Woodbine Snowbird Saturday at Gulfstream and Fair Grounds

I recently received a note from Michael Blowen, proprietor of Old Friends, with an update on the health of 1992 Horse of the Year Benburb and 1999 Canadian International winner Thornfield.

Michael Blowen and Ogygian


"Benburb, although dealing with some melanomas, is doing very well," wrote Blowen. "Boule d’Or runs the gelding paddock and Thornfield, as is his prevue, is above it all."

Boule d'Or is a horse I followed in 2009 who was retired to Blowen's care. You can read all about that adventure in this post, Boule d'Or - A New Beginning for an Old Friend .

22-year-old Benburb has aged gracefully

Photo provided courtesy of kentuckyhorsephotos.com

As noted in a previous post, I'm in the process of digitizing some old race footage and have added Benburb's 1992 Prince of Wales victory to my TripleDeadHeatRacing Youtube Channel. You can watch the video below which includes post-race interviews.

To learn more about Benburb and Thornfield, I recommend reading my 2009 post Remembering Woodbine Legends Benburb and Thornfield:

In the heartland of Kentucky resides an expansive parcel of racing heaven known as Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement at Dream Chase Farms. It is a living, breathing tribute to horse racing where fans can interact with retired thoroughbred champions and experience the history of the Sport of Kings. Spread across 92 acres of lush, green grass are the paddocks of millionaires such as Sunshine Forever and most recently, Sovereign Award winning Woodbine heroes Benburb and Thornfield.

Benburb shocks Alydeed in the 1992 Prince of Wales Stakes


* * *

The upcoming long weekend is going to be a lot of fun for Canadian racing fans as a bevy of Ontario-bred and Woodbine-based horses go to post Saturday in strong cards at Fair Grounds and Gulfstream. The Fair Grounds card features a prominent Kentucky Derby prep in the G2 Risen Star Stakes and Woodbine's Chantal Sutherland gets the call on Liondrive for trainer Tim Ice. The Lion Tamer colt romped at Fair Grounds two starts ago going 1M70 in an off-the-turf AOC, but had a rough trip last out blowing the turns and finishing last. The colt appears to be in tough in this event but Sutherland has a knack for nursing the long shots into contention.

Risen Star S. (Grade II) 1 1/16M
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer
1 Rogue Romance (KY) 3/C L J R Leparoux 120 K G McPeek
2 Liondrive (LA) 3/C L C Sutherland 116 T A Ice
3 Decisive Moment (FL) 3/C L K D Clark 120 J D Arias
4 Pants On Fire (KY) 3/C L J Bravo 116 K J Breen
5 Mucho Macho Man (FL) 3/C L E Coa 116 K Ritvo
6 Machen (KY) 3/C L J Theriot 116 N J Howard
7 Santiva (KY) 3/C L M E Smith 122 E Kenneally
8 Action Ready (KY) 3/C L A R Napravnik 116 W B Calhoun
9 Justin Phillip (KY) 3/C L S Bridgmohan 116 S M Asmussen
10 Sorgho (KY) 3/C L E Martin, Jr. 116 W D Bennett

The undercard includes the Colonel Power S., Pan Zareta S., Mineshaft H., Fair Grounds H., and the Rachel Alexandra S. The latter event includes the Josie Carroll trained Inglorious who is training up a storm at the Louisiana track. The DRF reports, Carroll confident in Inglorious for Rachel Alexandra start:

“I don’t think surface will be an issue for her,” Carroll said.

A quick look at Inglorious’s work pattern reveals the source of Carroll’s optimism: Namely, Inglorious has been working up a storm. She shows six published Fair Grounds works dating to Jan. 4, and four of them have been bullet drills. Inglorious has worked six furlongs three times, Carroll said, and has looked as impressive in her breezes as those breezes look on paper.

Chantal Sutherland, aboard for the two Woodbine wins, sees fit to fly in and take the mount. And maybe Inglorious will be the filly to challenge Kathmanblu, who figures to be solidly favorite to win the prep for the Fair Grounds Oaks.

Chantal Sutherland rides at Fair Grounds on Saturday


In addition, there are several On-Breds entered on Saturday at Fair Grounds including:

Race 3 - Red Ace: A three-year-old son of Northern Afleet trained by S. Margolis will sprint six furlongs.

Race 6 - A pair of turfers including Sam-Son Farms six-year-old gelding Harvest Home and the Donver Stables charge Stallone. The latter colt is trained by Carroll who also has the Knob Hill horse Archon in the list of also eligibles for this allowance turf route.

