LEGENDS OF RACING

UPDATE...CARNAGE AT AQUEDUCT..


WANDERIN BOY, SPRINGSIDE BREAK DOWN

Wanderin Boy euthanized

It was a tough day for horse racing on Saturday in particular Canadian racing fans. SPRINGSIDE, a Kentucky bred owned by Alberta's Jim and Alice Sapara, fractured a pastern while galloping out after a stunning 9 3/4 length win in the GRADE 2 DEMOISELLE STAKES at Aqueduct. She was sent to NEW BOLTON CENTRE immediately after the race according to NYRA.

Photo Wanderin Boy (Cindy Pierson Dulay)

The Awesome Again-Folly Dollar 2yo filly was winning her 3rd straight race and her first stakes for trainer Josie Carroll. Her two wins at Woodbine and the Demoiselle certainly give her a big chance as champion 2-year-old filly for the Sovereign Awards, voting closes Monday.
Results of x-rays on her anke were not know as of 4:31 p.m.

WANDERIN BOY's breakdown in the Cigar Mile was very bad and the old timer was vanned off.
The gelding was out of contention off the turn of the one-mile race as he had been chasing a hot pace and there was some crowding on him when he appeared to break a front leg.
He was nearing the end of his racing career for Stone Farm and trainer Nick Zito.

Later the DAILY RACING FORM was the first to report the horse had been euthanized after fracturing sesamoids in his left front leg.

HARLEM ROCKER, the Canadian-bred son of Macho Uno from Stronach Stables and Adena Racing Venture I, won theGRADE ONE race but was disqualified and placed 2nd.


REMEMBER WANDERIN BOY through STEVE HASIN'S story about the old guy
BLOOD HORSE EXCERPT

Wanderin Wonder

01 Oct 2008 12:26 PM

Many horses like Wanderin Boy go through their entire career overlooked by the fans and media. They’re always dependable, showing up in many of the grade I stakes, and while they turn in huge efforts at times, they’re just not able to get to the finish line first and make that leap into the big-time.

At age 7, Wanderin Boy has made only 24 career starts, winning nine, with six seconds and three thirds for earnings of $1.2 million. Talk about not choosing one’s company wisely, he has finished second in grade I stakes to Curlin (Jockey Club Gold Cup), Invasor (Pimlico Special), Bernardini (Jockey Club Gold Cup), and Lawyer Ron (Whitney). He has, however, managed to win the grade II Brooklyn Handicap and the grade III Ben Ali, Alysheba, and Mineshaft.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, ‘OK, so what’s the point?’

The point is, a horse like Wanderin Boy – and I emphasize the word “horse” rather than gelding – often goes unnoticed because he’s never done anything that would cause people to pay a whole lot of attention to him, other than to say something like, “It was another good effort by Wanderin Boy, but he was no match for….”

But there often is much more to a horse than his record. In Wanderin Boy’s case, this is a horse who should be admired by all those fortunate enough to see him run his heart out race after race.

His owner and breeder, Arthur Hancock III of Stone Farm, had bought a season in Seeking the Gold, to whom he would breed his Pleasant Colony mare Vid Kid, a stakes winner of almost $300,000.

Vid Kid produced a beautiful foal on April 4, 2001, but on May 3, the one-month-old colt somehow fractured his sesamoid while out in the field.

http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2008/10/01/wanderin-wonder.aspx








EINSTEIN looked smart winning the Clark at Churchill yesterday over big fave Commentator...read more below. Photo by Vanessa Ng.













**DANCE SMARTLY JACKET AUCTION

closes NOON today.

Last bid, last night $350.00, fr om R. D.




Oops!
Erroneous statistics from EQUIBASE.COM let the standings in a shanbles for top jockey.
The actual number is 2 heading into today...

AND THEN IT WAS 1

Husbands could tie McAleney today - Tiller could get 1500 wins today!

PATRICK HUSBANDS won 2 more races yesterday (that's 7 in two days for those paying attention) to get within 1 of leading race winning jockey JIM MCALENEY.
McAleney won one yesterday.

And speaking of the NUMBERs trainer ROBERT TILLER IS TWO WINS away from 1,500 career wins.

Now, these milestones that have started to pop up lately - 1,000 for Mark Casse etc. - are not an easy thing to determine unless the information is confirmed bt database calculations according to Daily Racing Form.

And unless the person himself or someone else is paying attention to everyone's records, some can go past with notice.

Roger Attfield passed 1500 wins last fall.

So TILLER, who has a nice first-timer in RACE ONE today (Three Hour Tour) and then big favourite SPRINT MASTER in race 6, could get his mark today.



YESTERDAY WRAP

more longshots on a freaky friday...

