition? Perhaps, since Dancethruthedawn held on to beat Win City, whom I was cheering for that day.

WOODBINE TONIGHT

Big fields and lots of interesting betting opportunities for Woodbine bettors tonight (6:45 post time).

Two grass races complete the first Pick 3 and begin the Pick 4.

The 3^rd race is for maiden allowance mares and there are some older maidens in the mix such as CORAL BEACH, a $1.5 million yearling purchase by A.P. Indy-Seebe, who has raced 8 times without a win but only twice on the grass.

POETIC FAN would seem to be a serious contender since she was almost stakes placed on the grass last year as a 2yo.

The 4^th race is a claiming sprint ($40,000) and JU JU BEAST, a half-brother to graded stakes winner WANNA RUNNER looks too good to be true. And he has before too – with consecutive losses at odds-on.

Alternatives? First time grassers LOOKOFANEAGELE OKEECHOBEE ROAD and IRATE, the latter who raced well this season and could be sitting on a big effort.

The red-hot stable of trainer IAN BLACK should collect another win in race 6 with PROPHETICALLY, who was a green 2^nd in her debut with a 79 Beyer Figure.

The feature of the night is race 7, an Ontario-sired race at 7 furlongs with 4 recent winners plus the returning PAIGE THE GENERAL who has been working in very fast times (58 flat for example) for his return for the partnership of Paige, Piva and Coukos. The gelding is by Trajectory and is a half-brother to the very good Soul Rebel, who could be favoured for the upcoming Steady Growth Stakes.

COBRADOR PREPS FOR TRIAL

El Prado colt COBRADOR, who has nibbled against some tough American colts this season, worked in 48 flat for 4 furlongs over Arlington’s Polytrack yesterday and is headed to Woodbine Friday for Sunday’s Plate Trial Stakes. Entries will be taken tomorrow.

Cobrador will be ridden in the Trial by Emile Ramsammy. The colt was bought by Graph Racing a few starts ago and he was recently last on soft turf in the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes on May 4.

MAIN TRACK (POLYTRACK) RE-OPENS TONIGHT FOR RACING

Woodbine’s Polytrack will be back in action tonight under the lights for its card of racing after Jelly cable has been added the last 2 days. The surface was re-waxed last week and the Jelly Cable, the ingredient that Arlington and Keeneland have that Woodbine did not, should finally make the surface the way it was meant to be.

INESPERADO

THOROUGHBLOG tries to honour those brave horses who race hard for owners, trainers, jockeys, bettors, etc.

This excerpt comes from The Saratogian…

When Inesperado won the Grade II Del Mar Derby in 2002, he stamped himself as one of the top 3-year-old turf runners in the country. The victory gave the French-bred colt three straight graded wins since being imported from Europe that spring. He finished the year with four stakes victories and earnings of $432,580 for owner 3 Plus U Stable.
Although Inesperado was unable to maintain this level of success, he continued to bring home checks. In 2004, he hit the board in all six starts and earned $135,270. On April 30, 2005, he made his final start in a graded stakes, finishing fourth in the Grade II Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park.
On June 1, just one month after the Inglewood, Inesperado was entered in a claiming race for the first time. He went unclaimed and was away from the races for the next 14 months. On August 5, 2006, the 7-year-old horse turned up at Del Mar, running for a $40,000 tag. This time he was claimed.

Inesperado raced nine times for new owner Round Table Stable LLC, managing just one in-the-money finish and bringing in $6,005. Last month, racing on dirt for the first time in his career, the 8-year-old hit rock bottom when he ran for a $4,000 tag at Bay Meadows.
A week ago Friday, Inesperado - available again for $4,000 - started in a one-mile dirt race at Golden Gate Fields. He broke down midway through, was vanned off and later euthanized. It was an ignominious end for a horse who had once competed successfully against some of the best turf runners in the country.
This tragedy raises all sorts of questions. Number one, how could a horse like this have been dumped into the claiming ranks in the first place? Inesperado earned $629,697 in over four years of American racing before being claimed. Didn't this engender any sense of gratitude or responsibility in those who had benefited from his achievements? When Inesperado finished 12th at 69-1 odds in a race at Santa Anita on Feb. 17, didn't any of his past or present owners realize this horse had had enough and think about retiring him to a farm somewhere? Sadly, the answer to these last two questions appears to be no.
Jeff Scott writes about horse racing Tuesday in The Saratogian. He may be reached at utahpine1@aol.com.