Horses and hockey. Those were the two loves of Larry Jones when he was a growing up in tiny Stettler in Alberta, Canada. Jones longed to win the Stanley Cup, but a back injury short-circuited those dreams and led to a career change that has instead put him front and center with I’ll Have Another, who will try to win the Triple Crown in the 144th Belmont Stakes on June 9 at Belmont Park.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse has won the Woodbine Oaks twice, and will be loaded for bear again on Sunday when he sends out Dixie Strike, Northern Passion, and Black Bird Rock in the 57th running of the $500,000 event.
The nine-furlong Oaks tops an excellent card which also includes the $150,000 Plate Trial. Both stakes are important preps for the June 24 Queen’s Plate, and will be televised on CBC from 4:30-5:30 p.m. TVG will also provide special coverage of Sunday’s major races.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Before he takes a swing for the fences with longshot Five Sixteen in next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, trainer Dominick Schettino looks to be a more realistic player with My Jopia in Sunday’s $75,000 Cupecoy’s Joy Stakes at Belmont Park.
The Cupecoy’s Joy, for 3-year-old fillies, shares billing with the $75,000 Spectacular Bid, for 3-year-old males, on Sunday’s 10-race card. Both races, scheduled for seven furlongs on the Widener turf course, are part of the New York Stallion Series, restricted to progeny of New York-based stallions.
The operators of Monmouth Park in New Jersey plan to submit a proposal to host the 2013 Breeders’ Cup, the top official at the track said on Friday.
Monmouth will submit the proposal within the next four to seven days, according to Dennis Drazin, the president of a horsemen-owned operating company that reached a deal earlier this year to lease Monmouth from the state. The proposal will ask for Monmouth to be considered for next year’s two-day event, along with events in 2014 and beyond, Drazin said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Michael Doyle and owner Bill Graham teamed to win a Woodbine Oaks in 1989 with the 3-2 favorite Blondeinamotel.
On Sunday, Doyle and Graham will be looking to reprise that feat with Horseshoe Hill, who is 20-1 on the morning line.
“She’s doing very well,” said Doyle, who sent out Horseshoe Hill to drill six furlongs in 1:13.20 under jockey Justin Stein here last Sunday. “Justin really liked her.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It is tough to look past Taylor Said and St Liams Halo in the $50,000 Sir Winston Churchill at Hastings Sunday. The 1 1/16-mile feature for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and goes race 7 on an eight-race card that starts at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.
Both horses are owned by Glen Todd and trained by Troy Taylor but will run uncoupled in the wagering.
Todd likes St Liams Halo because he is a proven route horse. Taylor isn’t as sure, and neither was Fernando Perez when he had his choice of mounts and opted to ride Taylor Said.
Western Woods and Espresso Springs guarantee an honest pace in a $30,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Sunday’s feature at Northlands Park.
The six-furlong sprint drew eight horses and there isn’t much doubt regarding how the race will unfold. Western Woods and Expresso Springs both want the lead and are in sharp form. Whether either will be able to last the whole way is another question.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – The trainer John Simms has gotten off to a solid beginning as the Fort Erie meet has unfolded. Simms has four wins from 11 starts, a very creditable 36 percent rate.
“We took our time and picked our spots,” said Simms, “and I am very pleased with the results so far. We wintered down in Tampa and our horses were well conditioned in the Florida sunshine. On returning, we eased our way back into training, giving the horses plenty of time to reacclimatize and to relax and enjoy this great surface, the best in North America in my opinion.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Tu Endie Wei, Canada’s champion juvenile filly of 2011, tries turf for the first time in Sunday’s Alywow.
The $100,000 Alywow, an open 6 1/2-furlong overnight stakes for 3-year-old fillies, attracted a field of nine including five from the barn of Mark Casse.
Trained by Reade Baker, Tu Endie Wei is coming off a second-place finish here in the 1 1/16-mile Selene Stakes where she failed to contain the late run of Woodbine Oaks favorite Dixie Strike.
