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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: A Racetrack’s Private Property Rights

What does it mean when a racetrack – as opposed to a board of stewards or racing commission – suspends or excludes a trainer from its facilities? That's what happened a week ago when Gulfstream Park suspended five trainers for allegedly violating house rules regarding the use of clenbuterol.

This was not unlike Churchill Downs suspending Bob Baffert from participating in racing at any of its tracks prior to the stewards or Kentucky Horse Racing Commission conducting a hearing on the failed drug test of Medina Spirit following the colt's Kentucky Derby victory on May 1.

Attorney Bob Heleringer, author of “Equine Regulatory Law,” once again joins publisher Ray Paulick and editor in chief Natalie Voss in this week's edition of the Friday Show to explain the difference between a regulatory agency's license suspension and a racetrack's ability to exclude individuals by exercising private property rights.

Like many things in racing, the right of exclusion may vary from one state to another, and there is some case law that sets parameters, Heleringer said.

Voss pointed out that tracks may be exercising those rights more frequently lately in response to public pressure over equine safety and integrity issues while cases being heard by racing commissions can drag out for months, if not years.

Joe Nevills joins Paulick to review last weekend's Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine, won by British Royalty, making the English Channel gelding our Woodbine Star of the Week.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: A Racetrack’s Private Property Rights appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Vella Pair Primed For Cup & Saucer Stakes Challenge Sunday At Woodbine

Trainer Dan Vella will send out the duo of Spring Mountain and Where's Neal in Sunday's $250,000 Cup & Saucer Stakes, at Woodbine.

A 1 1/16-mile event for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds run over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the Cup & Saucer has drawn 11 starters, including Spring Mountain, a son of Silent Name (JPN), and Where's Neal, a son of Society's Chairman. The Grade 3 $150,000 Durham Cup (1 1 /16-miles on the Tapeta), for three-year-olds and upwards, and the Grade 3 $150,000 Ontario Matron (also 1 1/16-miles on the Tapeta), for fillies & mares, three-year-olds and upwards, are also on tap.

Bred in Ontario by Linda Mason, Where's Neal heads into the Cup & Saucer off a maiden-breaking victory in the Bull Page Stakes, contested over one mile on the Inner Turf, on September 17. The gelding set the pace and crossed the line a three-quarters of a length winner in a time of 1:40.05 over firm ground.

Vella was surprised to see where Where's Neal began his Bull Page journey but pleased with how it concluded.

“I was a little worried after a few 100 yards when he ended up on the front end,” admitted Vella. “I really didn't want that. We were hoping to sit in behind the speed, but down the backside you could see that he was going pretty easily and he was kind of on cruise control, just going along nicely. Considering he did all the hard work and still got the job done we were very pleased. We'd much rather see him sit behind the pace a little bit rather than be on it, but it was what it was. They're just learning.”

Owned by Sea Glass LLC, Where's Neal debuted on August 29 in the Simcoe Stakes, a 6 ½-furlong Tapeta event, finishing second to Ironstone, who is set to contest the Shady Well Stakes on Saturday at Woodbine.

Spring Mountain has had two eventful starts to his career, including his career bow on September 2 at Woodbine, when he ducked out and then lugged in during the 6 ½-furlong race on the E.P. Taylor.

One race later, in the Bull Page, he hopped at the start before recovering to rally and net third spot in the race won by his stablemate.

“The hop, it wasn't much,” noted Vella, who co-owns the gelding with Stephan and Rita Shefsky, Willy and Toby Kruh, and Solomon Pillersdorf. “I don't think it was much of a problem. He did a little hop out of the gate… they're young horses, so those things happen. I think the sharper turn didn't help his chances. Without that sharp turn in the Cup & Saucer, I think he'll be much better.”

Vella, who has 856 career wins to date, saw promise in both horses early on.

“These two, you knew right from the start that they had potential. Where's Neal had the benefit of going to Florida. Mike Cooke had him down there for me and he told me that this was a pretty nice horse. We knew that. The horse came up here to Woodbine six weeks before I ran him the first time.

“Spring Mountain stayed here and he was out at CamHaven Farms all winter. Right from the start… big, strong horse and big stride. He does everything kind of aggressively. His mother [Moonlit Beauty] was a great horse. We bought him mostly on looks. He's just a big, good-looking horse.”

Do the young horses make the veteran trainer grow a few more grey hairs or keep him young?

“Is it possible they do both?” offered Vella. “You certainly look forward to going to work when you have nice horses. There's no doubt about that. But good horses are always a little more stress, that's for sure.”

Personality-wise, Spring Mountain and Where's Neal are polar opposites.

“They're very different animals. Spring Mountain is a big, strong, kind of coarser horse. He's a bit of a bull. Where's Neal is a more refined horse. Both are about the same size, good-sized horses. Where's Neal has a very easy-going attitude where he wants to do things right and Spring Mountain is more, 'Let's just go and we'll figure the rest out later.'”

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Other contenders include Dancin in Da'nile, a Sam-Son Farm homebred trained by Gail Cox.

The son of Pioneerof the Nile made his debut a winning one, eking out a neck victory in a seven-furlong Tapeta race originally scheduled for the turf.

“I thought his first start was very impressive,” praised Cox. “He was a little bit green, but really ran a very good race. I think he should take a step forward from that.”

Stronger Together, bred by Jim Dandy Stable and owned by Spruce Park Stable, heads into his second lifetime start and first stakes appearance off a third-place finish on September 5.

Sent off at 5-1 in the one mile and 70-yard Tapeta race, the son of Liam's Map, trained by Sid Attard, was steadied at the start finding himself 11 lengths behind the leader at the quarter-mile pole. Fifth at the stretch call, Stronger Together netted the show award, beaten just a neck for top spot.

“He's been doing really well,” said Attard, two wins shy of 2,100 for his career, as of October 6. “He came out of the gate slow, but he ran a huge race. I was very happy with how he recovered from that start and how hard he was running at the end of the race. He was really running hard. He's coming into this race in very good shape. He had a work last Sunday (October 3, five furlongs, 1:01.60, breezing) and he worked very, very good. He's doing very well ahead of this race. He's a very nice horse.”

Hall of Fame trainer Jim Day has won 10 editions of the Cup & Saucer, including seven straight runnings from 1984-1990.

The Cup & Saucer is slated as race eight on Sunday's 11-race card. First post time is 12:55 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$250,000 CUP & SAUCER STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Spring Mountain – Luis Contreras – Dan Vella

2 – God of Love – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

3 – Hidden Honor – Antonio Gallardo – Kevin Attard

4 – Shamateur – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Michael Doyle

5 – Dancin in Da'nile – Shaun Bridgmohan – Gail Cox

6 – Mentoring – Keveh Nicholls – Philip Hall

7 – Stronger Together – Justin Stein – Sid Attard

8 – Fast Feet – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

9 – Brutality (S) – Gary Boulanger – Michael De Paulo

10 – Where's Neal – David Moran – