Tag: People

No one, not those standing shoulder to shoulder in the packed grandstand, and not the diminutive jock, knew they were about to be part of history when the gates burst open at the start of Canada's most famous horse race on that day 72 years ago.

Georgina MacDougall wasn't around on May 26, 1951, when her father, jockey Alf Bavington, guided E.P. Taylor's 3-year-old gelding Major Factor to victory in the 92nd running of the King's Plate, played out in front of 35,000 fans at Woodbine Park.

The rallying one-length win would be Bavington's only Plate triumph. It would also be the last time the race would be run as the King's Plate until its return in 2023.

First run in 1860, the Queen's Plate was named after Queen Victoria after she gave her royal assent for “a plate to the value of 50 guineas” to be awarded to the winner of the race held in Toronto.

Following the succession of King Edward VII in 1901, the event changed its name to The King's Plate (and would remain so during the reign of George V, Edward VIII, and George VI), before once again returning to the Queen's Plate (Queen Elizabeth II) in 1952. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last September and the accession of King Charles III to the throne, the race has once again become the King's Plate.

On his victorious afternoon, Major Factor was part of an entry with the formidable Britannia, a multiple stakes-winning filly also owned by E.P. Taylor, who had stamped herself as a bona fide Plate contender.

Bavington was handed the reins of the brown son of Boswell trained by ex-fighter and jockey Gordon (Pete) McCann.

Small in stature, he stood 5-foot-1, Bavington became a larger than life figure the day he won the Plate, a victory that wasn't widely anticipated when the 21 starters were sent on their way over 1 1/8 miles.

“Gil Robillard was given the chance to pick which horse he wanted to ride, and he went with Britannia,” MacDougall shared. “So, dad got Major Factor. I was reading the stories the day after the race, and everyone was in shock that Major Factor won. It talked about how the horse was just plodding along the backstretch, taking in the scenery, and Mr. McCann, who was the trainer, had to run around the other side of the tote board to see what was unfolding. He saw the turquoise and gold silks and thought Britannia had made it because she was in front for most of the race. He did a double-take and realized it was Major Factor.”

It was the start of a unique riding trifecta for Bavington.

“My dad was very proud of the fact he won the King's Plate. The year that he won the Plate, we didn't have the Canadian Triple Crown then, but he actually won all three races that would become the Triple Crown. Major Factor won the Prince of Wales with dad on him, and they switched him to Libertine, who he had ridden before, and he won the Breeders' Stakes with that horse. So, it was his own Triple Crown. He won other big races, like the Cup and Saucer in 1950 on Libertine. He had some success during his racing days, but like many jockeys, it's hard to keep the weight down.”

How Bavington made it into the irons is a story in itself.

It was a chance meeting in his early teenage years that eventually led him to a life in the saddle.

“He was 15 when he was sitting on the front step and his older sister Jeannette was dropped off by her future mother-in-law Mildred Kane,” recalled MacDougall, of the first female owner to win the Plate, in 1940 with the McCann-trained Willie The Kid. “Mildred asked, 'Who's that?' and my dad's sister said, 'That's my brother.' When they asked Jeannette what he does, she shook her head and said, 'Nothing.' It was during the Depression, he had dropped out of school and there wasn't much for him to do. They asked if he would ever consider riding horses. He told them, 'I don't know how to ride them.' But Pete McCann took him under his wing and the rest is history.”

Bavington's connection to horses extended beyond the racetrack to the battlefields of World War II.

The idea to enlist in the Canadian military was the result of a night on the town with some of his fellow riders.

“I don't know who the other jockeys were, but they were out drinking one night and one of them said, 'Let's go enlist.' They went down to the office when it opened and out of the five of them, only three were accepted. The guy who came up with the idea had rheumatic fever growing up and probably knew he wasn't going to be enlisted. But dad and two of the other guys went overseas.”

Bavington's time in Europe included hours spent on horseback.

“Dad never really spoke of the war. He was in Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands as a gunrunner. The one thing he did tell me was that he got to ride in Holland. One of the generals found out that he had racing experience and asked him to ride. He got a couple of furloughs to do that. He also had the role of taking the meals out to the front because of his stature. He had to place blocks on the pedals, so he could see through the slit of the tank. I have his medals with me, which I look at from time to time. He was and still is big in my heart and we are all very proud of him.”

Although she never saw her father race, MacDougall, born in 1963, did see him as a respected figure on the racetrack during his years as an outrider.

