RINGS OF FAME

VERY SMART

Smart Strike, world class sire, Canadian-bred, Hall of Fame

Tonight's the night for the 2008 CANADIAN HORSE RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES, a dinner and ceremony in Mississauga this evening.
In thoroughbred racing, ROBERT TILLER, LOUIS CAUZ, SMART STRIKE and WILDERNESS SONG got in this year.

Tiller has won over 1,400 races, 110 stakes winners and 3 Sovereign Awards.
Cauz has covered racing for newspapers, published a book on the Queen's Plate and runs the Hall of Fame.
Wilderness Song was over $1 million and was a Grade 1 winner for Sam-Son farms.
Smart Strike is currently one of the leading sires in the world.

At $150,000 a pop, you can breed to Smart Strike.
Or you can go to the Woodbine yearling sale on Tuesday and buy hip no, 31, a colt by Smart Strike out of Orangeberry by Cryptoclearance.

Certainly Smart Strike's son CURLIN has helped put the stallion among the names of Northern Dancer and other great Canadian breds.

Here are his leading earners:


Name Earnings

Curlin $9,496,800

English Channel $5,319,028

Soaring Free $2,110,371

Fleetstreet Dancer $1,704,806

Tenpins $1,133,449

Shadow Cast $923,751

Shoal Water $832,579

Strike a Deal $790,061

Eye of the Sphynx $688,340

Strike Softly $683,309



MEOW!

Authenicat crushes, leader for Sovereign Award


Vinery and Fog City's AUTHENICAT simply coasted to victory in the $125,000 Eternal Search Stakes last night at Woodbin, romping by more than 3 lengths under light handling from Rob Landry. Trained by Josie Carroll, who has had to deal with the 3yo filly's allergies (presumably to Polytrack!) and has fixed her up so nicely that she appears to be unstoppable.

She earned an 81 Beyer Figure last night from the easy win at 1 1/16 miles.

The victory, the filly's 2nd straight stakes score, actually puts AUTHENICAT at the top of the list for the SOVEREIGN AWARD for champion 3yo filly.

GINGER BREW, the Woodbine Oaks winner, is currently not eligible for the Sovereign with only 2 races in Canada this year.

Authenicat is by D'Wildcat out of Authentic Deed by Alydeed. She was bred by Gail Wood in Ontario.

She was a $67,000 weanling purchase by RGH Bloodstock (Richard Hogan) and then a $150,000 yeearling purchase by Vinery.







I'M YOUR HUCKLEBEAR....Life is goooooood!

He won just once in 17 races, made $19,000 but look at him now. HUCKLEBEAR (Cryptoclearance-Amynteon) is an ace polo pony for Don and Carol Pennycook, who adopted the horse from agent Mike Luider - who got the gelding from trainer Julia Carey.

Life after Woodbine! Make sure you do the SAME FOR YOUR HORSE.

(thanks to RK for the photos)
















JONES, BAHEN end streaks

MORE STUFF LAST NIGHT at 'Bine

Race 1 - Trainer MALCOLM PIERCE prepared ADVISABLE perfectly - the 3yo Deputy Commander filly won her maiden off a ONE YEAR LAYOFF, with a wild rally from starting 12th in the 14 horse field on turf. Pin Oak owns the filly.

Race 2- Speaking of coming from last place, FAVORITE FANTASY pulled off a 35 to 1 upset in race 2 on the grass at 1 mile. The Richter Scale filly, a 3yo, recently shipped to Woodbine for her owners Rick and Nancy Kaster and was 7th in her local debut on Polytrack.
Never a winner from 5 previous grass races, the filly was taken back to last by jockey Jono Jones, and then she rallied in time to win by a tiny nose in the $40,000 claiming event.
It was Jones' first turf win of the meeting after some 50 attempts.

Greg de Gannes, the trainer, was not in town for the win as he is in California readying SOUTHERN EXCHANGE for the Del Mar Futurity.