But first SPUNKY, well named, won her 4th race of the year and she's just a 2yo filly. That was race 1 for $40K claiming. The Concerto filly, bred in Florida, is owned and was bred by Roger Laurin and trained by Greg de Gannes,
The filly is miraculous and was not claimed yesterday. She has raced 9 times now and her favourite rider seems to be apprentice Krista Carignan.

Tiller's win came with first time starter CACTUS PARK, who was also incredible. The 2yo by young sire Cactus Ridge, was buried down on the rail off the turn and off the pace but she rallied between fillies in the 2 path to win in the last jump under Pat Husbands. Linmac Farms own $18,000 yearling purchase.

BEAR LAHAINA won race 3 as the big favourite and was the pick of most. She was plunging in class from a 3rd place finish in a stakes race to $50K claiming, won handily and went back to Bear Stables and Reade Baker. Eurico da Silva rode.

DON MACRAE won another race - the trainer has had a productive fall - this time with LARRY'S GETAWAY, an Outofthebox geldig owned and bred by Darrly Jackson in Florida. The gelding won a close photo over Renier.

How about Tony and Mary Jane Lamb? The owner.breeders had a longshot winner in Junior Attorney last week and then had another bomber yesterday with BLACK RAPID who got up at 40 to 1 to beat 24 to 1 Quinner's Circle.
Black Rapid, by local sire Paynes Bay out of Sahara Samba, won his maiden for $10,000 in 1:24.79.
It was the first of 2 wins for jockey SUNNY SINGH.

Mark and Tina Casse unleashed a nice 2yo in AWAKENED. The Tethra fellow started from the rail in 12 horse field - all first timers - but won as much the best at a shocking 6 to 5. He was bred by SPIRIT WIND FARMS INC. in Ontario and is out of a stakes placed mare called Nikiniki Ninedoors.

SENOR won race 7o for Frank Huarte, owner/trainer, and Corey Fraser. The gelding, another one by Cactus Ridge, was taking his 2nd win in 13 races this year.

GOTAGHOSTOFACHANCE was Husbands' 2nd winner and another victor for Scott Fairlie, who has won races at a rapid rate in recent weeks. The classy 7yo gelding ran 7 furlongs in the $11,500 claimer in a fast 1:23.29 and was not claimed.

He has won 9 races in 32 starters and 3 of 13 this year.

SPIDER ROCK won the 9th race for Stronach Stables for $10K claiming at 4 to 1 and the finale went to 15 to 1 shot EL GRAN BRETT for owner/trainer Gord Cowie and jockey Sunny Singh.



JUST WHO WAS KINGARVIE??
(he won the King's Plate!)


The 34th Kingarvie Stakes, for Ontario-sired 2yo's is today's feature at Woodbine. Perhaps you could make a case for a 2yo in the race for Sovereign Award voting should the performance be big.

SHUT IT DOWN has the 11 post (ACCURATE SHOT was scratched) and a big Beyer Figure of 80 from a recent stakes win.
The champion 2yo Sovereign is totally up for grabs with EL SINALOENSE from western Canada up against Southern Exchange and Mine That Bird.

The last Kingarvie winner to win the QUEEN'S PLATE the next year was REGAL INTENTION in 1987.

from Wikipedia...(photo of Kingarvie from Cdn. Horse Racing Hall of Fame)

Kingarvie (foaled 1943) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by the renowned automobile pioneer, Col. Sam McLaughlin, he was out of the mare, Forsworn. He was sired by Teddy Wrack who was a son of Bull Dog, a Champion American sire whose progeny included the very important Bull Lea.

Trained by Arthur Brent, in his first two races at age two Kingarvie was beaten by fellow future Hall of Fame inductee, Windfields. He then went on a ten-race winning streak that extended into 1946 which included the 87th running of the King's Plate, Canada's most prestigious race.

A gelding, Kingarvie continued racing until 1953 when he was retired at age ten. In 1976 Kingarvie was part of the inaugural class inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.






SMART

EINSTEIN won the Clark Handicap in an upset over Commentator yesterday at Churchill.
Anyhone watching the race certainly would have thought old timer Commentator was going to jog based on the slow pace he set:

(Photo from VANESSA NG and quotes from www.-horse-races.net)

His jockey John Velazquez said,

"He struggled with the track. He was good the first part of the race, but he got to the 1/2 mile pole and I tried to encourage him, but it seemed like he was skipping, he was slipping and sliding a little bit. That's the first time he ever felt that he was not getting hold of the track, and he's been everywhere. But today he just struggled with it. I got after him, but he just went through the motions. He didn't do like he can." His trainer Nick Zito said, "It could just be the effect of a long year for him, the way he is. He puts everything into everything he does. You know, Helen (Pitts) did a good job with Einstein coming off a 3 month layoff. He's a nice horse that finished second to Curlin. But John (Velazquez) said Commentator was just skipping. He wasn't getting a good hold (of the track). When he left there I was happy, but down the backside he just couldn't accelerate and get away, and I knew something was wrong. He just wasn't himself."



