Seminole Brave Used Perfect Timing In George Royal Stakes Victory

May 2, 2009

Surrounded by a star-studded cast of some of the most reputable older horses in western Canada, Seminole Brave answered the call in the $50,000 George Royal stakes Saturday at Hastings Racecourse.

The five-year-old gelding trained by Mel Snow and owned by his wife Fran and the G & G Stable, Seminole Brave gained the lead on the backstretch and beat one of the favourites, True Metropolitan, by a neck over 6 ½ furlongs in a final time of 1:16.76. True Metropolitan had won the previous two George Royal stakes and was looking to score a natural hat-trick.

“Having a race under your belt this early in the season was a big help,” Snow said. Seminole Brave had won impressively on April 18, opening day at Hastings.

Seminole Brave, with Ismael Mosqueira up, paid $20.10, $7.30 and $6.10.

There was considerable star power in the George Royal lineup. Runner-up True Metropolitan, a two-time Sovereign Award winner, has more than $1.1 million in earnings; fourth-place finisher Krazy Koffee was B.C. Horse of the Year in 2008 and Spaghetti Mouse, who went to the front but faded to a seventh-place finish, is the all-time leading money winner among B.C.-breds. They were no match for Seminole Brave Saturday.

Racing resumes Sunday at Hastings with the feature race being the $50,000 Brighouse Belles stakes. Start time is the regular 1:25 p.m.

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