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Wonder Gadot Voted Canadian Horse Of The Year

The Jockey Club of Canada hosted the 44th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at Vaughan's elegant Chateau Le Jardin.

The top three finalists in each category are determined by the online ballots of the Jockey Club of Canada's knowledgeable voters. The media category award finalists were determined by the Professors of Humber School of Media Studies and Information Technology, in Toronto, Ontario.

The Jockey Club of Canada is pleased to announce the 2018 Sovereign Award winners in the order in which they were presented.

(Media) Outstanding Photograph:

Santino Di Paola – Into the Turn
Published, ontarioracing.com

(Media) Outstanding Writing:

Hayley Morrison – Hail to the War Horses
Published, Canadian Thoroughbred Magazine, February 2018

(Media) Outstanding Digital Audio/Visual & Broadcast:

Horse Racing Radio Network – 159th Queen's Plate
Published, horseracingradio.net

The Jockey Club of Canada Scholarship Award: Bobby Mihalik

Bobby Mihalik earned the inaugural award at the School of Media Studies and Information Technology, Humber Institute of Advanced Technology and Advanced Learning.
Mihalik's lifelong passion for writing is driven by the enjoyment of learning about editing for both print and online. He shared that his time as editor-in-chief of his class's summer newsroom “was also enjoyable for me as it helped develop both my editing and proofreading skills, as well as how to effectively manage others.”

Outstanding Groom Award: Amanda Erwin

Amanda has been working on the racetrack since she was 10-years-old on the backstretch with her father, trainer Dennis Erwin, walking hots and learning about grooming. She was a teenager when she moved to the stable of successful trainer Mike Keogh, whom she continues to work for today.
During her career, Amanda groomed Canadian stars such as the 2003 Horse of the Year Wando, who became the seventh Canadian Triple Crown winner since the series was inaugurated in 1959. She also cared for the 1999 Queen's Plate winner and Champion 3-year-old Woodcarver. “There is something so special about seeing a racehorse from a young age and watching them develop,” said Erwin. “I strive to keep the horses happy, calm and enjoy their job.”

Outstanding Handicapper: Nick Noce

Nick Noce has always been fond of Woodbine. On July 21, 2018 he finished first of 106 entries in Woodbine's Mid-Summer Horseplayers Tournament. “I just love Woodbine. I don't usually miss one of their tournaments,” said Noce, who first began playing contests at Penn National in the 1990s.

Nick has always been a racing fan, and the Rochester, New York resident has also worked in the industry for 25 years. He started out at Western Regional Off-Track Betting selling pari-mutuel tickets to Western New York State horseplayers, and eventually worked his way up to Chief Financial Officer.

No longer working in the industry Nick, a self-professed “weekend warrior”, still looks for any opportunity to spend a day playing the races.
E. P. Taylor Award of Merit: Gustav Schickedanz

Arriving in Canada at the age of 21, Gustav (Gus) Schickedanz built a successful career in land development as a bricklayer and stonemason.

Gus first purchased Canadian-bred yearlings at auction in the 1970s and prepared them to race at his Schonberg Farm in Nobleton, ON. In a matter of years he achieved his first stakes win with Victorious Answer, who also became his foundation broodmare.

Gus' successful homebred Langfuhr, was a multiple graded stakes winner and the 1996 Champion Male Sprinter. As a sire, Langfuhr produced six champions including Wando, the seventh winner of the Canadian Triple Crown and 2003 Horse of the Year and Woodcarver, Champion Three-Year-Old Male and winner of the 1999 Queen's Plate.

Gus has bred multiple graded stakes winners including Gal In A Ruckus the only Canadian bred to win the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks Stakes and Jambalaya, the only Canadian bred to win the Grade 1 Arlington Million Handicap. Gus has also won multiple Sovereign Awards as an owner and breeder and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.