Race 11 - Malcolm Pierce sends out Sam-Son's Stunning Split, a three-year-old son of Awesome Again in a MSW turf route.

* * *

Saturday's Gulfstream card is headlined by the G2 Mac Diarmida Stakes. The mile and three eighths turf event features a thirteen horse field with plenty of Canadiana to tease local readers.

Pool Play is one of many Woodbine winners in the field


Let's take a quick walk through the field.

STAKES Mac Diarmida S. (Grade II)
Purse $150,000. For Four Year Olds And Upward. One And Three Eighth Miles. (Turf)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 Pool Play (ON) 6/H L P Husbands 119 M E Casse 12/1
An On-bred featuring the popular Woodbine Jockey/Trainer angle of Husbands/Casse.

2 Gabriel's Hill (KY) 7/H L A Garcia 117 S Benzel 15/1
Trained by Seth Benzel who also conditions Queen's Plate contender Hothersal. Gabriel's Hill finished eighth in the Dominion Day H. last July at Woodbine won by Hold Me Back. Pool Play finished second in that event.

3 Rahy's Attorney (ON) 7/G L E S Prado 117 I Black 8/1
Champion of the Woodbine Mile, Sovereign Award winning Rahy's Attorney is one of the most popular horses at Woodbine. Conditioned by Ian Black, the seven-year-old gelding keeps cruising along at a high level.

Rahy's Attorney working out in Florida

(Photo courtesy of Janet Black)

4 Free Fighter (IL) 6/G L C H Marquez, Jr. 121 C M Block 20/1
One of the few with no direct Woodbine/Canadian connection.

5 Ordination (IRE) 6/G L S O Madrid 117 K G McPeek 15/1
It's cheating, maybe a little bit, but there's plenty of Northern Dancer in the pedigree.

6 Musketier (GER) 9/H L A O Solis 121 R L Attfield 6/1
Back on track with the Roger Attfield trainee. This nine-year-old fella won the Singspiel at Woodbine two years ago.

Attfield and his pony during morning workouts at Woodbine


7 Prince Will I Am (KY) 4/R L J R Velazquez 123 M Nihei 4/1
Trained by Canadian Michelle Niehi, you can read all about the Canadiana in my Down The Stretch piece, Scientist and horse trainer a strange brew.

8 Stately Victor (KY) 4/C L P Lopez 119 M J Maker 12/1
A son of GhostZapper by popular Canadian sire Awesome Again, Stately Victor won the Ontario Derby at Woodbine in September.

9 Perfect Shower (ON) 5/H L J L Castanon 117 R L Attfield 15/1
The second Attfield trainee and also an Ontario-bred, Perfect Shower had a win, a second and two show finishes in nine starts in 2010, most of them at Woodbine.

10 Simmard (KY) 6/H L J Lezcano 117 R L Attfield 8/1
The third and final Attfield charge raced just five times in 2010 but did get a start in the Canadian International at Woodbine.

Simmard chillin' in his Woodbine stall last October


11 Mint Chip (KY) 4/G L M R Cruz 117 G R Arnold, II 20/1
Mint Chip made a fresh appearance in the Marine Stakes at Woodbine in May of 2010 finishing fourth behind runaway winner Exhi.

12 Al Khali (KY) 5/R L K J Desormeaux 123 W I Mott 7/2
Al Khali had possibly the toughest trip of any horse at Woodbine in 2010 - - at least in terms of stakes events. Employing an out of the clouds style in the Canadian International, Al Khali was boxed in, bobbled and battling for space before rallying to finish fourth beaten only a length.

The imposing Al Khali in the Woodbine walking ring


13 Citrus Kid (KY) 4/C L J Castellano 117 J P Terranova, II 10/1
An outsider with no direct connection (that I can think of off the top of my head) to completes the field.

If the Mac Diarmida isn't enough to keep Canadian racing fans tuned to Gulfstream on Saturday, there's plenty of familiar talent on the undercard as well:

Race 3 - Three year-old Ontario-bred filly Allthetime tries a mile on the turf for trainer Mark Casse.

Race 5 - Roger Attfield sends out Woodbine-based Perfect Loch in a 12 furlong turf allowance.

Race 8 - The busy Attfield saddles Straight Line (IRE) in a one mile turf MSW. This Refuse To Bend (IRE) colt has been training regularly at Payson for his North American debut.

Race 11 - The Ramsey's are at it again as Maple Leaf Kitten, a three-year-old On-bred colt by their popular stallion Kitten's Joy, makes his debut in a one mile turf MSW.

