TODAY’S NEWS – DUBAI RACES UNDERWAY, HONG KONG WINS FIRST EVENT, Canadian colt in La. Derby…more!
*I HOPE EVERYONE IS NOW ABLE TO READ THOROUGHBLOG – apparently there was a problem with the site and refreshing the pages – March 7 seems to be the last day people could read the ‘Blog – it’s been busy since then so catch up on your reading and all the cool pictures of foals etc.!
Please let us know if you are still having trouble – email me or send a comment!
What a wild story it would be if GITANO HERANDO won the WORLD CUP later today – freshened since his Goodwood score in California and ridden by KIEREN FALLON, fresh himself off getting punched by an owner and just returning to riding after a long ban…
JOY AND FUN IN DUBAI!
The first race is in the book on WORLD CUP night – JOY AND FUN (NZ), from Hong Kong, upset the Sprint at 18 to 1.
The strong bay, equippped with white sheep-fuzzies on both sides of his face like bumpers, mowed down CALIFORNIA FLAG to win the straightaway dash under Brett Doyle.
COMPETITIVE FIELD FOR WORLD CUP
no big stars but intrigue
(notes by editor and additional notes from www.horses-race.net and Vanessa Ng photos)
Post time is 1:45 today for the DUBAI WORLD CUP, the first one to be held at Meydan racecourse, the state of the art track on the other side of the world.
Champion older male of last year, GIO PONTI is the favourite for the World Cup with challengers such as Richard’s Kid (my selection in the Breders’ Cup last year when he decided to flop), and GITANO HERNANADO, who has been pointed to this race for quite some time.
Canadian owned CROWDED HOUSE (J. Paul reddam) is in the field – he’s a horse who has done a lot of exactor and tri placings lately.
Twice Over, trained by Henry Cecil drew post 11 in the World Cup, and Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe said “All our three horses have been drawn wide and it’s disappointing as they all need to be handy. Twice Over hit a flat spot last summer but Henry Cecil found two confidence boosting wins and he won the Championships Stakes at Newmarket really well, and then ran a blinder at the Breeders’ Cup. the idea of taking him to California was to find out if he acted on a synthetic surface as this race has always been in the back of our mind.”
SHEEMA CLASSIC – The turf route event features American dude TAKE THE POINTS, a pretty grey, against another pretty grey, JUKEBOX JURY, who came oh-so close to holding on to win the Canadian International last year at Woodbine.
UAE DERBY NOTES: From Thoroughbred Daily News today: Yesterday’s track notes from Dubai provided a remarkable bit of trivia: just two trainers have ever won the UAE Derby, Godolphin=s Saeed bin Suroor (six wins) and South African Mike de Kock (four). Their dominance doesn’t look likely to end today, either, as bin
Suroor saddles a pair and de Kock a quartet. The latter group includes favored Musir, champion juvenile in
South Africa last year after winning the G1 Zulu Kingdom Golden Horseshoe in July. The Sheikh Mohammad
bin Khalifa Al Maktoum Aussie homebred returned from a long break to earn a neck decision in the UAE 2000
Guineas Trial at Meydan Feb. 4. He then rolled by 3 1/4 lengths in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas two weeks later.
Christophe Soumillon rides. AHe is a quality individual and probably the most classy three year-old we have
campaigned in Dubai,@ said de Kock. AHe may not be as robust as an Asiatic Boy (Arg) [2007 winner], which is why we missed Super Thursday. He has a lot of speed, but I think he will stay the trip, and Christophe is adamant he will.
Frankie Dettori will be aboard the unbeaten Mendip, who represents bin Suroor and Godolphin.
Saturday, Meydan Racecourse, Dubai
DUBAI WORLD CUP-G1, $10,000,000, NH4yo/up,
SH3yo/up, 2000m (AWT)
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER
1 Allybar (Ire) King’s Best Ajtebi bin Suroor
2 Gitano Hernando (GB) Hernando (Fr) Fallon Botti
3 Red Desire (Jpn) Manhattan Cafe (Jpn) Soumillon Matsunaga
4 Gio Ponti K Tale of the Cat Dominguez Clement
5 Gloria de Campeao (Brz) Impression (Arg) Pereira Bary
6 Vision d’Etat (Fr) Chichicastenango (Fr) Peslier Libaud
7 Lizard’s Desire (SAf) Lizard Island (Aus) Shea de Kock
8 Furthest Land Smart Strike Leparoux Maker
9 Crowded House (GB) Rainbow Quest Velazquez Meehan
10 Richard’s Kid Lemon Drop Kid Gomez Baffert
11 Twice Over (GB) Observatory Queally Cecil
12 Mastery (GB) Sulamani (Ire) Dettori bin Suroor
13 Mr Brock (SAf) Fort Wood Moore de Kock
14 Amor de Pobre (Chi) Stuka Gryder Barton
All carry 126 pounds, bar Red Desire, 121.
DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC-G1, $5,000,000, NH4yo/up,
SH3yo/up, 2410mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1 Jukebox Jury (Ire) Montjeu (Ire) Ffrench Johnston 125
2 Eastern Anthem (Ire) Singspiel (Ire) Ajtebi al Zarooni 126
3 Anmar Rahy R Hills al Zarooni 125
4 Pan River (Tur) Red Bishop Kaya Kasar 126
5 Quijano (Ger) Acatenango (Ger) Starke Schiergen 126
6 Pompeyano (Ire) Rainbow Quest Mullen Seemar 126
7 Youmzain (Ire) Sinndar (Ire) Fallon Channon 126
8 Golden Sword (Ire) K High Chaparral (Ire) Soumillon de Kock 125
9 Presious Passion Royal Anthem Trujillo Hartmann 126
10 Buena Vista (Jpn) Special Week (Jpn) Peslier Matsuda 120
11 Deem (Ire) Dalakhani (Ire) Leparoux Barton 121
12 Mourilyan (Ire) Desert Prince (Ire) Shea Moore 126
13 Spanish Moon El Prado (Ire) Moore Stoute 126
14 Dar Re Mi (Ire) Singspiel (Ire) Buick Gosden 121
15 Campanologist Kingmambo Durcan bin Suroor 126
16 Cavalryman (GB) Halling Dettori bin Suroor 125
DUBAI DUTY FREE S.-G1, $5,000,000, NH4yo/up,
SH3yo/up, 1800mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER
1 Imbongi (SAf) Russian Revival Soumillon de Kock
2 Good Ba Ba K Lear Fan Marwing D Cruz
3 Justenuffhumor K Distorted Humor Durcan bin Suroor
4 Ibn Batutta Seeking the Gold Smith al Muhairi
5 Courageous Cat Storm Cat Gomez Mott
6 Tam Lin (GB) Selkirk Supple bin Shafya
7 Al Shemali (GB) Medicean (GB) Ffrench al Raihe
8 Bankable (Ire) Medicean (GB) Shea Brown
9 The Usual Q.T. Unusual Heat Espinoza Cassidy
10 Take the Points Even the Score Prado Pletcher
11 Alexandros (GB) Kingmambo Dettori bin Suroor
12 Confront (GB) Nayef Moore Stoute
13 Lahaleeb (Ire) Redback (GB) Egan Nass
14 Snaafy Kingmambo R Hills al Muhairi
15 Presvis (GB) Sakhee Lemaire Cumani
16 Calvados Blues (Fr) Lando (Ger) Ajtebi al Zarooni
All carry 126 pounds, bar Lahaleeb, 121.
Saturday, Fair Grounds, post time: 5:48 p.m. EDT
LOUISIANA DERBY-GII, $750,000, 3yo, 1 1/8m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Hotep A.P. Indy Husbands Frostad 30-1
2 Mission Impazible K Unbridled’s Song Maragh Pletcher 8-1
3 Fly Down K Mineshaft Lezcano Zito 8-1
4 The Program K Harlan’s Holiday Garcia Baffert 10-1
5 A Little Warm Stormin Fever Cohen A Dutrow 4-1
6 Ron the Greek Full Mandate Graham Amoss 6-1
7 Discreetly Mine Mineshaft Castellano Pletcher 7-2
8 Island Soul K Perfect Soul (Ire) Albarado Asmussen 20-1
9 Stay Put Broken Vow Theriot Margolis 10-1
10 Wow Wow Wow Broken Vow Jacinto Lukas 30-1
11 Mister Marti Gras Belong to Me Bridgmohan Pessin 30-1
12 Backtalk K Smarty Jones Sellers Scherer 30-1
13 Drosselmeyer K Distorted Humor Desormeaux Mott 5-1
All carry 122 pounds.
