By 6PM on Sunday night, and after having watched countless graded races across North America, I was more tuckered out than a beaten (yes, that's word play) Rachel Alexandra. Over the course of some 48 hours, racing fans were treated to a breathtaking photo finish in the Travers, a masterfully timed ride by Mike Smith aboard Richard's Kid in the Pacific Classic and the shock of watching Rachel Alexandra put away Life At Ten in the Personal Ensign only to discover that our heroic mare hits the wall at nine furlongs.
Meanwhile, Woodbine patrons were treated to a speed-favouring turf course that allowed a 9-1 Barracks Road to wire the Ontario Colleen on Saturday and more of the same on Sunday when Fatal Bullet set the pace, was engaged by Jungle Wave, only to give way at the wire to Smokey Fire
It's not quite the two-minute sports reel, but below are videos from as many of the weekend's races as I could find, with just a few bullet words for comment.
Smokey Fire crowned in Play The King
* If Jungle Wave lets Smokey Fire jump first does the former win this race? * Add closers Southdale and Field Commission to your watch list. They didn't stand a chance on this speed-favouring course. * Smokey Fire becomes the first Stakes winner of the day for stallion Smoke Glacken (see below.)
Barracks Road wires the Ontario Colleen
* Watch the #6 horse, No Explaining, as they are pushed w i i i i d e turning into the stretch. Not saying that they were going to catch Barracks Road but when the temporary rails get moved back in, this horse will win at better odds.
El Brujo earns BC Sprint berth with win in Pat O'Brien
* A front-running El Brujo becomes the first Ontario-bred to qualify for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on November 6 at Churchill Downs.
Afleet Express noses out a gutsy win in the Travers
* Afleet Express was on the rail and headed and still had enough heart to fight back for one last lunge to the wire and won a head bob.
Persistently stunds Rachel Alexandra in the Personal Ensign
* Everyone I know was wagering against Rachel Alexandra in this event. From a handicapping perspective, there was no reason to believe she could get ten furlongs. However, nobody I know had money on Persistently.
* Peristently's victory marked the second Stakes win in less than an hour for stallion Smoke Glacken. Congratulations to Gainesway Farm!
* Mike Smith takes a lot of flak on the interweb for his wide rides but you have to give credit to the jock for his sense of timing in nailing this race.
* Mike Smith has ridden Richard's Kid just twice - both times resulting in a win in the Pacific Classic. Quipped Smith after the win, "I just want to ride him once a year."
Discreetly Mine dominant in King's Bishop
* Sometimes you realize that some trainers are handicappers at heart and check out this little nugget from an excellent David Grening column regarding Discreetly Mine's win over a speed-favouring Saratoga track:
Pletcher didn't want Discreetly Mine to have to go gate to wire, but with the track so favoring speed - all races to that point had been run in front-running fashion - he felt he had no choice.
"It's nice when you can adjust and do it either way, you hate to force one to go 21-and-four, 44 when you're going seven-eighths," Pletcher said. "It looked a little too risky not to try it that way."
Dynaslew's 'em in the Ballston Spa - Miss Keller up for show
* Roger Attfield had a perfect ITM% through four starts going into the Ballston Spa and while Miss Keller got up in time for show, Mekong Melody let the trainer down finishing last. You can't win 'em all, though it sure seems that way sometimes when Attfield is in a stakes race.
Rightly So just so in the Ballerina
* The filly ran .58 of a second faster than Discreetly Mine to win the Ballerina and is likely headed to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint next.
Del Mar Mile Enriched with positive performance
* Enriched earned an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile through the "Win and You're In" program, but the 5-year-old gelding was not nominated to the program as a young horse. Chances are, we won't be enriched with his presence at Churchill this November.
The next couple races lack video but were equally interesting:
Champ Pegasus wins the Del Mar Cap. For more, click on the link above for a report by the North County Times: The only better outcome for trainer Richard Mandella than winning Sunday's Grade II Del Mar Handicap with Champ Pegasus ($5) would have been finishing first and second.
However, the photo finish camera showed Buenos Dias, trained by fellow Hall of Famer Ron McAnally, edged the Mandella-trained Worth Repeating for second place.
"It still looks like he got second," said Mandella in the winner's circle while watching a replay of the race. "Friendship only goes so far. I'm also happy for Ron."
But Mandella was beaming about his 4-year-old colt, who was making just his seventh career start and winning his first graded stakes race.
"I'm pretty happy about the way he's come around," said Mandella, who didn't start Champ Pegasus until last December due to a variety of minor ailments.
"You have to expect them to learn and get better at this."
