HorseRacing Central March 30, 2007

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Fraser Downs racing analyst Brian Mainman referred to it as “home track advantage” and it certainly worked out that way for our very own Scott Knight and Serge Masse.

They finished one-two in the Western Regional Driving Championship Saturday, March 24 before an appreciative crowd at Fraser Downs that went right down to the final race in the new format designed by Standardbred Canada to determine Canada’s representative in the 2007 World Driving Championship.

With one race remaining on the designated seven-race card, Knight was just two points ahead of Masse. But a second-place finish by Knight compared to Masse’s seventh-place finish resulted in Knight being crowned the winner with a total of 72 points. Masse compiled a collective 66 points as runner-up. B.C.’s third representative, popular Jim Marino, was an aggressive competitor but failed to be a threat for top honours.

As Western Regional winners, both Knight and Masse advance to the national final at Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Thursday, August 9. They will compete against six other drivers - two from each of the other three regional events - with the eventual winner going to the 2007 world’s in Australia and New Zealand from October 31 to November 9 for a chance to pocket first prize money of $25,000.

The three remaining regional events are Ontario (London, April 27); Atlantic (Newfoundland, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick) in Charlottetown, May 20; and Quebec (Montreal, May 27).

Knight started strongly at Fraser Downs with a second-place finish and a third before a pair of victories pushed him into the lead. He added a second and a fourth in his other races while Masse won the first, fifth and sixth races of the championship round and also had a second.

Edmonton’s Bill Tainsh, Jr. representing the Alberta region finished a close third with 58 points, winning twice.

The day began with a highly successful pancake breakfast hosted by Variety – The Children’s Charity and all eight drivers were thrilled with a special autograph session in the Atrium at Fraser Downs that resulted in long lineups of fans and well-wishers prior to the afternoon of action-packed racing.

Scott Knight

Serge Masse

MORE LIVE RACING AT FRASER

We’ve all seen enough harness racing in the rain, right? Well - hopefully - there are warmer nights ahead with the season at Fraser Downs having been extended with cards on Friday and Saturday evenings through May and June.

And jot this down: Sunday, April 1 will be the final Sunday racing program this season. (No, it isn’t an April Fool’s joke). Also, there will be only two more Saturday afternoon cards - April 7 and 14 - before switching to Saturday night post times for the balance of the season. Good Friday - April 6 - is a 7 p.m. post time.

DUBAI & THE SIMULCAST PLAYER

The simulcast players in British Columbia will be able to watch and wager on the final three races of the 8th annual Dubai World Cup from the oil rich nation of Dubai on Saturday, March 31. These three races will offer a total $16 million in purse money and will bring together the best thoroughbreds from amazingly all six continents.

8:55 a.m. - $5,000,000 DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC - 1 1/2 MILES TURF

A total of 15 runners have entered in this mile and a half endurance test and the probable favourite will be the Breeders' Cup Turf champion Red Rocks who will once again be ridden by Frankie Dettori. He will face a stellar cast that includes the globe-trotting Collier Hill who has taken a unique path to this rich race by winning in Sweden, Canada and Hong Kong and looks to win in Dubai as he continues on his round-the-world tour. Others of note will be the German-bred star Quijano who has won 10 consecutive races in Germany and Dubai, the amazing mare from the United States Honey Ryder will also compete as well as Canadian owned Host.

9:40 a.m. - $5,000,000 DUBAI DUTY FREE - 1 1/8 MILES TURF

The Duty Free will feature the popular rejuvenated claimer Lava Man as he looks to win out of California for the first time. This will be by far his tougher test on the grass to date and he'll need to call on all of his heart to pull out a victory and defeat horses like the Todd Pletcher trainee English Channel who is a two-time Grade I winner on the turf. It will be interesting to see how the Indian-bred runner Mystical does in the Duty Free; he's won 14 of 17 in his native India and is a perfect 2 for 2 since landing in Dubai in February. The Europeans are well represented having six spots in the starting gate of the sixteen entrants with Godolphin's Best Name possibly being the best; his final prep was a troubled fourth in Grade II Jebel Hatta on Dubai's Nad Al Sheba course. Pompeii Ruler from Australia recent Group I winner at Caulfield and Daiwa Major of Japan also a Group I winner in his most recent start add even more strength to already talent filled field.

