Weekend Preview: Fatal Bullet and Hollywood Hit Battle For Title of Fastest Horse at Woodbine

What an exciting weekend ahead for trainer Scott Fairlie as he travels to Delaware Park with Milwaukee Appeal to take a shot at the G2 Delaware Handicap. The winner not only grabs a share of the $750 purse but also qualifies, via the Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Challenge, for the Ladies' Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.

Milwaukee Appeal is hoping to make the most of her third start of the season


The four year-old daughter of Milwaukee Brew finished third in her first start of 2010 when trying the Shuvee at Belmont Park. That race was won by Funny Moon who is also entered in the DelCap. Last out, Milwaukee Appeal rated along the Woodbine rail, which can be a handful, and angled out late to finish second to old foe Tasty Temptation in the 1 1/16M Hill N Dale Stakes at Woodbine on June 20.

So the pattern through two 2010 starts is 3rd, 2nd and this time....?

To get the win, Milwaukee Appeal and jock Stewart Elliot must overcome Funny Moon and the Todd Pletcher trained Life At Ten. Woodbine fans know that Milwaukee Appeal can handle the ten furlong distance based on her excellent showing in the 2010 Queen's Plate when third to Eye of the Leopard beaten less than a length.

Milwaukee Appeal is chasing a $750K purse in the 1 1/4M G2 Delaware Handicap

P#	PP	Horse	Virtual Stable	A/S	Med	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1	Funny Moon (KY)		4/F	L	A Garcia	121	C Clement	7/2
2	2	Miss Singhsix (IRE)		5/M	L	J Valdivia, Jr.	118	M D Wolfson	5/1
3	3	Milwaukee Appeal (ON)		4/F	LA*	S Elliott	119	S H Fairlie	2/1
4	4	Million Seller (KY)		4/F	LA*	J Rose	114	H G Motion	15/1
5	5	Miss Match (ARG)		5/M	LA	B J Hernandez, Jr.	115	M R Matz	12/1
6	6	Life At Ten (KY)		5/M	LA*	J R Velazquez	122	T A Pletcher	8/5

Meanwhile at Woodbine, the polytrack is going to be on fire as Saturday's card features a pair of sprint stakes featuring three current track record holders.

The under card features a field of five racing six furlongs in the Colin Stakes. Madman Diaries, who was a nine length winner of the Victoria Stakes, is listed as the 1/2 morning line favourite. The Wesley Ward trained son on Bring The Heat holds the four and a half furlong record at Woodbine (51.13 set May 9, 2010) and will have to hold off Glory Game who was an impressive six length winner first out ripping through five furlongs in 58.13. Patrick Husbands gets the call on Glory Game for trainer Nick Gonzalez who is likely still smiling from his Queen's Plate victory with Big Red Mike.

Colin Stakes - Where are the Ontario-breds in this six furlong synthetic sprint?

P# PP Horse Virtual Stable A/S Med Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1 Brock N Rock (FL) 2/G L D Clark 115 S Di Pasquale 10/1 2 2 Devilish Stunt (KY) 2/G L C Sutherland 117 S H Fairlie 9/2 3 3 Glory Game (NY) 2/G L P Husbands 117 N Gonzalez 3/1 4 4 Standup Comic (KY) 2/C L* J McAleney 115 S M Asmussen 15/1 5 5 Madman Diaries (FL) 2/G L J Sanchez 119 W A Ward 1/2

A pair of heavyweight contenders will flex their muscles in the Bold Venture Stakes. Hollywood Hit owns the six furlong (1:07.38) and seven furlong (1:20.07) track records at Woodbine. Sovereign Award winning horse of the year Fatal Bullet owns the six and a half furlong track record of 1:14.54. In the Bold Venture the galloping geldings will gun six and a half panels as they hurtle full throttle from gate to finish line in an attempt to earn bragging rights as the fastest horse at Woodbine.

The fast Fatal Bullet stood still long enough for me to snap a photo


It's worth noting that Hollywood Hit zipped an awesome workout on July 7th of five furlongs in 58 flat. To see the workout, click this link.

Is Hollywood Hit the fastest horse at Woodbine?


