here is some jock talk…

 

CHANTAL SUTHERLAND-KRUSE returns to California

 

Agent DON PARENTE has confirmed that jockey CHANTAL SUTHERLAND-KRUSE has left Woodbine and returned to her home in California with husband Dan Kruse.

“It was surprising,” said Parente, who has helped guide Sutherland-Kruse to $1.6 million in purse earnings at Woodbine and 28 wins, good for 7th at the meeting. “I think she got a bit homesick.”

The rider began her career in Ontario and recently rode full time in California. She also announced her retirement a couple of years ago but has since returned to riding and made the

Sutherland-Kruse was slated to ride serious Breeders’ Stakes contender BANGKOK in the Breeders’ Stakes on Aug. 17.

 

EMMA SHER-LY HAS A CHANCE TO WIN

For the third time, EMMA-JAYNE WILSON will take part on the SHERGAR CUP Jockey challenge at Ascot raceourse in England. Wilson will be on the Girls Team along with Hayley Turner and Steffi Hofer.
Preview from khaleej times:

August sees the return of one of the most anticipated race-days in the British racing calendar, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, the world’s premier international jockeys’ competition, a Press release said.

Dubai Duty Free has been involved with the Shergar Cup since its inception at Goodwood in 1999, before it switched to Ascot a year later. Dubai Duty Free’s involvement started first as Rest of the World team sponsors and, from 2006, as event sponsors.

This year’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is set to be the biggest ever and sees Dubai Duty Free’s involvement grow, having being announced as title sponsor with exclusive naming rights for all six races.

The event that brings the best jockeys from around the world together for this unique race-day and only team event in the racing world, has also received a prize-money boost, with the value of this year’s competition rising 33%, with all six races now £40,000 handicaps rather than £30,000 that they were last year.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/horseracing/2014/August/horseracing_August3.xml&section=horseracing

 

VACATION’S ALL IS I EVER WANTED..

Or perhaps not. There are a few jockeys on suspensions this weekend or simply traveling including PATRICK HUSBANDS, who has a 3-day suspension but will still be allowed to ride LEXIE LOU as she returns from her Queen’s Plate win in Sunday’s Wonder Where Stakes.

DAVID MORAN is at Saratoga on Saturday to ride GRAND ARCH in the Fourstardave for trainer Brian Lynch.

Returning to action after a lengthy hiatus is JIM MCALENEY, who will ride SKY OVER FLATS for Reade Baker on Saturday.

 
“GOING STICK” added at Woodbine​

TORONTO, August 7 – Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has added another handicapping tool to the Thoroughbred horseplayer’s arsenal.

Beginning Friday, August 8, Woodbine will report the TurfTrax GoingStick measurement in its daily track maintenance commentary.

The “GoingStick” will offer a systematic and objective assessment of the condition of the E.P Taylor Turf Course. The device, when inserted in the turf, measures the penetration (the amount of force required to push the tip into the ground) and the shear (the energy needed to pull back to an angle of 45 degrees from the ground). The combination of these metrics represents a quantitative measurement of the firmness of the ground.

At Woodbine, the turf will be assessed every sixteenth of a mile via the GoingStick mid-morning each racing day.  An average of the readings will be taken and a rating on a 15-point scale (15 for very firm, 0 for very soft) is created. This number is then applied against a traditional soft-to-firm turf scale suitable for public consumption.

“Racing fans and horsepeople have long sought to quantify our turf conditions,” said Steve Koch, WEG’s Vice-President of Thoroughbred Racing. “The GoingStick has been adopted at all courses in Great Britain and some tracks in the United States. We’ve been testing the technology for several months and we believe in it.”

The turf condition (and GoingStick number) will continue to be announced and posted with the daily race changes data and the track maintenance information package.