Thursday’s Insights: Constitution Colt Looks To Author Juvenile Score

10th-KD, $150K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 6:28 p.m.
The European-style grass course situated on the Kentucky side of the southern border with Tennessee cards a maiden finale which draws $450,000 Keeneland September graduate from last year, PUBLIUS (Constitution). Bred by Twin Creeks Farm, the bay colt debuts out of Sharp Instinct (Awesome Again), who is the dam of seven winners from nine to race. The Brad Cox trainee, ridden by Florent Geroux, is a half-brother to GIII Excelsior S. hero Send It In (Big Brown).

Also entered is the well-bred Tapitoro (Tapit), who was purchased by De Meric Sales for $170,000 at the Keeneland September Sale and was pinhooked for $300,000 during OBS April Sale. Trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by James Graham, the gray colt is a half-sibling to Canadian champion turf male and GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile winner El Tormenta (Stormy Atlantic), GIII Las Cienegas S. victor Zero Tolerance (Mizzen Mast) and Strut the Ring (Strut the Stage).

Out of an extended female family which includes Canadian Horse of the Year Dance Smartly (Danzig), multiple leading sire Smart Strike (Mr. Prospector) and champion 2-year-old colt trio Sky Classic (Nijinsky II), Regal Classic (Vice Regent) and Grey Classic (Grey Dawn II), Tapitoro's dam Torreadora (El Prado {Ire}) is a half-sister to MGSW His Race To Win (Stormy Atlantic) and the dam of MSW Galilean (Uncle Mo). TJCIS PPS

2nd-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:44 p.m.
Up at Saratoga, first timer Paradise Lane (Quality Road) will debut for Hall fo Fame trainer Bill Mott with regular rider Junior Alvarado up. Bred and part-owned by Pam and Martin Wygod, the bay filly is the first offspring out of GI Santa Anita Oaks and GI Zenyatta S. heroine and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags). Second dam Wild Forest (Forest Wildcat) is a half-sister to GSW and English GSW Tajaaweed (Dynaformer) and digging a little deeper under the fourth dam we find MGSW and GISP Mr. Greeley (Gone West) and GISW Mona de Momma (Speightstown). TJCIS PPS

 

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Retired Jockey Rosa da Silva Honored With Avelino Gomez Memorial Award

Eurico Rosa da Silva, one of Canadian Thoroughbred racing's most accomplished riders and popular personalities, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.

The coveted Gomez Award is given to the person, Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or regular rider in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sport.

It is named in memory of one of the sport's most heralded and loved performers. The Cuban-born Gomez died of complications after a three-horse accident in the 1980 Canadian Oaks.

The 46-year-old da Silva, now retired, is no doubt a worthy recipient of the award.

Da Silva won a slew of several impressive awards and high-profile races over the course of an outstanding career, including a pair of Queen's Plate triumphs, and stirring upset scores in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile and Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International.

His catchphrase, “Good Luck To Everybody,” was always accompanied by a wide smile, words, and a look that embodied an unabashed love for all things horse racing.

Da Silva now has another reason to flash that winning smile, as this year's Gomez honoree. He ranks the distinction as one of the most treasured moments associated with his life in the saddle.

“What a nice surprise. Jessica Buckley [Woodbine Entertainment SVP, Standardbred & Thoroughbred Racing] called and told me. I was so happy. I didn't expect this, but I feel very lucky. This is a great award. I am so thrilled. I feel like I know Avelino. I have heard so many stories about him. I've heard how great he was as a rider and how the fans loved him. So, to win this award that is named after one of the best riders, it is amazing.”

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, da Silva launched his career in his homeland before moving to Macau. He counts the Brazil Derby, a two-mile Group 1 turf race, among his most memorable early triumphs.

Upon his arrival at Woodbine in 2004, da Silva's stated goal was to become the racetrack's leading rider. He wasted no time in putting his plan in motion.

He recorded his first Woodbine victory on May 20, 2004, teaming with Point Hidden, a bay son of Tale of the Cat, for a half-length win over five furlongs on the main track.

From there, da Silva began his steady ascent in the jockey standings.

Da Silva first topped the standings in 2010 and won the riding title from 2015-2019. In 2018, he set the record for most wins in a single meet at Woodbine with 237 victories.

A seven-time Sovereign Award winner as Canada's Outstanding Jockey, he has victories in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, including consecutive editions of The Queen's Plate in 2009 and 2010, with Eye of the Leopard and Big Red Mike, respectively.

In 2017, he teamed with longshot Bullards Alley to win the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Two years later, he engineered another upset, this time with El Tormenta in the Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International. He was a part of the Horse of the Year campaigns by Pink Lloyd (2017), Up With the Birds (2013), Biofuel (2010), and Fatal Bullet (2008).

Da Silva, who won his final stakes race with Pumpkin Rumble in the 2019 Valedictory Stakes, also made a name for himself on the international stage.

A lifetime winner of 2,286 races, da Silva bested his rivals to reign victorious in the 2017 World All-Star Jockeys Championship in Japan.

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Now, he can add another cherished piece of hardware to his trophy case.

“When I look back on my career, I wanted to be a good rider, but I also wanted to help in the community as well,” said da Silva, who released his autobiography, 'Riding For Freedom,' in late 2020, and now works as a Certified Mind Coach. “The fans, the community around Woodbine, all of it is important to me.

