FEELING OLYMPIC

Today's news, Olympics begin (at right is Olympic horse Courageous Comet, by a Canadian bred sire...see below)

(the SmileyCentral rings for the Olympics, found at smiley.com were taken down from this site in case the Olympic folks get mad)

Also, the rain continues in Greater Toronto (hail yesterday folks!) and ugh, three races were carded for grass today, Arlington Million tomorrow and a Canadian jock goes for a Grade 1 earlier on the card....read more..




FAIRLIE GOOD DAY

Trainer wins 2, comes within 2 of leader Casse, Thursday wrap..



LOULA won the 1st race, she's just one of those regular claiming types who wins when she's not favoured. The Ron Sadler homebred bounces around from sprints to routes and on day, poof, she wins. She won for $15,000 yesterday, $8,000 last fall.
She is by Whiskey Wisdom and is a 7-year-old with 6 wins in 48 starts.
The winner came from about 6 lengths off the pace and rallied wide.

A fair track meant that if you are lone speed, you win. INDIAN ARM was the first of 2 winners for the high-flying stable of SCOTT FAIRLIE. Owned by Prairie Star, the 3yo by Mizzen Mast won his maiden for $11,500 2 starts back with a 78 Beyer, bombed for $25K and then dropped and strteched out yesterday in an $11,500 event.
The Debonair Slew was pulled up in the race but reportedly is okay.

Trainer VICTOR RAMOS won his first race of the season with Naomi Simpson's ON MATERNITY LEAVE, who stormed from off the pace to win the $19,000 claimer for non0winners of 2. Yje Ascot Knight gelding, a homebred, had posted a 69 Beyer Figures, a career best 3 starts ago, dropped to a 41 (in an allowance race) and then up to a 59 last time. The creeping form is always dangerous at this time of year. he was 6 to 1 last time but 17 to 1 yesterday.

The 3yo filly SAILING APPEAL was the first winner for trainr JUSTIN NIXON at Woodbine this year. Nixon, who races in the United States while training mostly for Stronach Stables, had actually won 29 races before yesterday. Sailing Appeal, an Adcat Florida-bred, had races once, showed big speed and faded at 3 to 1. She won at virtually the sam odds yesterday but from about 1 1/2-2 lengths off the pace.

In race 5, Louie Nekia and Mr Henry U. battled on the lead through quick splits (over a fast Polytrack) in 45.18, 109. 74, Henry scraped clear off the turn but was gradually worn down by Cusoon, a 6yo Great Britain bred from the Scott Fairlie barn.
The time was 1:22.43.
Cusoon is by Dansili and owned by Jeffrey Sengara and it was his 2nd win of the meeting and 9th of 30 career starts.

The stallion PATROL, owned by John Hillier, had his first winner when SNEAKY PATROL led all the way at 7 furlongs to win her maiden for $20K in a 2yo race, race 6.

Jockey Tyler Pizarro booked off before the race, (Jerry Baird had booked off earlier) and his mount KIA ORO CAT was a fast closing 2nd. The winner, owned by Peter Scourtoudis, was a $5,215 yearling purchase and is a John Carey bred out of Voices Carry (Ascot Knight). Trained by Sandra Dominguez, the filly was making her 6th career start and she had led to deep stretch in her last race.

The team of owner Bob Cheema, trainer Terry Jordan and jockey Jim McAleney won another race as MAZEL STAR won 2nd outing at Woodbine, leading all the way after a pace battle to take the 7th race for $32,000.
The Kentucky bred by Mazel Trick, was 2nd beaten a nose in her local debut. She was claimed yesterday by Veronica Attard.

And JAZZ BOY drew off the ALSO ELIGIBLE list in the finale, a maiden $12,500 claimer, and won at 10 to 1 for RMC Stable and trainer Norm McKnight. The Smooth Jazz colt,a Florida bred, had just made his first Woodbine start (and first since Sept.) in Junly 26, was 4th with a 54 Beyer, but as with a lot of hroses drawing in from the AE's, he was overlooked in the betting.


FOURTH WHIP INFRACTION OF MEETING for SUTHERLAND


The Ontario Racing Commission has already announced it be will cracking the whip (sorry) on jockeys who get carried away with the whip.

This report is in tomorrow's DAILY RACING FORM: Jockey Chantal Sutherland has appealed a three-day suspension resulting from her fourth whip infraction of the meeting.

The stewards cited Sutherland for "using her whip in an excessive and aggressive manner" during the stretch run of last Sunday's Breeders' Stakes.

Sutherland's mount, Sligovitz, finished second.

In harness racing recently, Trevor Henry, a driver received a 6 month suspension for whip use .
(for a look at how many daily whip violations there are in harness racing, check out Standardbred Canada. The thoroughbred violations are almost never printed)




COURAGEOUS COMET at the OLYMPICS

New York bred racehorse COURAGEOUS COMET, a son of Canadian-bred champion COMET SHINE (Sam-Son Farms) is going for gold at the Olympics in Bejing that begins today.

The 12-year-old light grey gelding is in the Three-Day Event for the United States and will be ridden by Becky Holder.

The gelding earned $77,000 on the track and was trained and later retired by David Donk.

(at right, COMET SHINE, who has stood at stud in New York and Australia, is in California at Victory Rose TB's bred these days)





Exceptional Lineup for 2008 September Yearling Sale

Rexdale, ON - August 5, 2008 - The countdown is on for the 2008 Canadian-Bred Yearling Sale, taking place at the Woodbine Racetrack Sales Pavilion in Toronto, with the Selected Session set for Tuesday, September 2nd and the Preferred Session on September 6th.

