BREEDERS' CUP 24!!

(CURLIN WRAPS UP THE YEAR, PHOTO BY HORSE-RACES.NET)

SUNDAY MORNING
CUP AFTERMATH - BEAR NOW BLEEDS

Well, was it just like all Breeders' Cups? Fun, exciting, exhausting etc.?
Sure, you get a lot of the world's best horses on one card (and a half) of racing and how can it not be the highlight of the year and a good way to end the season?
Having been to almost half of the Breeders' Cups to this point, this author knows what the day is about and what it means to racing.
I'm not sure we're hanging on to that.

Let's look at some things - you can't change the weather, that was just unfortunate, but perahps you can control where you hold the event.

Some people made some awfully bizarre decisions - in particular the folks with poor GEORGE WASHINGTON, who, as mentioned yesterday, was seen balking badly at the gap to go on the track. What inthe world was this horse going to do over a one-foot deep quagmire?
A sad, sad story.

And CNN has a horrible picture on its website of George and his broken ankle...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/10/28/horseracing.breeders.ap/

Are the Euro's just ego-freaks? Perhaps, what in the world was DYLAN THOMAS doing at those odds when he just won the ARC while lugging in badly all the way. Red-boarding alert! How anyone could pick that horse is strange. The Euro's got trashed yesterday and an explanation about George Washington and why the horse was in that race would be nice.

In Canada, many friends and family could not watch the BREEDERS' CUP on TV unless they had the racing channel. It was on an 'alternate' sports cable channel. Hard to believe that the Breeders' Cup is on ESPN now, never mind you can't even watch it in Canada.

One Canadian newspaper did very well in coverage, giving the event its due and making sure the locals got their notice - it's a long year and the fact that some Woodbine folks headed down there to take a chance should be recognized. One other paper did send someone to that event so that's good, the other paper barely recognized the Cup was on. That's a scary trend.


Below is a re-cap of the Canadian-connected horses as printed in the Star..

FROM THE TORONTO STAR, AP, PLUS CANADIAN UPDATE

Winning trainer's dog comes first

Oct 28, 2007 04:30 AM

OCEANPORT, N.J.–Ginger Punch gave Bobby Frankel a victory in absentia yesterday, holding off Hystericalady by a neck in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff.

The hall-of-fame trainer was back home in southern California tending to his 8-year-old dog Happy, which is ill. The Australian sheepdog is a frequent presence around Frankel's barn.

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Ginger Punch covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.11 on a sloppy Monmouth Park track. The 4-year-old filly paid $11 to win.

She and Hystericalady raced neck-and-neck down the stretch, with Ginger Punch barely getting her head in front at the wire in the closest finish of the day. Hystericalady used her speed to overcome the No.12 post.

Octave was third and Lady Joanne fourth.

Ginger Punch had already established herself as the top distaff runner on the East Coast with wins in the First Flight, Go for Wand and Ruffian. She is owned by Frank Stronach of Aurora, Ont., an auto parts billionaire who also owns several racetracks.

It was Frankel's fifth Breeders' Cup win and first since 2005. He ranks second in Breeders' Cup earnings behind D. Wayne Lukas, with more than $11 million. Lukas didn't have any entries this year.

Trouble hindered the performances of three Woodbine-based horses that ran in yesterday's Breeders' Cup races.

Bear Now, owned by Alberta's Danny Dion, trained by Reade Baker and ridden by Jerry Baird, bled internally, according to Baker, after the Distaff.

"She was running so nicely, I thought she was going to win," Baker said. "I still think she is capable of beating those kind of horses."

Bear Now led for more than half the Distaff with her ears flicking before she suddenly faded to finish eighth behind Stronach's Ginger Punch, the lone Canadian-owned winner on the eight-race card.

Ginger Punch is a daughter of Stronach's Canadian-bred Awesome Again, the 1998 winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Charles LaLoggia's Clearly Foxy, previously undefeated in two Woodbine races, was a troubled sixth in the Juvenile Fillies. The 2-year-old, trained by Woodbine's Mark Casse and ridden by Patrick Husbands, was squeezed back on the first turn of the 1 1/16-mile race and lost valuable ground.