“This honor made me reflect on my career and all the great people and horses I connected with. What it makes me think about is every day that I walked into the jocks' room and how happy I was to do that. So many great riders, like Avelino, were there. I was proud to be able to walk into that room and be part of one of the toughest jockey colonies in the world. Woodbine is so competitive. When you are able to accomplish your dreams, it is very rewarding.”

To commemorate his contributions to the sport, a life-size statue of Gomez, who called Toronto home and raised a family there, keeps watch over Woodbine's walking ring. A replica is presented to each year's honoree.

Although presented annually on Woodbine Oaks day at Woodbine (August 1 this year), this year's ceremony will take place on September 19 at Woodbine. With attendance currently limited to due COVID restrictions, the September date will allow more fans to share in the festivities.

Da Silva joins Ron Turcotte, Johnny Longden, Sandy Hawley, Don MacBeth, Chris Rogers, Jeff Fell, Lloyd Duffy, Hugo Dittfach, Robin Platts, Larry Attard, Don Seymour, David Gall, Richard Grubb, Irwin Driedger, David Clark, Jim McKnight, Chris Loseth, Richard Dos Ramos, Robert Landry, Francine Villeneuve, Sam Krasner, John LeBlanc Sr., George Ho Sang, Jack Lauzon, Robert King Jr., Stewart Elliott, Emile Ramsammy, Steve Bahen, Mickey Walls, Patrick Husbands, Quincy Welch, Gary Stahlbaum, Gary Boulanger, Emma-Jayne Wilson, and Frank Barroby as Gomez honorees.

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City Boy Tries To Stretch His Speed To Seven Panels In Connaught Cup

City Boy, who pulled off a 24-1 upset in last year's Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes, faces seven rivals on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in Saturday's Grade 2 $175,000 Connaught Cup Stakes, at Woodbine.

Trained by 2020 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mike Keogh, the six-year-old gelding, bred and co-owned (with Donald Howard) by the late Gus Schickedanz, brings a record of 3-6-2 from 17 starts into the seven-furlong Connaught Cup.

“He had a fairly good winter,” said Keogh, who had City Boy and others in his barn with him in Aiken, South Carolina. “We had a lot of rain in February, so there were a lot of sealed racetracks. I didn't really get to do much with any of my horses in February. Then we had to get out of there in the third week of March, so we didn't get too much done this winter, to be honest.”

A son of multiple graded stakes winner City Zip, City Boy debuted on April 21, 2017, finishing second in a five-furlong main track race at Woodbine.

The Ontario-bred broke his maiden next time out, one month later, in a 6 1/2-furlong turf race at the Toronto oval, drawing clear in the stretch to win by a length as the 9-5 favourite.

His next win came that August, a head score at six furlongs on the Woodbine turf.

Just over two years later, City Boy delivered his connections with his biggest win to date, another gutsy head victory, this time in last October's six-furlong, $280,900 Nearctic.

It was the second Nearctic triumph for Keogh, who took the 1999 renewal with Clever Response.

“No, I wasn't,” said Keogh when asked if he was caught off-guard by City Boy's performance. “We had run him two weeks previous – it was a really fast time – and he wasn't beaten that far. He was hung wide the whole way. Jesse [jockey, Campbell] got off him and said, 'This horse, he needs two races back-to-back.' I told him that I had nominated him to the Nearctic on the off chance it came up as an easier field. As it turned out, there weren't many shippers and he ran huge.”

City Boy arrives at the Connaught Cup off a sixth-place effort in a six-furlong main track race last November at Woodbine.

Saturday's stake marks the first time he'll test seven panels.

“He's doing great,” said Keogh, who campaigned Schickedanz's Wando to Canadian Triple Crown glory in 2003. “The Connaught is an unknown because he's never been seven-eighths before. We're going to give this a go. He needs to run. You can't keep working him… he goes crazy. The first start of the year, they're always that bit more on the bridle. But he needs a start. That's why we're running him.”

City Boy reminds Keogh of a Canadian horse racing legend, a standout on and off the racetrack.

“I'll tell you who he reminds me of. When I first came to Canada after [fellow Hall of Fame inductee and trainer] Jerry Meyer had brought me over from England, he was training Bold Ruckus, who was a two-year-old at that time. City Boy reminds me of Bold Ruckus, and I used to gallop him back in those days. And he's out of a Bold Ruckus mare [Princess Ruckus]. He's a horse that tries very hard. He's a lovely horse and one of my favourites.”

El Tormenta, who went on to take the 2019 Ricoh Woodbine Mile, won last year's Connaught Cup in a time of 1:20.29. Jockey Robin Platts has won a record eight editions of the race, including back-to-back runnings (1968-69) with James Bay.

The Connaught Cup is Race 7 on Saturday's 10-race card. First post time is 1 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE $175,000 CONNAUGHT CUP

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Silent Poet – Justin Stein – Nicholas Gonzalez

2 – White Flag – Luis Contreras – Christophe Clement

3 – Blind Ambition – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

4 – Admiralty Pier – Jerome Lermyte – Barbara Minshall

5 – Regally Irish – Steven Bahen – Graham Motion

6 – City Boy – Davy Moran – Mike Keogh

7 – Olympic Runner – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

8 – Gray's Fable – Rafael Hernandez – Roger Attfield

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