If you have been in and out in 2012 so far, after 2 weeks, this is what you have missed: your chance to place a vote on your opinion for a couple of Sovereign Awards, Canadian results all over North America and our own list of top 10 Interesting things to watch for in 2012.

Don’t forget to check back at THOROUGHBLOG every day! Okay, well I don’t update every day, but most days!
TO VOTE FOR YOUR OLDER MALE HORSE OF THE YEAR: https://canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog/rate/

OR WHO YOU LIKE FOR HORSE OF THE YEAR IN CANADA?

https://canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog/burst/

TO READ ABOUT THE TOP 10 INTERESTING THINGS FOR 2012:

https://canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog/leap/

 

Mmmmmm, YUMMY. YUMMY WITH BUTTER, he’s 8 years old, have to cheer for this Ontario bred by Silvador (Richard Lister bred him). He’s in the Fort Lauderdale S. today at Gulfstream.

He won a couple of graded stakes last year at age 7 and while not many would cheer for the other aspects surrounding this horse, let’s hope he stays safe and is happy.

 

CANADIANS ELSEWHERE

Gus Schickedanz’s POLITELYPRECOCIOUS, an Ontario bred by Langfuhr – Stop Looking by Dr Adagio, led all the way to win a 1 mile dirt race at Laurel Park yesterday for $25,000 claiming. The 6yo mare was 7 to 2 and she is trained by former Roger Attfield assistant Catheringe (Holly) Robinson.

Trainer MARK FROSTAD sent out GALLIMARD to win her maiden on the Fair grounds turf yestersay for owner/breeder Cambus-Kenneth Farm. The Candy Ride (Arg) 5yo mare was up to win by a neck under Jesse Campbell.
There was not betting on the race (4th race) or the previous race due to a tote malfunction.

JOSIE CARROLL had DAY OF LITANY ready to win her maiden around 2 turns at Fair Grounds yesterday despite having been off since August. Okay, the Tiznow filly, owned by Vinery Stables, dead-heated for the win under Shane Sellers, but it was a big effort as she led all the way.

A Canadian Triactor at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday paid $366.00 with the Dan Vella trained BIG BAND SOUND winning a 5 furlong turf allowance/opt. claimer 2 1/4 lengths with a wild stretch rush.  The Bernstein horse beat Sante Cigana’s DAVERICK and Eugene Melnyk’s GRAZETTES LANDING, both stakes winners.

LORNE RICHARDS and the TRUE NORTH STABLE (which recently bought a mare at Keeneland) took home the purse from race 1 at Gulfstream yesterday as the 3yo filly DON’TGETMADALEXIS won a $15,000 claiming event at 5 1/2 furlong by 7 lengths. She paid just $3.20.

SKIP THE NIGHT, an Ontario bred by Skip Away 0 Mary Goodnight, won for $4,750 at Laurel yesterday. The 6yo mare is owned by Frank Venneri and trained by Stanley Smith.

 Lorne Richards –  Woodbine photo

 

 

FORT LAUDERDALE HANDICAP – GRADE 3
Thoroughblog handicaps Gulfstream’s feature

The field for today’s Fort Lauderdale is very intriguing and it also has some Canadian content in the form of Canadian-breds YUMMY WITH BUTTER, a multiple Grade 3 winner last year on the grass, and champion HOLLINGER.
Both runners figure to have a chance to hit the superfecta/maybe the triactor but the pick from here is MUTUAL TRUST (GB), a Juddmonte colt who makes his North American debut with Lasix for Bill Mott. He’s lost just once in his 5 races (he was dq’d from one event) and is a Group 1 winner.
Only 3 to 1 in the M-L, so if you are looking for a price horse to play with this guy, how about TEAKS NORTH?
A Grade 1 winner on the grass, he beat horses like Stacelita and Get Stormy last year, he likes Gulfstream and will be charging. He may want more distance but he is a 5yo with room for improvement.
MUTUAL TRUST (Gb) – TEAKS NORTH! Pick one and good luck at the races!

 

Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 4:45 p.m. EST
FT. LAUDERDALE S.-GIII, $100,000, 4yo/up, 1 1/16mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML

1 Uptowncharlybrown K Limehouse Maragh Coletti Sr 15-1
2 Santiva Giant’s Causeway Castanon Walsh 20-1
3 Guys Reward K Grand Reward Centeno Romans 12-1
4 Yummy With Butter Silvador Lopez Belsoeur 10-1
5 Mutual Trust (GB) Cacique (Ire) Lezcano Mott 3-1
6 Mambo Meister King Cugat Bravo Gleaves 12-1
7 Teaks North Northern Afleet Leyva Sallusto 8-1
8 Flat Out Flatter Solis Dickey 6-1
9 Hollinger Black Minnaloushe Velazquez Attfield 8-1
10 Silver Medallion K Badge of Silver Castellano Pletcher 4-1
11 Hoofit (NZ) Mossman (Aus) Prado Motion 15-1
12 Kindergarden Kid K Dynaformer Leparoux Tagg 12-1
13MTO Cool Blue Red Hot Harlan’s Holiday Cruz Penna Jr 8-1
14MTO  Flatter This Flatter Jurado O’Connell 20-1

 

CANADIAN-BRED ROCKET TWENTYONE at Oaklawn
DIXIE BELLE S., $50,000, 3yo, f, 6f
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Coyote Breeze Shore Breeze Diego Haran 20-1
2 St. Louis City City Place Hill Becker 5-1
3 Rocket Twentyone Indian Charlie Razo Howard 7-2
4 Now I Know Pure Prize Compton Von Hemel 4-5
5 Amie’s Dini Bandini Court Moquett 3-1

 

 

IN DUBAI, MEYDAN FESTIVAL UNDERWAY
YESTERDAY, THE GONE WEST COLT TREBLE JIG IS A BIG WINNER

from EMIRATES RACING:

Treble Jig was the very impressive winner of Friday’s Jebel Ali Stakes, kindly sponsored by Shadwell, the UK arm of the breeding operation of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the 1950m highlight of Friday’s Jebel Ali meeting.

