MILLIONS

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY....it is not just the wettest summer in Toronto history - Saratoga is getting pounded and yesterday the races had to be cancelled because of a washed out track. SNARKPHOTO captured this and put it on Flickr.com..






WOODBINE FRIDAY
no turf, fields shrinking...


The day kicked off with BEAR REINDEER winning his maiden off the claim by Brenda Goodlet and trainer Tino Attard. The almost-white Alphabet Soup 3yo colt was making his 3rd career strat and he had the blinkers removed. The race was for $20,000 claiming and he rallied 4 wide from off the pace to win in 1:18.10 for 6 1/2 furlongs under Chantal Sutherland.

Race 2 went to an OREGON-BRED, yes, the 2yo MOUNTAIN ECHO, a filly from 1st year sire Tempered Appeal, who raced at Woodbine. The $30,000 weanling purchase was making her 3rd career start and was taking that all-important drop from maiden allowance to maiden claiming, $32,000. Norsemen Racing owns and Tony Mattine trains. Jim McAleney rode.
She also rallied 4 wide from off the pace to win as the favourite.

Two scratches from the allowance/optional claiming 3rd race ($80,000) left the field at 4 and the lone speed, EXECUTIVE CHOICE, a stakes winner who was in for just $40,000 last time and lost, led all the way to win in 1:43.10 under McAleney. The Ontario bred by Birdonthewire was winning for the 9th time in 34 races for Jim Aston, Augi Onesi and the Bull Market Stable, who bought him last spring from New York and trainer Bruce Levine.
Reade Baker trains.

Baker was back in the winner's circle in race 4 when DOS CHICAS (big class drop from maiden allowance to maiden claiming, this time $16,000) won her maiden in her 3rd career start for Harlequin Ranches. This gal stalked close to the fast pace and then took the lead on the turn before taking off to a 2 length score under...Jim McAleney.
She is a Kentucky bred by Stormy Atlantic that cost $5,000.


Race 5, a maiden allowance, Ontario sired 2yo fillies..WILD INDISCRETION ran to her workouts, both at Woodbine and the day she worked for the 2yo sale (10.20 and looked very sharp doing so) and was a hefty winner at the nice price of 3 to1. She won by more than 4 lengths in 58.37. The wind helped push the fillies along on the pace in a stunning 21.59 for the first quarter.
The filly is the 3rd winner for TOMAHAWK (his 1st crop) and she is out of the placed mare Wild Attraction, By Wild Rush. She was bred by Arosa Farms and is owned by Donver Stable. Trainer is Josie Carroll.


Race 6 - off the turf, 1 1/2 mile entry level allowance and 4 scratches from the 11 horse field (including the main track only horse!)
Here's Mike! The MIKE DOYLE train steams on, IT'S LIKE THIS, better on the grass, had a dream trip very close to the sleepy pace set by Grey Boundary, rode the rail to a game win over the front runner.
Grey Boundary, who went 26.00 51 4/5 1:18 208 2/5 and just got beat, raced in the 3 or 4 path most of the way and surely lost the ground that he lost the race by.
It's Like This is an Ontario bred by ASCOT KNIGHT out of Castle Mey (With Approval). He is owned by John Fielding and partners.
His 2yo half sister, Cafe au Mey, is a contender in race 1 TODAY.

All of a sudden FEATHER BED LANE has woken up and is very popular. The light grey fellow, win-shy for the longest time, finally got a confidence building win last time for $16,000 for ytainer Jim Smith, was re-claimed by former owner Audre Cappuccitti and he won again yesterday for $20,000. The Skip Away Ontario bred bgan his career for breeder Eugene Menlyk.
Trainer Julia Carey claimed the gelding from his 5th career win yesterday - he won by 6 lengths too.

The 8th race came off the grass and was decimated by scratches again.

The 10 furlong race was won by longshot FORTY CREEK, who reeled in the classy SKIP CODE in the last strides to win by a neck at 16 to 1. The gelding by Crown Attorney, bred by Mark Hughes in Ontario and owned by Jeanette and George Bland, is trained by Glenn Magnusson. It was MAGNUSSON'S 1st win of the Woodbine meeting.
SKIP CODE looked like he was going to be the 1000 th winner saddled by trainer MARK CASSE.

(usually it is just jockeys who have their number of wins monitored...there are likely other trainers at Woodbine who have reached milestones but so far, Casse is the first one who is getting press for this)


The last race is a good example of how the 'FULL THROTTLE WHILE WIDEST" move does not work most of the time in a horse race.
So many riders in the finale, a turf race that was wiped out by rain and scratches while moved to the Polytrack, were lying down and scrubbing their fillies ON THE TURN.
The best ride by far came on longshot ROSA DOS VENTOS, as Rob Landry allowed everyone to send on the turn, waited behind fillies, and then tipped her out 3 wide into the stretch and she cantered to the win. The grey gal had not raced this year, made just 3 starts in 2007 and was 4th one in a Poly race but she is regally bred by Gulch out of Dibs by Spectacular Bid.
Roger Attfield trains.




LUCKY? Sarah K. Andrews said hello last week to the $2 million SARATOGA YEARLING by Storm Cat - Get Lucky...sales are in full force now with the New York breds starting today...









