It’s WEDNESDAY AUG 4- in 1963, on Aug. 1…..Northern Dancer debuted as a 6 3/4-length winner at Fort Erie…

Monday, a big run from ESSENCE HIT MAN at the Spa…SARATOGA sales drop in average, UNZIP ME romps at Woodbine for Martin Jones..Manitoba Derby and lots of other stuff…

 

LUCKY DUCK – LOOKIN AT LUCKY romps in the Haskell on the weekend, earns a 105 Beyer Figure but then gets sick and he will miss the Travers…VANESSA NG PHOTO

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HIT MAN 2ND IN AMSTERDAM

ESSENCE HIT MAN    , owned and bred by Audre Cappuccitti, did well to be 2nd to the fleet DISCREETLY MINE in the Amsterdam Stakes yesterday at Saratoga. The son of Speightsotwn- El Prado Essence was very fast early in the race, openined up a long lead but then was inhaled by the winner. He was beaten 8 3/4 lengths but was brave for 2nd place and he earned a 90 Beyer Figure.

Chantal Sutherland rode the chestnut gelding. The race was run in 1:14 1/5 for 6 1/2 furlongs. The winner is a son of Mineshaft.

SARATOGA SALE, SESSION 1

Casse buys, Sam-Son sells

70      F      MEDAGLIA D’ORO      HUMOROUS MISS       NARDELLI SALES AGENT      MARK CASSE      $275,000

110 – 82      C      CORINTHIAN      LA GUERIERE       WOODFORD THOROUGHBREDS AGENT FOR WOODFORD FOALS LLC      MARK CASSE, AGENT      $425,000

179      C      MALIBU MOON      SPIRITED AWAY       LEGACY BLOODSTOCK AGENT FOR SPENDTHRIFT FARM LLC      MARK CASSE, AGENT      $250,000

Canadian-breds auctioned..

38 – OUT (Stormy Atlantic _ Dancethruthedawn, Sam-Son Farms)

40 – NS $150K Giant’s Causeway – Daylight Come

63 – NS      AWESOME AGAIN      HERZBLATT

65 – C      GONE WEST      HOPE FOR A BREEZE   KAIZEN SALES AGENT      WHITEHALL STABLE      $110,000

69 – F      SMART STRIKE      HUMMINGBIRD RED       SAM-SON FARM      GLEN HILL FARM      $300,000

110      F      GIANT’S CAUSEWAY      MISTY MISSION       SAM-SON FARM      LAWLEY-WAKELIN BLOODSTOCK, AGT      $375,000

147 – 147      C      GIANT’S CAUSEWAY      QUIET REWARD       SAM-SON FARM      DOGWOOD STABLE INC      $200,000

 

UNZIP ME SINKS TEETH INTO ROYAL NORTH

UNZIP ME proved she was the real deal as a grass sprinter as she travelled all the way across the contintent and rallied to win the Grade 3 ROYAL NORTH STAKES yesterday at Woodbine. The  California bred, owned by breeders Don Palpredo and Harris Farms along with other partners reeled in the Linda Rice trainee MOTHER RUSSIA, who went to the lead, to win the 6 furlong turf test in 1:08.

No Beyer Figures were available at the time of this writing.

More Monday stuff…

BEAR CHOCOLATED (pronounced shawk-elated) ran to the hype yesterday in his debut and became the 8th winner for his 1st crop sire WITH DISTINCTION.

The speedy colt fended off a lot of challengers in the 6 furlong race and then finally held off his rallying entrymate, Rockin Heat, by Roch Hard Ten. The Bear Stables team were the favourites. Reade Baker trains.

The winner cost $200,000 at auction, had worked like the wind for the April 2yo sale – one furlong in 9 4/5 and is by a sire who was a super sprinter. Lisa and Lloyd Carnes bred the colt in Florida.

Interestingly, the colt as originally a $12,000 OBS fall weanling 2 years ago, was not sold as a yearling for $22K and then sold for the $200K by Hartley/De Renzo.

Bombs away in the 3rd race for 2yo fillies with MITASUNKE (“my horse”) winning her debut at a stuning 60 to 1. The Florida homebred for phil and Karen Matthews is by a top 2yo sire in Closing Argument (4 grass winners fom 31 runners too) and from the dam of stakes winning sprinter Sok Sok. But no one wanted any part of the filly and the Ian Howard trainee won off by herself under Slade Callaghan, who had won 5 races on the year coming into the weekend.

