HAPPY SATURDAY MORNING – It’s ARLINGTON MILLION DAY, good luck to Canadian bred UP WITH THE BIRDS and Eurico da Silva
It’s CANADIAN DERBY day at Northlands, read more below
and the BREEDERS’ STAKES is tomorrow with a wide open field, a super betting race..
Trainer PHIL GRACEY hopes Gail Wood and Dr. Ruth Barbour’s big boy BANGKOK can run well in the Breeders’ Stakes – DAVE LANDRY PHOTO
YEE HAW! From all account, the LongRun “The Buck Stops Here” fundraiser was great fun for all those cowboys and cowgirls out there – like Mark Frostad who went all out in the costume department! Photo courtesy of Jeff Bowen
BREEDERS’ STAKES FEATURES AT WOODBINEENTERTAINMENT.COM
BANGKOK CAN PUT GRACEY IN LIMELIGHT
TORONTO, August 15 – Sunday’s Breeders’ Stakes is an important race on the Woodbine calendar as the third jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown, worth a purse of $500,000.
The 123rd running of this Canadian classic is also a big race for Phil Gracey who, in his fourth decade of training racehorses, will be starting his first horse in any Canadian Triple Crown event.
Gracey, a multiple stakes winning trainer who has saddled nearly 2,400 horses and won more than 220 races, will send out impressive maiden winner Bangkok, owned and bred by the sister team of Gail Wood and Dr. Ruth Barbour, in the Breeders’.
Listed at 15 to 1 in the morning line odds in the 12-horse Breeders’ field, Bangkok parlayed a second place finish to Breeders’ second-choice Unikat in a 1 ¼ mile turf maiden race into his six-length maiden win on Polytrack on July 25.
“The Breeders’ has always been a goal for him,” said Gracey, who has trained for Wood and Barbour for almost 30 years. “He’s coming along now and he can run forever.”
TORONTO SUN FEATURES ON BREEDERS’ STAKES THIS WEEK
Emma-Jayne Wilson, Brian Lynch and Unikat
“As far as I’m concerned, mental preparation is a big part of being a professional athlete. It’s something you have to be good at” – Emma-Jayne Wilson, TORONTO SUN
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/08/15/bring-it-on-female-jockey-tells-breeders-stakes-competition
plus..UNIKAT one of the favourites... http://www.torontosun.com/2014/08/15/bring-it-on-female-jockey-tells-breeders-stakes-competition
CANADIAN HORSE OF THE YEAR UP WITH THE BIRDS ARRIVES
Sam-Son Farm’s reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Up With the Birds arrived safely on Friday morning after a somewhat eventful trip from his home base at Woodbine. The Malcolm Pierce-trained son of Stormy Atlantic was held up at the border for four hours, but is no worse for the wear.
“Everything is well,” Pierce reported. “He arrived in good order. They were held up at the border for a couple extra hours, but he handled it just fine. It’s an unfortunate thing, but sometimes that’s what happens when you cross the border. The main thing is that he’s here now and has 36 hours to rest before the race.”
Up With the Birds enters a highly contentious renewal of the Grade I Arlington Million as an outsider, despite his many accomplishments and solid recent form. Last out, in the Grade II Nijinsky Stakes over 1 1/8 miles at Woodbine, he manhandled a solid field to close his final eighth in less than 12 seconds. On Saturday, he starts from post five under regular jockey Eurico Da Silva with a tepid morning line of 6-1.
http://www.arlingtonpark.com/news/archives/arlington-million-xxxii-multi-national-showdown-strategy
ARLINGTON MILLION XXXII S.-GI, $1,000,000, 3yo/up, 1 1/4mT
PP HORSE OWNER BREEDER TRAINER/JOCKEY ML
1 Hardest Core K Andrew Bentley Stables LLC Mueller Farms Inc-KY Graham 20-1
(g, 4, Hard Spun–Lillybuster, by Housebuster) Vaz
2 Smoking Sun Flaxman Holdings Ltd Flaxman Holdings Limited-KY Bary 9-2
(h, 5, Smart Strike–Burning Sunset {GB}, by Caerleon) Pasquier
3 Magician (Ire) Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier Absolutelyfabulous Syndicate-Ire O’Brien 7-5
(c, 4, Galileo {Ire}–Absolutelyfabulous {Ire}, by Mozart {Ire}) O’Brien
4 Finnegans Wake Donegal Racing Jerry Crawford-KY Romans 12-1
(h, 5, Powerscourt {GB}–Boat’s Ghost, by Silver Ghost) Moore
5 Up With the Birds Sam-Son Farm Sam-Son Farm-ON Pierce 6-1
(c, 4, Stormy Atlantic–Song of the Lark, by Seeking the Gold) Da Silva
6 Real Solution Kenneth L & Sarah K Ramsey Kenneth L & Sarah K Ramsey-PA Brown 5-2
(h, 5, Kitten’s Joy–Reachfortheheavens, by Pulpit) Castellano
7 Side Glance (GB) Pearl Bloodstock Limited Kingsclere Stud-GB Balding 8-1
(g, 7, Passing Glance {GB}–Averami {GB}, by Averti {Ire}) Spencer
All carry 126 pounds.
85TH CANADIAN DERBY – NORTHLANDS PARK
Andy Stronach’s Wilko Rum, $950,000 purchase EDISON, Jim & Alice Sapara’s Lintlaw in field
Andy Stronach’s Pan Am Racing has Wilko Rum in the 11-horse Canadian Derby field today at Northlands Park while former Todd Pletcher trainee EDISON, a $950,000 yearling purchase is among the rivals.
Wilko Rum, going out for Andy Stronach’s Pan Am Racing Stable, has the unique distinction of beginning his racing career in Puerto Rico. The three-year-old son of Wilko is always in the hunt – having picked up money in each and every career start. “He was a good 4th in the Manitoba Derby,” says trainer Wally Pugh. “With post 3 we’ll be hoping to be up close and into it this Saturday. He’s a smaller horse so we like where he’s drawn for the race.”
For Pugh – everything is Wilko… “We have 22 foals on our farm in Ponoka and they’re all sired by Wilko,” he says proudly. “Andy (Stronach) is coming in for Saturday to watch his three Wilko’s run on the day and then on Sunday he’ll head to Lacombe to watch Wilko Beer race in the Alberta Derby.”
Wilko, a son of Awesome Again, would be best known for his 28-1 upset victory in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, of 2004, winning by a length over Afleet Alex. “He’s busy in the breeding shed again this year,” says Pugh. “As a sire he’s been having a great run in recent years.”
Wilko Rum has been tagged as a 20-1 long shot, in Saturday’s $200K Grade III test, with Puerto Rican jockey Jevian Toledo in the irons.
**EDMONTON JOURNAL FEATURE – CURTIS STOCK – EDISON vs SHOOTITINTHEBUSH
EDMONTON – Oscar Madison meet Felix Unger.
Thoroughbred trainer Robertino Diodoro will be sending out the Odd Couple of horse racing — Edison and Shootitinthebush — in Saturday’s $200,000 Canadian Derby.
About the only thing the pair of stablemates have in common is that they both have four legs and eat oats.
Otherwise? Nothing.
Edison, looking like something Michelangelo would have sculpted, is a big, beautiful, powerfully put together individual.
Shootitinthebush?
“He’s a little rat,” said Diodoro, trying hard but failing to stifle a laugh. “He’s built like a little greyhound.”
85TH CANADIAN DERBY Past Performances
http://thehorses.com/news/thoroughbred/item/665-canadian-derby-program-download