Outstanding Broodmare: In Return

Horse Chestnut (Saf) – Bartered Bride, by Shadeed
Progeny Earnings $1,953,593
Owner: Ivan Dalos
Breeder: Tall Oaks Farm

The late In Return was a winner on the track and a true gem in her breeding career. Her sons Channel Maker and Johnny Bear are both champions and Grade 1 winners. Channel Maker, 2017 Champion Three-Year-Old, won the 2018 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga. Johnny Bear won the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes in 2018 for the second consecutive year and is the 2017 Champion Turf Male.
In Return (101), Loving Vindication (86), Avie's Empire (28)

Outstanding Apprentice Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Starts (663); Wins (104); Seconds (84); Thirds (84)
Earnings $2,451,326; Stakes win 1

It has been more than a decade since Canadian racing has had an apprentice jockey as dominant as Kazushi Kimura was in 2018. He learned to ride when he was just six-years-old at his parents training centre in Japan and polished his riding skills before arriving at Woodbine in 2018, winning his first race in June of that year. Other career highlights came with his first stakes victory in the Muskoka Stakes as well as, winning five races in one day on October 12th.
Kazushi Kimura (157), Daisuke Fukumoto (75), Lenny A. Seecharan (28)

Champion Older Male: Mr Havercamp

DK. B. or B. g. 4 / Sire: Court Vision / Dam: Tennessee Lamb (Medaglia d'Oro)
Trainer: Catherine Day Phillips
Owner: Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry
Breeder: Sean Fitzhenry
2018: 6 Starts – 3 wins – 1 seconds – 0 third – $513,500
Winner: Autumn S. (G2), Play the King S. (G2), Steady Growth S.

Mr Havercamp (123), Pink Lloyd (49), Tiz a Slam (38)

Champion Older Female: Escape Clause

B. f. 4 / Sire: Going Commando / Dam: Danger Pay (Circulating)
Trainer: Don Schnell
Owner: Don Schnell, Barry Arnason and True North
Breeder: Cam Ziprick & Arnason Farms
2018: 13 Starts – 9 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds – $265,419
Winner: Kathryn Crosby S., CTHS Sales S., Lynn Chouinard Founders Distaff H., Manitoba Matron S., City of Edmonton Distaff H., Distaff S., Winnipeg Sun S., Allowance Optional Claiming, La Verendrye S.

Escape Clause (102), Gamble's Ghost (81), Starship Jubilee (45)

Outstanding Trainer: Mark Casse

Starts (Can) 517; Wins (106); Seconds (81); Thirds (74)
Earnings $5,812,969; Stakes wins 22

A 10-time winner of this award, Mark Casse had another blockbuster season in 2018 with 106 Canadian winners and an incredible 22 stakes wins. Wonder Gadot stood at the top of her game winning the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown. Casse completed the series with Neepawa's win the Breeder's Stakes. Also, among Casse's stakes winners is Lookin to Strike and Shamrock Rose, the winner of the La Lorgnette Stakes who went on to win the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Mark Casse (134), Norman McKnight (70), Kevin Attard (29)

Champion Male Turf Horse: Mr Havercamp

Mr Havercamp (126), Johnny Bear (75), Tiz a Slam (61)

Champion Female Turf Horse: Starship Jubilee

B. f. 4 / Sire: Indy Wind / Dam: Perfectly Wild (Forest Wildcat)
Trainer: Kevin Attard
Owner: Blue Heaven Farm
Breeder: William P. Sorren
2018: 8 Starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 third – $319,400
Winner: Canadian S. (G2), Starter Optional Claiming, Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf S.

Starship Jubilee (143), Niigon's Eclipse (37), Dixie Moon (32)

Outstanding Breeder: Tall Oaks Farm

Starters 48; Winners 27
Earnings $2,957,008
Starts (280); Wins (49); Seconds (32); Thirds (31)

A three-time finalist in this category, Tall Oaks Farm, owned by Ivan Dalos had another stellar season with nine stakes horses and five are 2018 Sovereign Award finalists. Dalos, bred two Grade 1 winners, Channel Maker winner of the 2018 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Invitational and Johnny Bear, the winner of the 2017 and 2018 Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes. Tall Oaks Farm campaigned homebreds Avie's Flatter, Avie's Mineshaft and Gamble's Ghost in 2018.

