Queen's Plate Trail Heats Up as Essence Hit Man and Hotep to Battle in Marine Stakes

Contenders for the 2010 Queen's Plate have been busy trying to find a race to make a statement and on Friday afternoon Earle Mack's Captain Canuck proved himself a capable candidate breaking his maiden in a mile and an eighth maiden allowance.

Captain Canuck is no longer a maiden, eh?


The Josie Carroll charge had raced greenly going into this event including an awkward stretch run at Keeneland that saw the gelded son of Pulpit jerk his head toward the grandstand. While Captain Canuck again proved to be headstrong leaving the gate and running past the stands for the first time, jockey David Clark managed to settle the anxious horse down and after negotiating the first turn seemed content to lead the field through the early fractions.

Captain Canuck breaks his maiden going a mile and an eighth


After a quarter in 25.1, Captain Canuck and Pengola Court plodded to the next marker in 51 flat as Smart Sky stalked from six lengths back. Approaching the far turn, Chantal Suthlerland asked Smart Sky for more and the horse responded quickly eating up the lengths to the leaders who managed three quarters in 1:16.1. David Clark eased out into the lane turning into the stretch as Smart Sky was pushed wide nearly into the path of a rallying Holy Knight. Just as it seemed the two closers would find their way past Captain Canuck, the gelding found another gear and promptly put the field away. In the words of track announcer Dan Loiselle, "When Smart Sky was set down he didn't quicken very fast..." and with that Captain Canuck pulled away to an impressive win in a final time of 1:53.2. Holy Knight edged Smart Sky for place.

While this was not a particularly fast race it proved that Captain Canuck will have no issue going a distance of ground and I rather liked that he knocked heads with Pengola Court the whole way round the track and still had another gear in the stretch when asked.

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If you're planning on attending the Queen's Plate to be held on Sunday July 4th, you can now order tickets by filling out and then mailing in an order form by CLICKING HERE.

Reserved grandstand seating tickets range from $15 to $30, while those seeking an afternoon of fine dining can book a table for two starting at $250. The tickets are assigned on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS so place your order today.

(No, Woodbine does not pay me to say that! But let's face it, the Queen is coming and you know the track will be full. Plan ahead now so that you can enjoy the day.)

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Hollinger, the Queen's Plate Winter Book favourite, worked for the first time since his four-race win streak was snapped in the Queenston Stakes. Hollinger breezed five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 under Tyler Pizarro marking splits of :12 1/5, :24 1/5, :35 3/5 and :48 3/5. Hollinger galloped out in about 1:13 2/5.

To watch video of the workout, please CLICK HERE.

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Saturday's feature at Woodbine is the Marine Stakes which will feature a pair of Queen's Plate contenders for Sam-Son Farms, namely Hotep and Giant's Tomb. Although the talented Hotep is a possible triple crown threat, the horse everyone will be keeping an eye on is double stakes winning "sprinter" Essence Hit Man who won the Woodstock at six furlongs, the Queenston at seven furlongs and now tries eight and a half furlongs in a small but competitive field.

Can Essence Hit Man make it three Stake wins in a row?


Post / Horse / Jockey / Trainer

1 / Bear’s Hard Ten / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Reade Baker

2 / Essence Hit Man / Chantal Sutherland / Audre Cappuccitti

3 / Giant’s Tomb / Patrick Husbands / Mark Frostad

4 / Hotep / Patrick Husbands / Mark Frostad

5 / Exhi / Robby Albarado / Todd Pletcher

6 / Mint Chip / James Graham / George Arnold

Hotep will be looking to make a statement on Saturday


Hotep won the Wando Stakes last out after fighting jockey Patrick Husbands around the track and then finding another gear late in the race to pull away convincingly. Husbands talked about the Sam-Son horses in a WEG Report:

Husbands, who partnered Wando to Canadian Triple Crown glory in 2003, has been aboard both Frostad trainees in each of their past two races.

