Can
he keep on trucking?
Meekos Trucker, winner of the Oaktree
Stake at Sandown on July 17, is the 8-5 favorite in one of
two eliminations for the Dogwood Cup for
three-and-four-year-old colts and geldings Saturday at
Sandown.
Trucker, owned by the Shale Stables of
Langley and trained and driven by Dave Hudon, captured the
Oaktree in a lifetime mark of 1:56.2 for the mile.
Robert Murphy’s Prince Of Hearts is
second choice at 9-5 in the field of six, which also
includes Rockridge Winston, Sail The Sevenseas, Rambo Pass
and Phantom.
In the other elim, Calvin Nyuli’s Sail
On Saylor, who has a lifetime mark of 1:56.4, is a 9-5
favorite in the field of five, which includes Yankee Money,
Red Star Golfer, Theonethatgotaway and Imabarontwo.
The Dogwood division for fillies and
mares is set for Sunday and Rustle For It is a 9-5 favorite
in the first elimination.
Rustle For It, owned, trained and
driven by Richard Craig, crossed the line first in the
Arbutus Stake on July 18 at Sandown but was nailed for
interference and put back to fourth. Da Lil Dudett, who then
got the win, is not entered in the Dogwood.
Others in the field of six are the
entry of Red Star Cowgirl and Red Star Skylight, Janstar
Bee, Miss St Labush and Sues Delema.
Dal Reo Tantrum, owned by Dal Reo
Farms, is a 2-1 morning-line choice in the other elim. She
has a lifetime clocking of 1:55.4 and seven board finishes
in 12 starts in 2004. The rest of the field of six includes
Little Surfer Girl, Keystone Romola, Hoosier Pam, Northern
Colors and Red Star Finalee.
The Dogwood final for the colts is
Saturday for a purse of $22,200 and for the fillies is
Sunday for a purse of $22,100.
JIM TODD PASSES: Condolences go
out to the Jim Todd family after the veteran Fraser Downs
horseman passed away Thursday at his home in Blaine.
Jim, who was at the Fraser Downs barns
earlier in the day, was 72 and had battled lung and heart
problems for the last few years.
Todd first competed in Cloverdale
almost 20 years ago and at one time he had a stable of 15 to
20 horses, many of the top variety. He competed as a driver
(he had 1,022 lifetime wins) and trainer in such far reaches
as New York, Pennsylvania and California but had competed
almost exclusively at Fraser Downs for the last nine or 10
years.
Among his survivors are such familiar
names in the horse racing industry as wife Virginia;
daughter Casandra Uppal, a trainer; son-in-law and track
announcer Rick Uppal and top California driver/trainer Ed
Hensley.
DRIVER DERBY CLOSE: Tim Brown,
Dave Hudon and Jim Marino each had three wins to lead the
way in the driver battle at Sandown Park last weekend. Brad
Watt, Scott Knight and Rod Therres picked up two wins
apiece.
On the trainer side, Hudon, Brown and
Greg Beneen each had two victories.
Knight leads all drivers after six days
at Sandown with seven victories while five others – Rick
White, Marino, Therres, Hudon and Brown -- are tied with
five. White is top trainer with six triumphs, one ahead of
Knight.
SORRY DAD: Former B.C.
driver/trainer Casie Coleman continues to impress as a
trainer on the top circuit in Ontario.
And she is beating (not too loud) dad on the track too.
Recently at Flamboro she and dad (Phil)
battled head-to-head in a claiming $12,500 allowance event
with Casie’s horse Luctors Camflash winning by three
lengths. Phil did not have to feel too bad, however, as his
Handsome Robbie, owned by wife Linda, finished second. (A
lot of bettors liked the combination as the exactor only
paid $13.10). The Coleman seniors lost Handsome Robbie to a
claim in the race.
Casie also had two other winners on
that card with Bully Boy (Phil was fourth with Wild Day) and
Into The Future. She is also achieving strong performances
from her horses at Woodbine. Phil (and Linda) can say Casie
learned it all (OK, most) from them.
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