Gulfstream media photo courtesy Gulfstream Park
CANADIAN RUNNERS
Woodbine stakes winner GLENVILLE GARDENS, winner of the Display Stakes at the end of the Woodbine season, did not take to the dirt at Gulfstream on Wednesday in an allowance race for 2yos. The Street Cry colt, owned and bred by Eugene Melnyk, trailed through the one mile and was last beaten 46 lengths. Josie Carroll trains the Kentucky bred.
MILWAUKEE WOMAN won a long stretch duel and won a $35,000 claiming race at Gulfstream on Wednesday for Stronach Stables. The Milwaukee Brew – Wedded Woman, by Siphon (Brz) was the 3 to 1 favourite and she won the grass race in 1:43.34 for trainer Dan Vella.
Canadian TERRY HAMILTON celebrated a win in race 5 at Gulfstream as HAMMERS TERROR led all the way through 1 1/16 miles on grass and posted a sharp time of 1:40.62. The Kentucky bred is by Artie Schiller and he is trained by Brian Lynch. Hammers Terror won the Charlie Barley Stakes at Woodbine in 2012. The Gulfstream race was a $35,000 claiming event.
You might want to mark down THE FORKS (Fr) as a horse to watch, Canadian-style, as Gulfstream. Rob Smithen’s maiden filly had a disastrous trip on the grass on Wednesday and finished 10th but deserves another chance at the maiden $50,000 claiming level. Sid Attard trains.
At Laurel Park, SHALE WAGMAN and DENSYE MCCLACHRIE won with BONITA LUNA in a $25,000 maiden claiming race at 7 furlongs. The Graeme Hall filly, a Florida bred, was making her first start since Nov. at Woodbine. She was 8 to 5 and won by 2 1/4 lengths.
At Penn National, trainer Steven Chircop continues a roll – ENDEAVOR’S DREAM won a $5,000 claiming race by 6 lengths at odds-on for owner Frank Cirillo. The Ontario bred is by Endeavor and was bred by Tucci Stables. The 3yo gelding was claimed by Cachet Thoroughbreds.
CHIRCOP is 2 for 2 at the current meeting and he has won with 3 of his last 4 runners at any track.
Also at Penn National, CRESWELL BAY won her 4th race of her career in race 5 for $62,50 claiming. This is an Ontario bred filly by Sligo Bay out of Golden Sister by Bold Ruckus. She was bred by paradox Farm in Ontario.
DECISION DAY, Coronation winner, works at Palm Meadows
Donver Stables’ top 2yo colt DECISION DAY (Macho Uno) had a 4 furlong workout at Palm Meadows on Wednesday. The Josie Carroll trainee went the distance in 50.55 breezing, 17th fastest of 26 at the distance.
HOPE AND HORSES
SYMPHONY OF FIRE and his new friend, Bonnie Hellam. LongRun Photo
Symphony of Fire looked down at his visitors as each one took turns approaching the flashy chestnut Thoroughbred’s tall and imposing figure. A veteran of the racing game with battered that legs pounded the racetrack 79 times in his career, Symphony of Fire stood quietly and lowered his head. One by one, the small group of men and women enrolled in the new Horses Offering People Encouragement program based out of Milton, Ontario, touched their very first racehorse.
One young woman, Bonnie Hellam, was fearless as she approached the regally bred son of champion Sky Classic. You see, Hellam knows all about fighting battles too. Shuttled around through many different foster homes as a child, Hellam, who is in her 30s, struggles every day with mental health issues and lives in supportive housing in the Halton region.
Both Symphony of Fire and Hellam were trying to find their place in society when they met for the first time through HOPE, a pilot project launched in October by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Halton Regional Police Service’s COMMANDE (Community, Mobilization and Engagement), and LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society. The therapeutic horsemanship program brings together retired racehorses with vulnerable citizens from various communities. Men and women groom, tack and walk horses while also learning basic horse behaviour and anatomy.