"He's a very hyper horse,” said Husbands, of Hotep, after the Wando score. “I always have to try to keep him as calm as possible. I got him to the outside and he relaxed from there. When I asked him, he really didn't give me the kick. He was a bit flat, a bit lost. But when we straightened out he gave me a nice little kick. It got the job done. He ran a good race."

As for Giant’s Tomb, Husbands offered: “The first thing that comes to mind with this horse is that he is a grinder. He tries hard throughout the whole race. ”

A win in the Marine would likely carry Hotep past Hollinger as favourite for the Queen's Plate.

If Essence Hit Man carries his speed going two turns trainer Audre Cappuccitti will have a serious Plate horse on her hands and even more difficult decisions to make. Here's an excerpt from a recent Bill Tallon report for the Daily Racing Form:

"I've driven myself crazy all week," said Cappuccitti, who also is the co-owner and breeder of Essence Hit Man with her husband, Gord. "I've tossed it around so much about trying him around two turns. I finally thought that I'd feel bad if I tried it in September and found out he could do it. Now's the time to try it; either he can or he can't. There's no crystal ball.

"It's only a mile and a sixteenth, and it's the only thing there for him. He finished good last time at seven furlongs."

Essence Hit Man, a confirmed front runner, captured the six-furlong Woodstock in his first start in six months here April 25. On May 15, in the seven-furlong Queenston, Essence Hit Man was a six-length winner under regular rider Chantal Sutherland.

The two weeks between starts is a concern for Cappuccitti, but the prospect of waiting for the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on June 13 had even less appeal.

"I'd love it if he had three weeks, at least," said Cappuccitti. "But I wouldn't want to go into the Plate Trial; it's too close [to the Queen's Plate], and too long."

Tasty Temptation will be on track Saturday


Woodbine's fourth race on Saturday is an excellent allowance event featuring 2009 Oaks and Plate participant Tasty Temptation. The compact five-horse field is ultra competitive going 1M 1/16 on the polytrack.

PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 La Rocca (KY) 4/F L J McAleney 123 T Jordan 5/2
2 No Use Denying (KY) 5/M L* L Contreras 119 M Pierce 8/1
3 Indian Apple Is (ON) 4/F L E R Da Silva 121 R P Tiller 6/1
4 Tasty Temptation (ON) 4/F L P Husbands 123 M E Casse 9/5
5 Sugar Bay (ON) 5/M L C Sutherland 119 M Benson 2/1

As well, the tenth race will feature the return of ten year-old Ballen Isle who has a three-race win streak on the line. Good luck old timer!

The proud Ballen Isle!



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Sunday's feature is the G3 Connaught Cup which includes 2008 Queen’s Plate champion Not Bourbon and 2008 Woodbine Mile champion Rahy’s Attorney in a talented twelve horse field. Trainer Roger Attfield does his best Todd Pletcher impression with four horses entered here including Not Bourbon, Society's Chairman, Jimmy Simms and Passager.

Rahy's Attorney is looking for his second Connaught Cup victory


Rahy's Attorney won this race in 2008 and was beaten a narrow neck by Sterwins in the 2009 running. With two races under his belt already in 2010, it could be a very tough race for those trying to track down the high cruising speed of Ian Black's Rahy's Attorney.

Those readers looking for a horse that might get ignored on the tote board in a large field should keep an eye on Dan Vella's Field Commision. The sprinter loves this turf course and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva is having a great start to the meet.

Field Commision, who prefers grapes to mints, hopes the Connaught will be fruitful


Post / Horse / Jockey / Trainer

1 / Niagara Thunder / Justin Stein / Don MacRae

2 / Rahy’s Attorney / Jim McAleney / Ian Black

3 / Society’s Chairman / Jono Jones / Roger Attfield

4 / Field Commission / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Dan Vella

