BOO!!

Lots of treats, surely tricks too,left in the 2007 season here at Woodbine. Good luck at the track and at the windows!
THOROUGHBLOG is pleased to provide news and comments about racing in Ontario and welcomes your comments. Breeders, get ready to pick your stallions for 2008, get ready for shopping at the Keeneland November sale next week too! New stallions are invading Ontario (see below)...how about joining others who are lined up to advertise on THOROUGHBLOG?



(He's a beauty...WEATHER WARNING (son of Storm Cat) to stand at Windfields. Photo courtesy Windfields Farm, Stuart Hyman)

WARNING!

WEATHER WARNING, an impeccably bred son of Storm Cat who won the Manitoba Derby this summer, will enter stud in 2008 at Windfields Farm in Oshawa for a fee of $5,000.

The speedy Overbrook Farms homebred was purchased purchased by Shyman Stables this year and promptly went out to win the Derby in his Canadian debut.

He earned a 91 Beyer Figure from his front-running score in the 1 1/8 mile Derby.

The 3-year-old won two sprints at Fair Grounds early in his career (maiden allowance and allowance) and was third in Turfway Park’s Hansel Stakes in March over Polytrack.

"He is as well-balanced, very fast, honest horse with a good nature," said Dallas Stewart, who previously trained Weather Warning. He set early fractions in 9 of his 11 starts, twice running "21 and change opening quarters at Churchill Downs.

A versatile fellow, he is a son of Oak Leaf Stakes (Grade 1) winner City Band (by Carson City) and a half brother to a stakes winner.

The 2yo out of City Band (City Beautiful, also by Storm Cat) won her debut this summer at Ellis Park and is undefeated.

"We are very excited to acquire a young stallion of this calibre and we appreciate Stuart Hyman's confidence in our program," said Simon Cassidy, Windfields director of farm operations. "He is the whole picture - a stakes winner with exceptional early speed, standing about 16.1 and a very correct physical type with plenty of bone and a lovely hip."

MEMORIAL SERVICE SATURDAY FOR ‘THE KING’

Ted Lebanowich, (The King) will be honoured on Saturday in the recreation room on the Woodbine backstretch with a memorial service for all of his friends at 11 a.m.

The King was the racing writer for the Hamilton Spectator and Fort Erie correspondent for Daily Racing Form.

He passed away earlier this month after a battle with stomach cancer.

Please come out and pay your respects to one of this game’s biggest fans and true students.

MONASHEE IS HERE!

The ole-grey mare, okay she’s not that old, MONASHEE,has arrived at Woodbine and is readying for the Nov.10 Maple Leaf Stakes. The mare has won 11 straight stakes races in western Canada and is gunning for champion older mare honours in Canada. A proposed showdown with champion Financingavailable will not happen as that won will race in the Fashion Stakes instead.. read more from BILL TALLON in the Daily Racing Form..

http://www.drf.com/news/article/89931.html

TOUR DE FORT

The 2 mile and 70 yard TOUR DE FORT wrapped up Fort Erie’s season yesterday and 24 to 1 shot DANCER’S LEGACY, owned by Surinder Banghoo was the winner, capping a big day for apprentice Matt Moore.

A homebred, Dancer’s Legacy (Flaming Sky), won by 4 lengths over Lettheerebejustice and top Woodbine rider Tyler Pizarro. Favoured Benz Boy was third.

Moore rode three winners and trainer MARK FOURNIER and owner BRUNO SCHICKEDANZ won 3 races on the final card of racing.

A decision on the future of the track and any help from the province to keep it going is expected in the coming weeks.

HERE'S THE FALLON RIDE

The one in question...where he's winning on this horse and the prosecution is trying to prove he lost the race in purpose...not so sure about that thinking...but you decide..

WOODBINE TONIGHT

The last day of the 1-2-3 contest at THE SCORE for a chance to win big money – get your picks in at The Score’s website on tonight’s races.

Incidentally, the show is not on TV tonight…hand out candy instead (or watch HPI TV).

Two-year-old fillies are up in race 3 – an allowance. Canadian-bred NITE IN ROME will be favoured based on her 2^nd place finish in the Grade 2 Natalma Stakes on turf. The Harlan’s Holiday filly has been working quickly for this allowance event.

SCARY

(RIDE'M KOWBOY: Above - KODIAK KOWBOY, who has clocked in at 99 on the Beyer Figure scale and won Woodbine's Victoria Stakes, had a good effort when 3rd in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The Posse colt will likely win champion 2yo colt honours at Canada's Sovereign Awards in December. His trainer Steve Asmussen was denied stabling at Woodbine this year but the colt made the required 2 starts in the country)


Congrats to RB who won the DRAKE BREEDERS' CUP SELECTIONS CONTEST. A cheque will be sent to LONGRUN THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT FOUNDATION IN YOUR NAME.
Thanks to the Drake for offering up the contest..we'll do a bigger one next year (hey, my picks weren't THAT bad!).

