KRZ WEATHER

update....2:56.PM

Sovereign Award nominees - (media noms announced 2 weeks ago)

The Jockey Club of Canada is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2007 Sovereign Awards. Winners will be announced at the 33rd Annual Sovereign Awards ceremonies at the Westin Harbour Castle , One Harbour Square , Toronto , Ontario on 14 December 2007.

The Jockey Club of Canada was founded in 1973 by E.P.Taylor to serve as an international representative of Canada ’s Thoroughbred sport and to promote improvements to Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding both in Canada and internationally. To that end the Jockey Club of Canada organizes and hosts the annual Sovereign Awards to honour outstanding achievements in all areas of Thoroughbred sport – from media coverage to Horse of the Year.

Champion 2 Year Old Filly	Champion 2 Year Old Male
Authenicat	Bear Holiday
Dancing Allstar	Kodiak Kowboy
Officer Cherrie	Stuck in Traffic
Champion 3 Year Old Filly	Champion 3 Year Old Male
Bear Now	Alezzandro
Dance to My Tune	Leonnatus Anteas
Sealy Hill	Mike Fox
Champion Older Female on the Main Track	Champion Older Male on the Main Track
Financingavailable	Palladio
Monashee	Stonetown
She's Indy Money	True Metropolitan
Champion Female Turf	Champion Male Turf Horse
Essential Edge	Cloudy's Knight
Financingavailable	Eccentric (GB)
Sealy Hill	Sky Conqueror
Champion Sprinter	Outstanding Broodmare
Bear Now	Fascigrant
Financingavailable	Lover's Talk
She's Indy Money	Victorious Answer
Stradivinsky
Outstanding Breeder	Outstanding Owner in Canada
Adena Springs	Bear Stables Ltd.
Eugene Melnyk	Bahadur (Bob) Cheema
Gustav Schickedanz	Melnyk Racing Stables Inc.
Outstanding Trainer	Outstanding Apprentice Jockey
Reade Baker	Dean Deverell
Mark Casse	Matt Moore
Terry Jordan	Tyler Pizarro
Outstanding Jockey
Mario Gutierrez
Patrick Husbands
Emile Ramsammy
Emma-Jayne Wilson

For further information, please contact:

Bridget Bimm

The Jockey Club of Canada

Tel: (416) 675-7756 /Fax: (416) 675-6378

Email: jockeyclub@bellnet.ca

The SIR BARTON STAKES (Sir Barton is shown chasing Man o' War) will be held on
Saturday at Woodbine and ARCH HALL will try to win it for the 4th year in succession.
To test your trivia knowledge...check out THOROUGHBLOG'S NEW POLL
on my sidebar, hopefully my sidebar is there) and cast your vote!

Also, our THOROUGHBRED BLOGGERS ALLIANCE is asking for your input for a short little survey (like 4 questions on our home site). Please visit www.thoroughbredbloggersalliance.blogspot.com.

The last Wednesday night of racing at Woodbine went smoothly despite some 180 bartenders and beverage servers walked off the job yesterday (see press release below).

Bars at the track had substitute workers from various departments at the track.

Picketers were up by 5 p.m. but not enough to make entry into the track property all that difficult.

From Woodbine..

WEG Negotiating With CAW

December 5, 2007

Woodbine Entertainment Group has announced that it has been negotiating its first

collective agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) BARS, which

represents the bartenders and beverage servers at Woodbine Racetrack,

Mohawk Racetrack and the Greenwood Teletheatre.

At 4:00 p.m. on December 4, 2007, while negotiations were in progress, workers

who where in a legal strike position, walked off the job. WEG continues to

negotiate in good faith with the CAW to reach an agreement.

The three affected locations will continue to operate with no loss of service to either racetrack or slot customers.

LASSIE STAKES – KRZ EXEC, 66 BEYER FIGURE

You had to feel sorry for horsepeople bringing the equines over last night – it was bitterly cold. The horses went from the paddock and right to the gate so there was little to no warm-up.

On the track, which offered little kickback because it looked quite frozen

(but it was not playing fast, rather playing for closers all night) KRZ EXEC won her second consecutive stakes race with a late rally in the Ontario Lassie Stakes.

The Bold Executive – Krz Lady, Regal Intention miss started from post 10 in the 1 1/16 mile race for Ontario-bred 2yo fillies.

The betting public dismissed Krz Exec's half-length South Ocean score

as a fluke, sending her postward at 15-1, higher than her 10 to 1 morning line quote.

Now a three-time winner from six starts, Krz Exec closed strongly in

the stretch to best Tip Toe Annie by a short head. Third-place finisher

Salomea was another 2 3/4 lengths behind.