Long regarded as Canada's premier Thoroughbred yearling sale, an exceptional lineup of over 470 yearlings has been catalogued, with 234 in the Selected Session and 239 in the Preferred Session. Each session will commence at 3:00 p.m.

Top sires represented in the sale include Ascot Knight, Bold Executive, Bold N' Flashy, Burning Roma, Candy Ride (ARG), Cat's At Home, Compadre, Congaree, Doneraile Court, Euro Silver, Five Star Day, Gilded Time, Kafwain, Langfuhr, Lemon Drop Kid, Mutakddim, North Light (IRE), Northern Afleet, One Way Love, Peaks and Valleys, Perigee Moon, Pollard's Vision, Rahy, Smart Strike, Southern Image, Storm Boot, Stormy Atlantic, Tale of the Cat, Tejano Run, Teton Forest, Tomahawk, Touch Gold, Trajectory, Trust N Luck, Victory Gallop, Where's the Ring, and Whiskey Wisdom.

Featured on this year's catalogue cover is a collection of past Yearling Sale graduates who are both champions and million dollar earners. Among those that have surpassed the million dollar mark are Mobil ($1,951,384), A Bit O'Gold ($1,888,155), One for Rose ($1,380,298), Financingavailable ($1,333,779), Nite Dreamer ($1,149,788), Barbeau Ruckus ($1,142,709), Edenwold ($1,082,150), and Forever Grand ($1,018,412).

The CTHS notes that the 2002 lot of yearlings sold for $8,291,700 and has earned $24,143,229 through to 2007, a return of 291% in five years of racing. Similarly, 2003 yearling sales grads sold for $8,148,700 and earned $20,546,229 (252% return in four years of racing), while the 2004 yearlings sold for $7,291,900 and earned $17,686,500 (243% return in three years of racing).

Other highlights of this year's Sale include: buyer rebates; special rates at local hotels; webcasting of the Sale; the opportunity to participate in the Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) worth $9.6 million; and the New Bonus Program for Registered Ontario-Breds when competing in all open races at our Ontario racetracks, which result in a 15% bonus in 2009 and a 20% bonus in 2010.

The CTHS will once again be assisting with the forming of racing syndicates through its New Owner Syndicate program. This mentorship program has been formed to assist those wishing to make only a 10% investment in a racehorse in return for 100% input from an experience mentor and trainer.

Catalogues may be viewed on line at www.cthsont.com/yearsale.php. Print catalogs will be mailed the week of August 4th. Please contact the CTHS for further information as 416-675-3602.



TOMORROW

Arlington Million day at Arlington (see yesterday's post for entries)


Canadian-breds on the big card at Arlington include Sean Fitzhenry-bred BLUE SMOKE BESS (Smoke Glacken-Wedding Day Blues) competes in race 2, a maiden allowance for older gals.

Lord Carmen, an Ontario bred, competes in the finale for allowances/optional claiming.

Emma-Jayne Wilson's SECRETARIAT STAKES mount, SECRET GETAWAY, is 10 to 1 on the morning line.



COMING UP SUNDAY

Canadian-bred MAREN'S MEADOW starts in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks..

Monmouth Oaks (G3)
August 9, $150,000, f, 3yo, 11⁄16m, Monmouth Park, 4:47 PM ET
PP Horse Sire Jockey Wt. Trainer

1. Whirlie Bertie Stormin FeverCalvin H. Borel 118 Steve Margolis
2. Populist Fusaichi Pegasus Travis L. Dunkelberger 118 Gary Capuano
3. Open Skies Defrere Jose Lezcano 118 Timothy A. Hills
4. Acoma Empire Maker Elvis Trujillo 122 David M. Carroll
5. African Violet Lemon Drop Kid Eddie Castro 118 H. Graham Motion
6. Philly Gal Doneraile Court Joe Bravo 118 John C. Servis
7. Maren’s Meadow Meadowlake Terry J. Thompson 122 J. Larry Jones


AS CUP BREEDERS' CUP ON SYNTH. NEARS...

will we even see Ginger Brew, Curlin etc. there?



Here's a story from the Daily Breeze, in California, by top writer Art Wilson:


Santa Anita president Ron Charles is either one of the world's most optimistic men or he was displaying some false bravado from his office on Thursday.

The subject was Santa Anita's new synthetic surface, which will consist of material that is 95 percent Pro-Ride, according to Charles, and whose installation is progressing on schedule with an Aug. 26 target date - give or take one or two days - for horses to test the new track.

Some trainers, like BobbyFrankel and Nick Zito, have expressed reservations about running their horses during this year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita on Oct.24-25 because they contend artificial surfaces are inconsistent. One high-profile owner, Jess Jackson, isn't keen about racing reigning Horse of the Year Curlin over an untested surface that has never been used for racing in North America.

"There's been a serious debate that surfaces between Hollywood, Del Mar and whatever they're going to put in at Santa Anita do vary from day-to-day and from year-to-year, and until we get our hands around the artificial surfaces and have more consistency, we have a great deal of fear, I guess, of injury," Jackson said this week.

"Most handicappers, as you know, feel that it's an unreliable true surface with respect to early speed and with respect to closers. You've had horses at Del Mar and Hollywood coming in at long, long odds. It just didn't figure on the handicapping side, and of course, that bothers the owners because they don't want to risk a great horse being beaten unnecessarily, mainly because of the surface and the inconsistency of the surface.

read more:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_10133834