September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pattison Canadian International An Oasis For Veteran Campaigner Desert Encounter

It's a race that always brings out the best in the son of Halling.

On Saturday at Woodbine, Desert Encounter will look to notch his third straight victory in the Grade 1, $600,000 Pattison Canadian International. Should he be successful, he would join Joshua Tree (2010, 2012, 2013) as the only three-time winners of the race.

Run over the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the race for three-year-olds and up has lured back the 2018 and 2019 champion.

After the worldwide pandemic caused the International to be postponed last year, the 1 ½-mile turf event, a race won by some of the greatest names in the sport, including the legendary Secretariat, is now back on track.

David Simcock, who trains Desert Encounter for Abdulla Al Mansoori, is hoping his 9-year-old veteran can conjure up some of his past Woodbine magic to get back into winning form.

The Irish-bred, whose last win came in the 2019 running of the International, has gone 15 races without a victory. The gelding has posted six runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds over that stretch.

In his most recent start, on Aug. 28 at Royal Windsor, Desert Encounter rallied to finish second in the 1 7/16-mile August Stakes.

“He seems in great order,” said Simcock. “I was really pleased with his last run at Windsor at the end of August and hopefully that sets him up for Saturday.”

After a fourth, second and third to launch his career, Desert Encounter reeled off four straight victories. From October of 2015 to July of 2017, he went 5-2-2 from nine engagements.

Bred by Tally-Ho Stud, he has assembled a 12-10-9 mark from 46 career starts.

What is Simock most proud of when it comes to his veteran campaigner?

“I think just his longevity and consistency is testament to him. He is a kind horse. He is very straightforward to deal with.”

Desert Encounter isn't the only one on his team that enjoys competing at Woodbine.

In 2014, Simock sent out Sheikhzayeroad to win the Grade 1 Northern Dancer, Trade Storm to take the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, and Caspar Netscher to capture the Grade 2 Nearctic.

“I have really enjoyed my trips to Woodbine, but I'm very happy to just let the horse do the talking,” he quipped.

This Saturday, Simcock hopes Desert Encounter speaks volumes about his affinity for the Canadian International.

Although it's been a long time in between drinks for the bay, the Woodbine turf has always been an oasis for the hard-knocking horse.

“The second half of the season is always when this horse comes into himself and the flat track with a good straight helps his style of running.”

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Battleground, Epaulette to Stand in Turkey

Group 2 winner Battleground (War Front–Found {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), a winner of the G2 Vintage S., has been purchased from Coolmore and will stand the 2022 breeding season at the Jockey Club of Turkey Stud Farms in Turkey. A fee will be announced later.

Also a winner of the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot, he crowned his juvenile season with a close second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Bred by Coolmore entity Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt, the son of G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Found ran third in the G1 St. James's Palace S., his best showing from three starts as a sophomore for the Coolmore partners and trainer Aidan O'Brien. From the same family as this year's standout G1 Cazoo Oaks, G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks and G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), his record stands at 7-2-1-1 and $289,722 in earnings.

Joining Battleground at the Jockey Club of Turkey Stud Farms next season is former Australian-based reverse-shuttle stallion Epaulette (Aus) (Commands {Aus}–Accessories {GB}, by Singspiel {Ire}). Purchased from Darley Australia, the bay won the G1 Golden Rose S. and G1 Doomben 10,000. At stud, he has left 15 black-type winners, among them Group 1 winners Red Lark (Ire), Soqrat (Aus).

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Will’s Secret Headlines Probables For Remington Park Oaks

Will's Secret, a Dallas Stewart-trained filly, headlines a field of likely runners in this year's Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, scheduled as a part of a multi-stakes day that includes the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.

Also on that Sunday, Sept. 26, the all-time winningest horse in Remington Park history, Welder is expected to go for his 28th career win all-time and his 17th victory in Oklahoma City in the $150,000 David M. Vance Stakes.

Will's Secret, a daughter of Will Take Charge, out of the Giant's Causeway mare Girls Secret, began the year by winning the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., for owner Willis Horton Racing. She followed that with a victory in the Grade 3, $300,000 Honeybee Stakes, also at Oaklawn. She raced in the biggest race of the year for 3-year-old fillies in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks on April 30 at Churchill Downs. Will's Secret finished a respectable third behind the top 3-year-old filly in the country – Malathaat. It was the second third-place finish for her behind that monster, also losing in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes.

Will's Secret was bred in Kentucky by her owner. Her lifetime record is 10 starts, three wins and four thirds for $536,300 in earnings. Her trainer, Stewart, has made a name for himself by finishing second in back-to-back Kentucky Derbies with longshots. He ran second to Orb in 2013 with 34-1 shot Golden Soul and then second to California Chrome in 2014 with Commanding Curve at 37-1.

Stewart also was in charge of a string of D. Wayne Lukas world-class runners that included Horse of the Year Lady's Secret, Kentucky Derby winners Winning Colors (1988) and Thunder Gulch (1995).

