DOLLAR DAZE

WAKE AT NOON UPDATE BELOW....

(BELOW RIGHT)
True Metropolitan, seen last year in the winner's circle after the Slots Cup, won the same race this year - now known by its previous name the Autumn Stakes. The Florida-bred had a huge effort on Saturday
to beat top 2yo LEONNATUS ANTEAS)

WEEKEND BEYER FIGURES

TRUE METROPOLITAN ran a career best 102 Beyer that was needed to beat the tough 3yo Leonnatus Anteas in the Autumn Stakes (grade 3) on Saturday.

CONNECTIONS (see below) 97 in the Kennedy Road.

INITIATION , 79 in Glorious Song.

MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

Invaders win both Woodbine stakes

WAKE AT NOON vanned off

Before a Sunday wrap gets started - THOROUGHBLOG has learned that this morning, WAKE AT NOON is 'walking better" than he was after the Kennedy Road Stakes yesterday.

The Horse of the Year from several years ago, who is a 10yo who has been racing after stud duty for a couple of seasons and a horse who is far below what he used to be, was vanned off after beating one one rival in the stake yesterday.

More will be known in a few hours.

Meanwhile, the Unbridled gelding CONNECTIONS came from last place to win yesterday’s Grade 3 Kennedy Road Stakes at 6 furlongs at Woodbine the first stakes win for the 6yo Ruman Stable fellow.

The gelding had been to Woodbine once before, in his previous race, finishing a belated 3^rd in the prep. He put it all together yesterday under new rider Jeremy Rose (who also won the Glorious Song Stakes with Augustin Stable’s Initiation, benefiting form a well-timed move.

Connections was claimed by his new owners last June for $35,000 from breeder Glen Hill Farm and he has changed his style from speedball to off-the-pace sprinter. It was his 2^nd win in 5 starts this year and he has become a synthetic track lover.

"(Trainer Mike) Dini told me the more you get him back the better he

runs,” said Rose.

“First jump out of there, I pretty much grabbed a hold of him and

he came right back to me," said Rose. "We were coming pretty fast. I

wasn't sure if I had him too far back. In the last eighth of a mile, I

saw the horse in front (Ballado Dancer). He didn't look like he was

running on. I knew we were picking up speed pretty fast."

Dini said other factors may have kept him out of the winners circle in his last two tries,
October 6 and October 28.

"When I ran him at Keeneland he seemed to get stuck on a rail that was

no good," said Dini. "The first time he ran here, he broke badly."

The Kennedy Road is Dini's first ever graded stakes triumph.

What a race by BALLADO DANCER, the front runner who has blossomed for owner
and trainer Marko Mesic.

The Florida bred by Outflanker was claimed for $10,000 and he has won 3 times and
is now graded stakes placed.

The race left the sprint category in shambles since hotshots LEGAL MOVE, DANCER’S BAJAN
and JUST RUSHING did not have great results.

Also,MAIN EXECUTIVE, who could not deal with the hot pace, was never a factor.

Before the Kennedy Road, Rose brought INITIATION up the rail on the turn and\
angled out to rally past VICTORY ROMANCE to win the 7 furlong Glorious Song.

The winner was making her 3rd career start and first race since 4th in the Alcibiades
at Keeneland where she lugged in after a ground saving trip all the way.

Trainer Graham Motion’s assistant trainer Joy Cooper said Motion considered the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, but decided against it.  

"He didn't think that she was quite ready to go (to the Breeders' Cup)

so (Graham) decided to back off a little bit and come for the (Glorious

Song)," explained Cooper.

The victory elevates Initiation's career earnings to $171,800.

"It's worth the trip North, especially with the Canadian dollar being

worth more than the American dollar," said Cooper.

OTHER STUFF SUNDAY

WEDNESDAY CARRYOVER FOR PICK 7 IS $26,000

Yet another first-time starter won for trainer MARK CASSE. The well bred, giant 3yo MARKET GAIN came from last to win the first, a B level maiden allowance. The colt is a ½ brother to millionaire star CHOCTAW NATION.

Race 2 – another off the pace runner, PREMA CAT was a predictable winner in a maiden $20K race for Parkway Racing and Bill Tharrenos. The Ciano Cat filly was breed by Ron Clarkson in Ontario.

Emma-Jayne Wilson guided the Cactus Ridge filly PRICKLY SITUATION to a win for 50K claiming in race 3 for trainer Sid Attard. The filly was beaten only a nose in her debut and did not ‘bounce’ yesterday. The long, smooth striding SHINY DIAMONDS ran on well to be 2^nd and she is the first starter for her sire, Lodge Hill (Cozzene).