Questions and thoughts offered up today - is the following Breeders' Cup story too harsh?

Should Polytrack be the only surface the Breeders' Cup should be held on now?
Another reader asked if there are indeed some different types of breaks/injuries on the Polytrack especially with 2yo's.

The latter question can be answered with a 'yes' - there have been a great deal of different types of injuries to horses, young ones in particular, a lot higher up on the body such as hips etc.

SCOREBOARD

WILD JOCKEY RACE CONTINUES AT WOODBINE!

Jockeys (Mts, 1 2 3 $$)

Patrick Husbands 556 111 113 75 $7,531,304

Tyler Pizarro 789 110 107 88 $4,728,040

Emma-Jayne Wilson 797 109 119 114 $6,876,776

Emile Ramsammy 654 101 69 70 $4,765,663

Trainers

(No race here, Casse is long gone and he’s already some $700,000 ahead in earnings as he was when 2006 ended)

Mark E. Casse 295 69 61 37 $5,033,100

Sid C. Attard 281 49 49 28 $2,642,918

Robert P. Tiller 262 45 35 24 $2,111,863

Reade Baker 326 43 40 41 $2,779,230

Horses (by wins)

Yolie 10 5 3 0 $179,484

Rahy's Attorney 9 5 1 2 $307,365

Gigi's Charm 10 5 1 2 $168,700

Jacknows 8 5 0 1 $80,042

Dashing Admiral 8 5 0 0 $153,013

NORTH AMERICAN HORSE STANDINGS BY $$$

(Cloudy’s Knight – could be Canada’s Horse of the Year (Sealy HIll has a shot) , should be champion turf horse – lands in top 10)

Curlin 9 6 1 2 $5,102,800

Street Sense 8 4 30 $3,205,000

English Channel 6 4 2 0 $2,640,000

Hard Spun 10 4 3 1$2,572,500

Kip Deville 7 3 1 1 $1,965,780

Ginger Punch 8 5 2 1$1,827,060

Cloudy's Knight 9 3 3 1$1,762,868

Lahudood (GB) 5 3 1 0 $1,560,500

Lava Man 6 3 1 0$1,410,000

War Pass 4 4 0 0 $1,397,400

YOU CAN BUY WILD DESERT – QUEEN’S PLATE WINNER!

He’s being sold as a stallion prospect…

http://www.fasigtipton.com/catalogs/2007/1104/184.pdf

From the News today..

BLACK EYE FOR BREEDERS’ CUP OVER AND DONE WITH..

By VIC ZAST

www.Horseraceinsider.com

These days, when even egregious offenses against the Ten Commandments bear no remorse, telling a small lie to make it through a rough patch or covering up to protect your job is not an embarrassment.

The Scooter Libbys of the world undertake obfuscation by calling it “spin.” But no amount of spin can change the description of what took place at Monmouth Park on the weekend. By all reasonable standards, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships were sub-par - well, make that abysmal.

Mother Nature takes the blame for much of the acrid aftertaste. Yet, racetrack officials should “man up” and admit that they could have done a better job despite the inclement weather. After all, the circulation of a race by race weather forecast proved the rain wasn’t unexpected.

For example, the ban on umbrellas could have been lifted. Cheap plastic panchos could have been offered for purchase, or, in an unprecedented display of customer appreciation, given away free of charge. Folding chairs should have been put down in the large wagering tents in back of the open air seating to give people a place to await the clearing.

“Over four days, we put 80,000 people through those gates. We fed them. We kept them as dry as we could. And we gave them great races,” said Dennis Dowd, senior vice president of racing for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, to the media at its traditional post-Breeders’ Cup breakfast.. He claimed to have heard only one complaint about the food service and another about how difficult it was to make a bet.

Well, what should be expected when the 41,781 attendance for Breeders’ Cup day was the lowest since 1995, the second lowest ever? When there are no people to get in the way, the betting lines should move along quickly. And was that lone complaint from someone who hit the Pick-6? Equibase reported the initial payoff incorrectly.

Nevertheless, it’s a good thing the gamblers on the third floor grandstand, where the grumbling was louder than Krakatoa, weren’t invited to the breakfast where Dowd spoke. For their liking, the clerks should have known more about wagering. But that was just one minor inconvenience, and it’s occurred for as long as the Breeders’ Cup’s existed.

More to the point, the fans suffered through conditions that made the Jersey Shore racecourse a Cape Cod cranberry bog. More importantly, what kind of message did these World Championship races communicate to the television audience?

For the most part, top European runners avoided Monmouth, thus making the claim that the races were an international face-off a farce. The Euros weren’t the only no-shows, as owners of the Classic winner were in jail, identified by the court to be flight risks. Ouch.

A trainer who accepted a plea bargain instead of facing trial for possession of illegal cobra venom tried to crash the party, but was asked to leave. After 19 previous tries at winning a Breeders’ Cup race, his horse won and the assistant whose name will appear in the record books showered him with praise. Shame.