Milwaukee Appeal third in Molly Pitcher won by a retiring Just Jenda. Click the link above for more from the BloodHorse.Com:
Terry Thompson drove Just Jenda to victory for trainer Cindy Jones, who owns the bay filly with her husband Larry. Just Jenda, who pulled a shoulder muscle when she finished third behind Malibu Prayer in the Lighthouse Stakes at Monmouth June 26, made her final start.
“What a way to go out,” Cindy Jones said. “She was on top of her game and the race just worked out perfectly. She didn’t have to chase the speed today, but could sit back and relax. This was a real tough field and we couldn’t be more proud of her.”
The final time for the Molly Pitcher was 1:43.52 on a fast track in the 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares. Malibu Prayer, the Ruffian Invitational Handicap (gr. I) winner ridden by Garrett Gomez, finished second, with the closing Milwaukee Appeal third with Stewart Elliott aboard.
* * * Fort Erie Racetrack will be hosting a legends day on Tuesday, August 31st where fans will have the opportunity to meet several legends of Canadian horse racing!
Racing fans of all ages will have the opportunity for an autograph session and a meet and greet with some of Canada’s finest horsemen. Beginning at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, August 31st, sixteen racing legends including the great Sandy Hawley will be in attendance at Fort Erie Race Track for a special promotion known as “Legends Day.”
Retired jockeys Sandy Hawley, Larry Attard, Robin Platts, Hugo Dittfach, Jack Lauzon, Sam McComb and Paul Souter will be on hand to autograph a caricature poster drawn by injured rider Chad Beckon. A larger than life autographed photo of a young Sandy Hawley which originally hung in the Garrison Inn will be raffled off with tickets selling for $1 each. Proceeds from both the posters and the raffle will go to aid in Chad’s recovery.
Hall of Fame trainers Roger Attfield, Lou Cavalaris Jr. and Gil Rowntree will also return to the site of some of their greatest wins. Other legends include; Gus Schickedanz, John Cardella, Glenn Magnusson, John Calhoun, Mort Hardy and Fort Erie’s own Frank Passero Jr.
The legends will sign a special commemorative racing program which includes bios and photos. Programs will be on sale for only $2.00 as a part of the tracks Twilight Toonie Tuesday promotion.
This historic session will begin at 3:30pm and continue until 5pm. Fans are encouraged to bring racing memorabilia for the legends to sign.
This is the final twilight program for the 2010 racing season. Live racing begins at 4pm.
Meet Sandy Hawley at Fort Erie!
This is a great opportunity to enjoy a day at the track and also help support the talented Chad Beckon. I'm fortunate to have one of Chad's unique caricatures hanging in my room. Don't miss out on a chance to get one for yourself!
* * *
Nicole Umiker's Empire Stable invites the local racing community to attend their Open House TODAY Monday August 30th from 12:30PM to 4:30PM. Empire Stable offers breaking/training/layups in a "private, secluded facility just 25 minutes north of Woodbine Racetrack."
Empire Stable is located at 2019 Hwy. 50, 5KM North of Hwy 9, (East Side). RSVP 416-889-5739
* * *
As always, keep track of the latest goings on in the world of horse racing by clicking into TripleDeadHeat's Woodbine News page. I'll have photos from the Woodbine weekend posted later this week.
I'm back from a whirlwind weekend at Saratoga and what a weekend it was! Blind Luck put in a devastating performance on Saturday to win the Alabama Stakes, jockey John Velazquez swept the early pick four en route to a five-win day and, of course, there were drinks after at Siro's.
Saratoga sunshiney silhouette
My hostess, the talented Teresa of Brooklyn Backstretch fame was an informative and gracious tour guide. I can't thank her enough for kicking me off the couch at 5AM to watch the morning workouts. Honest!
Rather than jump into the racing, I thought I would start my recap with a tour of the backstretch and a morning spent watching workouts. By arriving trackside before dawn on Saturday, we were fortunate to watch from the rail as Super Saver, A Little Warm, Trappe Shot, Fly Down and others prepared for the Travers. I even caught a blurry shot of a galloping Rachel Alexandra.
What follows is a photo essay of my morning at Saratoga.
(As always, please double left click the photo to enlarge the photo and then use your "Back" button to return to the blog post. Enjoy!)
Well before sunrise but still beautiful in Saratoga...
Here comes the sun
You'll have to take my word for it, but this blurry bit of motion is a galloping Rachel Alexandra
You can watch Rachel Alexandra's headstrong gallop below
Salute!
Stand at attention
It's been so long since I've seen a dirt track...I had to get a closer look
Afleet Express works in preparation for the Travers
Jim Dandy winner A Little Warm preps for the Travers
A Little Warm heatin' up for trainer Tony Dutrow
Watch A Little Warm workout courtesy of NYRA Video
Here comes a wrap superstar
This rider is a Manchester City supporter
Change up the angle but just as beautiful on the turn
Saratoga silhouette
Get movin'!