After he would gallop horses for a handful of trainers in the morning, Bavington would then supervise the races and spring into action when necessary.

Whenever he was called upon, Bavington never flinched.

“My dad was a humble man, a hard worker who didn't take any nonsense. I think a lot of people would remember him as a no-nonsense, gruff kind of a guy. When you are 5-foot-1, and managing a 1,000-pound animal, I think you have to push your ego to be bigger than the animal you are sitting on. As an outrider, something he did for over 30 years, he was witness to some of the greats like Northern Dancer and Secretariat. He witnessed many tragedies, but also helped to prevent some too. One time, the starting gate was stuck on the track, and he galloped right into the race to stop them. I remember people wondering, 'What the hell is Alfie doing?' But that was dad. On the racetrack or during the war, he was the same fearless man.”

Bavington displayed similar fortitude when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1989, the same year his daughter graduated from nursing school.

MacDougall didn't expect her father to be around long. She also didn't anticipate him giving up cigarettes.

She was happy to be wrong on both fronts.

“Dad always had a cigarette in his hand. Some of the pictures we have of dad on horseback, he even has a cigarette in his mouth. When he received his cancer diagnosis, I thought at the time that he wouldn't quit smoking and that he wouldn't make it very long. To my surprise, he never smoked again.”

Bavington's cancer battle would become a life-changing experience for MacDougall.

“I fully intended to work at Etobicoke General because we lived in the neighborhood, but I applied to work at Sick Kids Hospital, and I've been there ever since. I would say that it was my dad's misfortune that helped me get that job because I wouldn't have been downtown visiting him and I wouldn't have walked over to Sick Kids and applied. In the end, we got 13 more years with him, which was a blessing.”

Bavington passed away on April 28, 2002.

His last outing was at a familiar, treasured spot.

“I took dad to the track for his 80th birthday, just two weeks before he passed. He had one last day at the races, but from a different viewpoint. We took him to the dining room, which he had never been to before because he was always working on the track. It made him feel very special.”

As it is any time MacDougall pours over pages and pictures of that 1951 Plate win, a victory that has taken on even more significance with the renaming of the race back to the King's Plate.

MacDougall and her entire family plan to be in attendance on August 20th for the 164th running of North America's longest continually run stakes race.

One week later, she'll attend her youngest son's wedding.

“It was one of those things where you knew the Queen would eventually be replaced on the throne, you just didn't know when that would happen. Over 70 years after the race was renamed the Queen's Plate, our family wondered, 'Is it going to be the King's Plate now?' We weren't sure. We heard some talk that it might stay as the Queen's Plate, out of respect, but we were hoping that it would go back to the King's Plate. And when it did, we were elated. I know dad would be too.”

The post Woodbine History: Alfie, The Major, And A Shocking King’s Plate Coronation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

3 Reasons Racing's Magic Mule maintained a short lead through the first half-mile before pulling away to a comfortable and popular 2 ¾-length triumph Thursday at historic Pimlico Race Course, giving trainer Kerry Hohlbein her first career training victory.

Making his 39th lifetime start in the entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs, 6-year-old gelding Magic Mule ($7.40) completed the distance in 1:01.57 over a fast main track while under wraps by jockey Angel Cruz.

Magic Mule set early fractions of 23.79 and 46.74 seconds while racing on the rail before opening up to a five-length lead at the top of the stretch, going five furlongs in 58.39. He was on cruise control through the lane to his fourth career win as Brilliant Ice rallied late to get second.

It was the 36th career starter and 11th this year for the 38-year-old Hohlbein, a Baltimore native who rode in Maryland over parts of four years between 2007 and 2011, winning 17 of 248 races.

Hohlbein's first starter, Money Room, finished fifth March 26, 2022 at Laurel Park. The next day Magic Mule ran fourth in a Laurel allowance.

Previously trained by W. Thomas 'Skip' McMahon, Magic Mule had run 16 times for Hohlbein with three seconds and five thirds before scoring the milestone win. Two of his runner-up finishes – May 21, 2022 at Pimlico and Oct. 16, 2022 at Laurel – came by a neck. In the other, he was beaten a nose by H P Moon in a six-furlong Laurel allowance Jan. 22.

“That horse I love,” Hohlbein said. “He tries his eyeballs out every time. You can't say enough good things about him.”

Holhbein had one other starter Thursday, 3-year-old Maryland-bred maiden gelding S S Sinatra, who ran fourth in Race 6.