Fillies and Mares with credentials more suited to a Grade II competed in a forgettable $1 million Breeders’ Cup race on Friday. George Washington, an infertile 4-year-old bred by the owners of Barbaro, was euthanized on the track in front of the grandstand. What sort of questions does that bring about from the ill-informed about which horses are kept alive and which are not?

TV ratings dropped (again). The few TV viewers complained that they didn’t see post parades. The pretty images associated with thoroughbred sport were rare and overwhelmed by the ugliness. This was one Breeders’ Cup to put behind us.

Often, to their detriment, racing fans are enormously endowed with patience. Hope is what drives the sport and allows people to think things will improve, when, in fact, they merely deteriorate. Now can’t just someone admit, “It wasn’t one of our top events, but we’ll do better at Santa Anita next October?”

In a bizarre twist of fate, perhaps officials were fortunate to have the excuse of the weather. Such issues as the rightful rank of the Breeders’ Cup among leading international horse racing events will probably pass without scrutiny. There will be little made of comparing the World Championships to two festivals on the ascendancy like Hong Kong and Dubai. Once the sun popped out on Sunday morning, it became easy to remember the rain of the day before as the flood that floated Noah.

“The reality is, if we had this weather the last four days, our numbers would have been significantly higher,” said Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli at the breakfast. His assessment, of course, was the wrong way to look at things.

The World Championships, despite all their inherent stumbles, created an investment of $30 million in Monmouth Park and gave hope to New Jersey racing that there can be a future. Fancy folks with access to warm covered spaces and members of the press with privileges ranging from free beer to nearby parking will proclaim hosannas to their hosts, and rightfully so.

But with crowds down 43.5 percent and handle down 20.3 percent from last year, and with the Classic winner owned by two jailbirds, no foreign-based horses winning a race, and an infertile colt put to rest in the finale, the post mortem should be that the 24th Breeders’ Cup gave the sport a black eye and plenty for bruised fans to squawk about. Thank goodness, it wasn’t a coronary.

FINAL FURLONG

Just 6 weeks left at Woodbine as the meet and season wind down. Two days until Trick or Treats!
The Breeders' Cup dust (slop?) has settled and local horsepeople are heading south or heading until the blankets.
There is sure to be some more good performances this season by Canadian-breds (see the Hot Canadian-bred list) and there was a super one at Churchill Downs yesterday...

TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY OF THE YEAR UPDATE..

AUTHENICAT JUST MISSES IN GRADE 2

ALLSTAR WINS AGAIN

Fog City and Vinery’s AUTHENICAT (D'Wildcat), bred in Hillburgh,Ontario by Gail Wood, led late
 in yesterday’s Grade 2 Pocohontas Stkes at Churchill Downs but was caught nearing the
 wire by Pure Clan.

Her Beyer Figure was not available yet but she had earned a 90 in her previous race, a win
 in the Victorian Queen Stakes.

It was a super effort from yet another lovely 2yo filly that Woodbine has produced in 2007
and that division for Sovereign Award voters will be confusing.

The championship could go to OFFICER CHERRIE, DANCING ALLSTAR, MRS. BEGAN
or AUTHENICAT, just to name a few.

(Incidentally, Wood’s other runner this year out of the mare Authentic Deed, the dam
 of Authenicat, FUDGETHEBOTTOMLINE was third in the Bunty Lawless Stakes at
Woodbine yesterday.)

Read further to see a report on Dancing Allstar’s 4th stakes win of the season yesterday.

LAYING DOWN THE LAW – WOODBINE SUNDAY
(POLYTRACK SIZZLING FAST, LANDRY WINS BOTH STAKES)

 The Polytrack is still very lively and several horses came oh-so close to setting track
records yesterday.

BALLADO DANCER has to be considered one of the best claims of the year simply because
he was taken for $10K and has won twice for Marko Mesic – yesterday in an
 allowance/opt. claimer in 1:15.54, just 2/100’s off the track record for 6 ½ furlongs.
His Beyer was a 92.

The Outflanker Florida-bred is very fast (43 3/5 half-mile split) and fun to watch. He is
fresh and beat up on season-weary dudes like COOL SELECTION and ARE YOUR SERIOUS etc.

Speaking of fresh horses, LEGAL MOVE blew past some nice ones in the Kennedy Road prep
 yesterday, a 3yo by Bold Executive beating older guys like Main Executive etc. The Mark
 Casse trainee was 15 to 1 and the longshot shot on the board in the small field. He has been
 on a short vacation for Woodbine’s leading trainer.

His 1:08.88 time for 6 furlongs was 4/100’s off the track record. He earned a lifetime
 best Beyer of 96.

First-timer SEBASTIAN’S SONG (Cherokee Run – Noble Strike by Smart Strike) earned
 a 74 Beyer Figure for his career debut win for Centennial Farms Niagara and trainer
Alec Fehr. Looks like a nice prospect for the classics next year..

