ACTION HEAVY AS
DOWNS READIES
Track action has been
hot and heavy the last two Mondays as qualifying races have
been held to help fill the gap until the Fraser Downs
Racetrack & Casino harness season starts Friday, Oct. 14.
One hundred and 15
horses competed on Sept. 26 and 102 this past Monday.
The fields the first
day included 14 two-year-olds. They were led by Bill
Davis-trained Spartacus Dee J and Limbos Doublecross,
trained by Rick White, who won races in 2:00.3 and 2:01
respectively.
Thisisbliss, a
three-year-old stake elimination winner at Sandown this
summer and conditioned by Wayne Isbister, had the quickest
mile on the first day with a 1:55.2 clocking.
Several of the
province’s best prepared in one heat with Robert Murphy’s
Lance Raider leading the way in 1:56.4. Fraser Downs’ track
record holder Infinite Dreams also competed in that battle
along with such familiar names as Spider M, Nuclear Dew,
Duke Is Duke, C Lec Machine and Meekos Trucker.
Three-year-old Fast
Lane Fusion, a Davis charge, was also smoking, pacing the
mile in 1:56.
Last Monday, another
12 two-year-olds were in action. Among the freshman winners
were Wild Dunes’ Double Stutz in 2:00.2, Bill Boden’s Nazko
Daytona in 2:02.3 and Grant Hollingworth’s Rogerthedodger in
2:04.
Bill Davis-trained
Nuclear Dew had the fastest time of the day, 1:57, with
perennial invitee Haras Colta Cola second. Top mare Carson
Jane, trained by Dave Hudon, clocked a 1:57.2 mile and Ray
Gemmill’s newcomer, three-year-old Highway Man, paced the
course in 1:58.2.
RECORD ENTRY FOR
SALE: A record 129 horses have been consigned for the
B.C. Standardbred Breeders Society annual yearling sale.
The sale will start at
2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 in the Cloverdale Agriplex. All
yearlings must be presented at the Agriplex by 10 a.m.and
will be available for preview from noon to sale time.
In addition to the
129, 30 owners paid the $1,000 fee to make their yearlings
eligible to the Sale Stake without going through the sale.
As usual, there is
good representation of B.C. and outside sires in the
catalogue. B.C. stallions Usher Hanover, Kents On Nuke, Dal
Reo Hop Sing and Safe N Rich all have several youngsters.
Outside sires include Northern Luck, Aces N Sevens, Straight
Path, Life Sign, Rambaran, Jennas Beach Boy, D M Dillinger,
Grinfromeartoear, Astreos, Rustler Hanover and Albert Albert
among others.
Yearlings consigned
include a full sister to Active Pass, 1:55.3f, $62,447 and a
half sister to Lo Siento, 1:53.4, $221,558. Other
consignments are out of mares that have produced the likes
of Mattswhereitsat, Goaheadandlietome, Red Star Ginny and
Red Star Gramps.
The consignments are
now posted on the sale page. The online and printed
catalogues will be available by mid-October.
IDEAL SETS WORLD
RECORD: Casie Coleman’s American Ideal has done it
again.
American Ideal blazed
his way into the harness racing record books with a
sensational 1:47.4 world record performance in his $140,800
division of the Bluegrass Series last Saturday at the Red
Mile.
The mile time erased
the former three-year-old pacing colt record of 1:48, which
was held jointly by PB Bullville (2000 at Lexington) and
Quik Pulse Mindale (2004 at Balmoral Park), and it came
within a tick of equaling Jennas Beach Boy all-age world
record of 1:47.3 (1996 at the Meadowlands).
Driven by Mark
MacDonald, the son of Western Idea-Lifetime Success was the
leader at every call through fractions of :25.4, :53 and
1:20.2 before a final quarter in :27.2.
Thin Blue Line came on
in deep stretch for second and Up Front Tornado was third.
American Ideal, who
will remain in Lexington for this Saturday’s Tattersalls
Stakes, improved his 2005 record to 9-4-1 in 18 starts and
pushed his earnings to $623,973 in 2005 and career earnings
to $647,605 for partners Mac Nichol of St Albert, AB, and
Brittany Farms of Versailles, KY.
“I’ve learned that
you don’t shut him down because you run the chance of
choking him,” said MacDonald after the record performance.
“Today’s race was very comparable of the move in the
Confederation Cup. He was awesome.”
“It's just a real
pleasure to train a horse like him,” Coleman, a former
competitor at Fraser Downs, told the U.S. Trotting
Association. “He was well in hand and finished strong.”
“I knew he was
capable of doing it,” she said. “I didn’t train him this
week because it was six days out and he’s just an amazing
colt.”
KID HOT IN SASK:
The Cisco Kid or the California Kid can now also be known as
the Saskatchewan Kid.
Scott Cisco, who many
Downs patrons will remember, had a big weekend as a driver
when Marquis Downs in Saskatoon opened its meet.
On Friday, Sept. 30,
Cisco had two wins, two seconds and a third in five starts
with one win coming while piloting another familiar name
Papas Reflection.
The next day Cisco
went to the post on six occasions and finished with two
wins, one second and two thirds. One of the victories came
with Fight For Your Man, trained by Sabrina Shaw.
ON THIS DAY IN:
Oct. 3, 1884 – Johnston takes nearly four seconds off the
pacing world record, finishing in 2:06¼ at Chicago and
becoming the first pacer to eclipse 2:10.