Grandstand
Tree-lined
The Saratoga backstretch
I stood here for hours
Crazy Cat Lady couldn't sort out how to eat the mint
But she can definitely sort out how to pose for a portrait!
Next stall over is my friend Teresa with Our Friend Harvey
Nick Zito's Fly Down prepares for the Travers
Fly Zoom!
A horseicle built for two? No...just an awkward camera angle
Watch Fly Down workout for the Travers courtesy of NYRA Video
This one's well speckled
So fresh, so clean
The best part of visiting the backstretch are the characters you meet along the way. While Pure Luck was getting a bath her groom regaled us with stories
Sudsy
Many pedi's on the Saratoga backstretch
Later in the afternooon I spent a lot of time looking through this window...just looking, mind
* * *
More photos and certainly many more words on my Spa weekend later this week including a review of the weekend Stakes races, my visit with Tom Durkin and other Saratoga celebs and an information session at the Jockey Club Round Table event which included a presentation by Woodbine's own Nick Eaves.
As always, keep track of the latest goings on in the world of horse racing by clicking into TripleDeadHeat's Woodbine News page.
Rachel Alexandra owner Jess Jackson released the following statement to the press on Sunday in The Paulick Report.
“Yesterday’s race while a disappointment, helped us define Rachel Alexandra’s racing condition. While she is healthy, just as I had anticipated, she is not in top form. Therefore, I decided today she will not be going to the Oaklawn Invitational on April 9. Steve and I discussed this fully and we now regret we tried to accelerate her training in order meet the Apple Blossom schedule. We have a whole season before us to help define her greatness. She will tell us when her next race will be.”
Let the debates begin.
Before anyone screams about being ripped off, let's not forget that the welfare of the horse matters most. I'd rather watch Rachel Alexandra in peak form taking on the best horses than running 3/4 fit in an effort to force the filly into position to be ready for the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn.
This brings us to a second potential controversy.
Zenyatta won the Santa Margarita by a length and a quarter on Saturday, while reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra lost the New Orleans Ladies by a head. Anyone who thinks a race held in March 2010 should matter at all regarding the Horse of the Year vote held in 2009 is mistaken.
Zenyatta ran a comparatively soft 2009 campaign winning only one race that mattered. Rachel Alexandra toured the country defeating horses outside her own sex and age group and was correctly rewarded for her derring do.
Make no mistake - Rachel Alexandra had the better 2009 campaign. By all means, check out my post entitled, Memories of Rachel Alexandra for a trip down memory lane. Her campaign was a tour de force.
Now, if you want to argue about which mare is the better horse, that's a different story.
I find it amusing that people get worked up about Rachel Alexandra losing Saturday's race. The connections were very clear all week that this was a prep race for the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, and a quick look at her past performances show that she needs a race or two to get in race shape.
*Did anyone notice that DRF Fair Grounds handicapper Marcus Hersh went against Rachel Alexandra in the Form on Saturday? As well, TV commentator Jessica Pachecho went live on air picking against Rachel. Those that took the time to review the small details made a bit of money on this one.
Unlike Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra did NOT go into Saturday's race undefeated. In fact, Rachel has been beaten three times prior to her second place finish in the New Orleans Ladies.
Rachel Alexandra lost her debut at Churchill Downs on May 2nd 2008, finishing sixth beaten some eight lengths; she would finish second in the Debutant Stakes at Churchill on June 28, 2008; and on November 1, 2008 Rachel Alexandra was beaten three lengths by Sara Louise in the Pocahantas.
What Rachel Alexandra accomplished in 2009 was to cycle into the type of form rarely matched in racing history. Let's give her a chance to get in shape before we start to tear her down.
As Raceday360 pointed out on Twitter during Saturday's super day of racing:
"Kelso was five-time HOTY. He lost first start back each year, except for '61. Z was better today, RA was better, in sum, last year."
If Jess Jackson and Steve Asmussen say Rachel Alexandra needs more time, I'm inclined to believe them BECAUSE of their ambitious campaign in 2009. Check the past performances before tearing them down.
* * *
On the eve of a super Saturday of horse racing, Edmonton Journal columnist Curtis Stock published a blog entitled Horse racing's ignorance continues.
The piece argues that racetracks, particularly Northlands, dropped the ball in promoting the races of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.
Stock writes:
And what have we heard? Unless you go to the internet or buy the Daily Racing Form it's been Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence.
Northlands should be publicizing these two races as if they were being run here. But no. Maybe they're afraid of causing hard feelings with the harness horses which are in town, though from their promotion of this meet you'd be hard pressed to know it.
Most likely it's more to do with ignorance and not understanding what the sport needs right now: Publicity.
No matter which sport - harness or thoroughbred - racing has to be in this together. But racing has faded from the media which means they have faded from people's consciousness.