CANADIAN-OWNED/TRAINED FILLY at TURFWAY
Saturday, Turfway Park, post time: 4:08 p.m. EDT
BOURBONETTE OAKS-GIII, $150,000, 3yo, f, 1m
(AWT)
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Midway Holiday K Harlan’s Holiday Lebron Foley 6-1
2 Cascading A. P. Indy Torres Carroll 4-1
3 Cactus Cadillac K Cactus Ridge Stokes Pate 8-1
4 Helen Belen K Five Star Day Gonzalez Denzik 6-1
5 Lisa’s Kitten Kitten’s Joy Velasquez Maker 8-1
6 Allegation K Closing Argument DeCarlo Casse 15-1
7 Orchestrator K Bernstein Solis McPeek 5-1
8 Delitefully Wild Offlee Wild De Leon Hamm 50-1
9 Age of Humor K Distorted Humor R Baze Maker 5-1
10 Absinthe Minded Quiet American Borel Lukas 5-1
WOODBINE STARTS IN LESS THAN A WEEK!
The DEBUT STAKES on GOOD FRIDAY (a very Good Friday for those of us who have been waiting to get back to work!) kicks off a 167-day meeting at Woodbine for 2010 and nominees include STUCM IN TRAFIC, YUMMY WITH BUTTER and DANCINGALL THE WAY, who has already won a sprint race in 2010 at Gulfstream. The race is for Ontario-sired sprinters, somewhat fitting since a huge emphasis of racing at Woodbine is for locally sired/bred horses.
The new website, long awaited, is up and running for the tracks of WEG and you can get pretty much everything all in one site now. TRAKUS charts will be popular, and so will being able to bet, watch replays, read news etc. all in one place.
WEG launches new WoodbineEntertainment.com
TORONTO, March 26 – Consistent with its mandate to provide the highest quality racing experience in North America, Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) officially launched its new website this morning at WoodbineEntertainment.com.
Months of collaboration has led to an Internet presence that brings the thrill of horse racing to all customers from the casual racing fan, the serious handicapper, to horse owners and trainers.
“The site has been designed to provide the best service to our customers and attract new ones,” said Andrew Macdonald, Vice-President of Marketing & Communication for Woodbine Entertainment Group. “Whether you enjoy betting on horses, first-class dining or playing the slots Woodbine’s new site delivers everything you need.”
The new site is powered by Microsoft’s Sharepoint software and has dozens of content providers from within the organization. This new infrastructure allows for rapid development and deployment of new features that will be added to the site on a frequent basis. Plans are in place to add video content from Woodbine’s broadcast operations as well as social media initiatives.
By unifying Woodbine Entertainment’s various brands, WoodbineEntertainment.com provides numerous services to its customers from betting tips for Woodbine or Mohawk to signing up for an online wagering account with Canada’s first legal internet wagering platform, Horseplayer Interactive. Greenwood Teletheatre, Champions (Teletheatre Network), WEGZ Stadium Bar and Turf Lounge are also accessible via the new site.
Among the new features are real-time race entries and results and an on-screen simulcast schedule, to keep fans informed on an up-to-the minute basis.
A sharp redesign of the popular ‘News & Notes’ section provides an appealing glance at the day’s events. With each news item tagged with relevant key words, the new website facilitates search functions with speed and accuracy.
Jockey, driver and trainer biographies that were formerly located in the online media guide have now gained a greater presence within the ‘Racing’ section. Fans can look forward to frequent updates throughout the year as their favourite stars improve their numbers, win premier events and reach new pinnacles.
Serious handicappers will have access to all sorts of new web resources, including exclusive speed and distance measurements collected via the state-of-the-art Trakus tracking system.
From corporate meetings to family social gatherings, event planning has become much more practical, as the “Dining and Groups” section showcases WEG’s roster of rooms and dining options.
The following is a collection of websites offered:
Main Website: www.WoodbineEntertainment.com
Woodbine Racetrack: www.woodbineracetrack.com
Mohawk Racetrack: www.mohawkracetrack.com
Champions Off-Track Wagering: www.betatgreenwood.com
Greenwood Off-Track Wagering: www.betatchampions.com
HorsePlayer Interactive: www.horseplayerinteractive.com
WEGZ Stadium Bar: www.wegz.com
Turf Lounge: www.turflounge.com
