FORT ERIE, Ontario – Jockey agent Jack Lauzon was all smiles following the seventh race at the Fort last Monday afternoon after watching his apprentice rider, 18-year-old Jeff Alderson, win his fourth career race and his first locally.
Last year, prior to getting his jockey’s license, Alderson and his father, former rider Tony Alderson, discussed the 2011 season and how it would be approached from a learning perspective.
POMONA, Calif. – California-bred and -based Acclamation will take his show on the road. Winner of three consecutive Grade 1’s and currently the top male in California, Acclamation may skip the fall meet at Santa Anita and run for a $1.5 million purse Oct. 16 at Woodbine in the Grade 1 Canadian International. In all likelihood, that would preclude running in the Breeders’ Cup.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There are still spots available for Sunday’s qualifying tournament for the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, which will be held in Las Vegas in January. If all 150 spots are filled, the winner of the tournament at Hastings will receive $10,800 and the first four finishers also will secure spots in the NHC, where first prize is expected to be $1 million.
Handle at the recently concluded Evangeline Downs season was down 9.42 percent from 2010, according to the audit division of the Louisiana Racing Commission. Total all-sources handle for the 89-day meeting that wrapped up last Saturday was $117,206,658, an average of $1,316,928 per card. Last year, Evangeline wagering on the same number of dates totaled $129,400,493.
Ontrack wagering at Evangeline showed an increase of less than 1 percent with $5,064,486 bet locally this season compared to $5,029,245 from a year ago.
Woodbourne didn’t get much respect when he ran in last year’s Woodbine Mile.
Claimed for $50,000 three starts earlier, Woodbourne had been coming into the Woodbine Mile off a close second-place finish in the With Approval, a 1 1/8-mile turf race restricted to Ontario-breds.
Woodbourne outran his 52-1 starting price in the Woodbine Mile, as he finished 2 3/4 lengths in third behind Court Vision, who will be looking to defend his title here Sunday.
Wigmore Hall, who is based in England with trainer Michael Bell, is just 4 years old but already has compiled an extensive travel r é sum é with two trips to Arlington Park, a two-race stint in Dubai, and one-offs in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Making his Canadian debut after finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Wigmore Hall flew in from Amsterdam along with Side Glance and Dance and Dance for Sunday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Northern Dancer at 1 1/2 miles on the turf course.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Bill Mott won the inaugural Woodbine Mile in 1997 with Geri. On Sunday, he will have his best chance since in the $1 million turf race when he saddles favored Courageous Cat in the 15th running of the successful prep for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile.
WOODBINE MILE: Video previews, get PPs, watch Sunday card live »
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Al Khali’s only trip to Woodbine, for last year’s Canadian International, was memorable for all the wrong reasons. He had a terrible trip in the lucrative Grade 1 stakes, and was arguably best while ending up a close fourth.
Al Khali returns for Sunday’s supporting feature on Woodbine Mile Day, the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf, and will try to end a drought in the 12-furlong marathon, which is worth a cool $500,000.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Side Glance and Dance and Dance both made their last starts in the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury on Aug. 11, traveled across the pond together, and will be racing outside England for the first time in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile.
And both Side Glance and Dance and Dance could play serious roles in the turf race for 3-year-olds and upward in which a field of 12 will vie for shares of $1 million.
Air Support, winner of the Virginia Derby in July, has been turned out for the remainder of the year, trainer Shug McGaughey said Thursday.
McGaughey shipped Air Support to Niall Brennan’s farm in Ocala, Fla., and will point him to a 4-year-old campaign that likely won’t begin until April.
“He just never seemed to bounce back out of his race in Virginia so I piddled with him and piddled with him and I could never got him the way I wanted him so I pulled the plug,’’ McGaughey said.