The stakes recaps follow…(courtesy Woodbine Entertainment)

(Note -Rahy’s Attorney – 96 Beyer, lifetime best)

TORONTO, October 28 - Rahy's Attorney recorded his second stakes score

of 2007 and jockey Robert Landry recorded his second stakes win of the

day in the $125,000 Bunty Lawless at Woodbine.

The son of Crown Attorney rallied along the inside of the 'yielding'

E.P. Taylor Turf Course and collared runner-up Archers Alyancer just

past the eighth pole. Fudgethebottomline finished third. 

Rahy's Attorney traveled one mile in 1:37.66.

Landry, who won the Labeeb with Awesome Action in the program's fourth

race, has been aboard for all five of the gelding's victories this

season.

"I think he's a little bit better on the turf. He's just a nice horse.

He tries so hard," said Landry.

A three-year-old is owned by Ellie Boje Farm, Peters, Read and

McClellan, Rahy's Attorney is trained by Ian Black, who said after that

the Bunty Lawless was probably his last start of the season.

The victory was Rahy's Attorney's fifth win in seven starts. He also

won the Vice Regent Stakes on September 2. He has now earned $307,365.

The Bunty Lawless is for Ontario-sired runners aged three and older.

 TAKING ACTION

TORONTO, October 28 - Awesome Action closed furiously down the E.P.

Taylor Turf course to capture Sunday's $100,000 Labeeb Stakes at

Woodbine.

The son of Awesome Again, who also sired Saturday's Breeders' Cup

Distaff winner Ginger Punch, finished a half-length in front of last

year's Labeeb champ Just Rushing. The 2005 Summer Stakes winner Bear's

Kid was a neck further back in third at 25-1.

Awesome Action is owned by Curtis and Nancy Joseph, Don Meehan and Sue

Leslie, who is also his trainer. Now a 10-time winner, he covered one

mile in 1:38.05.

The victory was the seven-year-old gelding's third win in his past five

starts and his second stakes tally of the year.

Jockey Robert Landry said he was worried about the 'yielding' turf

conditions.

"He's the type of horse that would prefer it a little firmer," said

Landry. "He really wasn't comfortable over the surface. He's an old

 guy,

but he's a courageous guy. He gave me everything he had. That's the

thing about horses - when they have a lot of heart and they dig down

deep, sometimes they run through anything."

Awesome Action has enjoyed a tremendous comeback year after he finished

2006 with a 0-for-8 record and just $34,210 in earnings.

With his win in the Labeeb, the Ontario-bred boosts his earnings to

$195,820.

Trainer Sue Leslie said it's hard to explain why he's so much more

productive this season.

"He had a little niggling problem last year," said Leslie. "More than

anything, we got into some traffic jams. It's nobody's fault, the holes

just weren't there. This year, for some reason, the gods have shined

down us and openings have come and he's been able to get his way

through."

Leslie said the Labeeb was Awesome Action's last dance of the year.

"He's earned a rest. He'll probably go to Florida for the winter, but

just to rest, not to run."

Dancing Allstar waltzes past Remarkable Miss

Dennis Feser, Vancouver Sun

Published: Monday, October 29, 2007

There may not be much more travelling in Dancing Allstar's future. But trainer Terry Jordan said he may have mapped a different campaign this season had she proved just a little better in her mid-summer trip to Ontario.

Dancing Allstar trumped four others in Saturday's $109,217 Fantasy for 2-year-old fillies at Hastings Racecourse, crossing 11/16 miles in a solid 1:454/5 to finish two lengths clear of Remarkable Miss.

It was her fourth stakes win of the season, with the first coming in the My Dear at Woodbine in July. Two subsequent runner-up finishes at the Toronto track prompted Jordan to bring her back home.

So when Emerald Downs' three-time stakes-winner Smarty Deb ran fifth in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the obvious question was whether Jordan had considered that route for Dancing Allstar? "If she had won that second stake in Toronto, when she got beat about 1/8th of an inch, that's where she would have gone," said Jordan, who trains the daughter of Mellennium Allstar for Bob Cheema. "But that kind of changed our thinking. And seeing what happened today [Saturday at Monmouth Park] I think she would have been competitive there."

Jordan denies Dancing Allstar is a speed demon. "We'd just been doing things wrong and since we've corrected them she's won three races," he said. "The other day she went 58 and change easy. Two-year-olds don't do that here."

Leading rider Mario Gutierrez has been aboard for all three of her victories here -- and can expect to partner her again next season. "She will probably be one that will stay here," said Jordan, who also runs horse in Toronto. "There's lots of good races here and there's so much money between here and Alberta now."

Dancing Allstar was the first filly to complete the Sadie Diamond Futurity-Fantasy double since the introduction of the female futurity in 1989. Only Ookashada, last year, and Illusive Force, in 2002, have annexed both Jack Diamond and the middle-distance Ascot Graduation for juvenile colts.

Desert Alf, winner of the Jack D, failed in his bid to complete that double on Sunday, faltering in the final steps by a half-length to Royal Hudson in the $110,994 Ascot Grad at Hastings.

