Snow takes aim at B.C. Cup Classic

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer John Snow is hoping that either Wilo Kat or Twistgrips will give him a second win in the $75,000 B.C. Cup Classic. The 1 1/8-mile Classic is the main attraction of the six stakes races restricted to British Columbia-breds that will make up the bulk of the card on B.C. Cup Day, Monday, Aug. 4.

Since its inception in 1995, B.C. Cup Day has either been the top or second-best day in terms of attendance and handle at Hastings.

Snow won the 2005 Classic with Grade 3 British Columbia Derby winner Rosco Pito, and he was confident that Wilo Kat would win last year’s Classic. Wilo Kat had been holding his own with the top older, open-company stakes horses at Hastings and was sent off as the 3-2 favorite in the Classic, where he figured to have an easy time handling an overmatched field of B.C.-breds.

With Aaron Gryder aboard, Wilo Kat just didn’t run his usual race, however. He finished a non-threatening third while earning a 72 Beyer Speed Figure, his lowest number at the meet.

“I was a bit shocked,” Snow said. “He went into the race in what I thought was peak condition, but he came back coughing. It turned out he was full of mucus.”

Wilo Kat came back to beat open company in the S. W. Randall Plate while earning an 86 Beyer. He closed out the meet by finishing third in the Grade 3, $100,000 Premiers.

“He had a good year,” said Snow. “But it really was a disappointment not winning the Classic.”

Snow likes the way Wilo Kat is coming into the race. He rallied from last to finish fourth while going 1 1/16 miles in the Lieutenant Governors’ Handicap on July 1, and Snow thinks the timing between races is perfect.

“Last year, he could get pretty wound up if he had too much time between races, so I ran him in an allowance race between the Lieutenant Governors’ and the Classic,” said Snow. “He is a lot mellower this year, so I’m not worried about him being too sharp. He’s certainly been training very well.”

Twistgrips will be making his first start since finishing fifth in the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap at Emerald Downs on June 15.

“It was actually a pretty good race for him,” said Snow. “He was pretty sharp because it was his first time running at Emerald, and he made a big move a bit too soon before tiring in the stretch. He runs well fresh, so the timing between the two races is perfect.”

Snow said he planned to work both horses this weekend.

Lord Nelson version 2.0

From 2001-05, Lord Nelson was the horse to beat in any stakes race he was entered in at Hastings. He won a total of 16 races, and in four starts in the B.C. Cup Classic, he won twice and finished second twice. Trained by Dino Condilenios, he won the Grade 3 Lieutenant Governors’ in 2002 and 2003.

Condilenios was surprised when a different Lord Nelson won his debut in a 2-year-old maiden special weight race at Del Mar last Saturday.

“He was still running in 2008, and I didn’t think you could bring a Grade 3 winner’s name back that quickly,” said Condilenios. “It was kind of neat to see his name though, and it sure brought back a lot of nice memories. He was special. Not many horses can compete at a top level for as long as he did. Actually, I was going to bet on the new Lord Nelson, but I was stuck in the backstretch at Emerald Downs and missed it.”

The Bob Baffert-trained Lord Nelson paid $7 for his half-length win.

The Lord Nelson who was owned by his breeders, Russell and Lois Bennett, was inducted into the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2011.