A graduate of Baltimore's Lansdowne High School, Hohlbein did not come from a racing background but was inspired by Rosie Napravnik and Forest Boyce to become a jockey. Boyce, a finalist for the 2010 Eclipse Award as champion apprentice, continues to ride in Maryland.

According to Equibase statistics, Hohlbein made her pro riding debut Dec. 28, 2007 at Laurel, finishing seventh on Family Appeal. While working for trainer Dale Capuano, she had five mounts in 2008 and did not ride in 2009 before getting 43 mounts in 2010 and riding her first winner, Dixie Thief, Oct. 27 at Laurel.

Hohlbein's final mount came Dec. 2, 2011 at Laurel. She also rode at Pimlico, the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Charles Town, Colonial Downs, Delaware Park, Parx and Penn National over her career.

In 2020 Hohlbein began galloping for Hamilton Smith, the Laurel-based trainer with more than 2,000 career winners. She and her husband, Juan, started out with two horses.

“I figured I'd try something new, something different,” Hohlbein said. “We're starting off with just us and seeing how things pan out.”

The post Magic Mule Gives Former Jockey Kerry Hohlbein First Career Training Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

When the gates opened for the third race on May 5 at Woodbine, Helen Savostenko went from voiceless to voluble before the field had settled into stride.

The next one minute and 23 seconds would feel like a blur for the University of Guelph (Ridgetown Campus) Equine Care & Management program student who came to work at the Toronto racetrack through the school's internship program in mid-April.

As she stood at the rail, her eyes fixated on the bay mare breaking from post three, Savostenko watched intently as Halaga and jockey Sofia Vives jumped out to an early lead in the seven-furlong Tapeta race for 3-year-old fillies and up.

Ahead by five lengths after the opening quarter, Halaga's lead was trimmed to 3 ½ lengths at the half-mile mark and then to three at the stretch call.

The Catherine Day Phillips trainee's advantage continued to shorten, but at the wire, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Flatter was three-quarters of a length clear of her closest rival.

“This was the first chance I had to participate in one of my horse's races,” said Savostenko. “She won. It is… I don't even know what to say. She was in front the whole race. I was screaming almost the entire time. This was my first race and that was my horse. It was such a good race.”

Day Phillips, off to a strong start in 2023, was thrilled to have Savostenko be part of the victory.

“Helen came to the paddock – it was her first race – and helped with Halaga. It's exciting to have young people come into the business. It's also nice to see her get bit by the racing bug. We were happy to win and happy she was there as part of the team.” ​

A picture-perfect moment, to be sure, but not quite for an emotional, somewhat awestruck Savostenko.

“I was a little bit stunned, so I didn't go in the win picture. Catherine was telling me, 'Come in the picture,' but for some reason, my brain wasn't working. I was just standing there. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life. I had the brushes, buckets and held all the stuff to prepare the horse. Another groom, with much more experience, he walked with her for the race. They wanted me to watch and learn. I did have a chance to walk her to schooling and back, but in this moment, I felt so much happiness and joy.”

Emotions that Savostenko had never envisioned experiencing.

Her familiarity with horses dates back to her early days growing up in her native Ukraine.

“I have been pleasure-riding since I was eight. I came to Canada from Ukraine two years ago. When I turned 13, I got accepted into an academy in my home country and started riding dressage. I went to the Ukrainian championship three times. I did a bit of show jumping, vaulting, but most of my attention has been in dressage. Last summer, I worked in Denmark for a very accomplished dressage rider. The horse he rode qualified as the top horse for the World Cup, so that was really exciting. I was there the whole summer before I came back here in the fall for my second year of studies.”

When arrangements were made for her internship at Woodbine, one of her first conversations was with Karl Lagerborg, Senior Manager, Racing Operations and Equine Welfare, with the organization. ​ ​ ​

“I told Karl that I had never been around Thoroughbreds and my history with other English breeds and dressage for the past 10 years. There are some perceptions of horse racing that are out there but seeing what I have and being part of it, you realize that it isn't true. I didn't really have any knowledge of racing, so I wasn't quite sure if it was for me. You can form wrong impressions when you don't know the reality of things. I never thought I would be connected to the racing industry, but now I'm here, and I think that says a lot. Catherine, from day one, she changed my opinion about racing.”

One of Canada's most accomplished horse people, Day Phillips, a finalist for the 2017 Sovereign Award in the Outstanding Trainer category, has sent out several standouts to success both at Woodbine and in the United States.