Here we have two horses given to them by the gods of horse racing and hardly a word.
This story should be everywhere. But it's not. And the question is why?
I agree with Stock in spirit - but I felt a little twinge at the quick mention and dismissal of the Internet.
The story of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra WAS everywhere...online.
A Google News search pulled up hundreds of news stories. For example:
As mentioned in Stock's article, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association provided (albeit an apparently glitchy experience) FREE streaming video of both mare's races.
Anyone with an Internet connection knew about the races to be held and where to watch. (For an interesting peek at how many people have access to the Internet, check out the CIA World Fact Book. More than 25M people online in Canada and another 231M in the USA.
In the piece, Stock points the finger at lack of promotion to traditional media outlets.
As I've written before, I believe the reason is that horse racing does not have anyone disseminating these stories to the news wires, to t.v. stations, to radio stations. And locally, racetracks don't do near enough to promote their stars either.
I would like to take that excellent suggestion one step further.
Traditional media (newspaper, television, radio) rarely reports on horse racing. It's a bit of a chicken or the egg philosophical question.
Does the public ignore horse racing because it's not printed in the papers? Or do the newspapers not report on horse racing because the public doesn't care.
(I suspect the answer might be a third option in that the racing industry generally only advertises in industry trade publications. But that's a different story.)
My spin on Stock's valid concerns about the promotion of the sport of horse racing would be to raise public awareness via social media.
Facebook boasts some 400 million active users with 50% of that group logging in daily.
Twitter boasts 6 million unique monthly visitors and 55 million monthly visits. In fact, Twitter even has it's own Twitter 101 For Business page to help companies get up and running.
Imagine the buzz a business could generate with only a percentage of that market?
The user numbers for social media tools dwarf the readership of most newspapers and other traditional media.
I still believe newspapers are a relevant way to reach a target audience, but a well developed social media network can accomplish the same goals.
I was inundated with Tweets and blogs and emails from the online racing community regarding Saturday's races - before, during and after the races.
Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter provide a home where conversations, interactions and blogs have merged together to create unique online communities. These communities provide opportunities for track management to engage directly with existing and potential customers, in order to better understand them and meet their needs -and hopefully get them to the track.
The market has moved to the Internet and racing has to adjust. In fact, many already have.
Despite living in Toronto and writing mainly about Woodbine horse racing, I often touch on the horse racing stories from New York. This is due in no small part to the work being done by the New York Racing Association media department. Dan Silver, director of communications and media relations for NYRA, was lauded by the Paulick Report in March of this year.
NYRA has clearly made a decision to use its NYRA.com website, along with Youtube, to inform, educate, and entertain racing fans and horsemen. How did your strategy evolve?
It’s very important to mention right away that all of the initiatives we have introduced wouldn’t be possible without support from the top, in our case NYRA president & CEO Charles Hayward and NYRA COO Hal Handel. They let me and Neema Ghazi, NYRA’s director of marketing, have pretty much free reign in exploring new ways to use the internet to benefit our fans. With the knowledge that they’re behind what we’re doing, it makes it much easier to launch new initiatives.
In terms of the strategy and how it evolved, I think it’s just trying to use our resources to the best of our abilities in reaching out to current and prospective racing fans. The internet is not just the future of marketing, it is the present, and it affords many opportunities to market your product and educate fans at a very low cost, certainly costing less than conventional methods of advertising like television spots, radio spots, and newspaper ads.
On The Lead, our monthly email newsletter, was the jumping-off point for our internet outreach initiatives. We launched it in April 2008, and now, two years later we are up to almost 100,000 subscribers.
I encourage readers to visit NYRA.Com and check out their "New Media Links" section. Or, check out my February 5, 2010 post entitled A Little Creativity Goes A Long Way which details the many new strategies developed by NYRA.
Locally, I know that the Woodbine website is currently undergoing an overhaul and the track is working hard to update their Woodbine Replays Youtube Channel and adding new content to QueensPlate.Com. It's an ongoing effort and many racetracks are getting aboard the social media bandwagon.
At any rate, my goal is not to be a curmudgeon. I want to help continue the discussion of what can be done to bring fans back to the racetrack. My suspicion is that if the buzz on the Internet is such that racing is in the public perception, that traditional media will be forced to report about horse racing.
Traditional reporting is already making an impact on social media. Pretty much every columnist has a blog these days. In fact, Stock's piece is actually a blog that has generated a fair number of comments.
Many businesses are already hiring for a position entitled "Director of Social Media". It's a position that racetracks looking to maintain current fans and develop new ones will have to consider.
* * *
Saturday truly was a brilliant day to be a racing fan. My plan was to set up a battle station in my living room and watch HPI TV, but at the last minute I decided that I wanted to watch the races in the company of racing fans so I headed to the Greenwood teletheatre - once home to Greenwood Racetrack.
