Sovereign Awards finalists announced

Michael Burns

Biofuel, who won four stakes in Canada last year, is a Sovereign Awards finalist in the 3-year-old filly division.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Biofuel, undefeated in four starts at Woodbine Racetrack this year, heads the list of 2010 Sovereign Award finalists announced by the Jockey Club of Canada late Wednesday afternoon.

The Sovereign Awards, which annually honor the outstanding performers in Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding, will be presented on April 1 at Woodbine.

Three finalists in 16 categories were determined on a 4-2-1 points assignation for the top three choices of 38 voters from across Canada. To be eligible, horses must have made at least three starts in Canada during the current calendar year.

The identity of the winners, along with the three finalists and winner of the Canadian Horse of the Year award, will be revealed at the ceremony.

A 3-year-old who filly bred in Kentucky by her owner Brereton C. Jones, Biofuel made all of her Canadian appearances in stakes races and placed in Grade 1 events in her only other outings in New York.

Biofuel is trained by Reade Baker. Her stablemate, Free Fee Lady, also is a finalist in the 3-year-old filly division.
Roan Inish, the filly who finished third in the Queen’s Plate after capturing the Woodbine Oaks, is the other finalist in the 3-year-old filly category.

Rockin Heat, who is on the 2-year-old male short list, also is conditioned by Baker, a finalist for outstanding trainer along with defending champion Roger Attfield and Mark Casse.

Attfield trains Mekong Melody, Miss Keller, and Perfect Shirl, the three finalists in the turf female category, as well as Sand Cove, a leading contender for older male honors, and Impossible Time, likewise in the older female division.

Casse’s Soveriegn Award finalists are Delightful Mary and Roxy Gap in the 2-year-old filly category and Blue Laser, 2-year-old male.

Big Red Mike and Hotep, the one-two finishers in the Queen’s Plate, are joined by No Hesitation, a sensation at Northlands Park, on the 3-year-old male list.

Hooh Why, a nominee in both the older female and female sprinter category, is the only dual finalist. A 4-year-old Florida-bred, Hooh Why won the Grade 3 Seaway and ran well in two other stakes at Woodbine while also competing in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Illinois.

Sam-Son Farm, a finalist in both the owner and breeder categories, has its sales purchase Grand Adventure and homebred Windward Islands on the turf horse short list.

Rahy’s Attorney, the other male turf horse finalist, is trained by Ian Black who also conditioned the older male finalist Southdale.
Smokey Fire, a homebred who won three stakes at Woodbine last year for his owner and breeder Mel Lawson, is a finalist in a competitive male sprinter division along with Hollywood Hit and Essence Hit Man.

Destroy, the dam of Smokey Fire, is an outstanding broodmare finalist. Sid Attard trains both Smokey Fire and Stunning Stag, an older male finalist.

Omar Moreno, recipient of the Eclipse Award as North America’s outstanding apprentice rider, is a lock for his second straight Sovereign Award in the category.

Adena Springs also won an Eclipse Award, in the breeder category, and is back on that Sovereign Award short list.
Eurico Rosa da Silva, who was Woodbine’s leading rider for the first time, will be looking to dethrone Patrick Husbands in the Sovereign balloting.

The finalists in four media categories, as determined by the individual votes of a panel of judges, will be announced at the ceremony. 

2-Year-Old Filly
Delightful Mary, Roxy Gap, Wyomia

2-Year-Old Male
Blue Laser, Madman Diaries, Rockin Heat

3-Year-Old Filly
Biofuel, Free Fee Lady, Roan Inish

3-Year-Old Male
Big Red Mike, Hotep, No Hesitation

Older Female
Hooh Why, Impossible Time, Simply Splendid

Older Male
Sand Cove, Southdale, Stunning Stag

Turf Female
Mekong Melody, Miss Keller, Perfect Shirl

Turf Male
Grand Adventure, Rahy’s Attorney, Windward Islands

Female Sprinter
Hooh Why, Indian Apple Is, Sugar Again

Male Sprinter
Essence Hit Man, Hollywood Hit, Smokey Fire

Broodmare
Destroy, Enchanted Spell, Eye of the Sphynx

Breeder
Adena Springs, Eugene Melnyk, Sam-Son Farm

Owner
Bear Stables Ltd., Melnyk Racing Stables Inc., Sam-Son Farms

Trainer
Roger Attfield, Reade Baker, Mark Casse

Apprentice Jockey
Brian Cheyne, Omar Moreno, Ryan Pacheco

Jockey
Eurico Rosa Da Silva, Patrick Husbands, Chantal Sutherland

Newspaper Story
Perry Lefko, Down The Stretch Newspaper; Jennifer Morrison, Toronto Star; Beverley Smith, The Globe and Mail

Feature Story
Perry Lefko, Down The Stretch; Keith McCalmont, Down The Stretch; Jennifer Morrison, The Blood Horse

Photograph
Terence Dulay, Canadian Thoroughbred; Tod Marks, Canadian Thoroughbred; Cindy Pierson Dulay, Canadian Thoroughbred

Film/Video/Broadcast
CBC Television Network Sports, 2010 Queen’s Plate; ESPN Inc., 2010 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series; Horse Racing Alberta and Whiteiron Productions,TSN