5 / Successful Mission / Luis Contreras / Bill Mott

6 / Jimmy Simms / Robert Landry / Roger Attfield

7 / Passager / Robert Landry / Roger Attfield

8 / Jungle Wave / Chantal Sutherland / Sid Attard

9 / Major Marvel / Emile Ramsammy / Laurie Silvera

10 / Cherokee Heaven / Gerry Olguin / Martin Jones

11 / Grand Adventure / Patrick Husbands / Mark Frostad

12 / Not Bourbon / Jono Jones / Roger Attfield

Alex Brown gate schooling on Connaught Cup hopeful Jimmy Simms back in 2009


Also racing on Sunday will be TripleDeadHeat favourite Amazon Belle in an optional claiming turf tilt going six and a half furlongs. The third race features nine fillies and mares and you'll get a generous 6-1 morning line on the hard trying Bob Tiller filly.

Amazon Belle with her good friend Shana


PP Horse Claim $ Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 Bodua (ON) 3/F L $0 O Moreno 1135 M J Doyle 20/1
2 Silver Sands (ON) 5/M L $60,000 P Husbands 121 M Pierce 4/1
3 Brewtiful Girl (FL) 5/M L $60,000 E Ramsammy 121 A Desruisseaux 8/1
4 Moonlit Beauty (ON) 4/F L $0 C Sutherland 123 J P Le Blanc, Jr. 10/1
5 First Circle (ON) 4/F L $0 J C Jones 123 M Keogh 5/2
6 Kain's Vow (KY) 4/F L $0 R A Dos Ramos 123 D D Banach 8/1
7 Amazon Belle (ON) 3/F L $0 E R Da Silva 120 R P Tiller 6/1
8 Aspetuck Hill (KY) 4/F L $60,000 C Duquet 1165 M Silvera 20/1
9 Mimi Cooper (FL) 5/M $60,000 J Stein 121 W I Lawrence 3/1

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Toronto Mayoral candidate George Smitherman announced a grand TTC plan on Friday that could lead patrons directly to Woodbine. Inside Toronto reports:

Mayoral candidate George Smitherman is promising new subways in Scarborough and Etobicoke and an earlier completion date for the Spadina extension through North York, free TTC rides for seniors in the middle of weekdays and fully separated bike lanes along existing routes.
The massive, decade-long plan, that Smitherman unveiled at a packed fundraising lunch at the Metro Convention Centre Friday, May 28, would cost $17.5 billion - about $7 billion over and above what the city is already spending on transit

The second phase, from 2015 to 2020, would see the Finch West LRT built from Finch West Station to Highway 27, so it services Humber College, Etobicoke General Hospital and the Woodbine Centre and the proposed Woodbine racetrack development.

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New York OTB lifts betting restrictions states a Matt Hegarty Daily Racing Form report:

New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation on Friday afternoon began offering its customers the ability to wager on 17 signals from Thoroughbred tracks that had been previously unavailable after state regulators lifted restrictions on the signals earlier that morning.

The signals included those from some of the most popular racetracks in the U.S., including Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park, and Monmouth Park. The New York State Racing and Wagering Board began prohibiting OTB from offering the signals over the past several weeks because of concerns over New York City OTB's cash-management practices and a contention that the board never approved some of OTB's simulcasting contracts.

...

The other signals that were restored on Friday included Calder Race Course, Indiana Downs, Thistledown, River Downs, Prairie Meadows, Chester Casino and Racetrack, Delaware Park, Fort Erie, Suffolk, Presque Isle, Pocono Downs, Woodbine, Mohawk, Arlington Park, and Colonial Downs.

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Here's a story Woodbine track announcer Dan Loiselle would appreciate. Jim Bender penned the following piece for the Winnipeg Sun regarding Assiniboia Downs track announcer Darren Dunn entitled, 14,999 great calls (and 1 bad): Dunn celebrates whale of a milestone as Downs announcer

The track will honour Dunn immediately after the race. He will be joined in the winner’s circle by his mother, Marion, dad, Brian, wife, Linda, and his two sons — Trey, 10 and Jack, seven.

While it will be a memorial night, Dunn would like to forget the time he called the winner at the wire, not realizing that they still had another lap to go.

But Dunn still gets chills when relating his most memorable call.