She rallied to be sixth.

Arravale, the 2006 Canadian horse of the year trained by Mac Benson, was carried wide on the backstretch by Simply Perfect and lost all chance in the Filly and Mares Turf. Arravale finished seventh.

Canadian-bred stallion Smart Strike, raced by Sam-Son Farms, sired the winners of the Turf (English Channel) and the Classic (Curlin).

	ODE TO GEORGE from SPORTINGLIFE.COM
	IT'S ALL ABOUT GEORGE By Will Hayler For me, it was the 2000 Guineas. I didn't back him. I didn't really trust him and I didn't buy all that stuff about him having 'the attitude of a champion'. Being a grumpy sod doesn't, after all, automatically make you a supreme athlete. For the first half of the race, I didn't see much of him. Then two and a half furlongs out, his face suddenly appeared between rivals. Next came as astonishing burst of acceleration. Kieren Fallon shook the reins and within a matter of a dozen strides he had burst to the front. The truth is that virtually nothing could have hoped to live with him that day. No sooner had he hit the front than his ears were pricked and he was hanging across to the track, looking for something else to race against but there was nothing. He hammered Sir Percy, a top-class two-year-old and a horse who went on to win the Derby in his next race. Later in the season, he proved that he was a true champion when achieving an equally-devastating verdict over Araafa in the QEII at Ascot. If things had gone differently in his life since then he wouldn't have been here tonight. In fact he shouldn't have been here tonight. But he was and now he's not. I'm not normally one for over-sentimentality. You might well be reading this and thinking only about the rest of the racing; about the defeats of Dylan Thomas and Excellent Art, maybe about the impressive victories in the Juvenile Fillies and Juvenile for two smart and exciting two-year-olds. Maybe you're thinking about the amazing late run of Midnight Lute to win the Sprint. But not me. Maybe tomorrow, certainly next week, but not tonight. A lot of other things happened today. Some funny things, some happy things and some sad things. I backed an unending series of losers, the Pick6 went down in the first race and I spilled orange soup on my blue tie within 10 minutes of arriving. Horses come and go. It's unavoidable. No doubt some will say 'He's only a horse'. They're probably right. But just for tonight, I'm thinking of George Washington and that's all I want to say really.

WOODBINE SATURDAY

Don't know is $3.2 million handle is good compared to last year but holy moley - the money just kept pouring in on Wooodbine and Breeders' Cup races at Woodbine yesterday. The place was full and we were just betting like maniacs it seems!
It helped that Woodbine absolutelyDRAGGED out every live race on a card that strated at 11:45a.m.

Anyway, some huge performances yesterday - ECCENTRIC is a favourite of many and this low striding gelding (Gary Tanaka, Roger Attfield) won another stakes event yesterday when he held off Royal Challenger from the Stronach Stable to win the Chief Bearhart at 1 3/8miles of soft turf. The 6yo by Most Welcome is surely one of the top grass horses of the year but would have a hard time beating Cloudy's Knight for the Sovereign Award.

Ever so quietly, BRIAN CULLEN'S homebred SHILLA (Marquetry - Papoose by Apalachee) is a bear in the 2yo filly ranks that is dearly looking for a star.

The Nick Gonzalez trainee has won 3 of 4 races and the Fanfreluche yesterday was her latest score and her first stakes win.

And in the wild RIVER MEMORIES - 16 gals at one mile on soggy turf, morning line favourite LIKE A GEM overcame blowing the turn and got by a very stubborn 80 to 1 shot, BANKIN ON CANDY to win in 1:38 and change. Great betting race, not a great race.

TYLER PIZARRO rode 3 winners for Mike Doyle, Sid Attard and Vito Armata.

MARK CASSE won with yet another debut runner, this time with the regally bred GOLDINTHESKY (Sky Mesa - Golden Bri, a Grade 1 winner).

Luckily for the TWO AMIGOS group - TWICE A PRINCESS won the 8th race after a good ride by Emile Ramsammy and then survived an inquiry. It seemed as if Ramsammy's stick came up and hit LADY ELIZA HIGGENS in the nose in deep stretch but the footage was not very clear andthe stewards had no choice but to make no change. The Higgens filly now has been involved in 2 inquiries in succession and been the unluckiest horse on the circuit.

UP TODAY

Well, if you can stand more action - how about Canadian-bred AUTHENICAT in the Pocohontas at Churchill today? Or 2 more stakes at Woodbine?

The turf events - LABEEB and BUNTY LAWLESS should both be super betting races and the fields at Woodbine are huge. Does anyone have any money left??

---

UPDATE- 6:22 p.m. Breeders' Cup day

A Classic day of racing and a Classic example of...greed..maybe. GEORGE WASHINGTON, formerly at stud, a wonderful racehorses, would not go on to the racetrack at the gap before the Classic, according to bystanders, and then broke his ankle in the race and had to be euthanized.
Takes away from a breathtaking run by CURLIN.


UPDATE 2:11

Horrible luck for Canadian Horse of the Year ARRAVALE who had a wide journey but was stalking the pace early in the FILLY AND MARE TURF until SIMPLY PERFECT bolted around the clubhouse turn carrying her and PRECIOUS KITTEN out to almost the outside fence. ARRAVALE strangely was never given a chance to tuck in away from the bolting horse and she lost any chance she would have had for a piece.

LAHUDOOD, whose trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said all week his filly would NOT like soft turf, romped for Shadwell Stables.

In the "HORSES ARE BRAVE AND GREAT...BUT NOT ALL THAT BRIGHT" FILE...

Horse of the Year WAKE AT NOON romped at FORT ERIE yesterday at the age of 10 for an $18K allowance purse. The horse, who used to stand at stud, was making his second start of the year for owner Bruno Schickedanz and trainer Mark Fournier. The wonderful old guy was hard used most of the way but won off handily over a field of claimers.
And how terrible was it that GEORGE WASHINGTON was brough back from a failed stud round to race in the Classic - and he broke an ankle and was put down just after the Breeders' Cup Classic.
The horse goes to stud people - leave him there or put him in a field.

UPDATE 1:35

MORE SPEED PASSES

WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) looked like a monster last time and remained undefeated with another huge run in the Juvenile. His fractions were scorching and he won easily (although it was hard to tell, the ESPN camera person cut the horse right out of the stretch run so we could watch PYRO rally for 2nd).
KODIAK KOWBOY - HE WAS 3RD! That could make him champion 2yo in Canada since he ran here twice and won a stakes race.

UPDATE - 12:58

BLESSING (IN DISGUISE)
Ick! A heavy fave gate to wire in the Juvenile Fillies! No chasing here! CLEARLY FOXY, owned by Charles LaLoggia, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Pat Husbands, was 6th, beaten only a head for 5th money. The filly was far, far behind in the early stages - too far behind it seems , but perhaps she was not handling the slop.




ALL HAIL MARY!!!

Canadian-bred kicks off Breeders’ Cup on wet day – 101 Beyer

AND SHE'S ENTERED IN THE FASIG SALE...

The first winner of the inaugural Filly and Mare Sprint at the Breeders’ Cup yesterday was a Canadian.

MARYFIELD, born in Ontario and raised by Mike Carroll and John Harvey Jr., began her career in Canada and won the first race at the Woodbine meeting in 2005.

Yesterday, she won the $1 million F & M Sprint over a very sloppy Monmouth track.

The Breeders’ Cup began yesterday but how bad was the weather? The driving rain and huge winds simply looked terrible and watching on TV was not all that easy.

It is supposed to be just as bad today.

Mud caulks! Check out who’s wearing the mud caulks!

While it didn’t feel too much like Breeders’ Cup yesterday, after all, it was Friday, MARYFIELD did us proud.

The Elusive Quality – Sly Maid, Desert Wine gal rallied 5 wide off the turn after the pace set by Dream Rush was 21 1/5 was simply ridiculous, and blew past her rivals. Other gals rallied like Miraculous Miss and Baroness Thatcher.

