January, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fort Erie: Again Pushed Back By COVID, Prince Of Wales Stakes Set For Sept. 14

The 86th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes is set to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 14, first race post time 1:00 p.m. The $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes is Fort Erie Race Track's signature event, for Canada's finest 3-year-old thoroughbreds running 1 mile and 3/16 on Fort Erie's dirt track.

The race is the second jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown, between the Queen's Plate (scheduled for Aug. 22), and the Breeders' Stakes, both held at Woodbine Racetrack.

For the second year in a row COVID-19 has pushed the race from its traditional date at the end of July to September. It is too early to predict if fans will be permitted to attend, or if COVID-19 will continue to impact attendance.

“This event is our most prestigious race at Fort Erie Race Track, and we are committed to running this historic race for the 86th year,” said Drew Cady, general manager of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium. “Although we were able to safely host a racing season last year, it wasn't the same without fans. We hope that in the upcoming season we will once again be able to open our grandstand to our loyal fans, especially for our signature day.”

In 2020, the one-eyed Mighty Heart was the Prince of Wales Stakes victor with jockey Daisuke Fukumoto. Trained by Josie Carroll for Lawrence Cordes, Mighty Heart captured the first two jewels of the crown but was defeated on the turf in the Breeders' Stakes. The last horse to win all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown was Wando in 2003.

Fort Erie Race Track's 2021 season is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, June 1 at a 4:00 p.m. post time, and will run primarily Mondays and Tuesdays through to October 19.

For more information about the upcoming season visit www.FortErieRacing.com.

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Safety Is The Top Priority? Despite Scrutiny, Los Alamitos Conducts Racing On Rain-Sodden Course

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times' John Cherwa found himself staring at the live feed from Los Alamitos “in horror” because of the sloppy track conditions on which the horses were running.

“The first few races were OK, and then the rains came and came and the track became sloppier and sloppier,” Cherwa wrote in his horse racing newsletter for the LA Times. “The horses on the short Quarter Horse sprints were clearly slipping and sliding and bumping into each other because they couldn't get traction.”

In the evening's seventh race, a 3-year-old named Gowdy fell coming out of the starting gate and dislodged his jockey. A statement from Los Al's marketing and publicity director Orlando Gutierrez explains that Gowdy “locked up from behind” at the start of the race, causing the fall, but that the horse had returned to his stall and “appears to be doing well.”

His jockey, Cruz Mendez, also seems to have escaped major injury since he returned to ride at Los Al on Sunday's card.

“Why were there horses racing on such an unmanageable track if safety is your top priority?” Cherwa questioned. “The stewards or the track superintendent have the right to suspend racing. In this case, it stopped raining by the eighth and final race. Could racing have been put on hold earlier while the bad weather passed?”

On July 10 last year, the California Horse Racing Board held an emergency meeting to discuss a rash of equine fatalities at Los Alamitos, resulting in a 10-day probationary period. Los Al produced a new plan for equine and rider safety which was approved by the board, including an entry review panel.

CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzales spoke out against Los Al's safety record (29 equine fatalities were reported during racing or training from Dec. 27, 2019 through 2020) at the CHRB's December meeting, encouraging his fellow commissioners to grant the track only a six-month license. That move prompted Los Al owner Ed Allred to threaten shutting down racing at the Cypress, Calif. track altogether.

The CHRB's January meeting saw the Los Al license reinstated at a full year, despite two additional equine fatalities recorded on Jan. 17. After the vote was handed down, Gonzales promised increased scrutiny of Los Al's horse safety record.

Equilateral to Remain in Dubai

Trainer Charlie Hills was very pleased with the recent performance of G1SP Equilateral (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) in the Listed Dubai Dash last Thursday, and the 6-year-old gelding will remain in Dubai for another tilt at the G2 Meydan Sprint on Feb. 18. In 2020, Equilateral ran second in the Sprint.

“I was really delighted with him,” said Hills. “Frankie [Dettori] gave him a great ride and it looked like he was always going to win the race. It's nice to have won the race twice now and he was 5lb worse off than last year. He seems to have come out of the race in great order and we'll train him for the Group 2.”

Another of Hills's pupils, the evergreen stable star Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), is wintering well and currently enjoying a holiday. The MG1SW is likely to make his first start in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June. Last term, the bay landed the King's Stand with Equilateral second.

“Battaash is still on his winter break,” he said. “He doesn't normally come in until the beginning of March. They all seem very happy with him. He's enjoying his hols at the moment.

“Last year he would probably have gone to Haydock [for the Temple S.] had that race been on. He's won first time out every year, so I think we'll just save him for Royal Ascot.”

Group 3 winner Tilsit (First Defence) is also being aimed at a Middle Eastern target, in his case the $20-million Saudi Cup on dirt and the Middle Distance Turf Cup both in Riyadh on Feb. 20.

“He's in those two races and we're looking at it,” he said. “Hopefully we'll run him. We'll see how he is in a couple of weeks.”

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Trainer Paul D’Arcy to Retire on Jan. 27

Paul D'Arcy, who trained Indian Haven (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) to win the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas in 2003, will saddle his final runner at Kempton on Wednesday. The soon-to-be 65-year-old will leg up John Egan on Knight of Kings (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) in the first race, a seven-furlong maiden over the all-weather. Egan was also aboard Indian Haven for his Classic score. A jockey prior to turning his hand to training, D'Arcy began training in 1993.

“I've no regrets, I turn 65 in February and always planned to step away then,” said D'Arcy. “The licence comes up for renewal on Feb. 1, so I don't see any point in renewing it for two weeks. We've been winding down for a while so we're down to five horses now. Those will now be going to John Butler, but I'll still be involved in a small way.”

Knight of Kings will be making his second start at Kempton after an eighth on debut at Wolverhampton on Dec. 27.

“There's no significance in me booking John for the last one, he rode that horse last time,” D'Arcy added. “Indian Haven was a very talented horse, he won the European Free Handicap and the Irish Guineas, but I still think he should have won the English Guineas.

“He was drawn on the fence at Newmarket when they decided to put the stalls against the rail. He just had nowhere to go. We never saw the best of him, he had a cecal dysfunction [form of colic] which was why he retired.

“We also had Edinburgh Knight (Ire) (Selkirk) who won the apprentice handicap on Champions Day, he was very talented, and of course there was Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) who was very good on his day. There's been lots of highlights.

“As we never had that many horses we got to know the horses personally, I can look back with pride. Whether we'll leave with a winner I don't know, It would be a dream if he did, but dreams don't tend to come true–I'm a realist. But racing is about dreams.”

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