JAPAN CUP PREVIEW
from japan times:
Strong competition lined up for 28th running of Japan Cup

By BARBARA BAYER
Staff writer

Japan Cup weekend is upon us, but this year's is not the double G1 combo of the past eight years. It's the turf version only, Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse.

The Japan Cup Dirt, normally run on the Saturday before the turf version, has been relocated west to Hanshin Racecourse, cut down 300 meters to 1,800, switched from counter-clockwise to clockwise and moved to Dec. 7.

The single race this Sunday makes for a rather lonely weekend, coupled with the fact that only four horses (three from the United Kingdom, one from the United States) have made the trip to Japan from abroad and only two countries other than Japan are represented.

It's a far cry from earlier years, such as the second running of the Japan Cup in 1982, when nine horses from six foreign countries participated alongside the Japanese runners in what was truly an international event, a racing festival of some of the world's best horses and riders.

Nonetheless, the competition Sunday may be some of the hottest in the Japan Cup's 28-year history, with nine top-level winners, including three Nippon Derby winners — Meisho Samson, Vodka and Deep Sky. The field of 18 vies for a first-place prize of ¥250 million.

The Derby trio — Deep Sky won this year, Vodka last year and Meisho Samson in 2006 — is expected to emerge as the top three choices for the race. Meisho Samson has drawn the No. 2 post position, Vodka No. 4, and Deep Sky the No. 9 slot, though the mid-stretch start of the 2,400-meter long race means the draw is not as crucial as in a shorter race or one starting closer to a turn.

Vodka is likely to be chosen the race favorite, despite her just having come off a grueling 2-cm win of the fall Emperor's Cup. Only four weeks later and with an added 400 meters in mixed company, a win for the 4-year-old filly would be a stupendous feat, the kind Vodka is known for. Her regular jockey of late, Yutaka Take, was to ride Meisho Samson, but will actually be sitting the Japan Cup out entirely, after suffering a fall and broken arm last Sunday.

Vodka will be paired with Yasunari Iwata, who rode her to victory in the mile Yasuda Kinen in June. A difficult filly, there is concern that she will not settle well enough in the race's early stages to save what's needed for the latter stages, especially at the longer distance. The stretch at Tokyo is some 530 meters long, with a slope the undoing of many a runner.

Deep Sky sat out the final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown, the Kikkasho, giving him a Japan Cup-friendly rotation, but 3 is still considered a young age with which to capture the JC. The past decade has seen only Jungle Pocket do so in 2001.

Meisho Samson looks to have returned to form in time to put in a good performance. Sixth in last year's race, Samson is winless this year, though he was a close second in both the spring Emperor's Cup and the Takarazuka Kinen. He traveled to France for the Arc, but disappointed with a 10th-place finish. He will be paired with Mamoru Ishibashi, who rode Samson for his first 18 starts.

Others to watch are Asakusa Kings, last year's Kikkasho winner, and Matsurida Gogh. Asakusa Kings finished eighth in the Emperor's Cup but it was the White Muzzle colt's first race in over four months and he was ridden by an inexperienced rider, not the case on Sunday.
read the rest in the JAPAN TIMES here:


http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20081129a1.html


EXCERPT FROM USA TODAY
horse racing in new orleans

Horse racing a Thanksgiving tradition in New Orleans

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
NEW ORLEANS — Thanksgiving in New Orleans isn't just about turkeys. It's also about horses and the traditional races at Fair Grounds.

No, the horses aren't for eating. They're for racing, which for some is as much a tradition here as the turkey dinner on the table.


Thanksgiving at the Fair Grounds Race Course stretches back to the 1920s. Spectators stream in by the thousands in their best holiday attire: bright silk dresses, dark suits and Fedoras, tuxedos and fashion sunglasses.

This year was no different. Some people placed bets, but most just socialized while sipping a Bloody Mary, beer or mimosa. The event is as much about style and people-watching as equestrian competition.


"This is My Fair Lady goes to Mardi Gras," says Gary Granata, 48, a local entrepreneur, dressed in a blue blazer, black bowler hat and white sunglasses and holding a cane with a golden handle, as he watched the third race. "It's just a great New Orleans tradition."

Thanksgiving typically marks opening day at the Fair Grounds. This year, however, opening day of the track's 137th racing season was held two weeks earlier to fit in more races, says Austin Miller, track president. That didn't deter fans coming out and reveling in the carnival atmosphere.

"Today's an important day," Miller notes. "We get to expose the sport to a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise come out. Racing has deep roots in New Orleans."

The track first opened in 1872, making it the third oldest thoroughbred racing facility in the USA, says Lenny Vangilder, a track spokesman. The Thanksgiving tradition began in the 1920s, he says.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/2008-11-27-notrack_N.htm