I set up shop in front of rows of televisions featuring racing from across North America. My tools of combat included one pen/highlighter combo, one Daily Racing Form, one BlackBerry, three glasses of beer and one bag of salt and vinegar chips.
To be successful as a handicapper I need to focus on one track only and on Saturday I chose to focus on Gulfstream. It was a lucrative decision. Arriving in time for the fifth race, I put together a simple $24 superfecta ticket keying the Flying Zee stable entry of Strictly Society and Ontario-bred Rotten to the Core with Nick Zito's Liquidity Event in the top two positions. I used the same three horses in the 3rd and 4th positions underneath - Slam Fire, Sweet Bernie and L J's Way. Given that I had $30 in my account, I decided to use the remaining $6 on a $1 tribox using my key horse with Sweet Bernie.
In terms of a leadoff hit, this was a homerun. Liquidity took the early lead, with Slam Fire chasing in earnest and the Flying Zee entry next in line. Turning into the stretch, Liquidity exploded away from would be stalkers with Strictly Society chasing in vain.
It was one of those moments where the screen wasn't showing me enough of the race. I was halfway through my superfecta but who was going to finish third and fourth??
To my relief, Sweet Bernie hugged the rail all the way down the stretch to finish third completing my tribox. The other half of the entry finished fourth which meant the fifth place finisher Slam Fire was elevated into the final Superfecta spot.
My HPI account lit up. As did I.
SUPERfecta
As much as I love my online tools, nothing is better than being at the track. Or in this case, the Off-Track.
The next race at Gulfstream was won by Tino Attard's Radio Relay. Several of the punters in my vicinity cheered the Kafwain horse bred by Ormonde Farm down the lane. The Gulfstream feed continued to focus on the winners circle festivities and wouldn't you know it, there was Tino Attard ambling up to offer congratulations to the jockey.
"Hey Tino," exclaimed one happy fellow to the TV. "Nice work buddy."
With that, Attard took out a mobile phone and started dialing. In seconds, a jolly Attard was seen waving at the television camera.
The folks at the offtrack roared with laughter.
"HI TINOOOOOOOOOOO," yelled a table of punters waving their betting slips at the screen.
It was a magic moment and one of many laughs over the course of the day. Tino Attard's Radio Relay delights the Greenwood OTB
Considering the number of races at various tracks on the day, I had scrawled the important race times on the back of my Daily Racing Form.
* 530PM Tampa Bay Derby * 6:15PM Rachel *6:37PM Zenyatta * 6:47 Rebel - Oaklawn *7:39 San Felipe - Santa Anita
I continued my handicapping adventure at Gulfstream while simultaneously following the banter on Twitter. What follows is a display of some of the Tweets that made me laugh, think or nod my head in agreement during the afternoon.
Odysseus absolutely shocked the finish of the Tampa Bay Derby winning a photo finish he appeared to have lost by a head. The angle on that tv camera must be appalling. I have yet to see the win photo.
Equispace tweeted WOWWWWW!!!! He got him at the wire!!!!
BombsawayBob tweeted Why is it Austrailia Racing has PHOTO Finishes posted within 10 seconds of the finish, but USA still uses "One-Hour-Photo" processing? Odysseus wins the Tampa Bay Derby
Next up was the Rachel Alexandra debut. Bridge jumpers were lighting up the show pool and everyone in the Off-Track was buzzing in anticipation. When Rachel was beaten one Greenwood punter announced to no one in particular. "How could they make her horse of the year over Zenyatta...just stupid."
Similar chatter was littering Twitter, but let's look at some of the other fun Tweets during the race.
MIBredClaimer tweeted: I see Zardana is nominated to the Apple Blossom. If all three parties show up, that could bring some drama.
FilliesFirst tweeted Could it hit $1million in show pool?!? $860k w/3 mins to post!
o_crunk tweeted So how long until the RA retirement announcement? Rachel loses to Zardana in the New Orleans Ladies
Following Rachel's loss, Zenyatta was on deck for what would be a remarkable performance. The big mare nipped to the rail and back again during the stretch run to easily pass a tiring Dance to My Tune.
The Santa Anita crowd rejoiced. The punters at Greenwood clapped in appreciation.
Vic Zast, of HorseRace Insider tweeted: Mike Smith's antics will get Zenyatta beat some day. Don't know if she can fail on her own. Hope her meeting with RA stays together.
Jessica Paquette, handicapper at Suffolk Downs tweeted: she was unreal. It was like watching two totally different levels of racing today.
Ed DeRosa, News Editor at Thoroughbred Times tweeted: Just don't get why people aren't gushing over zenyatta. She won as clearly much the best while giving 12 pounds. RA lost in a listed stake. DeRosa was particularly upset at himself for having voted in favour of Rachel Alexandra for HOTY but has now come out with a blog post stating, Rachel Alexandra still deserving Horse of the Year.
