Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Grooms Derby can upset

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Make Contact figures to be a heavy favorite over seven other fillies and mares in the $35,000 Brighouse Belles at Hastings Park on Saturday afternoon. The 1 1/16-miles feature also attracted last year's British Columbia Oaks winner, Grooms Derby.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Always a Dixie's trainer born for success

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Given her bloodlines, it's not surprising that trainer Barbara Heads, who has entered Always a Dixie in the Brighouse Belles Saturday, is having a successful year with the small stable she trains.

Heads is a daughter of Robert G. "Cy" Anderson, who was consistently among the leading trainers at Hastings Park in the 1970's and '80's. Robert Anderson led all trainers with wins here in 1976 and 1977 and tied with George Cummins for the title in 1984.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Fancy As choice in Derby

CALGARY, Alberta - Fancy As seeks his eighth consecutive victory when he faces four rivals in Saturday's Grade 3 Alberta Derby.

A Manitoba-bred gelding, Fancy As won his last four starts last year on his way to an Alberta championship and has dominated the local 3-year-olds this spring in three preps on his march toward the $100,000 Alberta Derby.

The Derby has been the goal of trainer R.K. "Red" Smith from the first day of training, and Fancy As comes into the 1 1/16-mile race at the top of his game.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Lover of horses finds his metier

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Philip Sutton, who is in his second year of training at Fort Erie, was 9 years old when he chose the path he would follow in life. From a book of names he discovered that Philip meant "lover of horses."

Born a Sagittarian in Montreal, Dec. 11, 1966 - the Year of the Horse - it seemed natural for him to have his parents take him to a riding school. The parents, who emigrated from England in 1965, had never before had anything to do with horses.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Matron features two champions

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sunday's Ontario Matron will feature a clash of the two most recent Canadian 3-year-old filly champions.

Catch the Ring, the Sovereign Award winner for the division last year, and Gandria, voted best of the set in 1999, will meet for the first time in the $110,500 Matron.

Owned by Sam-Son Farm, Catch the Ring won the allowance prep for the Matron in her local 2001 debut. She will run in an entry with Mountain Angel, forming the same team that finished 1-2 in last year's Canadian Oaks.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Ceetoit vs. Sidekick: Speed duel

AUBURN, Wash. - Ceetoit and Sidekick should stage a memorable battle in Friday's one-mile feature at Emerald Downs, a $16,000 to $14,000 claiming race with a compact field of five.

Both the 6-year-old Ceetoit and the 4-year-old Sidekick are racing in sharp form, and both have thoroughly established their liking for the Emerald Downs surface and the mile distance. Most significantly, both have a decided preference for racing on the lead, and neither is likely to concede the role of pacesetter to the other.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Kid Copper skipping Derby run

CALGARY, Alberta - Trainer Dale Greenwood had serious thoughts about running Kid Copper in Saturday's Alberta Derby but has opted for a much easier spot in a one-mile optional claimer that runs as the seventh race at Stampede Park on Friday.

The lure of the $100,000 Alberta Derby was strong, but the prospect of a short field and an $18,100 purse swayed Greenwood in this direction.

Kid Copper, a Kentucky-bred son of Leo Castelli, has come to hand this spring under patient handling and will be making his fourth start of the meet.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Captain Stave draws rail in Foster

Captain Steve, the 123-pound highweight in a field of eight going to post in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Handicap, drew the rail and will be ridden by Jerry Bailey in Saturday's $750,000 feature race at 1 1/8-miles at Churchill Downs.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

Fleur de Lis tops Foster undercard

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Carl Bowman would just love to return to Delaware Park with a top contender after winning the Delaware Handicap last year with Lu Ravi. But first, Bowman needs a horse to take him there.

On Saturday, when he saddles the enigmatic filly Maltese Superb in a tough renewal of the $300,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap, Bowman probably will be able to determine whether a return trip is in store. "It might be a good spot," he said.

Thu, 06/14/2001 - 00:00

OTB's seek trade-off in N.Y.

NEW YORK - New York offtrack betting companies are lobbying to be allowed to take additional simulcasts during the winter as a trade-off for their support of legislation that would lower the takeout for horseplayers in New York.