Bold Venture Stakes - Speed to burn as the Hitman tries to avoid a Fatal Bullet for 6.5 furlongs

P# PP Horse Virtual Stable A/S Med Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1 Fatal Bullet (FL) 5/G L E R Da Silva 121 R Baker 8/5 2 2 Hollywood Hit (OK) 4/G L J McAleney 121 T Jordan 3/5 3 3 Major Marvel (KY) 4/G L E Ramsammy 117 L Silvera 15/1 4 4 Smokey Fire (ON) 5/G L E Wilson 119 S C Attard 9/2

Sunday's Woodbine card is a battle for turf supremacy as four of Woodbine's best turf conditioners, Roger Attfield (Turf 56.2 ITM% ), Mark Frostad (Turf 54.5 ITM% ), Malcom Pierce (Turf 30.8 ITM% ) and Mike Keogh (Turf 50 ITM% ) do battle with H. G Motion in the Dance Smartly Stakes. I won't give you stats on Motion but his work with Better Talk Now speaks for itself!

Points Of Grace hopes to be looking back at her competition on Sunday


Another intriguing factor in the six horse field is that we'll be treated to horses bred in five different countries with Keogh's First Circle flying the flag for Canada. First Circle will have to get the better of returning Dance Smartly champion Points of Grace (KY). The 5-year-old daughter of Point Given was a five time winner in 2009 for Pierce and showed great affinity to the E.P Taylor turf course and won't mind if it rains.In her only 2010 start, Points of Grace faded to finish fourth in the Nassau Stakes and has trained well into this event.

Attfield sends out the forboding pair of Ave (GB) and Mekong Melody (IRE). Ave (GB) would appear to be the better of the pair with two third place finishes in graded events this season. The 4-year-old daughter of Danehill Dancer is a G2 winner in Ireland.

Will Magic Broomstick fly home first?


Mark Frostad sends out Magic Broomstick (KY) who won her last outing on June 18th going a mile on the turf course to beat the excellent Sugar Bay. That horse was a second place finisher on Wednesday night here at Woodbine.

Rounding out the field is Gypsy's Warning (SAF) who will have Jose Valdivia Jr in the irons. This consistent mare has six wins and five thirds from twelve lifetime starts. Last out Gypsy's Warning made her 2010 debut a winning one by capturing the G3 Eatontown Handicap at Monmouth Park by a nose.

G2 Dance Smartly Stakes - An Internationally Bred Affair 1 1/8M on the turf

PP Horse Virtual Stable A/S Med Jockey Wgt Trainer 1 Magic Broomstick (KY) 4/F L E Wilson 116 M R Frostad 2 Points of Grace (KY) 5/M L L Contreras 122 M Pierce 3 Ave (GB) 4/F L J R Velazquez 120 R L Attfield 4 First Circle (ON) 4/F L J McAleney 116 M Keogh 5 Gypsy's Warning (SAF) 5/M L J Valdivia, Jr. 125 H G Motion 6 Mekong Melody (IRE) 5/M P Husbands 118 R L Attfield

To round out an excellent Sunday card at Woodbine, conditioner Carolyn Costigan sends two home breds to battle in the Shady Well Stakes. Lassair is a full sister to Oaks winner Roan Inish. This is a bettor's race as twelve Ontario-breds take to the poly. The possible favourite, Roxy Gap, could come out of the widest starting position for the popular Melnyk/Casse/Fraser combo.

Shady Well Stakes - Twelve Ontario-Bred fillies travel five and a half furlongs on the poly

PP Horse Virtual Stable A/S Med Jockey Wgt Trainer 1 Seaman Harbor (ON) 2/F L L Contreras 116 H K Gensler 2 Miss Layla (ON) 2/F L1* G Olguin 116 M W Wright 3 Best Camper (ON) 2/F L O Moreno 116 D Cotey 4 I'm No Toy (ON) 2/F L E Wilson 116 N Gonzalez 5 Lassair (ON) 2/F L1 D Clark 116 C M Costigan 6 Lucky Be Me (ON) 2/F L R A Dos Ramos 118 W Tharrenos 7 Quinnderella (ON) 2/F L1 C Sutherland 116 D England 8 Lisvernane (ON) 2/F L1 R C Landry 116 C M Costigan 9 Flo's Henny (ON) 2/F E Ramsammy 116 I Black 10 Pass Partout (ON) 2/F L J McAleney 116 M J Doyle 11 Tree Pose (ON) 2/F L J C Jones 118 W Tharrenos 12 Roxy Gap (ON) 2/F L C Fraser 118 M E Casse

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There was an interesting moment on Wednesday's Bet Night Live card at Woodbine following the fourth race as Sandy Hawley interviewed Chantal Sutherland. The jock had just completed a second place finish on the turf aboard Sugar Bay to the victorious Impossible Time...and Sutherland was visibly upset with herself.