Couldn't agree more!
Zenyatta wins the Santa Margarita
The attention then turned to Kentucky Derby favourite Lookin at Lucky. The Baffert trainee got up just in time to nip Noble's Promise in an exciting finish.
ColinsGhost tweeted Lookin at Lucky's race was the goods -- hope he runs in the Ark Derby
Larry Zapeye tweeted i said it before...Lookin at Lucky just might be our next Triple Crown winner...he has the tools...he has the trainer...he has the ability
ChangingLeads tweeted Bob Baffert has a Derby favorite .. How great is that? Lookin At Lucky is better than lucky, he's a pretty good colt Lookin at Lucky wins the Rebel
The last big race of the day was the San Felipe Stakes and Caracortado was expected to emerge victorious. However, jockey Joe Talamo set a slow pace with talented Candy Ride progeny Sydney's Candy and had plenty left in the stretch to steal the race. No reason in my mind that Sydney's Candy won't get a mile and a quarter.
Larry Zapeye tweeted Sydney's Candy steals away with sloooooooooooow fractions & outkicks Interactif & Caracortado...pace makes race...except if your Zenyatta...
Keith-TripleDeadHeat tweeted thought candy looked good in san felipe post parade. will give it a ride (I hit the exactor on this one and a nice win payout to cap off my best day of wagering in donkeys.)
MiBredClaimer tweeted Man, Caracortado went pretty wide coming into the stretch. Atkinson rode the hell out of him, though.
Sidney's Candy wins the San Felipe
All things considered, it was a great afternoon of racing and Sydney's Candy, Odysseus and Lookin At Lucky will all generate a lot of media attention in the coming weeks. Get online and check it out.
The 2009 Eclipse Award winners were announced Monday night in a gala ceremony at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverley Hills, California. In an announcement that shocked and pleasantly surprised this writer, Rachel Alexandra was named Horse of the Year by a count of 130-99 over the magnificent mare Zenyatta.
Details of owner Jess Jackson's speech were posted on Bloodhorse.com.
“This contest was so close and I don’t know the count, but I know that either horse deserved this award,” Jackson said. “It’s hard for me to accept it without sharing it with all the people that made this possible including (jockey) Calvin Borel.”
“Together Rachel and Zenyatta won nine grade I races; together they conquered four of the best groups of males who were running last year,” he continued. “If you think about their achievements, individually or collectively, there has never been a year like this one for fillies."
Well said Mr. Jackson. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta stole the headlines all year long and it bodes well for racing that both will return to race in 2010.
A crowd of admirers congregate around Rachel Alexandra at Saratoga
I was fortunate enough to be in attendance at Saratoga when Rachel Alexandra captured the Woodward Stakes. I took a slew of photos and you can read the recap in my report titled Photo Essay: Rachel Alexandra Romps At Saratoga.
Rachel Alexandra's conditioner Steve Asmussen won the Eclipse for Champion Trainer. Asmussen notched 650 wins from 2,944 starts to top the North American trainer standings for the third consecutive year. The Texan captured 52 of those wins at Woodbine including his 5000th career victory.
Asmussen’s runners earned $21,876,405 in North American earnings in 2009 which also was good enough for first place in the standings. Asmussen's charges earned $1,951,996 at Woodbine.
Trainer Steve Asmussen under the lights at Woodbine
Julien Leparoux won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in a landslide over Garrett Gomez. Leparoux won 247 races from 1,286 starters with earnings of $18,560,565. The Frenchman captured eight Grade One races including a dramatic win by DQ in the Northern Dancer Stakes at Woodbine.
Julien Leparoux and Just As Well on their way to the gate at Woodbine
If that seems an odd post title for a report on Just as Well, it's because the Northern Dancer was the under card of the Woodbine Mile won by Juddmonte Farms fab filly Ventura.
Juddmonte Farms took the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder and together with trainer Bobby Frankel had a memorable 2009 campaign at Woodbine. As noted above, Ventura dominated the boys in the Woodbine Mile and in the marquee day of the Woodbine meet Champs Elysees went out a winner as champion of the Canadian International.
The Champ stares down the camera after a brilliant Grade 1 victory to end his career
Woodbine tradition holds that the silks belonging to the owners of the Queen's Plate, Woodbine Mile and Canadian International will be flown in the winners circle. When Bobby Frankel passed away, I wrote a post regarding this timely tribute entitled Two Flags For Frankel.
Two Flags Fly High for Frankel
Honourable mentions on the night include the Reade Baker trained Biofuel who received one vote for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly which was won by She Be Wild.
