INQUIRING MINDS

And the racing continues.
Another big card at Woodbine today (and Wednesday's card was drawn and there are 100 horses for those 8 races) and the races and wide open and super betting opportunities.
Full moon on the weekend, perhaps why there seemed to be inquiries and accidents all over the place.
There has been some great racing all over but there were some bad events yesterday as well.

DRAMA IN THE CITY

(92 Beyer for Sealy Hill)

SEALY HILL’S bid at sweeping the Triple Tiara was quashed yesterday when she won the Bison City, the second jewel, but was disqualified for drifting in through the stretch and causing QUIET JUNGLE to lose her path.

STREET SOUNDS, the Grade 2 winning Canadian-bred from this year, was placed first while Quiet Jungle was placed second.

The 5 horse Bison City was an interesting race to watch as the tactics were going to be so completely different that they were in the Oaks.

“On Oaks day, she had a very bad ride by me,” said Ramon Dominguez about Street Sounds. “I’m still learning about these polytrack surfaces and we were just going way too fast.”

Yesterday, Street Sounds was a few lengths off the pace and stalking front running Saskawea while Sealy Hill was on her outside.

The race looked to be over turning for home, however, as Sealy Hill (Point Given) moved 3 wide to the lead. It was then that the filly started to move inwards into jockey Patrick Husbands’ whip. Try as he might, Husbands could not get her to stop drifting and she came over a few paths and took the spot away from Quiet Jungle, who was tiring and not going to be a factor.

The deliberations were long and a tough, final decision was made to put Sealy Hill back to 3^rd place.

“She rated better today, she did everything the right way,” said trainer Michael Matz (of Barbaro fame). “I’m not really sure what went on in the race (the dq) but we’ll take the outcome.”

Matz, who was with his son Alex in the winner’s circle, said the filly would race on grass next – perhaps in the Wonder Where back at Woodbine.

‘MET’ THEIR MATCH

99 Beyer for True 'Met'

Last year’s champion older horse, Florida –bred True Metropolitan, led all the way to the win Grade 3 DOMINION DAY later in Woodbine’s July 1 card. The Proud and True gelding looked as if he was going to be passed by invading MUSTANFAR in the stretch but he never let that one pass.

“He showed so much grit today, he wasn’t going to let anyone by,” said jockey Todd Kabel.

Trainer Terry Jordan has brought a small stable of horses to WOODBINE this summer from British Columbia.

“You couldn’t beat me away from this place with a stick, I want to stay here as long as you’ll let me,” said the happy trainer.

Bob Cheema owns True Metropolitan.

PALLADIO disappointed in the race with a flat, 3^rd place finish.

MOORE IS BETTER

Apprentice Matt Moore won his first stakes race when he circled ARDEN BELLE 5 wide off the turn to win the 7 furlong SWEET BRIAR TOO Stakes, race 3 on the Sunday card.

The Dance Brightly Ontario-bred filly is owned by Salt and Pepper Stable and trained by Ron Sadler. She was bred by Eugene Melnyk.

More from SUNDAY – nine-year-old CREASE INFRACTION, owned by Dom Triumbari, won the first race for $23,500 claiming. The gelding has been in the care of a litany of different trainers in the last year or so but it doesn’t seem to matter to this classy, good looking gelding.

Stallions with new winners on the card included freshman sire D’Wildcat – AUTHENICAT won for the Vinery and Fog City Stable, The 2yo miss is a half-sister to Friday’s winner Fudgethebottomline.

TRAJECTORY also had another winner with WHOSESORRYNOW won his maiden in race 5.

And trainer PAUL BUTTIGIEG, also owner of ONE SHORT, won his first race of the season when the latter won his maiden on the turf in the finale. The Ontario-sired gelding is by Bold Executive out of the good producing mare Dawn Corleone.

ELSEWHERE

The Archers Bay gelding SPAGHETTI MOUSE won the Grade 3 Lieutenant Governors’ Stakes at Hastings Park yesterday for the 2^nd consecutive year.

QUONG WINS FOUR INCLUDING THE SLOTS CUP

Getmovinshoes euthanized

(From Fort Erie)

FORT ERIE, July 1 – Jockey Michael Quong guided Speedstorm from well off the pace to score a length victory in the $25,000 Fort Erie Slots Cup here on Sunday. The win was the third of four on the afternoon for the veteran rider.

Quong, who’s been riding at Fort Erie since 1976, won his first of the day aboard Draven’s Cross ($15.00) in the second race and came right back to win the third on Apogee Moon ($27.10). His win aboard Speedstorm came in the eighth race and he followed up with a victory in the ninth aboard Bold Banker ($16.90).

“I’ve won four a bunch of times,” said Quong as he headed out to ride the tenth and final race of the afternoon. “It would be nice to get five.”

Quong’s mount in the tenth, Frosted Chimes, finished fourth.

The win in the Fort Erie Slots Cup was the first of the year for Speedstorm. The four-year-old daughter of Cohiba is owned by Stephen Chesney and trained by Daryl Ezra.

“She’s a simple horse to train,” said Ezra. “She always tries hard and never runs a bad race.”

The Slots Cup was marred by a two-horse spill in he first turn. Getmovinshoes, who was running second, fell midway through the turn causing third place runner Sockhopper to go down as well.

Jockey Marty Mercieca, who was aboard Getmovinshoes, was taken to Welland General Hospital with undetermined injuries. Jockey Kris Robinson, who was riding Sockhopper, was not seriously injured.

Following the incident, Getmovinshoes had to be euthanized. Sockhopper escaped injury.

Live racing at Fort Erie continues tomorrow and Tuesday. During the months of July and August the track will be open for live racing every Saturday through Tuesday.

Woodbine invader flips, crushes jockey at Assininboia

(COURTESY, WINNIPEG SUN)

By Scott Unger

A jockey was seriously injured Saturday night at Assiniboia Downs.

Jockey Carlos Marquez led the first horse, Let's Have Dinner, out to the track for the parade to the post in the fourth race when the horse was spooked and flipped on his back, crushing the 122-pound jockey under it.

The on-site medical staff, which is a requirement at the Downs for all races, immediately rushed to Marquez, who is believed to have suffered a fractured pelvic bone and has internal bleeding. He could miss the rest of the season.

"I've seen a lot of bad accidents over the years, but that's the worst one I've seen in a while," Assiniboia Downs director of operations and track announcer Darren Dunn said yesterday.

"Horses are very wound up when they are about to race. For a 115-pound man sitting on a couple thousand pound horse going 35 to 40 km/h, it's almost like sitting on a rocket."

Let’s Have Dinner, who arrived in Winnipeg from Woodbine in Toronto, shouldn't have been racing at all. One source told Sun Media the six-year-old gelding had been acting erratic all day, which usually calls for the horse to be scratched from the race.

The Manitoba Horse Racing Commission has check points set up throughout the day where a veterinarian examines each horse before they make it to the track and Let's Have Dinner passed on Saturday.

In yesterday's biggest race, the Canada Day Stakes, the 5-1 Remiewaterbluz was scratched after she bucked in the starting gate and fell down.

Marquez was in stable condition at Grace Hospital yesterday. There are concerns about his hemoglobin levels. Hemoglobin moves oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

The horse was not injured.

In his late 20s, Marquez is from Venezuela and has been racing in Winnipeg the past four years. He is joined at the track by his wife, Carol, who works on the backstretch.

"Thank goodness she is here and he has that support in place," Dunn said.

While most jockey injuries occur during the actual race, this incident is odd in that the jockey was simply leading the horse to the starting gate.

"It is certainly unusual," Dunn said. "I've seen this kind of thing happen in the starting gate. It happened so fast. His feet got caught in the stirrups and he couldn't get out in time."

Marquez will receive a weekly stipend for the several months it's expected he'll be on the shelf, thanks to insurance jockeys have from the Downs and Jockey's Guild.

In the winter, Marquez races at the Sam Houston Race Park in Houston. This injury might cost him some time there, too.

Beshairt overcame some heavy traffic, a race objection call on her jockey Alan Cuthbertson and a late charge from Empress Pegasus to win the $30,000 Canada Day Derby by a nose yesterday afternoon at Assiniboia Downs. "It was a good race with a fair pace," Cuthbertson said. "Both horses were fighting for it down the stretch." Minutes after the race, an objection was called by jockey Larry Munoz, who was riding Daisy Mountain. Munoz claimed Cuthbertson cut him off at the far turn and took away his chance to win. After a review, track officials at the Downs determined Cuthbertson did no wrong and was confirmed the winner. Doctor Jane busted out of the gate for a four-lengths lead around the second turn, but fell back heading into the stretch, setting up a duel between Beshairt and Empress Pegasus. "I had watched her (Doctor Jane) in other races and in workouts. I figured when she got out to that start, she would run out of gas and eventually stop," Cuthbertson said. Trainer Patti Ross said Beshairt, who now has two wins and a second in three starts this season, needs to be handled very carefully in order to be successful. "She is very neurotic," Ross said. "I handle her personally and have to be very quiet and gentle when I am around her. "You can tell she has been handled very rough in her life and she is nervous that it could happen again." Beshairt will try her luck in at least one more stakes race this season, most likely during the Manitoba Derby Weekend in August, Ross added.

MONDAY MONDAY

The King Edward Breeders’ Cup is the big attraction at Woodbine today with JAMBALAYA and SKY CONQUEROR looking to win the 1 1/8 mile turf race from off the pace. The Grade 2 race is the 9^th event and there is very little early speed in the field.

The co-featured MY DEAR STAKES is for 2yo fillies and Steve Asmussen supplemented SKY MOM to the race for owner Heather Stark. The Maria’s Mon filly is out of a non-descript Sam-Son farms mare Swifty Classic (out of Sky Alliance). Sky Mom ran a 94 Beyer in her latest win at Churchill Downs.

Big, big fields at Woodbine today and Wednesay’s 8 race card drew 100 horses too. In the race after The King Eddy, Jambalaya’s little brother MUSTFUHR races for the 2^nd time, stretching out in distance to 1 1/8 miles in a maiden event.