DAVE LANDRY visited the horses at WINDHAVEN in Caledon recently and some were really interested in the goings on!
CANADIAN BRED DYNAMIC SKY is in the Pasco today Tampa Bay Downs. The Sky Mesa – Murani 3yo has Luis Contreras board for the 7 furlong race. This guy was only beaten 5 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and certainly looks like a serious factor in the race. The one to knock off is PURPLE EGG, an unbeaten Lion Heart 3yo with a strange name. Dynamic Sky was a $25,000 yearling and he was bred by Arosa Farms. Mark Casse trains for John Oxley.
Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs, post time: 3:55 p.m. EST
PASCO S., $100,000, 3yo, 7f
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Mind Spell Proud Accolade Centeno DaCosta 8-1
2 Falling Sky Lion Heart Lopez Sano 6-1
3a Dynamic Sky Sky Mesa Contreras Casse 3-1
4 Lightning Stone Stonesider D Coa Allyn 20-1
5 Purple Egg Lion Heart Rocco Jr Cibelli 2-1
6 Silver Day Silver Train Pedroza Kaplan 12-1
7 O T B Bob Full Mandate De La Cruz DiVito 15-1
8 Divine Ambition Divine Park Martinez Miller 12-1
9 Hard to Name Hard Spun Serpa Jo Servis 9-2
10a Sky Commander Sky Mesa Husbands Casse 3-1
WEEKEND STUFF
Champion Fifty Proof continues comeback
FIFTY PROOF is a contender at 6 to 1 in today’s FT. LAUDERDALE STAKES Grade 2 in a contentious field of turfers. The grand 7yo won the Sir Barton off a 1 1/2 year layoff in December and he turfs even better. He has a tough test with NIKKIS SANDCASTLE and DOMINUS in the field but it will be fun to watch him in the 10th at Gulfstream today for Kinghaven Haven Farms and partners.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 5:05 p.m. EST
FT. LAUDERDALE S.-GII, $150,000, 4yo/up, 1 1/16mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Vertiformer Dynaformer Garcia Catalano 117
2 Nikki’s Sandcastle Castledale (Ire) Lanerie Kassen 121
3 Fifty Proof Whiskey Wisdom Trujillo Black 117
4 Dominus K Smart Strike Velazquez Pletcher 123
5 Hollinger Black Minnaloushe Prado Attfield 117
6 Quick Wit K Sharp Humor Torres Romans 120
7 Sky Blazer Sky Mesa Rosario Tagg 117
8 Big Blue Kitten Kitten’s Joy Castellno Brown 117
9 Mucho Mas Macho K Macho Uno Leyva Collazo 121
10 Tiz Sardonic Joe Tiznow Lezcano Kenneally 117
11 Empire Builder Kitten’s Joy Castanon Duco 117
12mto Pants On Fire Jump Start
Sunday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 5:05 p.m. EST
HAL’S HOPE S.-GIII, $100,000, 4yo/up, 1m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Swagger Jack K Smart Strike Lanerie Wolfson 117
2 Associate Wando Rosario Dutrow Jr. 117
3 Good Morning Diva Lion Heart Cruz Braddy 117
4 Soldat K War Front Castellano McLaughlin 117
5 Delegation K Speightstown Velazquez Casse 121
6 Csaba Kitten’s Joy Saez Gleaves 121
7 Scatman K Scat Daddy Lezcano Mott 117
8 Cool Blue Red Hot Harlan’s Holiday Bravo Penna Jr. 117
9 Pants On Fire Jump Start Lopez Breen 117
10 Pool Play K Silver Deputy Mena Casse 121
Friday, Oaklawn Park, post time: 5:33 p.m. EST
FIFTH SEASON S., $75,000, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 It Happened Again Proud Citizen Lebron Amoss 4-1
2a Skyring English Channel Court Lukas 6-1
3 Endorsement Distorted Humor Albarado Harty 2-1
4 Stachys Candy Ride (Arg) Birzer Biehler 12-1
5a Eye of the Leopard A.P. Indy Ocampo Lukas 6-1
6 Master Rick Master Command Santana Asmussen 5-1
7 Donoharm Lemon Drop Kid Berry Calhoun 8-1
8 Win Willy Monarchos Cintron Robertson 7-2
9 Double Rah Rah Rahy Baird Fires 30-1
CASSE STARTS POOL PLAY, DELEGATION ON SUNDAY
Casse Leads Delegation into Battle with Csaba in Hal’s Hope
Trainer Mark Casse expects Delegation to run a much-improved race in Sunday’s $100,000 Hal’s Hope (G3) at Gulfstream Park, buoyed by the knowledge that his 4-year-old gelding was not at his fittest in his second-place finish behind Csaba in the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday at Gulfstream on Dec. 16.
