LEAVES

Today's post is dedicated to the memory of JILLY PILLY, who passed away in her sleep at the age of 30 in Hillsburgh, Ontario.

Jilly was believed to be the oldest living Buckpasser mare.


http://www.pedigreequery.com/jilly+pilly







Welcome to autumn!


CURLIN is up on SATURDAY at Belmont in the Jockey Club Gold Cup shooting for CIGAR'S NORTH AMERICAN record of earnings (TM Opera O has won $16 million, Cigar, $10 million)...next week Woodbine will be a-flutter with the preparations for BREEDERS' CUP CHALLENGE DAY on Oct. 4, televised by ESPN.

The CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL, SUMMER, NEARCTIC and E.P. TAYLOR STAKES will all be held on the grass, which has had plenty of rain in September but none in the last week.



(photo: MOURILYAN, formerly raced by breeder the AGA KHAN, was 3rd in a minor race at Kempton in his last start - he's reportedly headed to Woodbine. Vanessa Ng photo)





The course has been well preserved this summer and let's hope that the rain stays away so that Grade 1 winner DOCTOR DINO continues with his plans to come over from Europe for the race
(see yesterday's post).

Trainer JEREMY NOSEDA reported yesterday that SIXITIES ICON, expected to beone of 3 Euro's for the race WILL NOT be coming:

from the RACING POST:

Sixties Icon will bid to complete a hat-trick when he lines up in Sunday's Cumberland Lodge Stakes at Ascot.

The 2006 St Leger hero won the Glorious Stakes at Goodwood and then followed up with a short-head victory in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury last month.

Trainer Jeremy Noseda told his website: "Sixties Icon heads to the Cumberland Lodge. I hope Frankie Dettori will be available to ride him but if not we'll have to form another plan.

"He remains in good form and I'm happy with him. I'm hoping this will be a good stepping stone for the Breeder's Cup Marathon."

The probable field could look like this:


CHAMPS ELYSEES
DOCTOR DINO
MARLANG
MARSH SIDE
MOURILYAN
QUIJANO
SEASIDE RETREAT
SPICE ROUTE





VISITING WOODBINE - JAKE SECOR

Anyone paying attention to what is happening at Woodbine this week will notice that trainer JAKE SECOR has horses in 2 races this week.

The trainer's winning percentage this year is listed at 5 for 10 (that's 50%).

Secor sends out a maiden claimer in Thursday in Fire Chief and the allowance filly Nuclear meltdown on Friday.

The young trainer has his own BLOG and this is his bio listed on the site:

Jake Secor Racing Stables is a public thoroughbred training stable based in Kentucky and Florida.
Trainer Jake Secor has a lifetime win percentage of 24%, lifetime in the money of 50%, and a happy 2008 win percentage of 71% with 100% in the money. Secor grew up on a small horse farm in Cecil County, Maryland, and started racing ponies at the east coast Point to Points when he was eleven.
Before getting his trainer's license, Secor worked for Neil Howard, Steve Asmussen, and The Thoroughbred Corp, where he worked with horses associated with D. Wayne Lukas, John Shirreffs, and Richard Mandella.


HARVEY'S VICTORY MAKES IT 5


Three-year-old HARVEY'S VICTOR won another race at Fort Erie yesterday to jump into a tie with stakes winner Bright N Golden for the most wins by a horse at Fort Erie with 5.
He has only raced 8 times in his career.
The Yankee Victory Kentucky bred, who won a prolonged 6 furlong battle yesterday in 1:09 4/5 in an allowance/optional claiming race, is also tied for the lead among horses by wins in Ontario with Bright N Golden and Baywoods.
The gelding is owned by the partnership of Calabro and Aubin and trained by Tom Patterson Jr. Those folks claimed the gelding for $4,000 from his 3rd race.


Also at FORT ERIE yesterday, stakes winner MOONSHINE JUSTICE, now 6, won for $7,000 claiming for owner/trainer Darly Ezra and Chalres Buscaglia who claimed the gelding for $5,000 3 starts ago.

The tough fellow has won over $512,000 in his career.
He won about $440,000 of it in his first 3 races of racing for Dominion Bloodstock and partners and then was claimed for $50,000 by Centennial Farms.
That farm lost him for $20,000 to Mike Edwards, Bruce Behrend and trainer lYle Morden, who had the horse before Ezra.

And for the 2nd time in her last 3 races, PIECE OF THE PIE lost her rider in a race. The claiming filly had lost Chad Beckon 3 starts ago early in a race and then she veered out at the strat last time and lost Dale Hemsley.