“My first Manitoba Derby in 1989,” he said. “Local connections had not won the Derby since, I think, 1976. The drought was there for a very long time and everybody wanted to break it. By coincidence, a Manitoba horse (Rough Catch) won it and the owner just happened to be Harvey Warner (now president of the Manitoba Jockey Club that runs the track) — I would never have imagined I would be working for the man later in life.

Click the link above to read the full story. Congratulations Darren Dunn!

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The above news stories can be found on my Woodbine News tab which updates regularly throughout the day for those readers that would rather find the story themselves.

Following my recent week away to New York I fell way behind on updating my Queen's Plate contenders page and I will be plugging away at that over the weekend. Recent results and workouts should be updated by the end of the weekend and I will shuffle the list of contenders on Tuesday to reflect the weekend's results.

Your patience is much appreciated!

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Readers looking for an alternative source on Ontario horse racing to Triple Dead Heat and Jennifer Morrison's Thoroughblog might enjoy the race analysis posted on Andrew's Ontario Horse Racing blog or the workout videos posted on Santino's Canadian Horse Racing Blog. There is also the horseplayer friendly blog of CanGamble which is always controversial...but those who follow his sporadic Tweets often find tote success.

I am also very appreciative of the many readers in Western Canada who linked to TripleDeadHeat via the Left Coast Racing blog.

Looking across the border, thank you as well to Raceday360, Paulick Report, Horse Racing Nation and Equidaily for pointing people in this direction.

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It looks to be a beautiful weekend here in Ontario so those that can, why not spend an afternoon outdoors and enjoy a drink and a wager on the ponies at Woodbine. See you at the track!

Super Saturday at Woodbine: Southdale, Hotep and Giant's Tomb on the card

After overdosing on the Kentucky Derby, I am happy to return to focusing on Woodbine where a very talented crop of Canadian three year-olds that will be making an appearance this weekend. Former Kentucky Derby contender Hotep makes his first Woodbine start of 2010 in the Wando Stakes against promising Ontario-bred Joey's Best.

Hotep in the post parade before his maiden breaker at Woodbine


Sam-Son Farms colt Hotep won impressively at the Fair Grounds back in February before racing to a mid-pack finish in the Risen Star Stakes and a fading eleventh in the Louisiana Derby. After some time off, Hotep returned at Woodbine with a pair of sharp six furlong works prepping for this event.

Joey's Best won the Kingarvie Stakes in his final outing of 2009 for trainer Audre Cappuccitti. The Trajectory gelding has been working impressively while waiting for a suitable race. The Wando Stakes is a tough ask first time off the shelf but Cappuccitti followed this same path with Essence Hit Man to notch a stakes score first out recently in the Woodstock .

The remainder of the five horse field is Bears Finish Line (KY), Just Call Me Roger (FL) and Alcomatch (KY). To see the full entries, please CLICK HERE.

While the Wando Stakes is the money feature, the race I am really excited to watch is Saturday's fifth race. The mile and a sixteenth MSW features four members of my 2010 Queen's Plate contender list including Mobilizer, Captain Canuck, Cognashene and Vicar Street. The fourteen horse field also includes Ontario-breds Mr. Fuller, Indy League, Smart Sky along with Raven Stone who is on the also eligible list. To see the full entries, please CLICK HERE.

I've already written a fair bit about Captain Canuck. If you missed it, check out my Queen's Plate Profiler on Captain Canuck and the follow-up regarding his 80% purchase by Earle Mack. Mobilizer is a Frank Stronach homebred who made a strong start on April 8th at Keeneland finishing third in a routing event won by Alcomatch. The race was also contested by Captain Canuck who finished eighth beaten 3 3/4 lengths. Mobilizer showed excellent early speed in that Keeneland event racing in tandem with the leader along the backstretch, eventually taking the lead at the top of the stretch and fighting gamely to the wire.