“That horse trained on synthetic his entire career. When we brought him out to Santa Anita, we thought it was as close as you can get to running on synthetic, because it’s faster and horses seem to skip over it. I wasn’t really concerned with it. I thought he ran really well,” said Casse, who saddled Delegation for a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) prior to his runner-up finish in the Harlan’s Holiday. “He came out of the race a little tired, as most horses would be. But when he ran him at Gulfstream, he was exhausted. That is a much more trying surface.”
Delegation was one of Casse’s five Breeders’ Cup starters who got sick upon leaving Santa Anita, and had only two breezes before the Harlan’s Holiday.
Although confident that Delegation will be fitter for the Hal’s Hope, he’s not about to predict victory.
“I think he should be a better horse than he was three weeks ago. But, I’m going to tell you, he going to have to be a lot better horse, because the winner was impressive. I’m not taking anything away from him. That was impressive,” said Casse of Csaba, who won by nearly four lengths in the Harlan’s Holiday. “I’m not sure we can beat him, but we’re going to give it one more try.”
Casse, though, has very high expectations for Gary Barber’s Delegation as the 2013 racing season unfolds.
“I think if Delegation continues to improve, I think he will be one of the best older horses in North America this year,” he said.
Casse will also saddle William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play, a late supplement for the one-turn, one-mile Hal’s Hope, which he hopes will serve as a prep for the $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1) at Gulfstream on Feb. 9.
“We don’t have any other spots. He isn’t eligible for any allowance races. The mile is definitely too short for him. Initially, we weren’t going to go there, but after much discussion, Bill Farish and I, decided that it was the best of the worst scenarios,” Casse said. “Bill and I thought the best chance for him to have any chance of making the Donn, he’d have to run there, and that’s why we supplemented him.”
Pool Play, who finished off-the-board in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) last time out, previously captured the Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) on Oct. 6, “As a trainer, he’s one of my proudest accomplishments,” Casse said. “He started his career late. I didn’t have him as a 2-year-old, but he was injured before he ever went to the races. He was owned by WinStar, who bought him as a weanling, and as a 3-year-old, I ran him a couple times. WinStar sells a lot of their horse in November of their 3-year-old year, and he was in a sale. I called Bill and told him I thought he was a talented horse. Bill bought him for $180,000 and he’s won $1.2 million.”
Pool Play’s biggest victory came in the 2011 Stephen Foster (G1) at Churchill Downs.
After he won the Foster, we took him to Saratoga and the first week we got there, he was injured. The (tendon) injury was a significant injury, bad enough that two vets who examined him doubted he’d ever come back. He came back. When he won the Hawthorne Gold Cup, in my thoughts, it was one of the biggest training feats of my career,” said Casse, who had prepped the 8-year-old son of Silver Deputy on turf and synthetic surfaces to prime him for the Hawthorne Gold Cup.
RACE 10 AT TAMPA ON FRIDAY
Winner Simply Exchange, grey on the rail from the back jumps jockey to win – wild race, and when you watch the replay, you will notice the race caller does not mention anything LOL
http://www.tampabaydowns.com/daily-replays.aspx
PERRON’S ARE SKY HIGH!
James Perron Sr. sold his racing filly SKY HIGH GAL for a reported $450,000 recently and the 3yo filly won the Blue Norther Stakes last week at Santa Anita. The new owners ate Hromis Racing and John Sadler trains the filly.
SKY HIGH GAL won 2 of 3 races for Perron including a Churchill Downs allowance on the grass. She was a $30,000 auction purchase in 2012. She is by Leroisdesanimaux out of a Sky Classic mare. Kenny LeJeune consigned the filly as a 2yo.
BECAUSE, THAT’S WHY
79 Beyer for Ontario bred winner
Dom Romeo’s WHY KATHERINE won a maiden allowance at Gulfstream Park yesterday, a 1 mile turf event, and it marked the first win of the GP meet for trainer Tino Attard. The sleek Whywhywhy filly had run her best races on the grass at Woodbine but had a lot of bad luck with weather.
chart from Thoroughbred Daily News:
6th-GPX, $42,000, Msw, 4yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:36 1/5, fm.
WHY KATHERINE (f, 4, Whywhywhy–Include Katherine, by Include) was an overmatched fifth in the
Ontario Damsel S. at Woodbine July 7 and missed by a nose in an Aug. 3 maiden in Toronto. Soon in front in this 4-year-old bow, Why
Katherine doled out a good pace, spurted clear into the stretch and scored by 2 1/4 lengths at odds of 5-1.