After a fierce pace battle, Desert Alf and Frank Fuentes appeared to take control coming into the stretch, but Richard Hamel guided Royal Hudson from last to first by coming through on the rail. Owned by George Gilbert, Dr. Karl Chan and Glyn Kelly, Royal Hudson was the third Ascot winner for trainer Dave Forster who connected with Torrey Ridge in 1996 and Highland Appeal in 1990.

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!!

IT'S BREEDERS ' CUP DAY! (SORT OF)

UPDATE - 2:51 p.m.
ALL PICKS ADDED...SEE BELOW


(TOP PIC) PRUSSIAN competes today in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf..he last raced at Woodbine in the Summer Stakes and won it..photo by Cindy Pearson Dulay)

(ABOVE) BEAR NOW at Monmouth schooling. Janis Maine took the picture for her hubby Reade Baker's site - www.readebaker.com

Welcome to Day 1 of the Breeders’Cup World Thoroughbred Championships – although there are many racing lovers out there who simply view the first 3 races of the series that will run today as simply some nice races and that tomorrow is the actual Breeders’ Cup.

It will be interesting to see the races at Monmouth with so much rain and slop there in the last couple of days.

Reade Baker, who has BEAR NOW in the Distaff for Danny Dion, is high on JAZZ NATION, who runs today in the Favorite Trick Stakes...

Jen's picks further down...mark me down in the DRAKE'S LongRun/Breeders' Cup contest!

From NJ.com (everything New Jersey)

(JEREMY on the turf - www.horse-races.net, awesome photos and quotes)

Rain could hamper Breeders' Cup

(and Monmouth has a NO UMBRELLA policy??)

by Tom Luicci

The Breeders' Cup lineup hasn't suffered any weather-related scratches yet, but that may change if the forecast for today and Saturday is on the mark.

Weather.com is predicting rain for both days of the 11-race Breeders' Cup starting today.

The only scratches so far -- Cry and Catch Me from the Juvenile Fillies, Attila's Storm from the Sprint and Dixie Chatter from the Juvenile -- have been withdrawn because of illness or injury. Attila's Storm was scratched Thursday because of ankle soreness, according to trainer Richard Schosberg. Dixie Chatter ran a fever after arriving from California on Monday, trainer Richard Mandella said.

Cry and Catch Me was declared out of the Juvenile Fillies on Wednesday after coming down with a fever.

But the ongoing rain could result in more defections. The track was listed as sloppy yesterday and the scheduled turf races were taken off the grass. The rain has made the new turf course soft, a condition that should favor the European runners, who are more accustomed to the wet -- and heavy -- turf.

"I think a soft turf is going to compromise most of my horses," said trainer Todd Pletcher.

Pletcher said Thursday he would likely scratch Wait a While from the Filly & Mare Turf if the rain persisted and the course came up soft.

With temporary seating set up along the first turn and in the picnic area at the top of the stretch, several thousand fans face the prospect of having to watch the Breeders' Cup in the rain. Monmouth Park has a no-umbrella policy.

Monmouth Park vice president and general manager Bob Kulina said fans in those areas can find shelter in the massive temporary tents the track put in as a hedge against bad weather.

"There's enough room for them in the tents," he said. "They won't have to be standing in the rain all day."

One trainer who doesn't have any idea how his horse will react to a wet, muddy or sloppy surface is Reade Baker, who conditions Canadian shipper and Distaff hopeful Bear Now.

"We don't have any off tracks," he said, a reference to Woodbine's artificial surface.

There are 12 Breeders' Cup contenders with some Canadian connection that will compete at the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, set for Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, this Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27.

CANADIAN REPORT FROM WOODBINE MEDIA OFFICE

1. FILLY AND MARE SPRINT
MARYFIELD (Canadian-bred by Mike Carroll, Guelph, Ontario and John Harvey Jr.) jogged on Thursday.

Elvis Trujillo (Career Canadian record: 1 start-0 wins-0 seconds-0 thirds at Woodbine) rides the colt, who has a career record of eight wins, five seconds and one third in 27 starts, for trainer Doug O’Neill (Canadian record: 2 starts-0 wins-1 second-0 thirds at Woodbine and 1-0-1-0 at Hastings).

2. JUVENILE TURF
(none)

3. DIRT MILE
(none)

SATURDAY
4. JUVENILE FILLIES
CLEARLY FOXY (Canadian-based at Woodbine, trained by Mark Casse of Kleinburg, to be ridden by Woodbine regular Patrick Husbands of Brampton) galloped 1 ½ miles over the Monmouth main strip on Thursday at around 8:15 a.m. He was expected to walk over with the first and fifth race this afternoon to school in the paddock.

Owner Charlie LaLoggia arrived in town on Wednesday and was on the Monmouth backstretch Thursday morning.

He says he’s set to enjoy the Breeders’ Cup experience this year, something he admits he didn’t to the fullest with Skip Code in 2006 at Churchill.