Captain Canuck skates home second at Gulfstream in his first start


Cognashene spent the winter at the Fair Grounds before returning to Woodbine to post a series of excellent works. On Feb 21 at Fair Gounds, the Sam-Son first time starter tried a 1 1/16M $39K MSW on the turf. Cognashene got caught inside most of the way and then had a brutal stretch run going greenly down the lane with a weaving runner in front of him. Cognashene straightened out late and got up for show.

Vicar Street, a Catherine Day-Phillips runner, trained at Ocala over the winter and was a promising third here at Woodbine on April 17th. While I do not have much background info on the remaining Ontario-breds in this event I am looking forward to seeing which of these horses steps forward on Saturday.

This could be a massive weekend for Sam-Son Farms. Hotep is the likely favourite in the Wando. It would not be a shock to see Cognashene take the above-noted MSW and did I mention that Giant's Tomb returns on Saturday as well? Of the three Sam-Son runners, Giant's Tomb looks most likely to get the mile and a quarter Queen's Plate distance. The Frostad colt returns to Woodbine in Saturday's fourth race, a $76K allowance for 3YO and up will go a distance of 1M 1/16 on the polytrack. To see the full entries, please CLICK HERE.

Giant's Tomb notches an important distance win at Fair Grounds


On March 22nd, Giant's Tomb won a mile and forty yard event at Fair Grounds in impressive fashion. The son of Awesome Again was the odds on choice in field of five and started confidently from the gate finding a stalking position just off the rail. With the far turn approaching Patrick Husbands asked the colt for more and he responded by lengthening his strides and meeting the leader. Turning into the stretch Giant's Tomb quickly disposed of Looks Purrrfect and crossed the finish line first by two lengths in a time of 1:41.34. The colt galloped out strongly which suggests this horse will have no trouble finding the classic distance of the Queen's Plate.

And to top off what should be an excellent day of racing on Saturday, two of my favourite local horses are running.

1. Southdale, the focus of my Path To The 2009 Queen's Plate series returns in a six furlong sprint. The big fella has been a monster in the mornings and I'm excited to see him start his four year-old campaign. To see the full entries, please CLICK HERE.

Southdale returns on Saturday


Southdale enjoying a bath last summer at Woodbine


2. Amazon Belle, a fiery filly in the Bob Tiller barn, was featured (and tipped to win - which she did) in a recent Photo Essay. The three year-old is one of many solid Tiller fillies blazing a path towards the Oaks. To see the full entries, please CLICK HERE.

Exercise rider Shana with her favourite redhead - Amazon Belle.


Yes, I am very excited about Saturday's Woodbine card. However, Friday's card has a bit of oomph in its own right.

General Staff is entered in the first race which is a six and a half furlong sprint for $40K claimers. It's the second start of the 2010 campaign for the Casse horse. First out he finished fourth and now needs a solid effort to maintain his spot on my list of 2010 Queen's Plate contenders. To see the entries, please CLICK HERE.

Friday's seventh race features Doctor Jack, It's Time Bear, D's Legend Storm, Arepeatee and Abruptly which is a five and a half furlong allowance sprint. This event features nine Ontario-sired colts and geldings. To see the entries, please CLICK HERE

Ron Gierkink wrote an excellent Friday night preview for the Daily Racing Form entitled Doctor Jack back to face familiar foes which highlights Doctor Jack's move to Ian Black's barn.

As well, the Daily Racing Form's Bill Tallon reviewed the Wando Stakes in a news piece entitled Bears Finish Line ready to go. Of note in that piece is news that Mobthewarrior has been supplemented to the Queen's Plate:

Mobthewarrior, who was one of the better 2-year-olds on the grounds, did not attract any attention in the early Queen's Plate prognostications this year.
Much of that oversight could be attributed to the fact that Mobthewarrior was not nominated to the Queen's Plate at the Feb. 1 stage.
That has since been rectified, however, as Mobthewarrior was supplemented at a cost of $5,000 at the May 1 deadline.
And on Tuesday, Mobthewarrior served notice that he's ready for battle with a five-furlong breeze in a bullet 58.40 seconds over the Polytrack.