Spring Reason (El Prado {Ire}) was a rail-skimming runner-up. Lifetime Record: 7-1-1-0, $46,609. Terra Racing Stable. B-Dom Romeo (ON). T-T Attard.
COLEBROOK FARMS had a winner at CHARLES TOWN yesterday. BABY BUBBLES won her maiden for $5,000 claiming in a 6 1/2 furlong dash. Doug Shanyfelt is the listed trainer. The winner is by Niigon out of storm Spirit.
Ontario bred HYMN NOTE won a $25,000 claiming race at Penn National on Friday at 28 to 1 for Rock Bottom Ranch and trainer Sandee Beattie. The Chapel Royal filly was bred by Frank DiGiulio Jr.
IWILLGOTOTHEMOON, age 6
(found this photo of ‘Moon’ after his win at Woodbine in 2012 on a hot day, photo taken by LEMUR (Sarah) on Flckr.com)
Canadian-bred IWILLGOTOTHEMOON (Perigee Moon – Passionate Blonde) broke down Thursday evening at Charles Town racetrack in a $5,000 claiming race and has been put down.
The chestnut gelding, described as classy by his current owner and trainer Rob Johnston, was making his first start since late in the Woodbine season when he was off form for $8,000 claiming.
Bred by Stubbs Investment, Iwillgotothemoon was a $1,500 weanling purchase in 2008 and a $10,000 yearling purchase.
He debuted on July 90 2009 for Sheldon Pettle and Steve Attard in a maiden allowance race at Woodbine. He won 2nd time out by 6 lengths for $40,000 claiming and earned over $21,000.
Through the last few years, IWILLGOTOTHEMOON was a solid high claiming sprinter. He did win a couple of times at the allowance level in 2010 and 2011. Last year, IWILLGOTOTHEMOON won for $50,000 claiming in May under Patrick Husbands. Then, through the year, he tumbled and tumbled all the way to $8,000 claiming, He did win once at Fort Erie but then was well beaten in his last 2 races of the season for low claiming.
He was transferred from Pettle and Attard to Johnston for the trip to Charles Town.
IWILLGOTOTHEMOON was claimed from the race he broke down in.
Race Record – 30 starts
6 wins
3 seconds
5 thirds $281,929 – Best Beyer 84
CATCH THE BULLET
Laurel press release
Around 9 o’clock Friday morning, commuters traveling on U.S. Route 1 in North Laurel saw something they will never forget: a loose horse heading south without its rider. (Laurel Park is located about halfway between Baltimore and Washington D.C.)
Bullet Catcher, a 4-year-old gelding from the Jerry Robb stable, tossed jockey Jeremy Rose while heading back to the barn after a morning workout and got loose. The son of Strong Hope then made his way out of the stable gate, made a left on Whiskey Bottom Road and another left onto Route 1 before being caught, un-injured, after a 1.6 mile journey. The trip included parts of Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George’s Counties.
“You think you’ve seen it all,” said former rider Mark Rosenthal, who co-owns the gelding.
Jockey Abel Castellano captured part of the adventure down Route 1 on his mobile phone.
“I had finished working a horse and was coming to the jocks room when I saw a horse run by heading out of the stable gate,” Castellano said. “I decided to follow the horse and maybe when he stopped I could catch him. All of a sudden we got to Route 1 and there was a red light. I saw the cars driving by and I said ‘oh my God, we’re going to have an accident’ but at that moment it changed to a green light to make a left and the horse just made a left. I went ‘oh, we’re so lucky so far’ then we got the point where the road splits, you go right so that horse he keeps to the right, so we follow him. The horse is still running 30 miles an hour. Finally he slowed down in front of the Chrysler dealership almost to Main Street and we were able to catch him. The story had a happy ending but it was scary.”
Trainer Charles “Snake” Frock was also part of the group that caught the Maryland-bred, who has one win and three on the board finishes in six lifetime starts.
“I have never seen anything like it and I have been at the racetrack for more than 50 years,” Frock added. “I was coming from the farm in Westminster and saw him on Whiskey Bottom Road and did a U-turn to try to help. My trailer was full with hay and I had another horse in the van. When we finally caught him we were able to bring him back to the track in my van. I told Robb later, ‘it’s unreal the horse galloped out the gate and all the way to Main Street on the blacktop and never shredded a shoe.’ God was on his side.”
Robb indicated Bullet Catcher had some abrasions on his feet but he would not know the full extent of any injuries for a few days.
