Calgary Caper pulls $54.60 upset in Classic on B.C. Cup Day

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Calgary Caper was last early but finished with a rush to win the $75,000 Pacific Customs Brokers Classic at Hastings Monday. The longest shot in the seven-horse field, he paid $54.60.

With Amadeo Perez riding, Calgary Caper was 11 lengths behind while Modern posted a quick half-mile time of 46.48 seconds in the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up bred or owned in British Columbia. He was still last after six furlongs in 1:10.93, but was starting to get in touch with the field. Perez had him in full flight while circling the field on the stretch turn, and he took control of the race coming out of the turn. He opened up a clear lead at midstretch and held off a late charge by Square Dancer to win by a length. Modern finished third.

Calgary Caper is trained and partly owned by Phil Hall. Last year, Calgary Caper’s only win came in a $12,500 claiming race at Northlands Park for trainer Dale Greenwood

“When I saw how fast Modern was going I thought he had a chance,” said Hall. “He’s a nice horse and he probably gets a hold of this surface better than he did at Northlands.”

Calgary Caper is also owned by Kim Peacock and retired trainer Lance Giesbrecht. Giesbrecht is a member of the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

“Going down the backstretch I thought he might get a piece of it,” said Giesbrecht. “When he started to roll on the turn I could see he had a chance to win. This is a lot more fun and a lot less pressure than training them.”

The final time over a fast track was 1:49.66.

The Classic headlined the seven restricted stakes that made up the bulk of the B.C. Cup Day card.

Hall also won the $50,000 Stellar’s Jay with Lord Vancouver, a horse he bred wth Blair Law and owns outright.

Sent off as the favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds bred or sired in B.C. or Washington, Lord Vancouver paid $5.70.

Lord Vancouver sat just off a slow pace set by Reason for Being, and after taking the lead turning for home he held off B C Charlie to win by a length. Stanz in Command rallied along the rail to finish third. Lord Vancouver was ridden by Denis Araujo.

Touching Promise, trained by Barbara Heads and ridden by Amadeo Perez, started the stakes festival with a win over Majestic Presence in the $75,000 Pacific Customs Brokers Distaff Handicap. She paid $11.40.

Heavily favored Arabella’s Muse finished fourth in the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares bred or owned in B.C. With $80,562 of the $91,393 in the show pool wagered on her, the show prices were generous: $13.40 for the winner, $43.10 for runner-up Majestic Presence, and $11.30 for third-place Morning Coffee.

Despite having to check sharply on the stretch turn, heavily favored Snuggles rallied to win the $50,000 B.C. Cup Dogwood for 3-year-old fillies bred or sired in B.C. or Washington. She paid $3.40. Snuggles was ridden by Rico Walcott and trained by Dino Condilenios.

With Richard Hamel riding for trainer Anita Bolton, Assets Included led all the way in the $50,000 Nursery for 2-year-olds bred or owned in B.C. He paid $18.40.

Something Better paid $19 for her front-running win in the $50,000 B.C. Cup Debutante for 2-year-old fillies bred or owned in B.C. Trained by Greg Tracy, she was ridden by Rico Walcott.

Stepupforthemoney took them all the way going 1 3/8 miles in the $20,000 Starter Handicap for 3-year-olds and up. He paid $9.20 for his five-length win over Mark. Stepupforthemoney is trained by Pat Jarvis and was ridden by Jose Gomez.