IN FORM

We had a super seminar at Woodbine yesterday with Daily Racing Form chairman and publisher Steve Crist who handicapped the Woodbine card and gave us the first 3 winners of the PICK 4 at Belmont (we didn’t get to handicapping the last leg) and several winners at Woodbine.

Steve talks about his visit to Woodbine on his blog this morning…

http://cristblog.drf.com/crist/

Here is some news from the weekend including notes on TRUE METROPOLITAN, Woodbine and The Mile next week.

SHE GOT THE MONEY

SATURDAY RACING

SHE’S INDY MONEY, freshened by trainer Malcolm Pierce for the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes yesterday, made it look easy as she powered to a 2 length win over champion FINANCINGAVAILABLE in the 7 furlong stake.

The latter stalked a speed duel of Roving Angel and Count to Three, was asked on the turn to go on with her move but as much as she powered to the front, She’s Indy Money was moving a bit faster.

The time for the race was a quick 1:22 2/5 (no Beyer available yet this morning.)

Originally a $325,000 buy-back, she was bought for $210,000 in October of her yearling season. She’s Indy Money is by A.P,Indy from Nany’s Sweep, a Grade 1 winner.

The card started off with heavily favoured SILK CANDY (a Langfuhr Ontario-bred) winning her maiden in her 4th career start under a Todd Kabel handride. The Stronach Stables’ filly won by a long margin over longshot Volcano Alley.

Speed won the 2nd race too – first timer MIEADOW PRINCESS, a Kentucky bred by Meadowlake, dueled favourite Miss Yankee and then disposed of that experienced gal to win handily in 58 3/5.

The race was for maiden 2yo fillies for $62,500 claiming.

Meadow Princess is owned by Anne Perron and trained by John Cirillo.

WALTZIN TO T MUSIC, 2 for 2 with blinkers off, won her second consecutive race in the 3rd event for $20,000 claiming 3yo fillies. The Ontario-bred by Outflanker led all the way while a couple of paths removed from the rail.

Emile Ramsammy said she’s improved drastically and has been told by her trainer she has been improving with more racing and maturity.

Trainer Abraham Katryan said “I always had high hopes for her, we experimented blinkers but now she’s coming around.”

Trainer ROGER ATTFIELD sent out the first and second place finishers in the first leg of the PICK 4, a turf allowance, non-winners of 3 ‘other than’ when QUELLE BEAUTE, rallied to score at 3 to 1 and Sudsy Baby rallied for 2nd. A bad start by favoured BECKY SHARP, before rushing up,cost her a better placing than 4th.

Prior to race 5, trainer MARKO MESIC said he has horses with conditions and that they are running good, which is why the Bolton, Ontario native won 7 races in succession until the streak ended on Thursday.

He started another winning streak on Friday with CASTLE HEIGHTS, a sturdy turf gelding who cut back to 6 furlongs and still won.

Mesic didn’t win that race with WICKED DEVIL, instead the very logical JUDITH’S JEWEL, exiting a key race and looking very solid ‘on paper’ won the early stretch battle and then held off WHY NOT GOLD to win the non-winners of 2. Why Not Gold, 1 for 38 now with 10 second place finishes came close to beating the Noel Randall trainee.

Owner ALBERT SANGES said “We were expecting to win, we are being aggressive with our horses as we want to get some wins right now. He’s just a 3yo meeting older horses but it was squeaker.”

“There’s nothing like (horse ownership), every race you’re nervous and when you see your horse turn for home and be out in front, there’s no feeling like. Horse racing tops all sports that I play and I’m very competitive.”

Trainer ROBERT TILLER loves his Trajectory runners. Yesterday, he sent out first time starter MISS JUICEY to win a maiden allowance for Ontario-sired 2yo fillies, lasting by a nose over a fast charging TIP TOE ANNIE (by the underrated sire Kinshasa). Miss Juicey was a $54,222 (US) yearling purchase from Gardiner Farms and she is out of the mare Juicey.

3 Sons Racing own the filly.

To wrap up the card, BENT ATTORNEY (Crown Attorney) won her grass debut for Mike Doyle and partners in race 9, an allowance for Ontario-sired turf fillies. She had also been away from the races since May. Good training job and a nice rider up the inside by Slade Callaghan to get the win.

LOTAGUSKA won the finale as almost everyone predicted. He won his maiden for Stanley Baresich and is by Yonaguska.

FRIDAY WRAP

It was a good idea to be close to the pace on Friday’s card, which featured a late PICK 3 won by women jockeys.

BARONESS won as a heavy favourite in race 7 for trainer NICK GONZALEZ (Tucci Stables) and simply has to steer that gal.

JULIA BRIMO won race 8 on longshot DANISH FAIRYTALE who had not won a race in a dog’s age and that was a very slowly run race of 1:48 2/5 at 1 1/16 miles.