“I was so nervous about it last year. I didn’t take it all in,” LaLoggia said. “It was a whirlwind. I said if I ever got back here, I would enjoy it more. I’m excited to be here.”

He likes what he sees in Clearly Foxy. “She loves it here. She’s eating great, training well. She’s so sweet.”

Casse has 66 wins, 61 seconds and 36 thirds in 285 starts at Woodbine in 2007, while Husbands has 108 wins, 113 seconds and 75 thirds in 551 starts at his home track this year.

5. JUVENILE
OVEREXTENDED (Canadian-owned by John P. Reddam, a native of Windsor, Ontario) galloped on Thursday.

Doug O’Neill (CR: 2-0-1-0 at Woodbine and 1-0-1-0 at Hastings) trains the Monarchos roan. Frankie Dettori (CR: 17-3-2-2 at Woodbine) rides the two-year-old with a record of one win, one second and a third in five starts.

TALE OF EKATI (Canadian-owned by Charles Fipke, a native of Edmonton, Alberta) jogged at Belmont on Thursday, arrived at Monmouth around noon on Thursday.

Barclay Tagg (CR: 5-1-2-0 at Woodbine and 1-0-0-0 at Hastings) conditions the Tale of the Cat colt, who has career record of two wins, one second in the three starts. Eibar Coa (CR: 11-2-2-2 at Woodbine) rides on Saturday.

6. FILLY AND MARE TURF
ARRAVALE (Canadian-owned by Robert Costigan, of Vancouver, B.C., trained by Mac Benson of Woodbridge, Ontario) galloped 1 1/2 miles and schooled in the gate on Thursday at approximately 8:45 a.m. over a mucky Monmouth main strip.

"She's good today," said Barb Przedrzymirska, assistant trainer for her husband, Mac Benson. "She’s calm. She’s a good horse who always acts well. She has a super temperament; a little tough to gallop, but to handle I have no complaints.”

Benson has eight wins, 15 seconds and five thirds in 71 starts at Woodbine in 2007, while mare’s jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. has one win, two seconds and two thirds in nine starts lifetime at Woodbine.

7. SPRINT
GREG'S GOLD (Canadian-owned by William Boswell of Calgary, Alberta) galloped 1 mile on Thursday.

Chuck Lopez (CR: 1-0-0-0 at Woodbine) rides the Lake George six-year-old for trainer David Hofmans (CR: 5-3-0-0 at Woodbine). The gelding has seven wins, nine seconds and a third in 20 career starts.

Hofmans, who won the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine in 1998 with Awesome Again, admitted concern over the surface switch. Greg’s Gold usually trains over Cushion Track. “I was a little concerned. He has smooth shoes on because we normally train on a synthetic surface, but Martin (exercise rider Martin De Rubin) said he went right through it, didn’t stumble and extended himself. I thought he looked tremendous doing it.”

8. MILE
HOST (Canadian-owned by Melnyk Racing Stables (Eugene Melnyk) of Toronto) galloped 1 3/8 miles on Thursday.

Garrett Gomez (CR: 21-3-5-4 at Woodbine) gets the call for Todd Pletcher (CR: 64-15-8-6 at Woodbine and 2-1-0-0 at Fort Erie), who has in part guided the Chilean-bred to nine wins, four seconds and five thirds in 24 career starts.

Pletcher was reasonable in his expectations for Host in the tough Mile. “Everything is going to have to break his way exactly for Host to even have a chance.”

SILENT NAME (co-Canadian owned by Stronach Stables (Frank Stronach) of Aurora, Ontario) jogged 1 mile.

Kent Desormeaux (CR: 27-7-2-2 at Woodbine) will ride the Sunday Silence five-year-old for Robert Frankel (CR: 82-19-15-11 at Woodbine and 3-0-0-2 at Fort Erie). The colt has a record of six wins, two seconds and four thirds in 21 starts.

Chad Brown, Frankel’s assistant trainer, said Silent Name is in good form. “He shipped great and he looks spectacular. He’s doing good.”

9. DISTAFF
BEAR NOW (owned by Bear Stables (Danny Dion) of Edmonton, Alberta, trained by Reade Baker of Toronto, to be ridden by Jerry Baird of Toronto), galloped 1 1/2 miles after the 8:15 a.m. break and schooled in the gate and paddock on Thursday.

Trainer Reade Baker and wife, Janis Maine, watched their sharp filly from the rail at the busy “gap” (entrance-exit access area for horses during morning training hours).

Baker and Maine, substantial horse racing fans, are enjoying their time at Monmouth. “It’s just so amazing seeing all these great horses right here in front of us,” Maine said, pointing to the Monmouth strip.

Assistant trainer Ruth Schmidt, who has been with Bear Now for all her ships, said she’s even better than she was before her win in the Fitz Dixon Cotillion at Philadelphia Park last month. “I’ve been with her everywhere and she is getting more professional and more relaxed each trip.”