Her father, Jim Day, and late mother, Dinny Day, both were trainers and her maternal grandmother, the late Janet Burns, was the founder of Kingfield Farm, which remains the domain of Day Phillips and her husband, Todd Phillips. The stable's success stories include A Bit O' Gold, Canada's Horse of the Year in 2005, and Hall of Famer Jambalaya, who provided Day Phillips with her first Grade 1 wins in the 2007 Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Turf Stakes and Arlington Million.

When her four-week internship recently came to an end, Savostenko began working full-time for the multiple graded stakes winning trainer.

“The racetrack is a different world,” said Day Phillips. “When we found out we were going to have an intern, I didn't know what to expect. It's a hard world to teach to somebody in a short time to help them learn enough. But Helen jumped in and helped where she could. She is very good at bandaging the horses and has some skills that exceeded my expectations. She was quite helpful from the beginning and certainly, her enthusiasm goes a long way.” ​

In just over a month's time, Day Phillips, her team, and her horses have had a profound impact on Savostenko and her view of the Thoroughbred industry.

“It's been amazing. I'm going to stay and work here for Catherine throughout the summer. I really can't put into words how much I have enjoyed it. I've learned so much from Catherine and her team in such a short time. She treats people and the horses in the same way, with so much respect and care. You can see how the team is dedicated to her and she appreciates every worker. It's the way she is with the people and horses that has really left a big impression on me. You feel appreciated for the work you do. And you can see the love she has for each horse, which is beautiful.”

Currently, Savostenko has four horses under her care.

“During my internship, I was looking after two horses. I was also helping with Catherine's social media and her website. I applied to the University of Alberta and hopefully I will get in there in the fall. But for the summer, I'm working full-time with Catherine.”

The world that Savostenko at one time admittedly knew little of is now a cherished experience.

Savostenko pauses briefly to ponder what has been the biggest takeaway from her time on the Woodbine backstretch. ​ ​

“The team feeling. It's like a family. I felt that from the first few days I walked into the barn. Everyone is helpful and welcomed me to the family like a little sister. They care about me. It's a hard job working in the barn, but everyone is so positive. Even though you have to be there early in the morning, everyone is smiling and happy. The teamwork, everything is super organized, and you can tell that Catherine created a great team.

“She's a successful trainer and I think a big part of that is the environment she created, where everyone is welcome, appreciated and working in unison. Everyone's voice is heard. She wants the best for her people and her horses. They aren't workers, they are her family.”

An environment that is meaningful for Day Phillips.

“I care about everyone that is in the barn. It's quiet, it's peaceful and the horses are happy. It's nice to come in every morning and see the people and see the horses. Hopefully, it's pleasant for everyone. Not every day is perfect, but it's a nice place to be.”

A sentiment that is echoed by Savostenko, who feels right at home on the sprawling Woodbine backstretch.

“I didn't have any big expectations, but I'm really amazed at what has happened for me. In a few days, my whole world was turned upside down in the best way. And now, here I am. I am so happy to be here.”

The post ‘She Changed My Opinion About Racing’: Ukranian Helen Savostenko Enjoying Internship With Catherine Day-Phillips appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

On a quiet morning at Belmont Park, trainer Bobby Ribaudo's phone rang with the caller ID showing Marc Keller. Ribaudo laughed as he saw the name of his lone client and longtime friend, who made his daily call to check in on the 12 horses he has stabled with the veteran conditioner.

“I might lose this guy if I don't take this call,” quipped Ribaudo.

Ribaudo and Keller, who have teamed up to win multiple graded stakes races together during their decades-long partnership, will have the chance to make the grade once again in Saturday's Grade 3, $175,000 Soaring Softly as Quarrel contests the seven-furlong turf sprint at Belmont, a track that has been the site of some of Ribaudo's most memorable victories.

This spring marks the 47th consecutive year Ribaudo has saddled horses at Belmont, continuing a storied career that has seen him win races on the sport's biggest stages. Ribaudo's nearly half-century run at Belmont dates back to his first starter over Big Sandy when Mr. International won a claiming race on May 6, 1976.

Since then, Ribaudo, 72, has reached the pinnacle of success at the Elmont oval, scoring Grade 1 victories on both surfaces with two Keller-campaigned horses: Grand Couturier in the 2008 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Bribon in the 2009 Metropolitan Handicap.