The imposing Biofuel takes aim at the camera
Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who broke his maiden at Woodbine and brought much notoriety to local trainer/owner David Cotey captured four votes for Champion Three-Year-Old Male won by Belmont winner Summer Bird.
Mine That Bird broke his maiden at Woodbine for David Cotey
The above-mentioned Woodbine Mile winner Ventura popped up with six votes for Female Sprinter and 41 votes for Female Turf Horse won by Informed Decision and Goldikova respectively.
Thanks for the memories Ventura
Catch her if you can...Ventura out for a gallop on a gloomy Woodbine morning
Adena Springs (44 Votes) and Eugene Melnyk (2 Votes)factored into the voting for Outstanding Breeder won by Juddmonte. Adena Springs, owned by the Stronach family, have a huge presence in Ontario with stallions Aplhabet Soup, Giant Gizmo, Milwaukee Brew, Olmodovar, Silent Name and Sligo Bay all standing locally.
Bay to Bay - a daughter of Adena's Sligo Bay won Woodbine's Natalma Stakes
Eugene Melnyk, of Toronto (and Barbados and owner of the Ottawa Senators among other holdings) is frequently found in the Woodbine winners circle. Top turfer Sterwins is one of many runners to have success here in 2009 when he defeated Rahy's Attorney in the Connaught Cup.
G3 Connaught Cup winner Sterwins is just one of Melnyk's many successes
One other voting item worth noting is the four votes for Michael Straight in the Apprentice Jockey category. Straight was injured in a terrible accident at Arlington Park and is fighting the long hard battle to recovery. Writer Jay Hovdey launched the campaign to honour Straight in his Jay Hovdey Blog.
"And second, in voting for Michael Straight, I felt like I was honoring an apprentice who gave up more for trying to live the dream of a riding career than ever should be required. He is 23 and he can't walk."
Compassionate words from Hovdey. Those wishing for an update on Straight can browse to the Michael Straight Get Well Card on Facebook.
All things considered, Woodbine punters had an opportunity to watch some fantastic horses in 2009. Thank you to the Paulick Report for the following 2009 Eclipse Award vote count.
Two-Year-Old Male (Name, First-Place Votes) Lookin At Lucky, 209; Vale of York, 17; Buddy’s Saint, 2; Noble’s Promise, 2; D’Funnybone, 1; Jackson Bend, 1.
Two-Year-Old Filly She Be Wild, 171; Blind Luck, 41; Hot Dixie Chick, 17; Awesome Maria, 1; Biofuel, 1; Tapitsfly, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male Summer Bird, 225; Mine That Bird, 4; Blame, 1; I Want Revenge, 1; No Vote, 1.
Three-Year-Old Filly Rachel Alexandra, 232.
Older Male Gio Ponti, 184; Einstein (BRZ), 18; Kodiak Kowboy, 16; Macho Again, 5; Furthest Land, 2; Rail Trip, 2; Well Armed, 1; Voter Abstentions, 4.
Older Female Zenyatta, 231; Icon Project, 1.
Female Sprinter Informed Decision, 222; Ventura, 6; Game Face, 1; Indian Blessing, 1; Music Note, 1; Diamondrella, 1.
Male Sprinter Kodiak Kowboy, 118; Zensational, 54; Dancing in Silks, 43; Fabulous Strike, 9; California Flag, 6; Vineyard Haven, 1; Voter Abstentions, 1.
Outstanding Trainer Steve Asmussen, 130; John Shirreffs, 57; Jonathan Sheppard, 19; Bob Baffert,10; Saeed bin Suroor, 5; Bobby Frankel, 4; Jerry Hollendorfer, 2; Hal Wiggins, 2; Todd Pletcher, 2; Voter Abstentions, 1.
Outstanding Jockey Julien Leparoux, 122; Garrett Gomez,46; Ramon Dominguez, 45; Calvin Borel, 13; Mike Smith, 3; Kent Desormeaux, 2; Russell Baze, 1.
Apprentice Jockey Christian Santiago Reyes, 93; Luis Saez, 48; Luis Batista, 47; Inez Karlsson, 8; Michael Straight, 4; Omar Moreno, 3; Jose Vega, 3; Tony Maragh, 2; Casey Papineau, 1; Angel Serpa, 1; Voter Abstentions, 21, No Vote, 1.
**UPDATE: 2009 Sovereign Award Finalists announced. Click on the link above to see the full list. More details to follow in Tuesday's blog.**
The big news of the weekend is that Zenyatta is returning to racing with a potential splash in the Santa Margarita Handicap.
The Santa Margarita would be used as a prep for the $500K 1 1/16M Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on April 3rd. Zenyatta won this race in 2008. Of note, Azeri won the Apple Blossom three times on the trot.
The rub here being that Oaklawn Park has a dirt course (Rachel owner Jess Jackson refuses to play on plastics) which sets up the possibility of the hotly anticipated showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.
