PUNCH

**6 winners on Thoroughblog yesterday!

 

 

EURICO DA SILVA WINS WORLD JOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAPAN

Woodbine’s leading jockey Eurico Da Silva made a trip to Japan even more sweet when he won the World All Star Jockey Championship this weekend.

Da Silva left Woodbine last week to compete in the challenge and he took home the trophy thanks to accumulating the most points.

The video shows one of his wins, #13 Le Grand Frisson, who, by the way, is a 4yo Kentucky bred by SMART STRIKE out of Leaning Tower, who is a daughter of the Canadian bred mare Valse Mustette.

Congratulations Eurico!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMI’S MESA ON THE RISE

101 Beyer Speed Figure for Ontario bred 4yo

 

Since returning from a 6 month layoff, AMI’S MESA has been unbeaten and unchallenged. The Ivan Dalos-bred 4yo by Sky Mesa – Victorious Ami by Victory Gallop put on one of the most impressive stakes scores of the Woodbine season on Saturday with her sizzling win in the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes.

The 59th Seaway, at 7 furlongs, lured a couple of shippers including Duchess Stakes winner Tulsa Queen.

The race turned out to be a showcase for Ami’s Mesa, however, a filly who raced just 3 times in 2016 following an unbeaten 2yo season. Trained by Josie Carroll, Ami’s Mesa now has the lead on rivals for Champion Older Mare and Champion Female Sprinter in Canada this year.

“I think she’s as good as she can be. I thought she was explosive today,” said Carroll. “These nice horses don’t come along too often, I’m very fortunate.”

The time was 1:22.17 for a 101 Beyer Figure, one of the highest by any Ontario bred this year.

 

 

WEST COAST BLASTS THE EAST

108 Beyer Figure for Flatter colt in Travers

While Kentucky Derby winner ALWAYS DREAMING FIZZLED and Preakness Stakes winner CLOUD COMPUTING stalled and Belmont Stakes winner TAPWRIT charged late, WEST COAST led all the way to win the 158th Travers Stakes to keep the mess that is the American 3yo crop intact.

The colt, by Flatter from Craesing by Honour and Glory, was a $425000 yearling purchase.

He has won 5 of 7 races and was coming off a victory in the Los Alamitos derby. Gary and Mary West own the colt and Bob Baffert, who did not go to Saratoga, is the trainer.

 

 

FEATURE – NEW YORK TIMES – JOE DRAPE SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The 148th running of the Midsummer Derby, also known as the Travers Stakes, should have been easy to figure out. There in the No. 3 post was a colt named West Coast with Mike Smith, who is known as Big Money Mike, on his back.

Now Smith was back at this horseplayers’ Brigadoon by way of Bob Baffert, the California-based Hall of Fame trainer who had sent him here the previous year for this race on another overlooked colt. His name was Arrogate, and he and Smith had run off with the money.

Like Arrogate last year, West Coast was suspect because of the company he kept. He had beaten nice horses,
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/26/sports/horse-racing/travers-stakes-winner-west-coast.html