Todd walking on air after finally winning B.C. Derby

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Owner-trainer Glen Todd was still flying high Wednesday following his remarkable achievement of winning three of the four stakes at Hastings last Saturday. He was actually flying, too.

Todd was on his way to the Keeneland September yearling sale to reinvest some of the money he earned from what he called his “biggest day in the sport.”

Besides winning the main prize at Hastings, the Grade 3, $250,000 British Columbia Derby with Five Star General, he took down the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks with Amazonian, plus the $50,000 S.W. Randall Plate with He’s the Reason.

Mario Gutierrez rode Five Star General to a nose victory over Explode in the 1 1/8-mile derby. The duo hooked up at the quarter pole and battled the rest of the way, with Five Star General bobbing his head at the right time. It was a thriller.

“That may have been the best B.C. Derby ever,” Todd said. “They both ran their hearts out. It could have gone either way.”

Todd bought Five Star General for $180,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton sale in July. In his first start for Todd, he won the $50,000 Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial.

“I figure I’ve spent about $3 million trying to win this race,” Todd said of the B.C. Derby.

Gutierrez, a two-time Kentucky Derby winner, was very emotional following the race.

“I never forget where I came from, and Glen really helped me get started when I arrived at Hastings,” he said. “I couldn’t win the derby for him when I rode full time here, so I am very happy to win it for him now.”

Depending on his schedule, Gutierrez could come back to ride Five Star General in the Grade 3, $100,000 B.C. Premiers on Sept. 29. Five Star General will be running against He’s the Reason in that race.

He’s the Reason received an 87 Beyer Speed Figure for his easy front-running win in the Randall. Five Star General got an 81.

Richard Hamel rode Amazonian and He’s the Reason. Hamel also was aboard Here’s Hannah for her narrow loss to Bear in the $50,000 Delta Colleen for fillies and mares.

Here’s Hannah, trained by John Morrison, will be heavily favored when they meet again in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ballerina on Sept 28. Here’s Hannah was carrying 130 pounds compared to the 118 Bear packed in the 1 1/8-mile Delta Colleen. They will carry equal weights in the Ballerina.

◗ Numbers were up at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s annual yearling and mixed sale held at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley on Tuesday.

A total of 64 horses, all yearlings, were sold for a gross of $1,065,500, compared to $987,617 for 67 horses sold last year.

The average yearling price of $16,648 was up by just less than 12 percent over last year’s $14,865 for the 66 sold.