10:30 a.m. - $6,000,000 DUBAI WORLD CUP - 1 1/4 MILES DIRT

The race of the day definitely will be the rematch of the undefeated Discreet Cat and the Breeders' Cup Classic winner Invasor. The latter has been perfect since coming to the United States winning five consecutive Grade I races and suffered his only loss at the hands of Discreet Cat in the UAE Derby last March. Although lightly raced, Godolphin's Discreet Cat has been sensational when asked and has delivered three jaw-dropping performances since arriving back in the United States. A private purchase after his Grade I Clark Handicap victory at Churchill Downs Premium Tap has excellent credentials and could make his presence felt, he was a close third to Invasor in the Breeders' Cup Classic and recently won a prep race in Saudi Arabia for his new connections.

Gates open at 8:30 a.m.

FLORIDA DERBY

The Florida Derby is always a traditional stop on the road to the Kentucky Derby and with the $1,000,000 purse this is a race that every entrant wants to win. The field is headed by Scat Daddy from the talent-filled Todd Pletcher barn who was a recent winner of the Fountain Of Youth stakes also at Gulfstream. He'll get a new pilot today with John Velazquez riding in Dubai; Edgar Prado has picked up the mount. The main competition should once again come from Stormello trained by Bill Currin and ridden by California based Victor Espinoza, Stormello was a close second in the Fountain Of Youth and will be a huge pace factor in the Derby. The third choice will probably be Notional who is undefeated in two starts this season winning both the San Rafael at Santa Anita and the Risen Star at the Fair Grounds.

The Florida Derby goes at 2:30 and will be part of an exciting 12 race program that will feature five other stakes races.


THE $100,000 ROAD TO THE CROWN CHALLENGE

As we gear up for week two of our $100,000 Road to the Crown Challenge, handicappers take note – it’s not too late to play! You can sign up any time to play in this 12-week free online handicapping series. Each week, the top three contestants with the most “mythical money won” win their share of $175.

Congratulations to the winners for Week 1:

  • Ranked #1: gordo – Score 67.80 – Wins $100
  • Ranked #2: dhaere – Score 57.60 – Wins $50
  • Ranked #3: secretariat – Score 49.00 – Wins $25

ASK THE HANDICAPPER

In each edition of HorseRacing Central we invite readers to email our resident expert analyst Mike Heads mheads@hastingsracecourse.com with a race-related question. The person who submits the question we publish wins lunch for two at Hastings Racecourse or Fraser Downs Racetrack & Casino. Our winner in this issue is Beverly Mattice who asks:

“I am wondering why payouts pay more than what is in the mutuel pools. Example: Hastings on June 3, 2006 in race 8, the super trifecta pool was $25,081 and the payout was $92,321.70. I have asked around and nobody seems to know but we are all wondering why the difference? If you could answer this, then I could pass the answer along to my track buddies.” -- Beverly Mattice

MIKE’S ANSWER:

Because of the autotote system in place at Hastings right now, the board can only show $1 or $2 payoffs and, you might recall, a 20-cent Win-4 as well as a 20-cent Superfecta. The payoff that you saw was one, 20-cent Superfecta winner and the return was the entire payout pool (after pari-mutuel takeouts) which amounted to roughly $18,500. The computer system cannot show a 20-cent price so it automatically shows the equivalent in a $1 format.

TRUE METROPOLITAN A TRUE CHAMPION

Just as he did all season long at track level, True Metropolitan dominated the show at the 2006 Thoroughbred Industry Awards presentations.