* * *
There are plenty of Woodbine trainers keeping busy in the offseason so why not click into my Entries/Results page?

Keep track of the latest horse racing news by clicking into TripleDeadHeat's Woodbine News page or join in on the conversation by following TripleDeadHeat on Twitter.

Still need more? Check out my archived posts including Feature Stories and Photo Essays.

Remembering Woodbine Legends Benburb and Thornfield

In the heartland of Kentucky resides an expansive parcel of racing heaven known as Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement at Dream Chase Farms. It is a living, breathing tribute to horse racing where fans can interact with retired thoroughbred champions and experience the history of the Sport of Kings. Spread across 92 acres of lush, green grass are the paddocks of millionaires such as Sunshine Forever and most recently, Sovereign Award winning Woodbine heroes Benburb and Thornfield.

20-year-old Benburb has aged gracefully

Photo provided courtesy of kentuckyhorsephotos.com

Old Friends is the brain-child of former Boston Globe film critic Michael Blowen who runs a bed and breakfast on the grounds of the facility with his wife, Diane White, also a former Boston Globe columnist. Upon retirement, Blowen convinced White that pulling up roots, selling their belongings and starting a horse farm would be a great idea. In a moment of weakness, White agreed.

The couple met when White penned a column tearing apart a Blowen review of a Russian film named, The Slave of Love. “It’s a movie about the making of a movie,” explained Blowen. “I write this glowing four-star review on the Saturday and on Tuesday here comes Diane’s column...". Adopting an affected tone, a bemused Blowen interprets White's critique. "I went to see this movie called The Slave of Love at the Orson Welles cinema over the weekend and this movie is precisely the reason you can never trust movie critics...”

Blowen confronted White about the piece and the rest is history. The couple are still living happily-ever-after with their conflicting columns framed, side-by-side, on the wall of the farmhouse they now share.

Michael Blowen charms Little Silver Charm


I spoke to the ebullient Blowen over the phone recently as he made the nighttime rounds checking the stalls of his famous guests. First stop is the stall of Little Silver Charm, a miniature horse named after the 1997 Kentucky Derby. The farm mascot was rescued off a slaughter truck for $40 by an acquaintance and donated to Old Friends. The mascot’s story illustrates how a horse can slip through the cracks if someone isn’t there to lend a hand.

As Blowen walks the grounds, I am regaled with stories of generosity from the racing community. Earlier that day, volunteers combined to shoe 51 horses in under six hours. “I think it must be a world record,” laughed Blowen. “Usually you would spend that long just chasing the horses.”

There’s plenty of whinnying in the background of the phonecall as the waiting horses know there are treats to be had. Blowen strolls past the stall of Creator, a graded Stakes winner in Europe, and makes his way to the pasture home of multiple Grade One winner Ogygian.

“Hey Og,” calls out Blowen. “Hey Big Og!” The mercurial bed and breakfast proprietor has a story for each horse on site. “He only had ten starts. Won seven of his first eight. New York Daily News race writer Russ Harris has seen every New York race since 1961 and Ogygian is the best horse Harris ever saw.”

Ogygian, now 25 years old, is best remembered for his authoritative defeat of Groovy in the 1986 Jerome Handicap. Ogygian retired due to an ankle injury at the age of four.

“Now this one here is my girlfriend,” exclaimed Blowen as he greets Hidden Lake. A daughter of Quiet American, Hidden Lake won the 1997 Eclipse Award for top older female. Apparently she has regained her crown at Old Friends.

Hidden Lake wins the 1997 Go For Wand Stakes


Hidden Lake famously collapsed after capturing the G1 Go For Wand. “From the recesses of her heart, Hidden Lake found a way to fight back and win,” said jockey Richard Migliore. “After the finish line, she actually collapsed from exhaustion. That was how much effort she put into winning that race. She was running on empty and found more to give.”

The mare has a few things in common with her new owner.

A loud whinny interrupts the phone call and I am informed we have finally caught up with Benburb, the 1992 Canadian Horse of the Year and Champion Three Year-old Male.

“I’ve got a special treat for you,” laughed Blowen. “It’s Canadian champ Benburb eating a carrot.” For the next thirty seconds I’m treated to a combination of crunchy root vegetables and incessant giggling.

The giggling is infectious.

Blowen returns to the phone to advise that he also recently acquired Thornfield, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1999. “I now have two Canadian horses and being bilingual, they’ll be greeting our visitors in two languages,” cackled Blowen.

The program for the 1992 Molson Million


Benburb, who first made headlines by defeating Alydeed in the Prince of Wales Stakes, was a special horse for many at Woodbine. However, going into the 1992 Molson Million, the Phil England trainee was little more than an afterthought next to such heavy hitters as A.P Indy and Technology.

Benburb’s regular rider, Larry Attard, was hurt on the day of the event and Richard Dos Ramos was the fortunate recipient of the mount.

The journeyman’s face lit up when asked recently about the race. "Larry Attard got hurt and at the time I was riding a lot of horses for Debbie England, Phil’s wife," said dos Ramos. At Debbie's urging, Dos Ramos got the mount.

"I didn’t even know it was a million dollar race," smiled Dos Ramos. "On the post parade I was talking to the outrider and I said to him, ‘who did I pick up anyway.’" Dos Ramos was quickly advised he had secured the ride on Benburb in a million-dollar race. "I said 'perfect' and that's how I ended up with him," laughed the good-natured veteran.

An appropriately dressed Richard Dos Ramos shared a little love for Benburb


The Molson Million was meant to mark the return from injury of the highly acclaimed A.P. Indy. Little was expected from the Canadian horse out of Steve Stavros’ Knob Hill Stable. "Phil never gave a lot of instructions,” recalled Dos Ramos. “What he did tell me was, 'Rick, if he gets into a dogfight he'll win’. We turn into the lane and he was sitting fourth and we got in between two horses and had a four-horse dog fight going.”

Deep in the stretch, A.P Indy was out of contention as Benburb surged between Alydeed, Vying Victor and Technology. Elated Guy was closing like a train on the outside. Dos Ramos continued, “Phil’s words came into my head saying he'll win this dogfight and I just kept on riding and he just shot through. We crossed the wire and I thought, ‘holy jumpin' I hope this isn’t a dream!’"

Dan Loiselle’s stirring call at the wire is burned into Woodbine patrons memories, “An upset for the ages, Benburb wins the Molson Export Million.” A.P Indy would go on to win the Breeders Cup Classic and the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

A program cover featuring a jubilant Richard Dos Ramos

At 20-years-old, Benburb is nearly white. The champ is being assisted with issues caused by melanomas by top local vet Dr. Byers. Benburb is now restricted to how much sunlight he can have. The equine senior citizen is now a night owl.

“He's going out twelve hours a day. Dr. Byers pointed out that melanomas are a lot harder on the humans than the horse,” said Blowen.

Benburb doesn’t seem to mind.

“He’s such a sweet horse. Kids eat carrots out of his hand,” stated Blowen. “He has a marvelous disposition. His forelocks have turned almost albino white. He's very attractive.”

Soon to join Benburb at Blowen’s field of dreams is 1999 Canadian International champion Thornfield. The victory made the Stavros Stable charge the first International winner sired by an International winner (Sky Classic, 1991.)

American-bred Fruits of Love was favoured in the event but the team of Phil England and Richard Dos Ramos had other ideas. “We were trying to teach him (Thornfield) to rate a little bit because he's real headstrong,” remembered Dos Ramos fondly. “Phil got him to relax a little bit and he started to come around and he just peaked at the right time for the Canadian International.”

Thornfield, longest shot on the board, wins the 1999 Canadian International


In a truly international field, the Chilean-bred Dancing Place, led the field through the first quarter with Dos Ramos sitting fourth on Thornfield. British invader Courteous loomed dangerously in that one's rear view and made an early move to take the lead in the backstretch. “That day everything went perfect,” smiled Dos Ramos. “In the morning, my wife Linda said, 'you're going to win that race, I have a gut feeling' and I said to her 'I hope you're right'.”

Courteous maintained a six-length lead into the far turn with Dancing Place and Thornfield stalking patiently along the hedge. “Turning into the lane there was a horse (Courteous) four, five lengths in front and I knew I had him but I didn’t want to move to soon because this lane is so long,” explained Dos Ramos. “I looked back and I didn’t see anyone coming. I straightened out, set him down and when he went by there man, I tell ya what, when I crossed the wire I could have jumped off that horse.”

An ecstatic Dos Ramos stood up in the irons and waved his whip in the air as he crossed the wire just steps in front of a late-charging Fruits of Love. “It was great because he's a Canadian horse,” laughed Dos Ramos. “Just a great little horse to ride."