Tall Oaks Farm (85), Adena Springs (64), Chiefswood Stables Limited (60)

Champion Two-Year-Old Male: Avie's Flatter

B. c. 2 / Sire: Flatter / Dam: Avie's Empire (Empire Maker)
Trainer: Josie Carroll
Owner: Ivan Dalos
Breeder: Tall Oaks Farm
2018: 4 Starts – 3 wins – 0 second – 0 third – $328,800
Winner: Coronation Futurity S., Cup and Saucer S., MSW

Avie's Flatter (143), Solidify (59), War of Will (50)

Champion Two-Year-Old Female: Bold Script

GR/RO. f. 2 / Sire: Speightstown / Dam: Original Script (Malibu Moon)
Trainer: Stuart Simon
Owner: Chiefswood Stables
Breeder: Chiefswood Stables Limited
2018: 5 Starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds – $267,000
Winner: Princess Elizabeth S., MSW

Bold Script (93), My Gal Betty (86), Tiz Breathtaking (69)

Outstanding Jockey: Eurico Rosa Da Silva

Starts (Can) (856); Wins (237); Seconds (173); Thirds (119)
Earnings $8,345,386; Stakes wins 29

With a record-breaking season in 2018, he won his fourth consecutive Woodbine riding title and reached a career milestone winning his 2,000th race in September. Da Silva finished the season with 237 wins beating the previous record of 221 wins set in 1991. Among Da Silva's racing stars is Sovereign Award finalists Avie's Flatter, Pink Lloyd and Dixie Moon winner of the 2018 Woodbine Oaks.

Eurico Rosa Da Silva (160), Rafael Hernandez (50), Luis Contreras (30)

Champion Male Sprinter: Pink Lloyd

Ch. g. 6 / Sire: Old Forester / Dam: Gladiator Queen (Great Gladiator)
Trainer: Robert P. Tiller
Owner: Entourage Stable
Breeder: John Carey
2018: 8 Starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third – $385,750
Winner: Kenora S., Vigil S. (G3), Achievement S., New Providence S., Jacques Cartier S.

Pink Lloyd (123), Yorkton (57), Ikerrin Road (49)

Champion Female Sprinter: Moonlit Promise

B. m. 5, by Malibu Moon – Smart Surprise (Smart Strike)
Trainer: Josie Carroll
Owner: Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. (J. G. Sikura) and Windsor Boys Racing
Breeder: Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc.
2018: 9 Starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds – $226,563
Winner: Bessarabian S. (G2), Sweet Briar Too S.

Moonlit Promise (112), Code Warrior (54), Escape Clause (43)

Outstanding Owner: Chiefswood Stables Limited

Starts (146); Wins (31); Seconds (23); Thirds (25)
Earnings $2,586,506 Stakes wins 6

Winner of this award in 2017, Robert and Mark Krembil and their Chiefswood Stables had their most successful season to date in 2018. Surpassing their 2017 purse earnings by over $300,000, with six stakes wins, they finished on top of the owner's standings at Woodbine by earnings. Chiefswood Stables and their five stakes winners were all up for 2018 Sovereign Awards including Bold Script 2018 Champion Two-Year-Old Female, Neepawa, Niigon's Eclipse, Yorkton and multiple graded stakes winner Tiz a Slam.

Chiefswood Stables (100), Ivan Dalos (56), Gary Barber (53)

E. P. Taylor Award of Merit: William D. Graham

Bill became hooked on horse racing after his honeymoon trip to Gulfstream Park with his late wife Valerie. Destined for success, Bill set out to purchase top class fillies. His early acquisitions were yearlings that went on to become talented racehorses and successful broodmares. For close to 50 years in the industry, Bill built Windhaven Farms in Caledon, ON and Lexington, KY, into one of the most respected and successful breeding operations in North America.

