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Canadian Classic Winners Velocitor, Touch’n Ride Face Off In Saturday’s Ontario Derby

OLG Canadian Triple Crown jewel winners Velocitor and Touch'n Ride are set to compete in the $150,000 Grade 3 Ontario Derby on Saturday at Woodbine.

The Grade 3 Ontario Derby for 3-year-olds is run at a mile and an eighth on the Tapeta. Saturday's contest has attracted a field of 10.

Kevin Attard trainee Velocitor will make his return to the track after winning the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie Race Track on September 12.

“Velocitor has been doing well since his Prince of Wales win,” said Attard to Woodbine Communications. “He's had a few easy breezes since and has been feeling very good about himself.”

Owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, Velocitor has a record of 4-1-1 from 10 starts. The son of Mor Spirit won the Coronation Futurity last November and ran fourth in The King's Plate ahead of his Prince of Wales win.

Twin City, Cool Kiss, Stanley House and Twowaycrossing join Velocitor and Touch'n Ride as horses racing in Saturday's Grade 3 Ontario Derby that competed in a leg of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. All six horses raced in two of the three legs of the Triple Crown.

Layne Giliforte trainee Touch'n Ride won the mile and a half Breeders' Stakes over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course on October 1. Twowaycrossing is the only other starter in Saturday's Ontario Derby that ran in the Breeders'.

Attard is looking forward to sending Velocitor out in Saturday's race against some familiar Canadian bred rivals plus new opponents, including the Mark Casse trained fillies Forever Dixie and Solo Album.

“The cut back to nine furlongs should be to his liking. It's a very competitive field and should set up to be an exciting horse race.”

With seasonal temperatures expected Saturday, Velocitor is a proven winner in cooler temperatures after winning last year's Coronation Futurity.

“Definitely some horses enjoy the cooler weather, (Velocitor) obviously won in the fall as a juvenile, but at the same token I didn't ever think that the heat was an issue for him in the summer months or effected his performance”, said Attard. “I think since gelding him he's just gotten more focused and has steadily improved to get back to the type of horse we were hoping he would turn out to be.”

Justin Stein has the assignment again aboard Velocitor in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby. Stein and Attard are both seeking their first Ontario Derby victories.

The lightly raced Touch'n Ride enters with a record of 2-0-1 from 4 starts for owner/breeder Chiefswood Stables Limited. Jockey Kazushi Kimura will once again ride and is seeking his fourth consecutive victory in the Ontario Derby.

Chiefswood last won the Ontario Derby with Tiz a Slam in 2017.

The Ontario Derby will be Saturday's ninth race. First post time is 1:15 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com, bet365, and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$150,000 ONTARIO DERBY (GRADE 3)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Souper Blessing – Willie Martinez – Michael Trombetta

2 – American Blaze – Ryan Munger – Riley Rycroft

3 – Twin City – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Stuart Simon

4 – Cool Kiss – Louis Contreras – Michael De Paulo

5 – Stanley House – Rafael Hernandez – Michael De Paulo

6 – Velocitor- Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

7 – Touch'n Ride – Kazushi Kimura – Layne Giliforte

8 – Forever Dixie – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

9 – Twowaycrossing – Keveh Nicholls – Rodger Attfield

10 – Solo Album – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse

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GISW Played Hard Retired

Rigney Racing's Played Hard (Into Mischief–Well Lived, by Tiznow), winner of the GI La Troienne S. in May, has been retired from racing, trainer Phil Bauer confirmed the news first reported in Blood-Horse Thursday.

“She had a summer that just nothing bounced her way,” Bauer said. “We took her to Saratoga and missed the Shuvee with illness. We planned on bringing her back to Churchill, but in her last breeze up there, she got an injury in her right hind ankle. So we had the discussion with Mr. [Richard] Rigney that she owed us nothing. It was something she could rehab from, but she's a Grade I-winning millionare, to skip a breeding season and try to bring her back, we didn't think she owed us that much. She's going to join [Rigney's] broodmare band and hopefully produce more like her.”

A $280,000 Keeneland September purchase, Played Hard was second in the 2021 GIII Comely S. and earned her first graded victory in the 2022 GIII Locust Grove S. She was third in last year's GI Juddmonte Spinster S. and ended the campaign with a win in the GIII Falls City S.

Played Hard gave Bauer his first top-level victory when winning the La Troienne at his hometown track in May and made her final start when third in the June 10 GI Ogden Phipps S.

“It is bittersweet,” Bauer said of the 5-year-old mare's retirement. “We had such high hopes for her to finish out the year, but we went to the farm to look at her the other day. They brought her out and it just brought back a lot of emotions and happiness. Hopefully we will find another one to repeat it.”