Baker has 42 wins, 40 seconds and 40 thirds in 319 starts at Woodbine in 2007, while Baird has 31 wins, 28 seconds and 33 thirds in 262 starts at his home track this year.

GINGER PUNCH (Canadian-owned by Stronach Stables (Frank Stronach) of Aurora, Ontario) galloped 1 3/8 miles at Belmont, on Thursday, expected at Monmouth on Thursday.

Rafael Bejarano (CR: 2-0-1-0 at Woodbine)will ride Robert Frankel’s (CR: 82-19-15-11 at Woodbine and 3-0-0-2 at Fort Erie) Awesome Again colt, who holds a record of six wins, five seconds and a third in 13 starts.

INDIAN VALE (Canadian-owned and bred by Melnyk Racing Stables (Eugene Melnyk) of Toronto) galloped 1 3/8 miles on Thursday.

Jockey John Velazquez (CR: 36-5-7-4 at Woodbine) is high on Eugene Melnyk’s homebred Canadian-bred, despite drawing post 10 in the field of 12. “She’s been very unlucky, but she is a good mare,” he said. “She’s been training very well.”

Todd Pletcher (CR: 64-15-8-6 at Woodbine and 2-1-0-0 at Fort Erie) trains the five-year-old A.P. Indy mare, who has a career record of seven wins, one second and one third in 13 starts.

10. TURF
RED ROCKS (Canadian-owned by John P. Reddam, a native of Windsor, Ontario) cantered 3 miles on main track on Thursday.

Brian Meehan (CR: 1-0-0-0 at Woodbine) trains the Galileo four-year-old, while Frankie Dettori (CR: 17-3-2-2 at Woodbine) gets the call on Saturday. The dark bay has a record of four wins, four seconds and two thirds in 14 starts.

“This race has been our number one plan since he won last year,” Meehan said. “The horse has really grown up this year and is full of confidence.”

11. CLASSIC
(none)

JEN'S PICKS!

JENNIFER’S BREEDERS’ CUP ANALYSIS

FIRST THREE RACES - FRIDAY

FILLY & MARE SPRINT

6 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 4:20 p.m.

Purse: $1 million

Field: 12

Early favourites: Dream Rush (2-1), La Traviata (5-2)

Canadian content: Maryfield (Canadian-bred by Mike Carroll, Guelph, Ont., and John Harvey Jr.)

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1- OPRAH WINNEY 2- LA TRAVIATA 3-WILD GAMS

THE SCOOP: ‘Oprah’ loves Monmouth Park and the mud. Canadian-bred Maryfield is a wet track ace and she will be charging.

JUVENILE TURF

1 mile, 2-year-olds

Post time: 4:55 p.m.

Purse: $1 million

Field: 11

Early favourites: Prussian (3-1), Achill Island (7-2)

Canadian content: none

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1 – ACHILL ISLAND 2-STRIKE THE DEAL 3-PRUSSIAN

LONGSHOT – YOUR ROUND

THE SCOOP: Young horses on a grass course that surely will be slippery – scary. Consider the Europeans Achill Island and Strike the Deal as they may handle the bog better.

DIRT MILE

1 mile 70 yards; 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 5:35 p.m.

Purse: $1 million

Field: 9

Early favourites: Discreet Cat (2-1), Corinthian (7-2)

Canadian content: none

JENNIFER’S PICKS: 1-PARK AVENUE BALL 2- DISCREET CAT 3-LEWIS MICHAEL

THE SCOOP: Discreet Cat was once considered the next superstar but two losses in just two races in the last two years have cooled the excitement. How about Monmouth track monster Park Avenue Ball as the upsetter?

JENNIFER’S BREEDERS’ CUP ANALYSIS

(** I did not put a longshot pick on all of the races)

SATURDAY'S RACES

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.

From the New York Post

COLUMNIST LOVES THE CANADIANS!

by RAY KERRISON

October 26, 2007 -- OCEANPORT, N.J. - The Breeders' Cup always has been the best and toughest betting card of the season with bulging fields, good prices and spectacular upsets.

This year, the battle is even more hazardous with three additional races, an off-track, sodden turf, horses coming off synthetic racing surfaces and a track with tight turns, short run-ups and kiss-of-death wide post positions.

My approach (which sometimes works) is to bet longshots and save with them under favorites in the exotics.

With that in mind, I'll skip the three Breeders' Cup races this afternoon. The favorites appear to have the first race, the Filly and Mare Sprint, at their mercy, but Maryfield, at 15-1 is interesting because she is 3 for 4 on wet tracks.

Favorites also look strong in the Juvenile Turf. The Dirt Mile is tricky because of Discreet Cat's uncertain form. One to watch is Wanderin Boy, 2 for 3 in the wet. He's listed at 8-1.

The first race tomorrow, the Juvenile Fillies, might provide an opening. Everyone hates Clearly Foxy, the Canadian shipper, discarded at 30-1 on the line. She's 2-for-2, on grass, but she got the last quarter of her last race in 23.4 seconds, a winning gallop anywhere.