“We don't run as much as the average guy, but we have a patient owner who understands there's no sense in running unless the horse is at 100 percent,” said Ribaudo. “It's easier said than done to be patient, but having an owner on the same page makes it possible.”

Ribaudo spoke of the positive experience he has had for nearly two decades training for Keller.

“I've been very fortunate to have small owners, but good owners, and it's why we stayed small through the years,” said Ribaudo. “If you don't have quality owners, you have no business. Marc and I are very comfortable with each other and he breeds nice horses.”

Ribaudo's top-level success was several decades in the making, his journey beginning humbly with visits to Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont in his youth during the 1960s.

“I was born and raised in Brooklyn and everybody had their day at the races,” said Ribaudo. “I would go to the races on the weekends and Saratoga was a vacation for four or five days in the summer. The passion started there, and I got involved by going to the races. I graduated high school and went right to work in the barns hotwalking for a few trainers.”

Ribuado went out on his own in January of 1976 at Aqueduct Racetrack, where he won his first career race five weeks into his career with Swift Ethan in a claiming race. He started his first two stakes horses the following year, hitting the board in both starts when Double Quill finished third and second in the Grade 3 Seneca Handicap and Grade 2 Manhattan Handicap, respectively. It would be another 23 years before Ribaudo found the winner's circle for a stakes race, but the talented Biogio's Rose was well worth the wait for a 2000 campaign that saw her score two Grade 3 triumphs in the Rare Treat Handicap and Next Move Handicap, both at Aqueduct.

Ribaudo continued to find success in smaller stakes races through the early 2000s, but was able to take his career to a whole new level when Keller decided to look overseas for racing prospects, a practice that Ribaudo said was not as popular in the mid-2000s as it is today.

“I trained for over 30 years before I won a Grade 1,” said Ribaudo. “Fortunately, we won four in a very short period of time. We've been so fortunate. At the time of Bribon and Grand Couturier, you could go to France and buy not inexpensive horses, but reasonably priced horses. It was a nice place to go get a distance grass horse.”

Ribaudo's stable may be smaller now than it was two decades ago, but he has continued to prosper with a modest but talented group of horses. He sent out Pulsate to victory in the 2021 Lucky Coin at Saratoga, and Daunt to a third-place finish in the Awad at Belmont that fall.

Daunt went on to win an allowance event at Belmont at the Big A in October and finished second in his seasonal bow on May 11 at Belmont. Quarrel, the 3-year-old daughter of Speightstown, returns in Saturday's Grade 3 Soaring Softly after breaking her maiden at third asking over the Aqueduct green in November.

While many of Ribaudo's career-best wins have come over the turf, he said it is merely a coincidence that his trainees do particularly well on the lawn, noting the irony of Bribon starting out as a turf horse and becoming a dirt specialist.

“It turned into a fluke that we do so well on the turf,” Ribaudo said, with a laugh. “And the funny thing is Bribon came over here as a grass horse, but he was very rank and tough to handle. We gelded him, switched him to dirt, and it really turned his career around. He was an intended grass horse who turned out to be a dirt horse.”

Boasting more than 440 wins with total purse earnings in excess of $17 million, Ribaudo will look to build upon those numbers as the Belmont spring/summer meet rolls on. Ribaudo said it is the anticipation of whatever lies around the corner that keeps him excited for every race, even after saddling horses in close to 4,000 career races.

“I'm really looking forward to running horses like Daunt and Quarrel and seeing how they progress,” said Ribaudo. “Horses like them always give you something to look forward to.”

Once the Belmont meet wraps up on July 9, Ribaudo will make his annual trip north to Saratoga, a racetrack that has awarded him with stakes success when Grand Couturier won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational in 2007-08 and the Grade 2 Bowling Green in 2009. He fondly recalled the summers spent at the Spa with the talented son of Grand Lodge.

“Grand Couturier was third the first year we ran him in the Sword Dancer and then the next two years, we won it,” said Ribaudo. “We knew he was going to be a distance horse early on and keeping him going for three or four years was great.”

As one of dozens of smaller training outfits on the NYRA circuit, Ribaudo stressed the importance of operations like his not just in New York, but across the sport as a whole.

“These smaller guys are the backbone of the game,” said Ribaudo. “The first five races a day are filled by the little guys, and without them, the game wouldn't survive. We need small owners and syndicates to keep us going.”

The post ‘Smaller Guys Are The Backbone Of The Game’: Trainer Ribaudo Relishing Annual Return To Belmont Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post