An excellent piece - but I jump up and down and whistle and point in the direction of my 2010 Queen's Plate contender list where Mobthewarrior has been firmly entrenched in the Top 10 since March. No, he did not make my Queen's Plate Fantasy Challenge roster but I'm definitely keeping tabs if blogs count!

To see the current list of Queen's Plate contenders, please CLICK HERE.

The current top 10:

1. Hollinger
2. Hotep
3. Giant's Tomb
4. D's Wando
5. Ghost Fleet
6. Stormy Lord
7. Who We Gunna Call
8. Captain Canuck
9. Who's Big Daddy
10. Mobthewarrior

The Queen's Plate contender page lists the top 20 contenders - as I see it - in order. Also listed on the page is an alphabetical list of notable contenders and horses who have since fallen off the trail. The page tracks breeding, connections, workouts and results. So, click the link above and check it out!

Recent Workouts and Results of Queen's Plate contenders include:

* Arrow's Conquest worked 5F handily in 1:00.40 on the Woodbine poly on May 5, 2010. Rank 4/32

* Who We Gunna Call breezed 4F in 50.86 on the Saratoga dirt on May 5, 2010. Rank 8/11

* King of the Swamp worked 5F in 1:02.40 handily on the Woodbine poly on April 29, 2010 Rank 29/49.

* Hollinger breezed 6F in 1:12.60 on the Woodbine poly on April 30, 2010 Rank 1/7.

* Doctor Jack breezed 5F in 1:01.80 on the Woodbine poly on April 30, 2010 Rank 27/60.

* Vicar Street breezed 4F in 48.60 on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 16/61.

* Mobilizer breezed 6F in 1:11.20 on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 1/12.

* Cognashene breezed 5F in 1:01.40 on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 26/76.

* Ghost Fleet breezed 5F in 59.40 on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 3/76

* Giant's Tomb worked 6F in 1:14.40 handily on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 6/12.

* Hotep breezed 6F in 1:15.20 on the Woodbine poly on May 1, 2010. Rank 11/12.

* Roman Games breezed 5F in 59.60 handily on the Woodbine poly on May 2, 2010. Rank 5/78.

* Stormy Lord breezed 5F in 1:00.60 on the Woodbine poly on May 2, 2010. Rank 28/78.

* Mobthewarrior worked 5F in 58.40 on the Woodbine poly on May 3, 2010. Rank 1/45.

* Captain Canuck breezed 4F in 49 on the Woodbine poly on May 3, 2010. Rank 14/22

* Big Red Mike finished 3rd beaten by 1 3/4 lengths, on May 2, 2010, at WOODBINE in Race 8.

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I remind readers to continue to check in on the Woodbine News for up-to-the-minute horse racing news.

Queen's Plate Profiler: Captain Canuck

Woodbine released its annual Queen's Plate Winterbook on Wednesday afternoon listing Hollinger as 5-2 favourite. The 151st edition of the Queen’s Plate is set for July 4th at Woodbine.

I have been tracking many of the Plate hopefuls on my 2010 Queen's Plate contenders page. The page tracks workouts, results and information regarding the connections and breeding of the horse.

Going forward, I will attempt to profile some of the hopefuls as they work towards the starting gate for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

While it's early days yet, the first edition of Queen's Plate Profiler focuses on Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc hopeful Captain Canuck.

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If ever a horse was named to win Canada’s most prestigious race it is Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc. charge Captain Canuck.

The Pulpit - Magna Cum Laude gelding debuted March 6th and he rallied to finish second in an MSW turf tilt at Gulfstream despite a troubled trip at odds of 26-1. Checked at the start of the 1M 1/16 turf event, jockey Eibar Coa showed remarkable patience racing from tenth position early before circling horses five-wide turning into the stretch failing only to pass the winner Beau Choix.

Captain Canuck earned a 73 Beyer Figure for his effort.

