WIN - YOU'RE IN

(More LongRun Gala pics! - co-host JEFF BRATT
during the live auction with Ray Sabourin
below left)


Today is WIN AND YOU'RE IN day at Belmont - the big 4 stakes will be fun to watch.
At Woodbine, it's MIKE FOX and ALEZZANDRO squaring off in the ONTARIO DERBY to decide champion 3yo colt. Hopefully both will run.
Lots of cool stuff yesterday - whew, took a while to update...



(At left - TRIPPI'S STORM won the Kelso, A DESERVING WIN FOR A DUDE WHO TRIES HARD EVERYTIME. Thanks to Cindy and Terence at horse-races.net for the pic. Their site has a cool preview on the Breeders' Cup too.

WOODBINE SATURDAY

CHARLIE’S ANGEL – 80 Beyer for ‘CHERRIE’

Polytrack totally different

Well, after an entire week of very fast Polytrack and a definite speed bias, the track was totally different today- and it was not because of the weather.

According to some riders and trainers today, the track was deeper (was it dug up? What happened?).

Today, the times were slow and speed could not stay at all.

Weird.

Good for those who take bias notes and follow along everyday, bad if you have no idea what’s happening from one day to the next until the 7th race comes around.

Somebody (s) got lucky, 2 winners of the Pick 7 at $40,000 each.

OFFICER CHERRIE is the leader for champion 2yo filly in Canada with a strong win the MAZARINE BREEDERS’ CUP Grade 3 over four rivals. Charles LaLoggia (friend and fellow blog-reader!), who also owns nice 2yo filly prospects CLEARLY FOXY (trainer Mark Casse thinks she’s the best of the lot) and LICKETY LEMON was present in the winner’s circle for Cherrie’s win, her second consecutive stakes score.

Good ride by Todd Kabel to nurse longshot VICTORY ROMANCE (Alberta-bred) along on the lead but she could not quite hold off the winner.

A Kentucky bred by Officer, Officer Cherrie is not likely headed to the Breeders’ Cup according to Casse.

Jockey Pat Husbands dedicated the win to his late stepfather who passed away last week.

Race2

Bananas speed duel between VERY MUCH SO and U R ENERGY to kick off the Pick 3 and RAYHKA got a smart ride to stalk the duel and she swept by off the turn and won quite easily at 9 to 2;

Race 3 – Speaking of speed duels, SPEAK WISELY, 1 to 5 and seemingly a ‘cinch’ in the turf allowance of just 5 horses was chewed up in a pace duel between 2 overmatched rivals and understandably had no response when CALLWOOD DANCER came…a callin’. Nice ride by EURICO ROSA DA SILVA. Trainer ROGER ATTFIELD on a real roll. Tough on the Pick 7,Pick 3, etc bettors that’s for sure.

Race 4 – Steve Attard is an opportunist. He wins his races when the races are on TV. Today, on the SUN show, Steve was on camera after WADEKAR wore down GOLDMART FLASH (who usually fades anyway) to win the claiming event for non-winners of 2.

Steve also said that his stakes placed filly SWEET BREANNA will be back next year after being injured this season; SASKAWEA will not compete in the upcoming Carotene Stakes.

Race 5- SINGING HAILEY Was a picture in post parade and ran to it. She broke sharply, was wrestled back by Emma Jane Wilson and then rallied to win in a complete form reversal from her debut outing. The Boldn Flashy filly is owned and bred by Dom Romeo’s Terra Farm.

Horses who tip themselves in post parade are a beautiful thing. CLASSIC MORGEY, only one of 2 possible contenders in race 7 based on Beyer Figures, was on his toes and sharp looking and he had a great ride and won the maiden race for trainer Sue Leslie at 7 to 2.

Trainer Bev Chubb won her 2nd race of the season with Fyne Tyme Stables’ MORE INSPIRATION, a 2yo by Inspired Prospect who was stretching out to a route distance for the maiden event – race 8.

The last 2 races were on turf and GANTU a real up and comer who was easy to like in the Nearctic prep at 6 furlongs on turf, easily won at 9 to 2. CASTLE HEIGHTS, the favourite, put on a good show in post parade with his high stepping but he could not rally.

The 1 ¼ mile finale went to Bill Sorokolit’s PRIZED NATIVE (Broken Vow) who won his maiden at a nice price.

ELSEWHERE

Some notable races on the day from various tracks :

KENTUCKY CUP JUVENILE – Watch this race on a replay link – BLACKBERRY ROAD is arguably tons the best and finishes 3^rd. The winner, TEXAS FEVER, ran huge too as he was 4 wide virtually all the way around and then edged clear off the turn and moved to the rail in the stretch to hold off CHITOZ. Texas Fever is by Canadian-bred VICTORY GALLOP.

BLACKBERRY ROAD, a Gone West colt, was close to last off the turn and inside and he had no room, checked, angled out hard, was never seen until the finish when he rallied for 3^rd. Unreal.

DANZON, a 4yo filly who was a super 3^rd to Canada’s champion SKY CONQUEROR in the Turf Classic at Churchill in the spring, won her first non-grass race in the KENTUCKY CUP DISTAFF with a bold, wide move. She won by many and looks like a really good one.

DANZON was expected to come to the E.P. Taylor – but who knows now??

109 Beyer for Hard Spun…What can you say about the CLASSIC? HARD SPUN did what most thought, Mario Pino did a great rating job and the Sense couldn’t pass him. Should set up nicely for the Breeders’ Cup.

On the west coast, wow, NASHOBA’S KEY has never been beaten after 7 races and what an exciting horse to have for Breeders’ Cup time. The Silver Hawk gal with the long head and long white blaze outduelled CITRONNADE through the stretch of the Yellow Ribbon and won as simply the best horse.

TRIPPI’S STORM cycled back up to his 104 Beyer Figure with a strong win in the Kelso at Belmont over AFTER MARKET, the latter closing well in his first race off a short layoff.

And there is the BEAR – Danny Dion’s Bear Stable continued its roll when BEAR NOBILITY was placed first in the ALBERTA OAKS at Northlands yesterday. The Desperately filly, a $13K (US) purchase, was 2^nd beaten a mile to Pat of Gold, the favourite, but the winner also made a sharp right-hand turn down the backstretch when launching her bid, wiping out the Bear very dramatically. A wild head on shot if you can find it.

OPINION

After watching races like the first event at Louisiana Downs on Super Derby day with Jockey RICO FLORES hammered away at PRECAUX from the moment the gates opened to the finish (the horse could not make the lead and then ultimately faded to last, still being hit with the whip) and the Castle Guard Stakes 2 nights ago at Meadowlands when runner-up FORGETABOUTIT was absolutely annihilated with the whip....it was disappointing to see so few of the WOODBINE JOCKEY COLONY at the LONGRUN GALA in support of retired racehorses on Friday night.

In fact, most of the top 10 riders, with millions of dollars in purse earnings, passed on the GALA even if their entire livelihood depends on racehorses.

The folks who were there .. many of them like RAY SABOURIN,EURICO ROSA DA SILVA, ROBERT LANDY, GERRY OLGUIN, MARTIN RAMIREZ, CHANTAL SUTHERLAND, EMMA-JAYNE WILSON etc. generously donated their time and efforts as volunteers on the night.

While the number of tickets is limited, there were some empty seats.

It is also not only jockeys who were surprisingly not in attendance - there are other high profile horse people who did not attend or have not attended in the past and that is too bad.

(At left, EMMA-JAYNE WILSON at the GALA in her Adena Springs garb, posing with ERIC CHARTIER)