Named B.C. Thoroughbred Horse of the Year as well as Top Older Horse, True Metropolitan again put owner Bob Cheema and trainer Terry Jordan in the spotlight at the annual awards banquet in March.

True Metropolitan won seven stakes races in 2006 and spread his goodwill around the country with victories in the Spangled Jimmy, the Westerner and Speed to Spare at Edmonton’s Northlands Park in addition to the Herald Gold Cup at Stampede Park in Calgary. Then after scoring impressive wins at Hastings Racecourse in capturing the Sir Winston Churchill and Premiers, True Metropolitan finished his amazing season by winning the Woodbine Slots Cup in Toronto.

Cheema finished the 2006 season at Hastings as the leading owner with 20 wins and just under $450,000 in earnings. Barb Heads and Terry Clyde were named co-winners in the leading trainer category after each recording 48 victories. They were also co-winners of the Diamond Award of Excellence.

Lois and Russ Bennett made the familiar trip to the podium as leading breeders for the 20th time in 21 years. The Bennetts’ earnings were more than $574,000 in 2006. Vying Victor was both the leading sire and leading juvenile sire; Desert Mouse was the champion broodmare.

Lance Giesbrecht (trainer), John Gunther (builder) and Artic Son - the lanky bay gelding who won 13 races and more than half a million dollars at Hastings - were the 2006 Hall of Fame inductees.

Following is the complete list of 2006 award winners:

  • HORSE OF THE YEAR (Open): True Metropolitan (Owner: Bob Cheema; Trainer: Terry Jordan)
  • HORSE OF THE YEAR (B.C.): Spaghetti Mouse (Owner: Pauline & Nick Felicella; Trainer: Gary Demorest)
  • OLDER HORSE (Open): True Metropolitan
  • OLDER HORSE (B.C.): Spaghetti Mouse
  • SPRINTER: Quiet Cash (Owner: Bob Cheema; Trainer: Terry Jordan)
  • OLDER FILLY OR MARE (Open): Monashee (Owner: Canmor Farms; Trainer: Tracy McCarthy)
  • OLDER FILLY OR MARE (B.C.): What a Blurr (Owner: D21 Stable; Trainer: Steve Henson)
  • 3-YEAR-OLD (Open): Halo Steven (Owner: Marta Racing Ventures; Trainer: Barb Heads)
  • 3-YEAR-OLD (B.C.): Seven Secrets (Owner: K.K. Sangara; Trainer: Harold Barroby)
  • 3-YEAR-OLD FILLY (Open & B.C.): Excited Miss (Owner: Leif Nordahl; Trainer: Barb Heads)
  • 2-YEAR-OLD (Open & B.C.): Ookshada (Owner: PM Racing & TD Stables; Trainer: Jacobson-Cloutier)
  • 2-YEAR-OLD-FILLY (Open & B.C.): Suva (Owner: Jeffrey Sengara; Trainer: Steve Henson)
  • BREEDERS OF THE YEAR: Lois and R.J. Bennett
  • BREEDER OF SADIE DIAMOND WINNER: Carol and Bryan Anderson (Chelsey’s Image)
  • BREEDER OF JACK DIAMOND WINNER: Whitehouse Stables (Ookashada)
  • CHAMPIONS SIRE: Vying Victor
  • CHAMPION JUVENILE SIRE: Vying Victor.
  • CHAMPION BROODMARE: Desert Mouse
  • DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Terry Clyde and Barb Heads
  • BACKSTRETCH AWARD: New Stride (retired horse placement)
  • LEADING TRAINERS: Terry Clyde, Barb Heads
  • LEADING JOCKEY: Pedro Alvarado
  • LEADING APPRENTICE JOCKEY: Mario Gutierrez

GONE FISHING!

Bro Jake was on hand for Men’s Day on March 17 at Fraser Downs Racetrack & Casino to award Steve McLaren with the Grand Prize of a fishing trip to St. John’s Fishing Lodge.