ARLINGTON MILLION CARD -
EMMA-JAYNE SHOOTS FOR GRADE 1 SECRETARIAT


Preview of the MILLION by www.kentucky.com


Einstein having a career year heading into Arlington Million
Staff, Special, Wire Reports


Arlington Million is live at 5:44; The Beverly D. Stakes is at 4:50. The Secretariat Stakes will be shown on tape delay.

(PHOTO from www.horse-races.net is of CARMEN WILSON and her prized colt SECRET GETAWAY, racing today at Arlington)


At the somewhat advanced age of six, Einstein is having a career year for trainer Helen Pitts.

Einstein has already accounted for two Grade I turf victories in 2008 and has banked $817,649 of the $1,336,731 he has made during his entire career.

”He's progressively gotten older and better as he's gone along, and this year everything's just kind of fallen into place,“ Pitts said. ”From being able to start the year with that money allowance race (a Jan. 11 win at Gulfstream Park) and move forward from there, it's just kind of played out as the year's gone on, and he's just moved forward off of every race.“

Einstein's last four races have all come in the state of Kentucky. He won the Grade I Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard and finished second in two other graded stakes at Churchill. He also finished second in the Grade I Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland in April.

In all, Einstein has three wins and three seconds in seven starts this year.

Last year did not go as smoothly for Einstein. He was in the midst of a productive campaign that likely would have included a trip to the Arlington Million, when he suffered a bruised splint bone leaping over a fallen horse in the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico.

”We took our time bringing him back and swam him for a couple months and got him back ready for his '08 campaign,“ said Pitts.

Pitts has confidence in Einstein heading into this year's Million, but she has great respect for foreign invader Archipenko.

”Archipenko is a lovely, lovely old horse,“ Pitts said. ”He's obviously very well traveled and just a tough horse to beat, but we'll give it a whirl.“

The Kentucky bred has been racing in England, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates this year and will go off Saturday as the 2-1 favorite. Archipenko has won his last two races and has three wins in five starts this year.

”He's very versatile,“ said jockey Kevin Shea. ”If you want to slot him somewhere, you just do it and leave him alone. If there's a horse in front of you, he'll catch him and doesn't let him past. ”He's all heart.“

Trainer Bobby Frankel announced Friday that front-running Sudan will miss the race with an injured tendon.

”He was fine when he galloped“ on Thursday, Frankel said. ”But when we scanned him (Friday) we discovered that the horse had bowed a tendon.“

The loss of Sudan, owned by Gary Tanaka, winnowed the field to seven.

Irish-based Mount Nelson is the second choice at 5-2 and Einstein is listed as the third choice at 7-2.

Rounding out the field are Stream Cat (8-1), Spirit One (10-1), Cloudy's Knight (20-1) and Silverfoot (20-1).

SECRET GETAWAY, a 2-time stakes winner at Woodbine ths year, is Wilson's mount in the Grade 1 Secretariat..



THE SECRETARIAT STAKES | Grade I $400,000 | 3-Year-Olds | 1 1/4 mile on the turf

PP Horse Owner Trainer Jockey Odds

1 Prime Realestate Frank C. Calabrese Wayne M. Catalano Julien Leparoux 10-1

2 Winchester Mr. & Mrs. B.R. Firestone Dermot K. Weld Rene Douglas 10-1

3 Plan IEAH Stable & Michael Tabor Aidan P. O'Brien John Murtagh 5-2

4 Strait of Mewsina (IRE) Richard Ravin Larry Rivelli E.T. Baird 30-1

5 Snoose Goose Joseph F. Novogratz McLean Robertson Robby Albarado 20-1

6 Tizdejavu M. Cooper & P. Zierbarth Gregory Fox Garrett Gomez 6-5

7 Your Round KatieRich Stables Mark Hubley John Velazquez 8-1

8 Sr. Henry B. Golden & P. Callahan Michael Stidham Eusebio Razo Jr. 12-1

9 Secret Getaway Sand and Cee Stables Michael Stidham Emma-Jayne Wilson 10-1


AT WOODBINE TODAY



The DUCHESS STAKES is for 2yo fillies at 7 furlongs. It is not the race it once was but today's edition, the 53rd, is a super betting race if nothing else.

It marks the Woodbine return of Canada's champion 2yo filly of 2007, DANCING ALLSTAR, who was beating up on her rivals at her home track of Hastings park in Vancouver this year before she tried fast ones at Calder last time.
The Millennium Allstar, British Columbia bred was 3rd beaten more than 10 lengths in the Grade 3 Azalea Stakes to the freaky Indyanne, but ran her usual low 80 Beyer Figure.
While she won at 1 1/16 miles at Hastings, she ran a 65 Beyer that day so 7 furlongs may be a stretch against this group.

The main rivals to Allstar figure to be SUGAR BAY, who came to life in her return to sprinting last time, running an 83 Beyer in an allowance win.

GLORIOUSLY was 3rd in the Ontario Damsel at 6 1/2 on the grass after a gut wrenching battle, and she is a pace runner as is VERDANA BOLD, who has only got as high as 78 on the Beyer scale.

Shipper LUCKY MAMA'a last main track race was an 85 Beyer and she loves synthetic surfaces (but was a $12,500 claim!) and SHE'S THE UMPIRE and SWEETSOUTHERN DOLL are the stretch runners to be wary of.