B.C. horses set for
Nat
Injuries suffered by Lil Dude Starrbuck
during a training mile will keep the B.C.-owned
three-year-old from competing in Sunday’s $200,000 Nat
Christie Stake at Stampede Park in Calgary.
Trainer Larry Micallef told the Calgary
Sun days before the race that Starrbuck also struggled to
get around the Stampede Park track and was not in peak form.
Owned by Lil Dude Ranch of Surrey,
Starrbuck had not raced since the June 20 Western Canada
Pacing Derby in Edmonton. However, he recently qualified at
Stampede Park.
“Yeah, we got him qualified,” Micallef
had said in an earlier phone conversation from Calgary but
admitted, “We still have to do some changes and get him used
to the track.”
The son of Threefold out of Almahurst
Irish, was considered a top contender after a star-studded
meet in Edmonton where he captured the Western Canada Pacing
Derby by six lengths in 1:52.4. While at Northlands,
Starrbuck won six straight races and more than $125,000.
But B.C. will still be represented in
the Christie, which will have two eliminations – one with
six entries and the other seven. The top nine will advance
to the final.
Lil Dude’s Jennas Lil Dude and Red Star
Special from Robert Murphy’s Red Star Stable will both
compete in the first heat – race six. The second heat will
be race seven and the final race 10.
Jennas Lil Dude is the 3-1 morning line
favorite and Special is second choice at 4-1.
Jennas Lil Dude, a son of Jennas Beach
Boy out of Scooter Dear, has made 15 starts in 2004 and won
six times. Also trained and driven by Micallef, Dude won his
last start on Aug. 20 in impressive fashion, a lifetime best
1:54.3 at Stampede Park.
Red Star Special, by Barnett Hanover
out of Whimsically, has done the bulk of his racing this
year in Ontario but has returned to Alberta for his last two
starts. With trainer Bill Davis in the bike, Special won one
of those races in 1:55.1 just off his lifetime best of
1:54.2 set at Mohawk Raceway on May 25.
SILKY OR MR. EXCITEMENT: While
attending the races have you ever thought how cool it would
be to announce a race. It would be a chance to sound like
Fraser Downs’ Rick (Mr. Excitement) Uppal or Woodbine’s
Frank (Silky) Salive.
That chance is here. Ten people will
get a chance to call a qualifier race at the Downs on
Saturday, Sept. 11. The first 10 entrants will be contacted
and assigned a race which he or she will call. If you think
you have what it takes, send your name address and phone
number to
[email protected].
The contestant that receives the most
votes from the judges will be the winner of Fraser Downs
Racetrack & Casino merchandise. Also, all participants will
be invited to a barbeque after the qualifiers have
concluded.
MORE SURGERY: Trainer Mike
Bourgeois, who suffered a serious leg injury when kicked by
a horse on June 7, 2003 at Lil Dude Training Centre, has
again undergone surgery and still faces more.
Bourgeois, who received a broken tibia
and fibula and ligament damage when kicked, had a plate
removed on Friday.
When Mike recovers from the latest
surgery, which had him battling pain and bleeding, and when
he is able he will undergo reconstructive surgery and major
physiotherapy.
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