Learning horse anatomy
Symphony of Fire was born at the famed Sam-Son Farms in Milton in 2001, a son of the talented stakes winning mare Spinnakers Flying. Expectations were high since he came from same home of champions such as Dance Smartly, a Canadian Triple Crown winner.
It was evident early in his racing career, however, that Symphony of Fire simply was not as fast as his breeding suggested he should be. He had only a couple of second-place finishes before he was sold privately to Sam Parro and Spiros Barlas in 2005. The horse took his first career win a year later in a low level maiden claiming race at Fort Erie and took another win in 2007. He made a lot of starts, 16 in the year 2010 alone, and collected small prizes but he never won another race.
“He was a wonderful horse for me,” said Parro. “He could be a tough one to train and he had his quirks. But he had a great personality and he made me a little bit of money.”
Parro, 80, was the sole owner and trainer of Symphony of Fire when the gelding started to show signs that he did not want to race anymore.
“He just didn’t want to train; he would stop and not move. I knew it was time to retire him so I donated him to LongRun.”
The gelding was sent to one of LongRun’s foster homes, Danielle Goncalves’ Emerald Lane Farm in Thornton, where he lives today with several other retired racehorses awaiting adoption.
Goncalves has been working with Symphony of Fire to learn to be a riding horse and she said the gelding was a bit edgy when he first came off the track, but quickly settled.
“He’s become a total farm horse with a big grass belly,” said Goncalves. “One of his first jobs was the work we did with him in the HOPE program and he was very aware of who was working with him.”
Wendy Loiselle, senior manager of corporate responsibility for WEG, was involved in the development of the program along with Constable Maureen Andrews of Halton Police. “Something magical happened,” said Loiselle. “It should have been frightening but the horse could not have been more patient.”
For Hellam, animals of every shape and size have been good company but bonding with a Thoroughbred took her confidence and calmness to a higher level. Lindsay Saxon, Hellam’s caseworker at the Canadian Mental Health Association branch in Halton, sent along some messages from Hellam about her experience in the five week HOPE program.
“I had lots of fun being around the horses,” Hellam wrote. “It is very therapeutic, they are so totally understanding, they know exactly how you’re feeling. [I] hope this program continues…it shows people good things can happen even when bad things go wrong.”
HOPE offers a chance for our community’s most vulnerable members to interact with racehorses. And the racehorses love it.
Hellam and the other members of the inaugural HOPE program also visited Woodbine’s backstretch, met racehorses and watched a race and met jockeys.
“Everyone, in any community, can benefit,” said Loiselle. “The confidence-building factor for the group interacting with the horses was incredible. And the racehorses, they didn’t care if our group did not know the difference between a mane and tail, they needed them too for the attention.”
Nancy Brooks of LongRun said the interaction with horses gave Hellam and the other members of the group an important dose of confidence.
“When she was with the horses, life was good for her, she felt important,” said Brooks. “She felt in control and a connection to the horses.”
Horses being used as therapy animals is a growing trend and is important not only for the people but for racehorses who are no longer making money.
LongRun, based out of Woodbine racetrack, is one of several groups in Ontario that has placed hundreds of former runners in adoptive homes and in therapy situations.
“I think more and more young people can do well with this kind of program,” said Parro. “A lot of kids need it. When I retire from training, I hope to be able to volunteer for LongRun and help out the retired racehorses.”
The good news for challenged community members and retired racehorses is that the HOPE project is expected to return in the spring of 2015.
“What is amazing is that, in this program, the horses are not being labelled as not useful anymore,” said Loiselle, who is planning to bring the project back in the spring of 2015. “And the people they are helping are not being labelled by society. They both get something really valuable out of their time together.”
(this story first appeared in the Toronto Star, Nov. 28. in a shortened version)
HORSES WHO WON THE MOST RACES AT CANADIAN TRACKS IN 2014
BEAR ROCKNROLL, by Kafwain and foaled in Kentucky, won 7 races in 2014 all at HASTINGS PARK and all for Bob Leffler and trainer Craig McPherson. He is an 8-year-old gelding who was claimed by Leffler in 2008 for $25,000 and he is still racing and winning at the $16,000 claiming level. The gelding was originally a $205,000 yearling purchase by Bear Stables and he began his career in Kentucky and then Alberta.