Originally an $80,000 yearling purchase by Jim and Alice Sapara’s Winsong Farms in Alberta, Maryfield raced for the Sapara’s and trainer Josie Carroll until the winter of 2006.

Apparently a mare who suffered from chronic feet problems, she raced for $40,000 claiming at Santa Anita in early 2006, won, and then ran back for $50,000 and was claimed by her current folks – trainer Doug O’Neill and the partnership of Perry, Mestranandrea and Gorman.

Breeder Mike Carroll greeted Maryfield in the winner’s circle.

Sly Maid was a $50,000 purchase by Carroll and Harvey and produced some good foals for the pair but she died foaling in 2003.

The 6yo has won 9 of 28 races and now over $1.3 million.

NOWNOWNOW, Patrick Biancone ‘off’, had the best ride to win the Juvenile Turf over a bog. “Tough conditions for a 2yo” was what one rider said after the race. The WhyWhyWhy 2yo has blossomed since getting on the grass.He was the last to move in the race as he was along the inside on the turn and then angled out off the turn.

Achill Island was the first to move and led late. Gio Ponti was trapped throughout most of the stretch run.

And what can you say about CORINTHIAN and his rider Kent Desmoremeaux. The Pulpit horse was stunning in the weak Dirt Mile as the 3^rd and final race of the first day of Cup day. Kent angled the horse to the rail right away while others didn’t corner well, saved ground and then blew past Gottcha Gold to win by a long margin in fast time – how fast?

His 1:39 and change for the 1 mile and 70 yards translated into a 119 Beyer Figure. Yikes.

Other stuff:

READE BAKER trained JAZZ NATION, Canadian-bred City Zip colt, worked so hard in the Favorite Trick Stakes it was hard to believe he got beat. The colt was edged very late by the Washington State fellow Margo’s Gift (who lost to SMARTY DEB last time….hmmmmm) in the $250,000 stake.

Jazz Nation was making his 2^nd career start and he was bred by Shirley Prosser’s Box Arrow Farm.

A good day for EASY GOER mares. Not just CORINTHIAN, but also SEA CHANTER who won the Epitome Stakes for 2yo fillies on turf.

NOW FOR THE REAL BREEDERS’ CUP!

Where-ever you are today, watching with friends and loved ones, at your track or at Monmouth,enjoy the day. It's a shame that weather-wise, it is the worst Cup of all previous ones but for handicappers, it's another piece of the puzzle. Whoever wins today, they were best today but let's hope for more level playing fields in the future.
Canada's own JERRY BAIRD is on the front page of the TORONTO STAR TODAY in his quest for Cup Glory.
Woodbine regulars MAC BENSON, MARK CASSE and READE BAKER have worked hard to get their horses to the big day. Good Luck gang.

JENNIFER’S BREEDERS’ CUP ANALYSIS

JUVENILE FILLIES

1 1/16 miles, 2-year-olds

Post time: 12:30 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 14

Early favourites: Indian Blessing (3-1), Proud Spell (5-1)

Canadian content: Clearly Foxy (Canadian-based at Woodbine, trained by

Mark Casse of Toronto)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-SMARTY DEB 2-IZARRA 3-GRACE ANATOMY

LONGSHOT – CLEARLY FOXY

Canadian-based Clearly Foxy has only raced on grass but is bred for the dirt (and the mud) and she’s never been beaten. Also undefeated is Smarty Deb, from Washington state and she’s a daughter of Canadian-bred stallion Smart Strike.

JUVENILE

1 1/16 miles, 2-year-old colts and geldings

Post time: 1:10 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 13

Early favourites: War Pass (5-2), Tale of Ekati (7-2)

Canadian content: Overextended (Canadian-owned by John P. Reddam, a

native of Windsor); Tale of Ekati (Canadian-owned by Charles Fipke, a

native of Edmonton)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1- WAR PASS 2-PYRO 3-OLD MAN BUCK

LONGSHOT – KODIAK KOWBOY

Undefeated War Pass looked like a monster when he won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont. Woodbine stakes winner Kodiak Kowboy is a longshot with speed.