Always in front under champion Jockey Wayne Smith, riding for his main employer trainer Musabah Al Muhairi, Treble Jig was kicked clear about 300m out before recording an easy 10 lengths victory from last year’s winner Emmrooz who looked to be travelling ominously well until Smith committed the winner for home leaving any potential challenger struggling.

Musir, despite the ease of his victory, flirted with the track record. By completing the metric mile on Tapeta in 1:35.86, the former South African and U.A.E. champion just missed the mark of 1:35.77 set by Skysurfers last Carnival.

“We thought both would run well,” de Kock said, “but I do not think we would have predicted a one-two. Musir has been a great servant in recent years and is getting stronger and tougher with age.”

De Kock’s duo were both coming off layoffs. Musir was last seen routing the Group 2 Topkapi Trophy on the turf at Veliefendi in Istanbul September 4, while Master of Hounds had not raced since his 10th in the June 11 Belmont Stakes.  Then trained by Aidan O’Brien, Master of Hounds was subsequently purchased by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and turned over to de Kock.
Smith said: “He won like that at Abu Dhabi on his local debut before a disastrous run at Meydan when he was far too keen over a trip probably too far. I hoped this Jebel Ali surface would suit him and knew, if it did, he would be staying on strongly up the hill. That said, I do not think I expected we might win by that far. Hopefully this opens up plenty of options for him.”

 

MUSIR WINS MAKTOUM CHALLENGE ROUND 1

FROM EMIRATES RACING: Etisalat was the generous sponsor of Thursday’s third meeting of the Dubai World Cup Carnival and the phone lines to South Africa must have been busy after the ultra-impressive victory of Musir in the Group Three Maktoum Challenge Round I (for Thoroughbreds), the featured 1600m all-weather contest.

Trained by South African Mike de Kock, Musir, the UAE 2,000 Guineas and UAE Derby winner of 2010 was always going well under Christophe Soumillon who eased his mount to the front over 200m out to score an easy victory with stable companion Master Of Hounds running on strongly to snatch second.

De Kock was obviously delighted and said: “We thought both would run well but I do not think we would have predicted a 1-2. Musir has been a great servant in recent years and is getting stronger and tougher with age. I do genuinely believe he is a better turf horse and the Dubai Duty Free is his big target so he will switch to the grass now. We hope Master Of Hounds is a Dubai World Cup horse so that is a good start with him. He was badly drawn and needs further so we are very pleased. He will continue in the second round of the [Al] Maktoum Challenge.”

The Group One Purebred Arabian version of the Maktoum Challenge Round I, also over 1600m, was won by the Saifaldin Deeb-trained Sahib Du Clos, who had won the National Day Cup on the Abu Dhabi turf on his previous outing.

Ridden by Royston Ffrench, he led in the dying strides to post a dramatic victory and Ffrench said: “I was not sure if we had won.”

They had indeed caught Kandar Du Falgas literally in the last strides, but that horse’s connections, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Doug Watson and Richard Hills soon gained some compensation with Barbecue Eddie in the following 1400m all-weather Etisalat MyPlan handicap.

It was a third course and distance win for the horse and Hills said: “We had a good draw so I was always hopeful and we were able to get a lovely lead into the race. When the gap opened on the rail I had to go for it and he has run on strongly all the way to the line.”

The UAE 2,000 Guineas Trial Sponsored by Etisalat was over the same 1400m on the all-weather and Dark Matter was the impressive winner for Singapore.

Ted Durcan was in the saddle on the three-year-old, one of only two runners foaled in the Southern Hemisphere, and, not dissimilar to Hills on Barbecue Eddie, he was able to track the early pace before finding a gap on the rail.

Durcan said: “That was quite impressive and the extra 200m in the UAE 2,000 Guineas will suit him. Hopefully he will be a major player in that race.”

Both Godolphin trainers visited the winner’s enclosure with Frankie Dettori scoring a comfortable victory on Naqshabban in the 2410m Etisalat My DataPlan, a turf handicap for Mahmoud Al Zarooni.

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Songcraft won the concluding 2000m Etisalat 4G, also on the grass track, under Silvestre De Sousa who was riding his first winner in the UAE.

Addictive Dream, trained by Dandy Nicholls and ridden by his son Adrian, became the first horse to win twice at this year’s Dubai World Cup Carnival when winning the 1200m turf Etisalat elife a week after he had won a similar race over 1000m.

 

HOFFMAN, MANN AND NOLTE – LUCK PRESS CONFERENCE

FROM DEADLINE.COM:

HBO’s new series Luck is about horse racing, but at today’s TCA panel, the sport in question was prize-fighting — whether reported friction between the strong personalities involved in the show led to ego clashes behind the scenes. The contenders: Stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, pilot executive producer/director Michael Mann and pilot executive producer/writer David Milch. All four acknowledged their reputations for being difficult, but insisted that peace reigns on Luck.
http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/dustin-hoffman-michael-mann-nick-nolte-share-luck-hbo-tca/

 

 

 

EVOLUTION OF HASTINGS PARK
from Left Coast Racing Blog:

http://www.leftcoastracing.com/article/374/the-evolution-of-hastings-park