Winning his first Sovereign Award in 1989, Bill continued his success with the 2012 Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder. Over the years, Bill owned and bred multiple champions including Conquest Harlanate and Uncaptured.

Bill was involved in many industry organizations over the years and was the founder of the Canadian company, Graham Brothers Construction, the builders of Woodbine's E. P. Taylor Turf Course. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2014.

Bill Graham passed away on January 15, 2019 at the age of 81 and is dearly missed by his family, friends and the North American Thoroughbred community.

Champion Three-Year-Old Male: Sky Promise

B. c. 3 / Sire: Sky Mesa / Dam: Maddie's Promise (Dehere)
Trainer: Robertino Diodoro
Owner: Rick Wiest, Clayton Wiest, R 6 Stable and Norman Tremblay
Breeder: Normandy Farm LLC
2018: 11 Starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 third – $280,714
Winner: British Columbia Derby (G3), Canadian Derby (G3), Manitoba Derby

Sky Promise (111), Lookin to Strike (55), Neepawa (33)

Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Wonder Gadot

DK. B or B. f. 3 / Sire: Medaglia d'Oro / Dam: Loving Vindication (Vindication)
Trainer: Mark Casse
Owner: Gary Barber
Breeder: Anderson Farms Ont. Inc.
2018: 11 Starts – 2 wins – 4 seconds – 3 thirds – $1,403,200
Winner: Prince of Wales S., Queen's Plate S.

Wonder Gadot (160), Dixie Moon (75), Here's Hannah (19)

Horse of The Year: Wonder Gadot

Wonder Gadot (136), Pink Lloyd (30), Mr Havercamp (30), Escape Clause (24)

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Maven Becomes First North American Winner For American Pharoah

Triple Crown winner American Pharoah recorded his first winner in North America when Richard Ravin's Maven took the Friday opener at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Wesley Ward trainee, sent to post as the odds-on favorite in the 4 1/2-furlong maiden sprint, went straight to the lead under jockey Dylan Davis. The chestnut colt marked the opening quarter-mile in 22.55 seconds and the half-mile 46.10 under pressure from Lebda.

At the top of the stretch, Maven was confronted by Lebda but the chestnut comfortably kept his foe at bay to graduate first out, winning by a half-length in a final running time of 52.82 over a main track labeled fast.

“It's definitely big for breeding in North America,” Davis said. “A big thank you to Wesley Ward for continuing to use me. He's had a big impact on my career as a bug boy and continues to do so.

“With the horse being by American Pharoah, everyone expects a lot and he ran really well,” continued Davis. “I was jogging and galloping him in the mornings, so I got a good feel for him. A huge thanks to the connections, I'm sure they're looking for bigger and better things.”

Ward sent out filly Tesorina, American Pharoah's first starter in North America on Wednesday afternoon at Aqueduct, to a third-place finish.

Ward was ecstatic following Maven's triumph and said that American Pharoah's first North American winner will target the Group 2 Norfolk at Royal Ascot on June 20.

“I'm getting texts from everyone watching the race,” Ward said. “It's fantastic for racing, for Coolmore, for owner Richard Ravin and most importantly, for me. What I see is that he's going to be a good sire. The dam [Richies Party Girl] was a turf sprinter and I think this one is going to be a turf sprinter as well. He's had outstanding works over the Polytrack at Turfway which translates to turf. We'll run him in the Norfolk at Royal Ascot and hopefully we can put American Pharoah on the big scale as a sire.”

The 2015 Triple Crown winner's first overall starter was Peter Brant's Monarch of Egypt who graduated at first asking at Naas Racecourse in Ireland for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

Bred in Kentucky by Ward, Maven is the first progeny out of three-time turf stakes winning Any Given Saturday broodmare Richies Party Girl.

