HEEEEERE'S....OCTOBER!

94 for ARTIE as SHOWDOWN FIZZLES

The big showdown between MIKE FOX, Queen’s Plate winner, and ALEZZANDRO (prince of Wales) started out as something good off the turn of Sunday’s Ontario Derby – thatis until a bay blur named ARTIE HOT, 33 to 1 and all, blew past the pair of 3yo’s and won by a long margin for Tucci Stables.

Ridden for the first time by Eurico Rosa Da Silva, ARTIE HOT (5^th stakes winner for Black Minnaloushe), who was claimed for $30K from Gulfstream by the team of Nick Gonzalez and the Tucci’s.

Both MIKE FOX and ALEZZANDRO are likely done for the year, leaving it up to voters to decide if either should win the SOVEREIGN AWARD for champion 3yo colt.

At least we have almost 2 months to see if some other 3yo pops up and does something big.

OTHER STUFF FROM SUNDAY..(SAMMY gets an 85)

A FLEETS DANCER, who died last year, had his first 2yo debut winner when PROMISING DANCER ran to her name and came from last place after a slow start to win her maiden in the first race for trainer Danny Yu who trains for a Limited Corp. The Ontario-bred is out of PROMISING WEST.

RICHARD LEDERMAN’S SIX PARK SAMMY, a promising 2yo from the….you guessed it..MARK CASSE stable, won her maiden in her 2^nd start. The Denny Andrews-bred filly by Yonaguska – Sara Six Pack by Saratoga Six won the 1 mile and 70 yard race in a good time of 1:43 – an impressive 85 Beyer Figure.

Incidentally, some of the Casse trained Canadian bred 2yo fillies, NITE IN ROME as well as SAMMY, are not eligible to the upcoming PRINCESS ELIZABETH STAKES.

SKIPPED BAIL is a rising star on the turf as he predictably beat up non-winners of 2 other than on Sunday with a 90 Beyer Figure. The Skip Away guy is out of a SMART STRIKE mare – Striking Proposal.

The Chiefswood – Eric Coartieux team have won 6 of their last 12 starts.

SMART STRIKES

While the roll of LANGFUHR continues, another Canadian-bred stallion is kicking butt too.

SMART STRIKE had 3 Grade 1 winners at BELMONT in the 4 major stakes races that had Breeders’ Cup implications.

FABULOUS STRIKE was freakish off the layoff in the VOSBURGH, ENGLISH CHANNEL won a very weak Joe Hirsh Classic and CURLIN edged LAWYER RON (by Langfuhr) in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

ANOTHER SMART STRIKE WINS

SMARTY DEB EARNS 81 BEYER, HEADS TO ‘CUP

FROM SEATTLE TIMES..

By Steve Hunter

Special to The Seattle Times

AUBURN — Undefeated filly Smarty Deb showed the boys how to run in the $90,000 Gottstein Futurity on Saturday at Emerald Downs.

Smarty Deb broke second, briefly dropped to third and then took over in the stretch to become the first filly to win the Gottstein Futurity for 2-year-olds at Emerald Downs, which opened in 1996.

"I knew I was bringing the best horse over," said Doris Harwood, trainer of Smarty Deb as well as third-place finisher Margo's Gift. "And I really thought Margo's Gift would run second."

Smarty Deb won by 3 lengths over Gallon in the 70th running of the Gottstein Futurity. Just two fillies had won the Futurity since the mid-1960s, Favored One in 1994 and Belle of Rainier in 1981. Both took place at Longacres in Renton.

Owner Jerre Paxton gave Harwood the approval to attempt to enter Smarty Deb in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., on Oct. 27.

"We are going to fly out Wednesday morning," Harwood said. "We had everything tentatively lined up."

Smarty Deb, undefeated in four starts, paid $3.60 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show. She covered the 1-1/16 miles in 1 minute, 42-2/5 seconds on a fast track.

Jockey Ricky Frazier picked up his 12th stakes win of the season.

"I've ridden a lot of good 2-year-olds, and she's rating the best ever," Frazier said. "She's impressive. She needed to be, and she was.

"She [Smarty Deb] is a dream. And she's as good as it gets to move on."

Harwood had no doubt Frazier would perform well atop Smarty Deb, a Kentucky bred by Smart Strike out of Taste the Passion.

"Ricky put the great ride on her that I expected him to do," Harwood said

Smarty Deb won the $72,000 Barbara Shinpoch Stakes by 5 ¾ lengths on Sept. 2 in a race considered the track's championship for 2-year-old fillies. That set up Smarty Deb for a good shot at beating the boys in the Gottstein Futurity.

Now Harwood looks to try her star against the country's best 2-year-old fillies.

"We're not quite done," Harwood said. "We have a little more to prove in 2007."

THE ARC IS SUNDAY!

ARC NEWS – RAINS SOAKS LONGCHAMP

FROM BUZZLE.COM

Horse racing: Dylan Thomas is not fancied in the betting for l'Arc de Triomphe after the Long champ track took a soaking.

With Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe looking increasingly likely to be run on soft ground, Dylan Thomas was friendless in the betting yesterday. Bookmakers took the view that Soldier Of Fortune was more likely to represent the Aidan O'Brien stable, and Hill's pushed Dylan Thomas out to 7-1 from 5-1, at the same time shortening the favorite Authorized to 5-4.

Long champ has taken a soaking in recent days and yesterday the penetrometer reading was 3.7 - 3.8, which equates to "very soft". Dylan Thomas is known to be Kieren Fallon's preferred mount, but has a preference for good ground.

The 11-4 second favourite with Hill's, Soldier Of Fortune ran away with the Irish Derby on soft ground after finishing fifth behind Authorized at Epsom. Both Dylan Thomas and Soldier Of Fortune will stand their ground at today's forfeit stage for the Arc, but it appears unlikely these two high-profile Cool more horses will be asked to race against each other.

Soldier Of Fortune had Zambezi Sun back in third spot when winning the Prix Niel over the Arc course and distance last time but the latter's trainer, Pascal Bary, is relishing a rematch.

Like O'Brien, Bary has never won the Arc but he is convinced he has the right horse for the race. "Zambezi Sun worked well on Saturday morning and I think he has improved greatly since the Prix Niel," said Bary yesterday. "He will not do much between now and the Arc. He's in good form and things should be in his favour in Paris." Zambezi Sun is 9-2 with Hill's.

OCTOBER 21- CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL

Less than three weeks until the biggest race of the fall at Woodbine and the last big racing day of the season.

Noms close tomorrow for the big races – SKY CONQUEROR could wrap up Horse of the Year if he wins the Can. Int. or if SEALY HILL runs well in the E.P. TAYLOR, she might have a say too.

California stakes winner DANCING EDIE is expected to come for the Taylor while ECCLESIASTIC,from Florida, and the fast filly from Europle, DARK MISSILE are on tap for the Nearctic.

The Nearctic prep was won by local 3yo GANTU.