Also expected to make the trip to Remington Park for the Oaks is Moon Swag, a filly by Malibu Moon, out of the Put It Back mare Yara, trained by Brendan Walsh. Moon Swag's best race this year came in the Grade 3, $200,000 Indiana Oaks at Indiana Grand racetrack. She lost by only a neck in that race, finishing well ahead of Will's Secret.

Moon Swag was bred by Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky and is owned by Brad King, Jim Cone, Scott Bryant and Stan and Suzanne Kirby. She has won two of nine starts with one second and three thirds for $163,400 earned.

Another filly confirmed for the Oaks is Crazy Beautiful, a daughter of Liam's Map, out of an Indian Charlie mare, Indian Burn. She is trained by Kenny McPeek and owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred III. She was bred in Kentucky by Carolyn Vogel. This filly has won two of her last three starts and would come in from Saratoga where she last raced in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. She had won the Grade 2, $200,000 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita and the Grade 3, Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park. She took the Summertime Oaks by 1-3/4 lengths before blowing away a field at Delaware by six lengths. Among McPeek's superstar trainees have been Take Charge Lady, Swiss Skydiver and Harlan's Holiday. He has trained eight horses that have surpassed the $1 million mark in earnings and has conditioned horses that have won $91 million-plus in his career.

Crazy Beautiful has had 11 starts, five wins and three seconds for a bankroll of $709,865. She would be the top earner in the Remington Park Oaks should she enter.

Another with a graded stakes win on her resume expected for the Oaks is My Girl Red. Owned by Erich Brehm of Weatherford, Texas and trained by Steve Asmussen, My Girl Red won the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar as a 2-year-old in 2020.

A daughter of Texas Red from the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Morakami, My Girl Red has been searching for consistency most of 2021. She has just one win, in allowance company at Lone Star Park this summer. She started in a five-furlong sprint over the turf on the opening night of this Remington Park season, finishing last in a field of eight. The Remington Park Oaks would be just the second start on a main track, around two turns, for My Girl Red.

The Oklahoma Derby and Oaks headline a big stakes afternoon on the only Sunday scheduled during the Remington Park season. The total stakes card includes:

Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby
Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks
$150,000 David M. Vance Stakes
$100,000 Remington Green Stakes
$75,000 Ricks Memorial Stakes
$75,000 Kip Deville Stakes
$50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes
$50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes

Remington Park Stakes Coordinator Don Thompson says Keepinmind, Team Merchants, King Fury, Warrant and Fulsome are all possible starters for the Oklahoma Derby.

Racing continues this week with an eight-race card Thursday night and a pair of nine-race cards Friday and Saturday. First post time is 7:07 p.m. each night.

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Santa Anita Releases Winter/Spring Meet Stakes Schedule Highlighted By 10 Grade 1 Races

A comprehensive stakes schedule spanning six months will be keynoted by six graded stakes, three of them Grade 1 events, when Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet opens on Sunday, Dec. 26.

Three Grade 1, $300,000 stakes, the Runhappy Malibu, the La Brea and American Oaks, along with three Grade 2, $200,000 Stakes, the Mathis Brothers Mile, the San Antonio and the San Gabriel, will highlight a blockbuster opening day program that will begin at 12 noon PT.

Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet will run through June 19 and will include a total of 94 stakes, 59 of them graded, with 10 Grade 1 offerings including the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 9.

“We have added a significant amount of money to our stakes program along with some minor changes that I think trainers and owners, not only in California, but around the country, will appreciate,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. “We have a lot of positive momentum going in California right now and these enhancements to the stakes schedule add to it. We would like to thank our partners at the TOC for getting behind this to help make California racing all that it can and should be.”

America's longest continually run “hundred grander,” the Grade 1, $650,000 Santa Anita Handicap, which will be contested for the 85th time, along with the Grade 1, $500,000 Beholder Mile and the Grade 1, $500,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, will headline another tremendous card on March 5.

Along with those three Grade 1 stakes, one of the nation's most important Derby preps, the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe, the Grade 2, $200,000 Buena Vista and the Grade 2, $200,000 San Carlos Stakes will all be run on March 5 as well.

The Santa Anita Derby, which has now produced 20 winners of the Kentucky Derby, will be complemented by the Grade 2, $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks and a pair of $150,000 California-bred stakes, the Echo Eddie and the Evening Jewel, on April 9.

Three Grade 1 stakes, the $400,000 Gamely, the $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup and the $500,000 Shoemaker Mile, will highlight a festive Memorial Day card on May 30 as the Winter/Spring meet “turns for home,” with three racing weeks remaining.

Closing weekend, June 18 and 19, will offer a wide variety of six stakes, with a pair of $100,000 sprints for 2-year-olds, the Fasig-Tipton Futurity and Fasig Tipton Debutante being run on June 18 along with the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Maria for fillies and mares.

On closing day, June 19, the iconic Grade 3, $125,000 San Juan Capistrano, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and three quarters on turf, along with the Grade 3, $100,000 American at one mile on grass and the $100,000 Possibly Perfect, at a mile and one half on turf, figure to bring a dynamic ending to the meet.

For additional information, including Santa Anita's complete 2021-22 Winter/Spring Stakes Schedule, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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