On the board in 14 of 16 starts, Played Hard won six times and earned $1,480,140.

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HIWU Lifts Two Metformin Suspensions After Laboratories Found To Have Applied Different Limits Of Detection

As part of the ongoing process to update the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules based on feedback from horsemen, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) conducted an internal review of the Limit of Detection in blood for metformin at its six accredited laboratories. Metformin is a banned substance and a commonly used prescription drug that treats diabetes.

Following this review, which was conducted in collaboration with the laboratories, it was determined that not all applied the same Limit of Detection in analyzing samples for the presence of metformin. HIWU has since met with all six laboratories to establish an updated, uniform Limit of Detection.

To preserve fairness in the adjudication of all reported Adverse Analytical Findings, i.e., positive test results, HIWU has lifted the Provisional Suspensions and will be withdrawing the Equine Anti-Doping Charge letters from trainers Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo and Javier Morzan due to their Covered Horses testing positive for Metformin at levels in blood that would not have been reported as Adverse Analytical Findings under the updated Limit of Detection.

Javier Morzan trainee Lady Liv tested positive for metformin after finishing third in a starter optional claiming race at Delaware Park on June 24; Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo trianee Quinton's Charmer tested positive for metformin on June 11, 2023 (the New Mexico Racing Commission's Izzy Trejo confirmed that the positive test was incurred after a work before the state veterinarian in an attempt to remove Quinton's Charmer from the vet's list).

All laboratories contracted with HIWU to test samples in the United States are accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium. The HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory Accreditation standards are currently in development, and HIWU expects that the transition will continue through 2024. Presently, there are efforts to harmonize testing sensitivity across the laboratories through an external quality assurance program that includes single- and double-blind quality assurance samples and a passed sample exchange program. Additionally, substances will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all laboratories contracted by HIWU report uniform results for the same substances present at the same levels in different samples.

The review of and update to Metformin's Limit of Detection in blood represents progress from previous state-based regulatory structures in which laboratories historically operated independently of each other, resulting in substances being controlled differently depending on the laboratory conducting the testing. HISA's national structure enables HIWU to oversee all testing across the country and facilitate uniform enforcement of the ADMC rules. HIWU is committed to the harmonization of its laboratories and continues to work with them to reach this goal.

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Del Mar to Trim Fall Meet Purses in 3-11% Range

Purses at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club are getting a haircut for the 13-date fall meet that spans Nov. 10-Dec. 3.

Del Mar executives speaking about the meet at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting did not initially mention the purse cuts when making their standard presentation for licensure, which the CHRB unanimously granted.

But Del Mar's president, Josh Rubinstein, detailed the reductions when directly queried about the state of purses by CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales.

“We have reduced purses slightly for this fall meet,” Rubinstein said. “[We're] coming off two years of record wagering at Del Mar in 2021 and '22, and what we've seen nationally this year across the board in the industry, handle has been down eight of nine months.

“We think there are multiple reasons for that,” Rubinstein continued. “My own personal view is we're in a fairly soft economy right now–higher interest rates, inflation concerns–and there's just less discretionary income that people have. So we are matching purse levels to what we believe will be the handle generation for the meet.”

Rubinstein termed the cuts as “a market correction from where we were the last two years. So depending on the race, anywhere from 3% to 11%, but still some of the highest purses in the country during this time.”

Tom Robbins, Del Mar's executive vice president for racing and industry relations, told the CHRB that the 15-stakes schedule “remains intact” compared to last fall's meet.

Rubinstein noted that the fall season at Del Mar is traditionally a scaled-back version of racing compared to the track's nationally prominent summertime flagship meet that extends over two months. Instead of some 2,000 horses being stabled on the grounds, there are more like 350-400, with the remainder of runners shipping in from Santa Anita Park or Los Alamitos Race Course.

To help defray the costs of travel, Del Mar will be paying trainers a $250 stipend on each racing day they participate in the fall meet.

“We realize it's expensive for trainers to come down to Del Mar,” Rubinstein said.

Del Mar will race Fridays (8 races), plus Saturdays and Sundays (nine races). A Thanksgiving Thursday holiday program will also be carded.

Horses will be allowed to ship in for stabling Sunday, Nov. 5, the day after the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Del Mar opens for morning training Nov. 6.

Del Mar has scheduled November/December fall meets regularly since 2014, when the track filled a void in the Southern California racing schedule after Hollywood Park's 2013 closure. Prior to 2014, Del Mar's only other attempt at autumn racing was a 20-date October meet in 1967.

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