Chantal Sutherland and Sugar Bay forced to go wide on Wednesday night


Sutherland is an excellent jockey with 60 wins in 308 starts (tied with Patrick Husbands with ten turf wins!) thus far and clearly holds herself to a high standard. When Hawley asked Sutherland to take the viewers through the trip, Sutherland advised that she felt she had taken a good line with Sugar Bay but when they turned into the stretch there was nowhere for her horse to go. With a deep breath, Sutherland went on to explain that she had to move to the outside to avoid clipping heels and felt the move cost her horse the race.

I wouldn't be betting against Chantal next time out aboard Sugar Bay...


I think Sutherland was being very hard on herself as the hole she was preparing to charge through closed in a heartbeat as two fillies in front of her came crashing together. As a result, Sutherland took Sugar Bay to the middle of the track and re-rallied to make up a lot of ground to finish second. It was an exhilharating finish to be sure.

That said, it was a very honest bit of question and answer and Hawley commiserated by saying he'd been in that same position many times himself. Unfortunately, I do not have video of the interview, but you can watch the race yourself and see if you think Sugar Bay would have been a winner. I'm adding Sugar Bay to my watch list and we'll see if Sutherland and her filly can exact a bit of race riding revenge and get to the winners circle next time out.

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As always, you can keep track of the latest goings on in the world of horse racing by clicking into my Woodbine News page. Check now for the latest news regarding Gus Schickendanz' homebred Marlang and his trip to Hollywood Park to contest the Sunset Handicap or to catch the latest scoop on the jockey drama at Fort Erie!

Canada D'eh Pride: A Video Review of Great Canadian Racing Moments

July 1st marks our annual Canada Day celebrations and with national pride in mind, I thought it would be fun to take a Youtube walk through some fun and historic Canadian horse racing moments.

Without a doubt, the biggest influence in Canadian racing and a profound effect on the breeding game is the brilliant Northern Dancer.

Northern Dancer wins the 1964 Kentucky Derby


It's the first Kentucky Derby that I remember clearly and what a race it was for all of us Canadians.

Sunny's Halo wins the 1983 Kentucky Derby


Sandy Hawley has 6,450 career wins. He's won the Queen's Plate a record four times and has taken pretty much every trophy Woodbine has to offer. In 1976, Hawley won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States after he broke thoroughbred racing's all-time money-winning record for a single year. Pound for pound, Hawley is arguably Canada's greatest athlete.

Sandy Hawley wins the Living Legends Race


Woodbine has the best turf course in North America and I LOVED watching Sky Classic put on a show. With the International bringing in G1 talent from the U.S and Europe year after year, 1991 marked a huge thrill for me when Sky Classic won in front of an adoring home crowd.

Sky Classic wins the 1991 Rothman's International


Sky Classic was a dominant turf force for a few years across North America and he represented Canada across the continent.

Sky Classic wins the 1992 Manhattan at Belmont


Sky Classic wins the 1992 Caesar's International


Sam-Son Farms have provided plenty of proud Canadian racing moments and Chief Bearheart is one I remember fondly.

Chief Bearheart wins the 1997 Breeders' Cup Turf


Sitting at home in an old Liverpool kit bag, I have dozens of old racing programs from the 80s and 90s. Dance Smartly features prominently in several of them.

Dance Smartly wins the 1991 Breeders' Cup Distaff


Kinghaven Farms is Sam-Son's biggest rival from my racing youth. Horses such as Play The King, With Approval and Izvestia are legends locally and deserve more fanfare.

With Approval wins the Canadian Triple Crown


Canadian Triple Crown winner, With Approval, sets a world record in the 1990 Bowling Green Handicap


Izvestia died tragically young but his legend lives on through these old racing clips. Check out his incredible acceleration into the stretch in winning the Queen's Plate. He's a horse who got it done on any surface against all types of competition.

Izvestia appropriately wins the Canadian Club Turf Handicap at Gulfstream


Izvestia wins the 1990 Queen's Plate en route to a Canadian Triple Crown


Izvestia wins the 1990 Molson Million


Why not end this on the most recent "Canadian" success. Our local hero, Mine That Bird, was a Sovereign Award winner as a two year-old and went on to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby after being sold to new connections. Just don't forget that the bird got his start here at Woodbine.