And Catherine O’Brien won the finale on Love 2 Win’s Stable’s WHY NOT LOVE, an Ontario bred by One Way Love from Wine Not. Trainer Laurie Silver also won the 5th race on the card with the 2yo GUN HIGHWAY, a 2yo on turf in a maiden allowance.

SKY CONQUEROR ’50-50’ FOR MILE

SOROKOLIT HONOURED

It is looking more and more like SKY CONQUEROR will be at least entered in the Woodbine Mile (next Sunday) when entries are taken on Thursday.

The Grade 1 winner would be the marquee name in the race for sure although the field is looking competitive with several Grade 2 and 3 winners.

The connections of Sky Conqueror, owner Bill Sorokolit and trainer Darwin Banach, are eyeing the probable starters and checking to see if there is enough speed for the horse to run at.

Meanwhile, last night, Sorokolit was honoured for top Canadian breeder at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Ceremony at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Kentucky.

TRUE MET ROMPS

FROM THE EDMONTON SUN

BY JONATHAN HUNTINGTON

A dream to ride - but a nightmare to run against.

That is the easiest way to describe True Metropolitan after his stunning 10-length win in yesterday's $100,000 Speed to Spare race at Northlands Park.

"That is every rider's dream to ride a horse like that," said winning jockey Quincy Welch.

"He does nothing wrong. He stays in the gate perfect, breaks sharp."

And destroys the competition as soon as he is let loose from that starting gate.

Racing against the top older thoroughbreds in Alberta yesterday, the five-year-old gelding led the marathon race nearly every step of the way.

The Vancouver import led the five-horse field by eight lengths up the backstretch the final time.

By the time he reached the turn to the top of the stretch, the lead was 10 lengths.

Welch thought about tapping the star runner with the whip as he hit the home stretch, but changed his mind because there was no point.

Proving why he is regarded as one of Canada's top thoroughbreds, True Metropolitan left an image with horsemen that won't be forgotten for years to come.

"He is one of the best horses I have ever seen here," said jockey Perry Winters, who has been on the Alberta circuit for more than two decades.

"He is too good to be here.

"He outclasses us.

"He is a monster."

With four stake wins at three different tracks - Hastings Park (Vancouver), Woodbine and Northlands Park - this year, True Metropolitan will deserve very strong consideration to be named Canada's older horse of the year for the second straight season if he wins in Toronto once more this fall.

"I sure hope so for (owner) Bob (Cheema) because this is what Bob puts all this money in the business for," said winning Vancouver-based trainer Terry Jordan.

"We could have sold this horse for five times more money than he paid for him. Money is not the thing.

"Bob wants to win."

Cheema paid $125,000 to buy this horse a few years ago.With yesterday's win, the gelding's earnings over the last two years have eclipsed $730,000.

True Metropolitan is now undefeated in five career races in Edmonton.

Just as impressive, Welch now has nine wins in 10 career races with this superstar steed.

Unfortunately for local racing fans, True Metropolitan will not race in Edmonton again this year.

But for Test Boy - yesterday's second-place finisher - and the rest of the top runners in Edmonton, that's good news.

Somebody at Woodbine in Toronto bet $5,100 to Show on the overwhelming 1-5 favourite.

A handicapper in Pennsylvania bet $5,200 US to Show on True Metropolitan.

There were also big Show wagers from Vancouver ($3,900) and Oregon ($3,600 US).

Paying $2.10 to Show - the lowest payout possible - the $5,200 wager returned $5,460.

The major wagers on the winning favourite helped the overall Northlands Park handle reach $379,000 yesterday, up $40,000 from last year's Speed to Spare card.

From the Blood-Horse

Average Dips in Preferred Session of Canadian Yearling Sale

The second and final session of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s Woodbine yearling sale -- preferred offerings -- took place Sept. 8, with similar results to the select session: a decrease in average but a steady middle market.

The preferred session concluded with 149 yearlings sold for CAN$1,219,500, up marginally from CAN$1,215,800 in 2006 (138 sold). But the average dropped to CAN$8,185 from CAN$8,810.

The number of yearlings that were not sold was down dramatically, from 72 last year to just 39 this year.
The median held steady from 2006 at CAN$5,500.

Topping the preferred session was a chestnut filly by Skip Away out of Cozy Up Doc, a daughter of Explosive Red who won eight races and CAN$324,422. The yearling sold to owner/trainer Sue Leslie for CAN$37,000 and was sold by Box Arrow Farm, agent. Cozy Up Doc’s first foal, Cryptonite Kid, is a winner at two this season at Woodbine.

The gals dominated the top seven prices, holding four of those positions. The second-highest price, at CAN$31,000, was also a filly. That one, a daughter of Monashee Mountain out of the placed mare Heart Beat, by Apalachee, was sold by Gail Wood’s Woodlands Farm, agent, to Beclawat Stable.