Longshots have won three of the last four Juveniles, The favorites this year look solid, but Z Humor, who finished third in the Champagne, has an outstanding off-track pedigree. At 12-1 from the rail, I'll give him a punch at the windows.

The Filly & Mare Turf is the perfect spot for Arravale, a 30-1 bomb. Exactly a year ago, she won the Grade 1 E P Taylor over 11/4 miles at Woodbine over a soft course, fetching a 103 Beyer speed figure. Tomorrow, she will get a mushy track for the 13/8-mile trip after three preps at a mile.

The Sprint is another opportunity. I'll bet against Midnight Lute at 2-1. Drawn inside, he figures to get buried in the first furlong. I'll take a wild shot with 20-1 Kelly's Landing, who runs well fresh, and has been working bullets for her first race since March.

I also will wager a few bucks on Nick Zito's Commentator, who is a monster fresh off the bench and has been working in blacktype for his return. Priced at 12-1, he's a nifty 3-for-3 on wet tracks.

The Mile is a puzzle. After Market can't function in the wet, Excellent Art, the talented British-bred has drawn gate 13 (ugh) and the world's leading trainer, Todd Pletcher has two runners, Icy Atlantic and Host, both at 30-1.

The Distaff is anybody's guess. Because Lear's Princess is the only filly in the field to beat Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, she should be able to handle these. But right behind Lear in the Gazelle was Tough Tiz's Sis, from the Baffert stable. At 20-1, she definitely is worth a close look.

The Turf should be a showcase for Dylan Thomas. British bookmakers have him at odds-on. A race to watch and savor.

The Classic is the most-anticipated race in living memory. It is, finally, going to reveal the best horse in the land. Lawyer Ron, Curlin and Hard Spun are all coming off hard-slugging races - at least that's my rationale for bypassing them and settling on the champ, Street Sense, with insurance on longshot Tiago.

WOODBINE THURSDAY

The jockey’s race at Woodbine is still hot but Patrick Husbands goes away tomorrow to the Breeders’ Cup. Husbands won the 1^st race on LEGAL TIES for trainer Tony Mattine and the Empress Stable.

Emma-Jayne Wilson won two yesterday – on the 2yo grey Ontario-bred gelding DOINWHATIDO (Luhuk-Seattle Pearl by Seattle Morn) after a stretch long duel with the Black Minnloushe gelding Poetic Cat and on the exciting turf filly TELL IT AS IT IS (Chester House Kentucky-bred) who is sure to be a nice prospect next year in the turf mare ranks.

Tyler Pizarro won on favoured PORT RENFREW in the 8^th race for Tucci Stables and Sid Attard.

Chantal Sutherland has been making lots of noise and won two more races yesterday – MA PECHE for Shortstop Stable and trainer Judy Pottins who lit up the results board with a huge score for $12,500 claiming and BRIGADIER RODNEY, Brenda Goodlet’s Ontario-bred by Service Stripe trained by Tino Attard who won for $16,000.

Sutherland’s two wins sandwiched a tough outing when she was hopelessly blocked through the stretch on VALHALLER in race 3, a maiden allowance. The gelding may have been best.

In that race, well bred first-timer GIANT’S FORZA was overbet at even-money, broke slowly and raced evenly but missed the board.

From cbc.bb - Barbados

Melnyk wins another legal battle

Millionaire race horse owner Eugene Melnyk has won his three-year legal battle with the Barbados Turf Club, over the result of the 2004 Gold Cup.

The BTC had disqualified Melnyk’s entry Kathir for a positive drugs test, 10 months after the chestnut horse won the prestigious event in 2004 at the Garrison Savannah here.

Melnyk, the Barbados-based Canadian businessman, challenged the BTC’s decision and on Thursday, Justice Elneth Kentish ruled in his favour.

The judgement means that Kathir has been confirmed as winner of the BDS $128 550 (US $65 000) event and Melnyk said the money would now be handed out to various charities.

“"This action was never about money but principal. I have always been a great supporter of horse racing and sport in Barbados and I now intend to distribute the purse to various charities supporting youth and sporting foundations,” Melnyk said.

A release from Melnyk said he “was at the time severely embarrassed and hurt by the considerable harm to his reputation, which he suffered as a result of the decision of the Turf Club.”

The release also said the decision of the High Court “vindicates his position that the hearing by the Stewards of the Turf Club was ‘unfair’.”

Melnyk’s lawyers had questioned the integrity of the process leading to Kathir’s positive drugs test.

It is the second such success for Melnyk in recent weeks after Sealy Hill, Canada’s champion three-year old filly, was reinstated as the winner of the Bison City Stakes by the Ontario Racing Commission.

Sealy Hill, with top Barbadian jockey Patrick Husbands aboard, was disqualified after winning the CAN$250 000 event on July 1 this year at the Woodbine racetrack but racing authorities upheld Melnyk’s appeal.