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Kissing Spines: A Manageable Disease, With The Right Treatment Program

The horse's spine is very different from a human's. Each vertebra has a fin-like projection called a spinous process that extends upward from the spine. The spinous processes form the horse's withers and back, and to them are attached thick ligaments and muscles. When two or more of these spinous processes are too close together, they may touch, which results in severe back pain from arthritic changes, inflammation, and even microfractures. These impinging spinous processes are called kissing spines.

A horse with kissing spines will be reluctant to flex its back, so it will not use its body to its fullest extent. It will tend to alter its posture and way of going to compensate, which creates imbalances that put undue strain on certain muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons. The horse may refuse to perform certain functions that cause acute pain. If the rider isn't astute, he or she may attribute the changes in the horse to a leg problem or a behavioral issue.

Genevieve Faith and Catherine Hazelroth have horses with kissing spines. Faith's horse is a three-day eventing mare, Maggie, an unraced Thoroughbred, and Hazelroth's horse Stretch is a cutting Quarter Horse. Both women are clients of Dr. Tracy Turner, a board-certified surgeon in the Minneapolis area who, in 2011, completed a large, eight-year study of horses with kissing spines.

Unusual Symptoms

Faith brought Maggie to Turner when she was concerned the then-5-year-old wasn't maximizing her stride, reaching with her shoulders, or pushing off her stifles. Any engagement of Maggie's back muscles elicited pain.

“She overstressed her back muscles a lot, and her hind gluteal muscles were overstrained by working to compensate to get the pressure off her back,” Faith recalled. “If it is sore somewhere, a horse is going to work other muscles harder essentially to make it less painful. Whereas, with a leg lameness, you usually can see it somewhere throughout the leg itself.”

Hazelroth, a veterinary technician, bought Stretch as a 6-year-old from a Texas ranch. The sellers advised her that he had a history of problems with his hock, stifle, and trochanteric bursa (“whorlbone”), which would need to be injected regularly.

After taking Stretch back to Minnesota, Hazelroth tried to cope with his unusual quirks.

“He had really odd reactions during riding that I had not experienced before on other horses with healthy backs, like he was trying to run away from pain,” she said. “He had a weird flight response that didn't correspond with what I was asking him to do.

“The horse would hit a stop in front of a cow. Then, instead of turning with the cow like he was trained to do and his natural instinct is to do, he would just run forward out of his stop instead of rolling back through his turn.”

Hazelroth was puzzled when she pushed Stretch toward a cow and he would hollow his back and do a “dolphin” motion—pushing off with both hindlegs instead of using his hind end properly. Stretch wanted to keep his head up in the air and resisted when she took hold of him.

Trainers told Hazelroth her horse was hock sore because he didn't put weight on his hind end, or they said he was stubborn and advised her to get after him, ride him harder, put a bigger bit on him. But she wasn't buying it, so she turned to Turner, her boss for six years. Turner was amidst his large study of horses with kissing spines, so he quickly recognized Stretch was experiencing back pain. X-rays of the horse's spine confirmed his suspicion.

Menu of Treatments

Turner began each horse's treatment with shockwave therapy, one session a month for three months. Shockwave provides pain relief when applied to the location of the kissing spines and the muscles it affects. With less pain, the horses became willing to participate in a prescribed exercise program, designed for the individual horse's specific needs.

For Hazelroth's cutting horse, Turner added mesotherapy, a technique of multiple (720) injections of an anti-inflammatory solution into the skin, starting at the withers and proceeding over the back and croup. Some veterinarians use injections deep into the affected muscles. Because Stretch primarily was exhibiting nerve pain, Turner suggested that Hazelroth get him a magnetic blanket. She additionally bought a Back on Track blanket, which provides soothing, dry heat.

