ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A grand total of $3.5 million is up for grabs in the Grade 1 Canadian International, Grade 1 E.P. Taylor, and Grade 2 Nearctic, all to be run at Woodbine on Sunday.
No trainer or jockey has ever swept the three graded turf stakes, let alone in tandem, but trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Corey Nakatani will be attempting just that on Sunday with Relaxed Gesture, Cassydora, and Steel Light.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Electrocutionist, the favorite for Sunday's Grade 1 here at Woodbine, apparently thrives on a busy routine.
On Wednesday morning, with exercise rider Massimo Frazzetti in the irons, Electrocutionist completed three circuits of Woodbine's turf course.
With trainer Valdredo Valiani looking on, Electrocutionist walked, then jogged, then cantered for each separate trip around the course.
Trainer Bob Gorham and jockey Mary Doser each came away from the biggest day of the Great Lakes Downs meet with three Sire Stakes wins last Saturday. Gorham most likely wrapped up repeat Michigan horse of the year honors for Rockem Sockem, who scored a 13 1/4-length win in his division of the series under jockey Terry Houghton.
"Rockem's done for the season and will be on vacation until next year here," Gorham said Wednesday.
Trainer Robert Ringhoff and jockey Carlos Dominguez teamed for three consecutive victories on Tuesday's program at Finger Lakes, highlighted by a front-running win by the 5-year-old mare Ave's Princessa ($8.60) in the $20,800 Geneva Handicap.
Ringhoff and Dominguez also won the seventh race with the 4-year-old gelding Call the Lark ($21.40) and the ninth race with the 3-year-old gelding Misty Crusadertwo ($9.40).
Roberto Villafan may have lost his lead in the rider standings after serving a five-day suspension, but he made a strong return Sunday night, winning 4 of the first 8 races on the card.
Villafan scored aboard Buzz Cat ($4.60) in the second, Musicdemi ($10.60) in the fourth, Blackberry Sizzle ($3.80) in the fifth, and Foxy Knickers ($3.80) in the eighth to post his second four-bagger of the meet. Rodney Prescott, who scored his second four-win day of the meet last Wednesday, leads the standings, 46-39, over Villafan.
A pair of colts that sold for $42,000 each topped the yearling portion of a two-day sale at Louisiana Downs last Saturday and Sunday. The auction was put on by the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana.
The first colt went to Tony Agilar, who purchased a son of Gold Tribute from the consignment of J. Adcock and Neal McFadden. The horse is out of the mare Tortuga Band, who has produced stakes winners Tortuga Flats and Lightsnatcher.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - With the Breeders' Cup at Belmont still a week away, this Sunday's Canadian International Day at Woodbine will offer the racing world a welcome interlude.
The Grade 1, $2 million Canadian International, for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/2 miles on turf, and the Grade 1, $1 million E.P. Taylor, for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on turf, both offer record purses this year.
The purses for both races have been boosted significantly, with the Canadian International pot increased by $500,000 and the E.P. Taylor by $250,000.
Champions Hirapour and McDynamo head the field for the Grade 1, $200,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase on Saturday at Far Hills, N.J.
The richest race of the year for jumpers, the Steeplechase attracted only six entrants, a record low in the 14-year history of the event. Run at 2 5/8 miles over 14 fences, the Steeplechase is the main event of the seven-race card, which gets underway at 12:30 p.m.
Emerald Downs concluded its 10th season on Sunday with strong gains in handle and purse distribution.
On its live races, Emerald's all-sources average daily handle for its 101-day stand increased 16.5 percent, to $799,367, from its 90-day meet in 2004. Including wagers on imported simulcasts, the track recorded a total average daily handle of $1,380,732, up 11.2 percent from last year's average of $1,228,940.
ARCADIA, Calif. - There is more to racing than luck, but that is small consolation for bettors who have wagered on the fillies Vikki's Honor or The Wages of Sin.
Those two are the principal starters in the seventh-race feature Thursday at Santa Anita, and the winner of the mile turf allowance could the filly who steers clear of trouble. Last out, neither did.
The Wages of Sin was steadied and lost momentum twice, losing by a half-length in a race she might have won with a clean trip.
