Sunday at historic old Hastings Racecourse was a good day. There were enough people there to keep you from missing them and while we could have used another horse or two, a lot of what was there was high quality. There were three Allowance races, an open $16,000 that went to a distinguished senior citizen, and a couple of 25K maiden claimers to sweeten the deal.
The fans seemed interested and after starting slow, they invested almost $582,000; roughly $220,000 more than the comparable day last year. No complaints there, and our per race handle for this year has now crept past last years’. It has, all in all, been a fine spring, we race one more weekend in May and then it’s June and June brings summer. We got stuff to look forward to.
Slice of Red By A Head
The feature race, on a card that had several races that could qualify as such, was an Allowance for non-winners of $27,500 this year, with the option of running for a $50,000 tag. It was won by Slice of Red ($10.50) in a photo finish over Twistgrips in a final time of 1:17.54. The venerable Commander came along for third after saving ground most of the way.
Soon after the break Regal Red was outside in a three-horse firing line but jockey keishan Balgobin wisely relaxed the winner into a stalking position behind the dueling Go for Guinness and Tracker. Those two had at each other through a half-mile in 45.76 that softened them up enough for to Twistgrips to split them deep into the second turn while Slice of Red rolled by on the outside. For a while it looked like Twistgrips had saved enough ground on Regal Red to get home but the winner accelerated impressively late in the proceedings and got by with a head to spare.
It might as well have been a stakes race. Five of the seven contestants were stakes winners and the other two were stakes-placed, and one of those was in the Longacres Mile. The race demonstrated once again that there will not be many soft spots available at Hastings this year for upper level colts and geldings.
Slice of Red is by Rosberg out of Regal Red, she having produced two stakes winners from her only two foals to race. He was bred in British Columbia by the Village Bus Service and is raced by Linwood Stables, there being rumors that the two entities may very well be closely connected. Robert Anderson does the training.
Launder’d Mony Cleans Up
An Allowance for three-and-up non-winners of two races (three for BC-breds) went as the third and it was won by Launder’d Mony ($11.30) who stalked a dawdling pace (the half went in 47.37) before edging away from his front end waltz partner Finally Diamonds and getting home a half-length clear of that one in a final time of 1:17.87 for the 6 ½ furlong dash.
Finally Diamonds broke well from the rail to take a brief early lead but he was soon joined by Launder’d Mony with jockey Ryan Pacheco. They ran in tandem most of the way, slowly to the half and fast (the last five-sixteenths in 30.5) the rest of the way. Wonder World (3rd), Laguna Blaze and Neverabettercause wanted to close, but the leaders were not tired and they could not make up any ground down the lane.
Launder’d Mony, who kicked off his 2015 season by winning a bottoms maiden claimer and then losing by a nose in a 16K non-winners of two, might as well have been named Launder’d Conditions. Horses that win for 4K and post their next win in an Allowance race are few and far between. On the other hand, his stablemate and half-brother, X S Dividend used this Allowance spot to prove conclusively that he is a legitimate bottoms horse.
The winner was bred in British Columbia by his owners, L D’ Rado Thoroughbreds. They own the stud, Italian Lover, and the dam, the Halo mare Halee who has 7 winners from 9 foals to race. Sylvia Gregory trains.
Aditya Beatya
The eighth and last was another Allowance for non-winners of two, (three for BC-breds), this one being for three-year-olds, and it was won by Aditya with a wire-to-wire effort that resulted in a length-and-three-quarters win over the late-closing Catz on Fire in 1:17.51, the fastest time of the day.
Pedro Alvarado put Aditya on the lead immediately from the outside, pursued by Sedin from along the rail. They went around the first turn, where Sedin did not appear totally comfortable when things very subtly tightened up on him. They continued down the backside and around the second turn that way until Sedin began to weary from chasing and was passed late by Catz on Fire for the place. Catz on Fire closed well but he was never catching Aditya and Sedin chased hard but he could not keep up.
Aditya is a son of Mass Market, out of the multiple stakes winner Remarkable Miss. She is a half-sister to the graded stakes winner Trick of the North and Sadie Diamond Futurity winner Sunnyside Gal. He was bred in British Columbia by L.S. and K. Nordahl. He is trained by Anita Bolton for owner James Redekop.
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