B C CUP DAY AT HASTINGS, LAST MONDAY

by Kent Gilchrist, The Province

The BC Cup races are part acknowledgment of all the people who have endured the hard times — and there have been more of those than salad days recently — and stuck with it, and part advertisement to attract new people to the wonders of thoroughbred racing.

And there are no better examples than owners Nick and Pauline Felicella and their brilliant gelding Spaghetti Mouse, who is the most popular horse currently at Hastings Racecourse and one of the most enduring of all time. He has rewarded his owners with $929,000 in earnings and bettors by trying his best every time out. And he has done all his racing right here at Hastings.

The Mouse has turned out to be a bargain. He was purchased at the yearling sale seven years ago for $15,000 by the Felicellas from breeders Black Canyon Thoroughbreds in Ashcroft, the son of Archers Bay out of Desert Mouse

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/amateur/university/Mouse+that+roared+goes+down/3352938/story.html#ixzz0veQ307dO

MANITOBA DERBY

STACHYS (Staw-cheese) ROMPS

from WINNIPEG SUN

If trainer Mike Biehler had the technology, he probably would have hopped in his time machine, gone back a few months and not nominated Stachys for Monday’s 62nd annual running of the Manitoba Lotteries Derby at Assiniboia Downs.

It’s a good thing Biehler doesn’t own a DeLorean fitted with a flux capacitor, because it turns out there was nothing of which to be afraid.

The gelding, with Eddie Martin Jr. on board, emerged from the pack of seven horses that were in the field and stormed down the stretch to win the $75,000 race for three-year-olds under a sizzling summer sun at the Winnipeg thoroughbred race track.

Stachys finished two lengths ahead of Cherokee’s Goal, trained locally by Clayton Gray, and three better than Chief Counsel, the colt out of Woodbine in Toronto that went into the race as the whopping 2-5 favourite.

Stachys paid $10.80 to win, $6.00 to place and $2.80 to show.

“I was pretty worried,” said Biehler, whose barn is in Oklahoma City. “I was actually thinking it was a long ways to come to try and run second, but you never know when you ship. Different horses ship different, and I knew he came from a long ways.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/sports/othersports/2010/08/02/14904311.html

 

aug4grand.jpgDriver MARK MCDONALD at Grand River with his little friend…Norm Files visited there on the weekend and saw track records, fun stuff and a retirement party for North America Cup winner SPORTSWRITER

 

 

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY – ROUGH STUFF FOR CANADIANS IN THE U.S.

Not a good day for the Canucks in stakes races south of the border.

At Saratoga, the Mark Casse troupes were non-factors – SO ELITE was 5th beaten 15 lengthsin the $75K Curlin Stakes after looking like a threat heading in to the turn of the 1 1/8 mile race.

TASTY TEMPTATION, the Canadian-bred by Medaglia d’oro, was beaten 17 lengths in teh Ruffian at 1 1/8 miles. The former ran an 82 Beyer Figure and the latter ran a 73 Beyer.

EL BRUJO was 4th beaten 5 1/2 lengths in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar – that Candy Ride, Canadian bred now races for American interests and is trained by Bob Baffert.

CAREM CRESCENT was 8th beaten 24 lengths in the Regret Stakes at Monmouth Park, a 6 furlong dash for $145,000. The Eugene Melnyk filly was 6 to 1 for trainer Malcolm Pierce. The runner-up in the race, D’Wild Ride, is a Canadian bred by D’wildcat who is American owned.

FREE, WHEELIN

This Alberta-bred gal FREE FEE LADY, well, she’s the real deal. The Victory Gallop – Atocha Queen miss, owned by Dick  Bonnycastle’s Harlequin Ranches and trained by Reade Baker, won the 3rd leg of the TRIPLE TIARA yesterday, the 1 1/4 mile

WONDER WHERE STRAKES on the grass to take 2 of the 3 Tiara races and stamp herself one of the top 3yos in the country.

The big bay gal was obviously not at her best yesterday as she was trying grass for the first TIME AS SHE APPEARED TO RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND READY TO DRAW OFF BUT SHE HAD TO WORK hard in the late stages to hold off HAPPY CLAPPER, a 15 to 1 longshot.

GOLDIKOVA WINS AGAIN

Woodbine should woo!

How fun would it be to see superstar miler gal GOLDIKOVA come to Woodbine’s ultra cool E.P. Taylor turf course and its long stretch for the WOODBINE MILE in September?

While it’s unlikely, certainly the Woodbine race office will have the star’s connections on speed dial every day in an effort to get them to bring her here.

