Weekend Wizard impresses with Jim Coleman victory

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Weekend Wizard paid $5.30 for his impressive 5 1/2-length victory in the $50,000 Jim Coleman Province at Hastings on Saturday.

With Richard Hamel riding, he broke sharply from the outside post in the 6 1/2-furlong dash for 3-year-olds that drew seven horses. He was a half-length behind Winter Knight after a quarter-mile in 22.60 seconds was a head in front when he then posted a half-mile time of 46.27 seconds.

He quickly opened up a clear lead on the stretch turn and there wasn’t any doubt about the outcome when he turned for home. With Hamel looking around for challengers he was well in hand while winning decisively. Slew’s Da Boss rallied to finish second. The favorite, He’s the Reason, got squeezed back at the start, loomed a threat at the quarter-pole before tiring late to finish a length behind Slew’s Da Boss.

Hamel has been the leading rider at Hastings since 2015. Due to recovering from knee surgery, he missed the first couple of weeks of the current meet.

“I was looking forward to being back and especially riding this horse,” Hamel said of Weekend Wizard. “He’s got a real turn of foot. I knew the pace was honest, but last year he was able to go 45 and change and keep rolling so I wasn’t worried about where he was early."

The son of Rosberg was making his first start since he went unplaced in the $60,000 Canadian Juvenile at Century Downs on Oct. 29.
He is trained by Craig MacPherson and owned by Riversedge Racing Stables Ltd.

“He has a lot of talent and when he’s had clear sailing he’s been pretty tough to beat,” MacPherson said. “He had been training well and I am super happy with how he ran.”

The final time was 1:17.27.

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