THE
WEEK THAT WAS
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About a Girl wins for Cole Bennett |
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ANOTHER
MILESTONE FOR BIRTHDAY BOY: A year ago, Cole
Bennett won his very first race as a trainer five days
after his 18th birthday. Closing in on his 19th
birthday Monday, he pre-celebrated with his first
STAKES victory as a trainer. His About a Girl won the
$18,000 Miss Royal Gold for 3-year-old fillies last
Saturday, a horse he boldly predicts will win the
$50,000 Manitoba Oaks on Derby day. (Cole had named
one-time ASD jock Kirk Johnson to ride her but Johnson
was busy at Woodbine, Cole said. Catch rider Kayla
Pizarro did just fine, beating 1/2 favourite Sun Tsuzy to pay $6.40.)
Lisa Smith leads stake-winning Woodlandsway with Jared Brown
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“TRAMPLED”
JOCKEY BOUNCES BACK: It didn’t look good. In
Saturday’s last live race, Cat Sister with apprentice
Jarell Beckles in the saddle drifted out in the turn,
causing the horse in that lane, Victory Song, to clip
heels, sending jockey Corey Jordan tumbling to the
track where he seemed to be run over. Fans that night
were abuzz with concern and rumours of serious
injuries. Not to worry. Jordan was back riding on
Monday. Beckles’ horse was disqualified from fifth
and placed last for interference.
$4,000
CLAIMER WINS STAKES: What a claim! Jared
Brown’s $4,000 claim of Woodlandsway at Turf Paradise
last November certainly looked like a bargain on
holiday Monday as the 6-year-old mare posted a
wire-to-wire victory in the $18,000 Prairie Star Stakes
under Adolfo Morales at 9/1. Next stop? “I’ll enter
her in the La Verendrye and see what happens,” Brown
said after the win. (The La Verendrye on June 11 is the
next stakes race on the path to the $25,000 Manitoba
Matron in September.) Brown and owners Ross and Val
Brown will be hoping for another speed-biased track
that day.
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Buff readies to roll (Derek Corbel photo) |
BUFF READIES TO SPRING FROM “PENALTY BOX:” When ASD’s assistant director of racing, Derek Corbel, snapped a picture of 2-year-old Buff being schooled in the starting gate, he imagined the gate as a “penalty box” from which Buff will emerge to power around the track in his debut race soon. Fans of the hockey-playing Buff are likely to be amused by the hockey reference and the colt is likely to attract betting action simply because of his name. The question then becomes: Will he live up to it?
RACING
CLUB DEALS WITH DISAPPOINTMENT: It is the nature
of horse ownership that you hope for the best but are
prepared for what happened to the newly-formed
Assiniboia Racing Club last week. The first horse
purchased by the 39 owners for $5,000 U.S. had to be
retired from racing after two stress fractures were
found after a slow workout. To his credit, HBPA
director John Field, who manages the club, telephoned
every club member to deliver the news—to which he
said they responded with understanding. “They were
mostly concerned about the horse.” But all is not
lost. He said the club still has $8,500 to claim a
horse and pay for training bills. The new owners had
bought shares for $500 each.
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Monday's crowd watches stretch drive |
EVERYTHING
IS LOOKING UP AT THE DOWNS: Big crowds and
sizable wagering increases appear to be the name of the
game at the Downs this year. Wagering is up both on
track and from simulcast partners. Now all eyes are on
New York. That city’s 215 off-track betting parlours
will start receiving Downs races next Wednesday, June
1. How much will they wager? By the way, tomorrow’s
Jackpot Hi 5 pool at the Downs starts with a carryover
of almost $30,000.
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