Monthly Archives: August 2012

Labour Day long weekend looks favorable for longshots at ASD

[caption id="attachment_1532" align="alignright" width="270" caption="NCI Manitoba Derby Pre-Game Show with Scott Taylor and Chad Torevell"][/caption] by Rob Last weekend was filled with short-priced favourites, stakes races and impressive performances. Balooga Bull romped home in an allowance race, Red Rebellion won a Maiden Special Weight race and the five stakes races were won mostly by the…
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Happy Birthday Gary Danelson! All-time leading trainer at Assiniboia Downs!

[caption id="attachment_1520" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Coherence. August 29, 1959. Gary Danelson's first ever win at Assiniboia Downs."][/caption] by Bob Gary Danelson, son of Henry and Hazel, and a native of Scobey Montana, is the all-time leading trainer at Assiniboia Downs. He entered the 2012 season with 1,115 wins and has now added 12 more to sit…
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Thank You, Mr. Hardy

[caption id="attachment_1491" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Jack Hardy, 4th from left, with Queen Elizabeth at the 1970 Manitoba Derby."][/caption] by Bob Let’s take a time out from our usual activities this week and remember James C. Hardy, the founder of Assiniboia Downs. The year was 1957, R. James Speers had been dead for two years, Polo Park…
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Pure Glory wins 2012 Agassiz, Pick-4 pays over $10,000

[caption id="attachment_1467" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Pure Glory with groom Scott Creighton after winning the 2012 Agassiz Stakes Saturday night at ASD"][/caption] by George Pure Glory pounced early under former Jamaican riding champ Trevor Simpson and wired the field in the $50,000 Agassiz Stakes by 3 ¼-lengths on Saturday night at ASD, capping off a $2 Pick-4…
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$4,321 Pick-4 Carryover for Saturday, Moccasin wins Manitoba Quarter Horse Derby

[caption id="attachment_1460" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Tim Moccasin with Agassiz Stakes entrant Kola Kat"][/caption] by George Sharpen your pencils. Longshot Count of Notia came rolling home wide and fast under jockey Chris Husbands to win the seventh race by a neck at ASD on Friday night and force a Pick-4 carryover of $4,321 heading into the Saturday’s…
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Don’t forget class in your handicapping

[caption id="attachment_1449" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Plus Ultra should be tough in the fourth race on Saturday"][/caption] by Rob Modern handicapping is so heavily focused on speed, how fast a horse ran and numbers, that people often forget about another important basic form of handicapping. Class handicapping puts heavy emphasis on what level a horse runs at…
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Tough Manitoba-bred Victor’s Pride made no apologies

[caption id="attachment_1427" align="alignright" width="266" caption="Victor's Pride defeats Merry's Jay - Free Press Archives"][/caption] by Bob Have you ever noticed that when the subject of Manitoba breds comes up, it almost sounds like you find yourself having to apologize for the breed? To varying degrees, many of us have done that, but when you think about…
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Derby Weekend Hangover

by Rob For some of us, Manitoba Lotteries Derby weekend was an absolute godsend; for others it was a nightmarish affair. Big favorites like Golden Stripe and Portales were defeated, while hometown heroes like Balooga Bull and Jon Q prevailed. To be honest, the most thrilling affair of last weekend for me was the quarter…
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