Hall, Betts focused on B.C. Festival of Racing

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Phil Hall will be busy enough with three horses running at Hastings on Sunday, but he also will take time out to watch the $75,000 Emerald Downs Derby.

Hall trains the top 3-year-old at Hastings, A. P. Zona. With a $25,000 bonus available to any horse who sweeps the Emerald Downs Derby and the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby, there is a good chance that the winner of the richest race for 3-year-olds at Emerald will make the trip north to run against A. P. Zona in the B.C. Derby on Sept. 9.

“I am definitely going to watch the Emerald race,” he said. “I guess if Aqua Frio wins, he’ll be coming.”

Aqua Frio, trained by Blaine Wright, is owned by A. P. Zona’s owner, Peter Redekop.

Hall is hoping to run A. P. Zona in the $50,000 Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial on British Columbia Day, Aug. 7. The Derby Trial is one of six stakes that will make up the bulk of the B.C. Festival of Racing card on the holiday Monday.

Hall was planning on running the Kentucky-bred son of Creative Cause in the Chris Loseth Stakes on July 16, but the race didn’t fill. Instead, going around three turns for the first time, A. P. Zona beat a solid field of older horses in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race the same day.

“The Derby isn’t that far away, and I didn’t want to miss any races with him,” said Hall. “I also wanted to start stretching him out. It worked out fine. He ran a big race, and he came out of it in excellent shape. Now I just need the Derby Trial to fill, and he’ll be set.”

Hall is planning to breeze A. P. Zona five furlongs Sunday.

“He’s full of himself right now, so I just want to give him something to do,” he said. “He’s really an easy horse to train.”

The $50,000 Hong Kong Jockey Club for 3-year-old fillies is part of B.C. Festival of Racing Day. Hall’s fiancée, trainer Nancy Betts, is looking forward to running Daz Lin Dawn in the 1 1/16-mile race.

Undefeated in four stakes races this year, Daz Lin Dawn carried 124 pounds, nine more than runner-up Yukon Belle, when she won the $50,000 Supernaturel by 1 3/4 lengths under Richard Hamel on July 15.

“It was the first time she went around three turns this year, and Richard said she seemed a bit confused at first,” said Betts. “Once she knew what was going on, she started running. Richard said he had a lot of horse left at the finish.”

The main goal for Daz Lin Dawn is the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks on Sept. 9, when the entrants will carry equal weights in the 1 1/8-mile race. Daz Lin Dawn breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:01 on Friday with Hamel aboard.

Betts will saddle the likely favorite, Blur’sfinalcommand, in a $16,000 conditional-claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Sunday’s feature.