Race 3..

"She does everything bad in the mornings...but I never worry about her (in the afternoon)," said jockey Carl DeFreitas, who celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary last night with a fourth consecutive win aboard his favourite problem child, BAYWOODS.
A Florida-bred daughter of the late Ontario sired Archers Bay, Baywoods was claimed in December for $10,000 from Melynk Stables and trainer Mark Casse.
Lorne Richards, who trains the filly now "didn't claim her" he said on THE SCORE last night and said he probably would not have since the filly, well know as a bit of a wacky filly, has to go to the gate with one pony on either side of her.
Meanwhile, Richards is happy, she is winning for $23,500 claiming now.

Race 5 - Speedy HEY NOW was odds-on to win and did so for $32,00 claiming for Cam Allard and trainer Mike DePaulo.The Forestry colt won by more than 5 lengths on the class drop.

How about THUNDER WOLF, the long, plain bay by Awesome Again who is 7-years-old but was racing for just the 6th time last night in race 6.
The Stronach Stables gelding is quite interesting - he debuted at 5 and won for trainer Nick Gonzalez, raced here and there a few times over 2 years for Justin Nixon and Dale Romans and now is 2 for 2 in claimers for Sean Smullen.
He rallied from last for $20K last evening.

Race 7 was decimated by scratches leaving favoured KISSMYCHEEKS as an easy winner in the maiden $30,000 claimer. The Florida bred is by Diligence and is owned by Lewis Bronfman and trained by Dan Vella. She wa smaking her 8th career start.

Race 8 was a wild one as several horses got into trouble.
But it was also the first win for GO IN PEACE and Suzanne and Tim Drake's Silver Duck Racing Stable for 2008 and the purse of $66,000 was a nice payday.

Go In Peace, a Northern Strike-Host of Royalty homebred gelding, was maing his 6th start and was making that all important switch from turf to Polytrack.

Jockey Steve Bahen ended a long winless streak with his winning ride.




MATT IS BROKEN

Double Derby winner out for the year, "nothing I want to talk about"

The EDMONTON SUN'S CURTIS STOCK reports:


Canadian Derby winner needs surgery
Matt's Broken Vow injures pastern bone
Curtis Stock, The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON -- Canadian Derby winner Matt's Broken Vow will be operated on this morning following an injury incurred during the running of Saturday's $300,000 race -- the country's richest horse race west of Toronto.

While several sources said Matt's Broken Vow broke a pastern bone in his left foreleg, trainer Josie Carroll would only say "It is a minor injury. There is nothing I want to talk about."

Just 36 hours before the 13/8-mile Derby, Matt's Broken Vow injured his left front foot when a shoe became dislodged during the flight to Edmonton from Toronto.

Carroll flew in her own blacksmith, John Staples, from Toronto. Staples changed the horse's front shoes and put a pad between the horse's left front foot and his new shoes.

"It has nothing to do with his foot," said Carroll.

Given that a horse's pastern bones -- horses have two in each leg -- are just above the foot, that would technically be correct.

Vital for shock absorption, the pasterns are located between the fetlock (ankle) joint and the hoof.

In human terms they are equivalent to the two longest finger bones.

"I assure you it has nothing to do with his foot," repeated Carroll.

Matt's Broken Vow has been sent to Moore and Co. veterinarian clinic in Balzac, just north of Calgary.

Other sources said that Matt's Broken Vow's jockey, Emile Ramsammy, told Carroll that he could tell something was wrong when he pulled the horse up following the race.

The injury is not life-threatening, but it will keep Matt's Broken Vow on the sidelines for an extended period of time.

(cstock@thejournal.canwest.com)




CURLIN'S CORNER

Hey, visit the world's top racehorse at his website (s)...so to the NYRA site and you will also find Curlin's personal site there too..

http://www.nyra.com/Curlin/CurlinCorner.htm