Captain Canuck skates home second at Gulfstream


I recently corresponded with Brandon Boone, a shareholder in Centennial Farms regarding their exciting Queen’s Plate prospect. The stable was represented in the 2008 Queen's Plate by Sebastian's Song and now look to have another very good horse on their hands.

TDH: How did you acquire Captain Canuck?

BB: He was purchased at the Ocala two year old in training sale last February for $190,000. I picked him out of the catalogue and our trainer, Donnie MacRae, inspected him and, ultimately, bid on and signed the ticket for him. Donnie did not go to Florida this year, so we sent the Captain down to Florida with Josie Carroll.

TDH: Who are your fellow partners in Captain Canuck - Centennial Farms. How did you meet?

BB: The sole shareholder, director and officer of Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc. is Domenic DiLalla, who owns Centennial Construction and Contracting (Niagara) Inc. and a related group of companies, whose offices are in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
The shareholders of Farms were originally Domenic, Mario Formica, Dr. George Zimakas and I. Mario is a former electrician who has known Domenic for most of his adult life and now manages our farm.
George is a doctor of internal medicine in the Niagara Health System.
I am a real estate and business lawyer. Domenic, Mario and George are my clients. Dom took over sole ownership about a year and a half ago, but Mario, George and I are still very much involved, as are Domenic's nephews, Antony Candeloro and Joseph Candeloro, and future brother-in-law, Dino Sorge.

TDH: Initially, I thought that Captain Canuck was named for Vancouver Canuck legend Trevor Linden but that’s not the case is it?

BB: The Captain is named for our majority shareholder's nephew, Antony Candeloro, who was captain of our local junior B hockey team, the Niagara Falls Canucks, last year.

TDH - How did you first become interested in horse racing?

BB: Mario has been involved in horse racing for most of his adult life. He started to wind down his involvement in the early 2000's, but had a hard-knocking mare, Cinderita, who he bred to Trajectory, and later gave birth to a colt, Matty Gazoo.

Domenic and George agreed to go partners with Mario in Matty and put him in training with Alec Fehr. Alec convinced them to claim Colorful Judgement, who won the With Approval in his first start off the claim in August, 2006, and they were hooked. I got involved shortly thereafter and we went on a buying and claiming spree in late 2006 and early 2007.

Centennial Farms Sebastian's Song raced in the 2008 Queen's Plate won by Not Bourbon


If the Centennial Farms group sounds familiar to American readers it is because they had had a 1/3 interest in Patena prior to selling to IEAH. Click on this link read about the sale of Patena.

TDH: How did you select Patena?

BB: Patena was purchased by John Sikura and Glen Sikura at the Keeneland yearling sale in September, 2007. I believe that Hill n Dale (Kentucky) bred him. They were looking for a partner, so we jumped at the opportunity.

TDH. You picked Captain up at Ocala for $190K - what was it about the horse that stood out to you?

BB: Captain was Canadian bred and very well put together. First foal out of a well-bred stakes winning dam. Our research indicated that he had been purchased as a yearling for $225,000, so we set a ceiling price of $200,000 (the market had dropped since then) and were fortunate to get him.

TDH: Why is Captain only getting started now?

BB: Captain is a very big horse and we want to let him grow into himself. When he finally made it to the track, he got loose on Donnie and nearly ran through a fence. We had to lay him up for a few months and geld him.

TDH: I understand Captain Canuck is being pointed towards The Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland. (A race memorably won in 1990 by Izvestia.) - Do you think Captain is a potential turf specialist? How do you think his form will translate to synthetic?

BB: Captain has definite poly ability, according to Donnie. His work at Ocala (poly) was a good one and he trained on it, at various times, this year. It sounds like he will be equally talented on poly or turf. We are looking forward to Keeneland, that's for sure. Either the Transylvania Stakes on April 2 or the MSW on the 8th.

2009 Transylvania Stakes won by Stormalory


TDH: What other horses do you have in training currently? Which of them are you excited about?