GOLDIKOVA won again yesterday in France and that Group 1 win will set her up for a Jacques Le Marois shot next month.

From THOROUGHBRED DAILY NEWS:

Sunday, Deauville, France

PRIX ROTHSCHILD (EX PRIX D=ASTARTE)-G1, i300,000, Deauville, 8-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:37.50,

gd/sf.

1–GOLDIKOVA (IRE), 126, m, 5, by Anabaa 1st Dam: Born Gold, by Blushing Groom (Fr)

2nd Dam: Riviere d=Or, by Lyphard 3rd Dam: Gold River (Fr), by Riverman

O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Freddy Head; J-Olivier Peslier; i171,420. Lifetime Record: Ch. Older

Horse-Eur, Ch. Turf Mare-NA, Ch. Older Mare-GB & Fr at 7-9.5f, Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 7-9.5f, 18 starts, 13

wins, 4 places, i3,293,498.

MY SISTER’S PLACE WINS MIKE ANDERSON MEMORIAL

(FORT ERIE STAKES RESULTS FROM WEEKEND)

 

FORT ERIE, August 2 – Longshot My Sister’s Place zigzagged her way to victory in the Mike Anderson Memorial Cup at Fort Erie Race Track on Monday afternoon.

The 4-year-old daughter of Out of Place went off at odds of 29-1 and was ridden to victory by newcomer Everton Bennett for owner/trainer Howard Keen.

The winner was bred by Streetsville’s Bill Diamant.

Anneena set the early fractions opening up by 7 lengths when reaching the quarter pole.  The opening fractions were 23 3/5 for the 1st quarter, 46 2/5 for the half and 6 furlongs in 1.11.  Coming down the stretch it looked as though Anneena was going to take the race gate to wire but My Sister’s Place was under a full head of steam and even though she ran erratically down the stretch she got to the wire just in time to win by a nose.  The final time for the mile and one sixteenth was 1:45.78.

Rider Everton Bennett, who arrived 2 months ago from Jamaica , has ridden only a handful of horses at Fort Erie .  His hard work for trainer Howard Keen paid off today. “I get along with this horse really well.  I understand her.” “She gave me my 1st win in Canada (June 29th) and now my 1st stakes win.  I love her.”

Trainer and owner Howard Keen was very happy with his filly’s victory.  “She ran great.” “I met Everton through mutual friends and he has been working for me in the mornings. He rides them all very well.”

The pace setter Anneena rounded out the exactor with Devine Destiny finishing in third.

My Sister’s Place returned a hefty $46.90 to win, $26.90 to place and $10.40 to show. Anneena paid $14.70, $8.00 and Devine Destiny returned $4.30 to show.

Next up in the Cup Series will be the Andy Passero Memorial Cup on August 8th.

 

 

DAVERICK earns 92 Beyer

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 DAVERICK, by Concorde’s Tunes, streaks to another win at the Fort. Norm Files photo

 

 

 

 

 

FORT ERIE, August 1 – Daverick went straight to the front right out of the starting gate and never looked back taking the Don Valliere Memorial Cup in wire to wire fashion on Sunday afternoon at Fort Erie Race Track.

With Francine Villeneuve in the irons, the four-year-old gelded son of Concorde’s Tune blistered an opening quarter in 21 3/5.  Teacher Boyne , who was in search of his 5th win in a row, made a move up along the inside to try and take over the lead but it was to no avail.  Daverick looked him in the eye and pulled away hitting the half mile marker in 43 4/5 and quickly ran away from the field to win by 6 ¼ lengths.  The good looking grey just missed the track record for six furlongs stopping the clock in 1:08.88.  10-year-old Tyler’s Jewel finished 2nd and Crafty Breeze ran 3rd.

 He jumped out of the gate,” explained Francine Villeneuve. “The plan was to control the speed of the race and to discourage Teacher Boyne. Everything went as planned.”

 trainer Justin Nixon had plenty of good things to say about his charge after the race was complete.  “This horse enjoys Fort Erie .  I worried slightly about Teacher Boyne, he is a nice horse but the plan was to take it to him right off the bat.”

Owned by Sante Cigana, Daverick was purchased at the OBS sale in 2008 for $17,000 US.  He has now compiled 5 wins from 18 lifetime starts.

 

Daverick returned $4.60 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.90 to show, Tyler ’s Jewel returned $10.10 to place and $5.60 to show with Crafty Breeze paying $5.20 to show.

next up in the Cup Series will be the Michael Anderson Memorial on Monday, August 2nd.