There are a few items worth noting here.
* Zenyatta is already in training with published works. * Zenyatta will have the Santa Margarita under her belt. * Rachel Alexandra has been on extended hiatus since the Woodward with an eye to returning to training in February.
Given the circumstances, will the Rachel Alexandra camp want their first race of 2010 to come against an in-form Zenyatta?
I would prefer to see a showdown at Belmont Park in the G1 1 1/16M Odgen Phipps Handicap held June 12th. Given the magnitude of the match up, I'm sure a variety of sponsors might step up with a huge purse incentive and the June date gives both camps opportunity to point towards this event.
Regardless, it's fantastic to have the six-year-old Zenyatta return to racing. Thank you Jerry Moss for sending your amazing mare back to the track.
I have a feeling the award will go to Zenyatta for all the wrong reasons.
There's no doubt in my mind that Zenyatta is the better horse at a mile and a quarter, but I feel Horse of the Year should not be decided on hypotheticals and the winner must be the horse who raced the strongest campaign in the calendar year.
Zenyatta's five race campaign featured only one quality win. Granted, an incredible win with a cavalry charge to the wire in the Breeders' Cup Classic - but her other four races were decidedly underwhelming.
Rachel Alexandra put together an incredible eight-race win streak in 2009 touring across North America to defeat a variety of competition including Derby winner Mine That Bird and the likely Eclipse Award winner for 3YO Male in Summer Bird.
Is Zenyatta the better horse? Possibly. But I'm sure a retired Secretariat was still the best horse in the world in 1974 and he didn't win any awards.
I hope the voters reward Rachel Alexandra for her courageous campaign. It's good for racing.
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A great weekend for Woodbine-based jockey Chantal Sutherland who scored her first two graded stakes wins at Santa Anita. On Saturday, Sutherland piloted 4-1 shot Amen Hallelujah to victory in the G2 Santa Ynez Stakes.
Woodbine locals will not be surprised to watch a determined Sutherland throw it down in the stretch to win a deft right-handed duel over Garret Gomez aboard Franny Freud.
Amen Hallelujah - Chantal Sutherland wins the Santa Ynez Handicap
Sutherland returned to the winners circle on Sunday after upsetting the 1 1/16M El Encino Stakes with 29-1 shot Pretty Unusual over Stardom Bound. Pretty Unusual was in traffic trouble early before before Sutherland found sufficient room to close and win the Grade 2 race by 1 1/4 lengths.
Pretty Unusual, with Chantal Sutherland aboard, defeats Stardom Bound
"Let the good times roll," said Sutherland. "(Pretty Unusual) ran amazing - such acceleration. I was pleasantly surprised. I got through that hole and all I could see was Stardom Bound."
Chantal Sutherland doubled up at Santa Anita
Pretty Unusual is owned in part by Jack Klugman of The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E fame who was in attendance. I'm hoping to track down a copy of the win photo.
* * *
Roger Attfield was denied an impressive victory in the Marshua's River Stakes as Quiet Harbor headed out Lady Shakespeare in the final jump. Romacaca and Lady Shakespeare dead-heated for place just a head in front of another Woodbine-based runner Lomaki who is trained by Eric Coatrieux for Chiefswood Stable
Quiet Harbor wins a dramatic finish over Lady Shakespeare
Roger Attfield Results for January 17 Gulfstream Park Race 10 Allowance Flowerbomb Finished: 5th beaten 12 1/2 lengths *Rob Landry had the call on Flowerbomb
Reade Baker Results for January 17 Gulfstream Park Race 1 Maiden Claiming $12,500 Fiji Boy Finished: 1st by 9 1/4 lengths
*That's a huge 9 1/4 length win for the Baker maiden owned by Rosemont Farm LLC. The four-year old gelding covered a mile in 1:39.47
* * *
Woodbine punters take note: Roger Attfield sends out a pair of runners - Society's Chairman and Simmard - in a ALLOWANCE OPTIONAL CLAIMING $100,000 at Gulfstream on January 22nd. This 1 1/8M turf tilt features a full ten-horse field including the Mark Casse conditioned Sterwins.
G3 Connaught Cup winner Sterwins returns at Gulfstream on January 22nd
Rob Landry will get the call on Simmard. This impressive race features Bittel Road and Yate's Black Cat in what should be a highly competitive field.
Attfield also sends out Ontario-bred Impossible Time to take on another Ontario-bred Manitoba Miss on January 21st at Gulfstream. Click on the link to see the entries.
Mark Frostad has entered Sam-Son Farms Ontario-bred colt Giant's Tomb entered in a 1 1/16M Turf Allowance at the Fair Grounds on January 22nd. Giant's Tomb is the 5-2 morning line favourite with Robbie Albarado in the irons.
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