2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird breaks his maiden at Woodbine


Happy Canada Day, eh!

A (James E.) Day In My Woodbine History

Like so many horse racing fans, I was introduced to the game by my father. My family moved back to Toronto from Northern Ireland in the early 1980s, just in time for me to watch Key To The Moon win the Queen's Plate commencing what has been a lifelong relationship with Woodbine. A story I wrote about that first Queen's Plate was published in Woodbine's 50th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine.

Over the years I've watched numerous trainers stake their claim to Woodbine dominance including Mac Benson (Windfields Farms), Roger Attfield (Kinghaven Farms) and Gord Huntley with most any two year-old he saddled. As the 1990s approached, Woodbine was the stage for numerous memorable performances of horses trained for Sam-Son Farms by the brilliant James E. Day.

Day made his first headlines at the 1967 Pan American Games, winning gold in the individual equestrian event. The following year, Day would win gold at the summer Olympics in Mexico as part of Canada's equestrian squad. In 1972, a 22 year-old Day was the youngest member of Canada's Munich Olympic team finishing fourth narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. It was through his work in show jumping that Day met Ernie Samuel forging a relationship in the 1970s to head up Sam-Son Farms resulting in the powerhouse that would dominate Woodbine's top races of my childhood throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. The stable reached it's pinnacle in 1991, when Sam-Son Farms won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner while setting record race earnings in the process.


As I read through old programs I've stashed away from those glory years, I can clearly remember the red and gold silks of such Grade 1 stalwarts as Dance Smartly, Sky Classic, Regal Classic, Regal Intention and Hangin on a Star. Of this group Dance Smartly and Sky Classic conjure up the greatest memories.




In 1991, the filly Dance Smartly ran away with the Canadian Triple Crown under the guidance of jockey Pat Day. The filly would go on to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff that year in a proud moment for Canadian racing fans.

Dance Smartly - Class of the field in the 1991 Queen's Plate



Sky Classic was a different type of horse from Dance Smartly and their equally impressive performances demonstrated the dexterity of Day's abilities. Whether working with a filly or an older turf male, Day had the tools and patience to develop a horse to their peak in time for the races that mattered. Sky Classic missed much of his three year-old season in 1990 to injury but returned to a glorious 1991 campaign winning the Dixie Stakes, Connaught Cup, King Edward Gold Cup, Canadian Maturity and on a glorious fall afternoon the Rothman's International. To sit in the grandstand watching a Canadian horse win my favourite race of the meet against international competition was simply second to none.


A short, and by no means comprehensive list, of honours garnered by horses trained by Day include two American Eclipse Awards, Canadian Horse of the Year honours five times and two Queen's Plate winners. As a result, Day was voted Canada's Outstanding Trainer four times.

Perhaps the greatest sign of Day's Woodbine dominance is his 10 lifetime wins in the Cup & Saucer Stakes, a race held annually for Canadian bred two year-old horses run at a mile and sixteenth on the turf. Day saddled seven consecutive winners between 1984 and 1990 including Sky Classic, Regal Classic and a couple of my favourite Woodbine runners Grey Classic and Dauphin Fabuleux.

My Dad and I would be at Woodbine most Sundays during these glory years and I lived to thumb the program and find a first-time Sam-Son runner to wager upon. Each Sunday, it seemed yet another well-bred Sam-Son sophmore would make a stunning pre-race appearance before dominating the field at even money. So strong was the quality of Sam-Son horses that it was not uncommon for them to have multiple entrants in stakes races. They were brilliant and you loved them for it. I miss the battles between Sam-Son and Kinghaven Farms the way Toronto hockey fans speak of 1960s Leafs hockey.

Sam-Son entered three in the 1989 Queen's Plate but could not catch the great With Approval


In 1995, Day left the employ of Sam-Son Farm but continues training for others. The Day name will continue to be associated with Woodbine folklore as Day's daughter, Catherine Day-Phillips, now a renowned trainer in her own right, has proved to be as talented as her father winning stakes races such as the Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf.

My young life as a racing fan has witnessed Woodbine spin and change from rustic raceway to resplendent racino but the Sam-Son horses trained by Jim Day will always hold a special spot in my heart. Each time I venture under the willows of the walking ring there will be ghosts of race days past standing tall in the shadows radiating majestic colours of red and gold.