FILLY & MARE TURF

1 3/8 miles (turf), 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 1:55 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 12

Early favourites: Nashoba's Key (3-1), Passage of Time (7-2)

Canadian content: Arravale (Canadian-owned by Robert Costigan of

Vancouver, trained by Mac Benson of Woodbridge)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-ARGENTINA 2-PASSAGE OF TIME 3-NASHOBA’S KEY

LONGSHOT: ALL MY LOVING

The owners of Argentina almost sent her to Woodbine for the E.P. Taylor Stakes worth $1 million – goes for $2 million on this day instead. Canada’s Horse of the Year will move up if the grass is as soft as predicted.

SPRINT

6 furlongs, 3 year-olds and up

Post time: 2:35 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 11

Early favourites: Midnight Lute (2-1), Smokey Stover (7-2)

Canadian content: Greg's Gold (owned by Albertan William Boswell)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1- SMOKEY STOVER 2-BENNY THE BULL 3-COMMENTATOR

LONGSHOT: GREG’S GOLD

The fleet Smokey Stover looked awesome in his last workout as did stretch running Benny the Bull.

MILE

1 mile (turf), 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 3:20 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 14

Early favourites: Excellent Art (3-1), After Market (7-2)

Canadian content: Host (Canadian-owned by Melnyk Racing Stables of

Toronto); Silent Name (co-Canadian owned by Stronach Stables' Frank

Stronach of Aurora).

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-REMARKABLE NEWS 2-AFTER MARKET 3-EXCELLENT ART

LONGSHOT: REBELLION

Remarkable News has an awful post position (14) but he came off a long layoff with a creditable effort in the Woodbine Mile. He’s good enough. After Market would have looked really good on a drier grass course.

DISTAFF

1 1/8 miles, 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 4:05 p.m.

Purse: $2 million

Field: 12

Early favourites: Indian Vale (3-1), Ginger Punch (7-2)

Canadian content: Bear Now (owned by Bear Stables' Danny Dion of

Edmonton, trained by Reade Baker of Toronto, to be ridden by Jerry

Baird

of Toronto); Ginger Punch (Canadian owned by Stronach Stables of

Aurora); Indian Vale (Canadian-owned and bred by Melnyk Racing Stables

of Toronto)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-GINGER PUNCH 2-INDIAN VALE 3-BEAR NOW

This corner’s best bet is Frank Stronach’s Ginger Punch who was supplemented to this race for $180,000. Canadian-bred Indian Vale is consistent and Bear Now will be loose on the lead.

TURF

1 1/2 miles, 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 4:50 p.m.

Purse: $3 million

Field: 8

Early favourites: Dylan Thomas (7-5), English Channel (5-2)

Canadian content: Red Rocks (Canadian-owned by John P. Reddam, a native

of Windsor)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-BETTER TALK NOW 2-DYLAN THOMAS 3-RED ROCKS

He’s fresh and he’s the senior member of the field at age eight so go with Better Talk Now to upset the European superstar Dylan Thomas.

CLASSIC

1 1/4 miles. 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 5:35 p.m.

Purse: $5 million

Field: 9

Early favourites: Lawyer Ron (5-2), Street Sense (3-1), Curlin (3-1)

Canadian content: none

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-LAWYER RON 2-STREET SENSE 3-CURLIN

The older horse will get the best of the younger guys. Lawyer Ron, a son of Canadian-bred champion Langfuhr, has been virtually unbeatable all season.

WOODBINE FRIDAY
All's quiet at home

Not much going on yesterday at Woodbine but the leading jocks continue to make noise.
PATRICK HUSBANDS is out of town at the Cup today but he left with a floourish - 3 wins.
STRONACH STABLES' have been quite all season but won 3 races yesterday with 2 maidens and a claimer.
One of those was the impressove 2yo GINGER BREW, a Canadian bred from the first crop of Milwaukee Brew.
Quebec-bred URN won his maiden for owner Stephen Edwards. The Cat Thief colt won for $32,00 claiming.
WOODBINE has big, big cards today and tomorrow.
1st post today is 11:30!!