Thornfield is now 15 years of age and waiting patiently on a satellite farm in Paris, Kentucky while Blowen completes renovations on his massive property. Blowen’s goal is to build a facility that can support itself with revenue generated by a full-scale bed-and-breakfast complete with rooms offering satellite TV including all the horse racing channels.

Nearly twenty thousand fans visit Old Friends each year and the number is growing as people become aware of one of the best kept secrets in racing. Calvin Borel is a regular patron. Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron lives down the road and offers his assistance on a regular basis. Racing fans continue to pour in by the thousands.

As for his new Canadian retirees, Blowen laughed “I hope they get along so we can put them in the same paddock and put up a Canadian flag.”

***

For more information about how you can visit Old Friends, or make a donation, please visit their website.

Benburb and Thornfield to Old Friends and the Adena Stallion who is Brewing Synthetic Stars

Saturday's eighth race at Arlington Park was the $150,000 Arlington Oaks. The race was won by Peach Brew, a daughter of Milwaukee Brew. The Adena Springs stallion is providing handicappers with many reasons to highlight their copy of the Form lately, especially as it applies to polytrack. Woodbine locals will nod their heads approvingly considering the recent success of Ginger Brew and Milwaukee Appeal. Val's Foolish Pleasure blog posted on the subject of Milwaukee Brew recently and the entry is well worth a click.

However, what really caught my eye in the Arlington Oaks was the impressive showing of Sweet and Flawless, who's trip was anything but. The filly was fractious in the gate, came out sideways and simply refused to settle. Racing sixth and last to the 3/4 mark of the race, jockey Junior Alvarado was having a difficult time settling his mount. Ten lengths back, Alvarado began to make a move heading into the far turn and was charging like gangbusters turning into the stretch only for Sweet and Flawless to turn her head toward the grandstand and swing wide into the lane.

Alvarado persevered and his filly responded with a determined late run closing to earn the place money, beaten just half a length. It was an impressive result considering the troubled trip. Whenever a horse can make repeated moves, it's worth noting.

If you keep a virtual stable, Sweet and Flawless should be on your watch list.

***

Woodbine's Wednesday night card features eight entertaining races including two turf events, one of which is the Passing Mood Stakes.

The Passing Mood marks the return of the brilliant Cawaja Beach who will take on old foes, and fellow Stakes winners, Sans Sousi and Koonunga Hill. Hot trainer Malcolm Pierce has entered South Ocean Stakes winner Double Malt bringing further quality to this talented seven horse field.

P# PP Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1 Cawaja Beach (ON) D J David 126 S H Fairlie 2/1
2 2 Executive Deed (ON) T Kabel 115 S C Attard 12/1
3 3 Double Malt (ON) E R Da Silva 122 M Pierce 4/1
4 4 Lucky n' Bold (ON) S R Bahen 115 J P Le Blanc, Jr. 12/1
5 5 Dancing Charm (ON) P Husbands 115 D Pleterski 10/1
6 6 Sans Sousi (ON) C Sutherland 122 M J Doyle 3/1
7 7 Koonunga Hill (ON) J C Jones 119 S Owens 6/1

The Ontario-Bred fillies will travel seven furlongs on the Turf for a purse of $125,000. A full handicapping review of this event will be posted later this evening.

Teresa, of Brooklyn Backstretch blog, who posted recently on the subject of horses and hockey players will be happy to know that Kovalchuk is entered in race four. At 4-1 on the morning line, the Mike De Paulo horse has a good chance at scoring in this rare 1 1/4M event. The feline friendly Brooklyn Backstretch may find herself at odds in wagering on this event as One Thievin Cat will try to steal this one at odds of 10-1.

***

I would like to thank everyone who took time to comment on my recent posting about the retirement of Boule d'Or. Initially posted here at Triple Dead Heat, the blog was then published again on the Blood-Horse website. Click the link above to read the full post.

Boule d'Or is on his way to Old Friends Equine in Kentucky and hopefully not lost in the story was the fact that Canadian stars Benburb and Thornfield are also making their way to the Old Friends facility.

Benburb was Canada's horse of the year in 1992 after winning the Prince of Wales Stakes, followed by a memorable victory over A.P Indy in the Molson Million.

Benburb defeats A.P. Indy and Alydeed in the 1992 Molson Million


Thornfield was Canada's horse of the year in 1999, a season in which the brilliant turfer took the Canadian International as the longest shot in the field.

Thornfield defeats Courteous in the 1999 G1 Canadian International


Congratulations to these former Knob Hill Stable stars who provided Woodbine fans with two very memorable moments. May they both enjoy a mint-filled retirement.