The top colt was actually one of three boys to punch in at CAN$30,000 bids.

Trainer Reade Baker bought Hot Shot Jules, a colt by Whiskey Wisdom out of the winning Lucky Lionel mare Lucky Tomoli, for that price from Windfields Farm, agent.

Another CAN$30,000 colt was Gardiner Farms’ chestnut son of top sire Bold Executive out of the stakes-winning Skip Trial mare Mad ‘Bout You that sold to trainer Ian Black as agent.

And Windfields Farm, agent, sold another CAN$30,00 colt – a son of top freshman sire D’wildcat out of the winning Alydeed mare Awesome Deed, to trainer Steve Attard.

The Woodbine mixed sale takes place Dec. 1.

Richard Carter, Author of Racing Guides, Dies at 89

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Published: September 8, 2007

Richard Carter, a newspaper journalist and author who wrote on crime, medicine and baseball but was best remembered for his books on racetrack handicapping under the pseudonym Tom Ainslie, died last Saturday in New City, N.Y. He was 89.

His death was announced by his son, John.

Mr. Carter won a 1951 George Polk Award for a series about racketeering on New York’s waterfront while he was a reporter for The New York Compass. He collaborated with William J. Keating, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, to write “The Man Who Rocked the Boat,” a memoir relating the prosecution of waterfront crime and the basis for a movie, “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.”

Mr. Carter also wrote a biography of Jonas Salk, “Breakthrough,” and a critical view of the American Medical Association, “The Doctor Business.” He collaborated with the major league outfielder Curt Flood on his memoir, “The Way It Is,” published in 1971, while Flood was challenging baseball’s reserve clause in the federal courts.

But beginning in the mid-1960s, Mr. Carter turned his literary pursuits to a long-held passion — thoroughbred racing.

According to John Carter, he adopted a new literary persona when writing about the track because “horse racing was a step above organized crime” for some. As a joke, Richard Carter took the name Ainslie from the whisky brand.

“My own interest in racing arose more than a half century ago,” he wrote in the preface to the third edition of “Ainslie’s Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing” (Simon & Schuster, 1986).

“But I was a serious-minded type with a thin billfold. I saw no profit in betting on something about which I knew nothing. I decided to buy some books. No such thing was to be had. I was appalled. Nostalgic volumes about the history of the turf were available for nine cents on the remainder counter of every bookshop, but a book on the art of picking winners was available at no price.

“ ‘The reason they don’t publish books for horseplayers,’ explained one merchant, ‘is that horseplayers can’t read.’ ”

Mr. Carter found otherwise. Beyond his guide, first published in 1968, he reached a wide audience with books like “The Compleat Horseplayer,” “Ainslie’s Encyclopedia of Thoroughbred Handicapping” and “Ainslie’s Complete Guide to Harness Racing.” He was also a columnist for The Daily Racing Form.

Mr. Carter did not advocate a single betting system. His books ranged over all aspects of racing, including distance, weights, track conditions, prospective payoffs and the impact of jockeys. He advocated straight win bets rather than exotic wagering like trifectas.

In his book “The Winning Horseplayer” (1983), the racing writer Andrew Beyer wrote that the Ainslie books “raised the sophistication of the American horseplayer to a new level” and “educated a whole generation of racing fans in the 1960 and 1970s.”

Mr. Carter, a New York native, graduated from City College. In addition to his son, of Stony Point, N.Y., he is survived by his daughter, Nancy Carter, of Seattle, and three grandchildren. His wife, Gladys, died in 1996.

Mr. Carter warned against trying to get rich quick at the track. “Handicapping is both technically and intellectually a game,” The Buffalo News quoted him as telling an off-track betting audience in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in 1993.

OTHER STUFF

British Columbia-bred DANCING ALLSTAR won the CTHS Sales Stakes at Hastings yesterday by 10 lengths. She had previously been 2^nd in 2 stakes at Woodbine.

DOCTOR DINO, in his second start in North American, won the Man ‘o War Stakes at Belmont yesterday over a very brave SUNRIVER. Doctor Dino had just been edged by JAMBALAYA in the Arlington Million.

GINGER PUNCH, by a Canadian bred sire (Awesome Again) and from a Canadian-bred mare NAPPELON, is a serious filly,winning the Grade 1 Ruffian handily yesterday for Stronach Stables.

Interestingly, GINGER PUNCH is not Breeders’ Cup eligible and would have to be supplemented for $180,000.

Gouldings Green, winner of the Seagram Cup at Woodbine, was a distant 3^rd in the Turfway Championship Stakes yesterday.

Canadian-bred SUGAR SWIRL was 3^rd in the Grade 3 Endine Stakes at Delaware Park yesterday.