BB: We have about 40 horses now, about 20 of which are runners. Niagara Thunder is also at Palm Meadows with Josie. We have 9 two year olds starting this year. Other runners include Abruptly, Bent Attorney, Luigi's Honour, Casimiro, Sebastian's Song, Salomea, Briskly.

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Of that group above, particularly observant readers will notice the name Abruptly is also on my 2010 Queen's Plate contenders.

I was not alone in recognizing some potential in Captain Canuck. David Harris recently wrote the following piece for FoalTrack:

His female family is not exactly a conventional match for Pulpit: although his first four dams were all stakes horses, they did it in Michigan, where they run some of the slowest stakes. Captain Canuck’s dam Magna Cum Laude is by Pleasant Tap, but the dam sires before that are all the best of Michigan sires: Monetary Gift, Private Thoughts, and Rattle Dancer. You have another old Michigan sire, De Jeau, under the 4th dam. I’m afraid I’m probably the only one who understands the sheer improbability of anything coming to prominence out of a Michigan female family, but you’ll have to indulge me the space to try to convince you.

Captain Canuck breaks off the family tradition of Michigan breeding; he’s bred in Canada, and based on what I saw on Saturday, he’s my pick for the Queen’s Plate.

TripleDeadHeat will continue to keep tabs on Captain Canuck as he looks for a race at Keeneland.

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In other Queen's Plate news it can be noted:

Flim Flam was a vet scratch in his scheduled race on March 10th at Tampa Bay.

Sam-Son Farms Cognashene is three deep on the AE list for a 1M1/16 turf tilt at the Fair Grounds on Saturday for trainer Malcolm Pierce.

The G2 winning filly Bickersons tries the Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday. The Ontario-bred is owned by George and Lori Hall and trained by Kelly Breen.

Bickersons wins the Forward Gal Stakes Jan 31/2010


Fastin Bear breezed 3F in 36 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 11th. Rank 10/95

It's Time Bear breezed 3F in 36.60 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 11th. Rank 39/95

Arepeatee breezed $F in 49.40 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 11th. Rank 12/34

Dashing Tom breezed 3F in 35.40 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 11th. Rank 4/95

Vicar Street breezed 5F in 1:02.00 on the Ocala Training Centre All Weather Track on March 10. Rank 9/11

Abogado breezed 3F in 38.20 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 9, 2010. Rank 27/36

Race for Gold breezed 3F in 38.60 on the Woodbine dirt training track on March 8, 2010. Rank 25/51

Dixie Trouper bulleted 6F handily in 1:11.60 on the Santa Anita All Weather track on March 2010. Rank 1/31

Check out the Plate Contenders tab at the top of the page for more information regarding the above listed horses.

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Woodbine notes:

Roger Attfield sends out Lady Shakespeare on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs in the G3 Hillsborough Stakes. Bill Mott's Mushka is the 5-2 favourite in a full twelve horse field travelling 1M and 1/8 on the turf. Click on the line to see the entries.

Careless Jewel, potentially headed to a matchup with Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta in the Apple Blossom, bulleted 5F handily in 1:01.40 at Palm Meadows on March 11th.

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Readers who enjoyed Tuesday's post regarding the dispersal auction for Windfields Farms may have missed the update regarding the mysterious number stamped on the silks I purchased.

An email from Woodbine advised:

Regarding your recent blog post about the Windfields dispersal, the number 0145 on the silks is their official 'silks number' by which the silks are indexed at the colours rooms at least at Woodbine and Fort Erie and perhaps at any other North American track. This number is assigned to the silks at the time that they are registered. As an indicator for how long Windfields has held that number, modern silks numbers are roughly issued in numerical order as new silks are registered and most silks numbers in the Woodbine colours room are 5 digits long.

You learn something new every day!

As an aside - The Windfields post received a record number of hits for this blog and I would like to thank Equidaily, Raceday360 and Het Nakoersen Forum for helping drive a great deal of readers to Triple Dead Heat.

The latter link belongs to a Dutch racing forum of which the content I cannot read. I can only hope it's complimentary as the only Dutch I know is Dirk Kuyt.

Cheers!