The lead changed 6 times in the race.

Krz Exec traveled 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.19, which was 0.33 seconds

faster than her South Ocean time. 

Away sharply from post nine, Krz Exec could have led her rivals into

the first turn, but jockey Jerry Baird opted to tap on the brakes and

take the filly in hand. At the five-sixteenths pole, all nine of her

rivals were in front of her.

"She broke really fast and was a little bit on the muscle, right at the

beginning. So, I tried to get her settled. She settled nicely.

Everybody seemed like they wanted to go shooting ducks. So, I let them. We made a
nice run. She knows how to win. She's an awesome filly," said Baird, who 

has now won six stakes in 2007.

The race had many weird aspects including the trip by Lady d’Wildcat. The Shyman
Farms filly was pressing the pace 2 wide down the backstretch, dropped far behind
around the turn and then re-rallied to be 5th with a good burst.

Heavily favoured SIX PACK SAMMY, just a wee thing, floundered while the very large
ROSES ‘N’ WINE ran well despite having to set all the fractions.

Krx Exec has a yearling full brother coming up – KRZ EXECUTIVE (okay folks, let’s get a bit more creative here!) next year. Her big brother is millionair KRZ RUCKUS.

MORE FROM LAST NIGHT

It was fun to watch some really cool horses win last night – like ESTEVAN, who has struggled for some time. The handsome Grand Slam 5yo,a stakes winner, had not won a race in a couple of years and had changed barns several times this year.

Last night, he won off the NIGEL SHIELDS – RALPH BIAMONTE claim for $32,000 (the price for which he was claimed) with a late, inside rally in a 6 furlong race. It was his 3^rd win 6 tries at 6 furlongs – interesting, perhaps he’s been a 6 furlong horse all along.

DAVE THE KNAVE, a stakes winner, was 2^nd in the race, the 3^rd consecutive time he has been 2^nd.

Also ending a long winless streak was FRIVOLETTE, who blew them away in race 5

for $10,000 fillies and mares. She was dropping from $19,000 for Jim Smith and Dave Oates. Frivolette hardly ever runs a bad race but had not won in 2 years.

And what about 6yo CRACKENTHORPE? He’s been super for Robert Slack this year and he had a late rally to win the finale for his 3^rd win in his 11^th start on the year.

Once a speed-crazed fellow, the Dixie Brass gelding, trained by Dan Vella, was winning for the 1^st time on Polytrack in his 12^th attempt (but he had been 2^nd and 3^rd 6 times).

Constant Montpellier rode for an absent Robert Landry.

Hey, the DAILY DOUBLE was won by former Ontario stallion WAR DEPUTY. His 2yo

daughter MARISA’S MELODYA rallied very late to win the first for Joe Trdak and

trainer Carlo Fuoco. Barbara Dawson bred the filly and the purchase price was just $947 (US).

SUN AFTER NOON looked very good winning the 2^nd race for breeding Willow Walk Farm. He was dropping to maiden claiming ($25,000) for the first time and won with a 63 Beyer Figure.

And CALL THE POSSE has been a tough project for trainer Josie Carroll. This Posse 2yo (out of Bacall, by Alysheba) was well beaten in her first 2 starts and has given the barn fits at the gate etc. as she learns the game.

Now the Ontario-bred (whose 2^nd dam is the top producer Regal Gal) has won 2 races in succession. Last night, she won an allowance race at 7 furlongs with a 76 Beyer Figure.

She was bred by Ormonde Farm.

MELNYK BUYS KENTUCKY FARM

With files from DAILY RACING FORM/ GLENYE CAIN OAKFORD

Eugene Melnyk, currently ranked sixth among North America's owners by purse earnings, has purchased the 117-acre Ripplewood Farm on Muir Station Road near Lexington, Ky., as a second farm. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The Canadian has had a big year as an owner and breeder is his own country with probably champion 3yo filly SEALY HILL in his stable. Melnyk has a big chance to be named

outstanding owner and breeder at the Sovereign awards on Dec. 14.

Melnyk will rename the Ripplewood property Winding Oaks Farm, which is also the name of Melnyk's farm in Ocala, Fla. The Kentucky farm will serve as a boarding facility for Melnyk's mares that are being bred to local stallions.

"We are still retaining Winding Oaks Farm, Ocala, as our principal operating base both for raising and pre-training our horses, but with the number of high-class mares we are sending to Kentucky every breeding season, it makes sense for us to have our own facility and thereby retain oversight of each stage of the program," Melnyk said in a release announcing the Kentucky purchase.

As of Tuesday, Melnyk's racing stable in North America this year had earned $3,801,145 and had scored 64 wins from 336 starts.