Alberta-bred 4-year-old gelding LOVELY START won 6 races at Northlands Park for Shot in the Dark and Derby Quest Racing and trainer Grey Tracy. The son of Tempered Appeal was bred by A & W Farms.
HST Bearrock N Roll 9 7 0 0 $54,052 78% 7 78% 94
NP Lovely Start 8 6 1 0 $41,536 75% 7 88% 90
WO Calgary Cat 7 5 1 1 $315,000 71% 7 100% 112
NP Time for a Memory 7 5 0 0 $54,977 71% 5 71% 72
NP Quite Contrary 9 5 1 2 $32,826 56% 8 89% 83
MD Annadu 5 5 0 0 $14,181 100% 5 100% 74
MD California Poppy 9 5 1 1 $12,159 56% 7 78% 79
HST Kai’s Command 5 5 0 0 $40,403 100% 5 100% 91
HST Toccet’s Charm 10 5 0 0 $34,557 50% 5 50% 83
ASD Nose the Pose 7 5 0 0 $54,711 71% 5 71% 86
ASD Calitor 7 5 2 0 $44,761 71% 7 100% 91
ASD Touch the Sun 7 5 0 1 $30,296 71% 6 86% 96
ASD Lovely Sunrise 9 5 2 0 $27,100 56% 7 78% 92
WO Strut the Course 7 4 1 0 $322,903 57% 5 71% 110
WO Executive Allure 6 4 1 0 $266,441 67% 5 83% 98
WO Hillaby 5 4 0 0 $244,071 80% 4 80% 109
WO Dancing Ashley 9 4 3 1 $213,547 44% 8 89% 102
WO Maythefourthbwithu 8 4 1 1 $182,452 50% 6 75% 93
WO Two Brews to Go 8 4 1 0 $109,528 50% 5 63% 88
WO Machito 6 4 0 0 $100,495 67% 4 67% 96
WO Bear’s Pearl 9 4 1 0 $100,334 44% 5 56% 96
WO Saturdayatbernies 9 4 0 1 $86,649 44% 5 56% 102
WO Solina Bambolina 10 4 0 1 $70,050 40% 5 50% 93
WO Steel Dust Dancer 8 4 0 0 $69,345 50% 4 50% 101
WO Anfield Park 7 4 2 1 $64,762 57% 7 100% 83
NP Killin Me Smalls 9 4 2 2 $83,234 44% 8 89% 104
NP Saint Sassy Sue 9 4 1 0 $52,291 44% 5 56% 78
NP Holy Force 10 4 3 3 $49,052 40% 10 100% 83
NP Classic Crusader 11 4 1 1 $38,948 36% 6 55% 96
NP Bobby Handy 11 4 1 2 $36,654 36% 7 64% 96
NP Wine Stock 5 4 0 1 $28,647 80% 5 100% 102
MD Bell Zone 6 4 0 1 $11,231 67% 5 83% 86
HST Koffee Grinder 7 4 2 0 $135,132 57% 6 86% 109
HST Dawselina 7 4 0 1 $77,663 57% 5 71% 93
HST Clarisse B 8 4 0 2 $42,063 50% 6 75% 82
HST Ruffy Joe 9 4 3 0 $36,357 44% 7 78% 88
HST Flemings Beach 8 4 0 1 $29,749 50% 5 63% 78
HST Madaya 10 4 2 1 $29,044 40% 7 70% 75
HST Rachael Run 9 4 0 2 $27,617 44% 6 67% 70
HST Captain Salt 10 4 0 0 $21,176 40% 4 40% 79
FE Sandys Hurricane 5 4 0 0 $47,801 80% 4 80% 93
FE Tom Joy 5 4 0 0 $37,418 80% 4 80% 107
FE A. T. Hall 11 4 4 1 $29,303 36% 9 82% 93