Bear Stables claimed firster DANCE POINT (D’Wildcat) from the race.

The Bear came right back to get some of that money back when BEAR DIXIECAT won the first leg of the Pick 4 in front running fashion. She is by Dixie Union and trained by Reade Baker. That was an allowance/optional claiming race for non-winners of 2 other than.

Maiden allowance fillies stepped up in race 5 at 6 furlongs and handicappers had to ask themselves the question before the race – why was jockey DAVID CLARK not riding HAVEUBEENTOLDTODAY back after a 2^nd place finish in her debut for his top barn Nick Gonzalez?

Well, Clark stayed with CALL THE POSSE (Posse) and at 18 to 1, guided the filly to a win.

She had worked well since her first two dull career starts. Her winning Beyer Figure was a 73.

Call the Posse is an Ontario bred and is from the family of top mares REGAL GAL and RELAZING RHYTHM.

Trainer LES FROST won his 2^nd race of the meeting with BEYOND ASCOT (Ascot Knight) who dropped from allowance to $12,500 claimed in race 7.

There was a really super performance in race 9 from the Lost Soldier mare LADYINBLUE, a grey Kentucky bred who was brought from Florida by John Simms and the Dixieland Stable in the summer.

The 5yo did not race much in 2007 but won the Labatt Cup at Fort Erie and, in her 2^nd ever Polytrack run at Woodbine, led all the way yesterday for $20K claiming, going fast from start to finish. She got a 73 Beyer Figure for her 9^th win in 32 starts.

Since she loves Tampa Bay Downs, she figures to head there next for Simms.

The last 9^th and 10th race winners, Ladyinblue and BOLDER THAN BRASS were won in stunning front running fashion despite fast pace splits. But the track seemed to play fairly (more of an outside, rallying flow) most of the day. Who knows if something was done to the track for the last 2 races or is BOLDER THAN BRASS just a star on the rise??

The Bold Executive Ontario bred battled on the pace and won in 109.52 for 6 furlongs – a whopping 88 Beyer Figure for the day.

The gelding (bred and co-owned by Mervyn Kirby) was 7^th in a previous allowance try for Ontario-sired dudes but had won an allowance race before that.

Bold Comment was up to his old hanging tricks as he made a late lead but stalled.

The winner of the 11^th and final race was Ontario bred Mystic Missile, who jumped to the lead into the turn and won his maiden for $12,500 for Audre Cappuccitti.

Hey $2.4 million was bet on the day of racing and there is 3 weeks left in the meeting.

LOOK OUT FOR ALBERTA RACING

As reported in THOROUGHBLOG in the last couple of weeks (to check any previous reports or news, just use the SEARCH button above), Alberta racing is on the way up..

Check out this excerpt from Glenye Cain’s story in DAILY RACING FORM on the weekend:

(Dennis) Ejack, who represented several new clients from Alberta, Canada, at the 2007 (Keeneland) November sale, said the rising cost of the province's oil and the prospect of a new racetrack in Alberta are driving interest in horses there. So is a hefty incentive program for mare buyers.

"We have a unique program with our mare purchase program that reimburses our clients who buy their first mare by 30 percent," said Ejack, who had purchased both mares and weanlings at the auction. "That's quite an incentive along with the currency. If you do the math, look at how much stronger our dollar is and the good programs at home, even though the prices are higher here, you're still buying at a pretty good clip."

BITS

MANITOBA-BRED LA WILDCAT won the Miss Power Puff Stakes on Saturday at Hawthorne for her 2^nd win in 8 career starts. The Froest Wildcat-Zambia by Theatrical 2yo was bred by Stonyfield Farms, Alistair Roden, Doug Anderson and Rita Eskudt. She was an $85,000 2yo purchase and a $120,000 weanling.

BRITISH COLUMBIA-BRED CAFÉ TORTONI finished 3^rd in the Real Quiet Stakes at Hollywood Park yesterday. The Katahaula County – Trillia, by Regal Classic colt was bred by Prescott Farms.

NOTTAWASAGA, Chiefswood Stables’ Kentucky bred by Deputy Minister, was 3^rd in the Grade 3 Cardinal Stakes at Churchill Downs yesterday

The gang at www.horse-races.net have a page of 2008 Calendars fro racing and horse lovers including their own calendar – check it out and buy one for that special someone at Christmas…

http://www.horse-races.net/library/calendars2008.htm

AND..

If the WAKE AT NOON thing does not get you going...check out Alan at LEFT AT THE GATE, his super duper blog. He talks about the short warm-ups at Calder on Sunday and then a breakdown....