“The combination of everything we did really helped Stretch to loosen up that back and carry himself in a different way,” Hazelroth said. “He lost a lot of the tension in his back and learned how to carry himself for the first time in his life in a little bit more of a dressage frame, which kept his back and his stifles a lot happier.”

A radiograph from the start of Maggie's treatment shows where she had vertebrae touching

Kissing spines is characterized as Grades 1 through 5, with 5 being the worst. Faith's mare has Grade 4 kissing spines, or “severe overriding,” which makes it virtually impossible to insert a needle to inject the spinous processes. Turner instead administered Osphos, a bisphosphonate, with good results. Maggie gets Osphos every six months as pain management.

Faith enlists a chiropractor before eventing season begins to assure Maggie is in alignment for competition, and Maggie gets regular massage therapy throughout the season to assure she is comfortable while competing.

Owner-Friendly Maintenance

Horses with kissing spines need lifetime maintenance and possibly management changes, depending on the individual horse.

“Maintenance is really an owner-friendly program, which, of course, makes it easier to follow,” Hazelroth said. “Mesotherapy and shockwave treatments only take maybe a total of 30 minutes combined. In terms of riding him differently, I'd say that came pretty easy for him once he started feeling better. The blankets and such were an easy at-home management program. Put the magnetic blanket on for two hours while he was eating dinner with a fan on him so he wouldn't overheat, then swap that out and put the Back on Track blanket on overnight.”

Faith has a custom-fit saddle for Maggie, and she has to ensure the mare maintains good weight. Faith doesn't allow Maggie to get long breaks because if she starts to lose muscle along her spine, she gets back sore, which sets her back to square one, needing 12 weeks to get her fit again.

“You don't want them to have an injury, so if you can make them strong, you can protect that back,” she said.

Stretch returned to competition and was successful in cutting horse shows until he retired at age 17. For the past two years, he's been an energetic trail horse who likes to cruise at a brisk trot, Hazelroth said.

Maggie also returned to the show ring, doing well while competing in FEI three-day events that consist of dressage, stadium jumping, and cross-country.

“She's fantastic. She loves competition,” Faith said. “Dressage is our weakest phase, and I attribute a lot of that to the kissing spines.”

Faith added that owners of horses with kissing spines should be encouraged.

“It is quite manageable as long as you go through the options, because each horse responds differently,” she said.

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Paco Lopez Suspended 60 Racing Days For ‘Continuous Careless Riding’

Jockey Paco Lopez has been suspended 60 racing days for what Gulfstream Park steward Stephen DiMauro called “continuous careless riding” in Sunday's 11th race at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track aboard Itsmyluckycharm for trainer Edward J. Plesa Jr. Itsmyluckycharm finished first by 1 1/2 lengths as the even-money favorite in the 7 1/2-furlong turf contest but was disqualified and placed 10th for interference.

The suspension comes just over two months after Lopez received a 30-day ban for his role in a Jan. 31 spill that injured two riders, Romero Maragh and Carlos Montalvo. Maragh underwent spinal surgery as a result of the Jan. 31 incident and Montalvo suffered an ankle fracture. Both jockeys remain sidelined.

In the April 14 disqualification, the Equibase chart footnotes state that Itsmyluckycharm “lacked racing room along far turn, continued without clear path, then forced way out and bumped Let's Go Baby out of way entering stretch.” Let's Go Baby finished ninth.

“The 60 days was based on continuous careless riding after each time he was either called in, reprimanded or given a suspension,” said DiMauro. “Suspensions increased and his careless riding continued. So we increased it to our maximum penalty.”

DiMauro said Lopez has 72 hours to appeal the suspension, after which the effective dates will be assigned. The 60 racing days equates to roughly a 12-week suspension, based on Florida's five-day weekly racing schedule. The length of the suspension would be the same in other states as it is based on Gulfstream Park's schedule.

Lopez is the leading rider at the current Gulfstream Park meet, winning 13 races from 48 mounts, including four winners on Thursday after receiving news of his suspension.

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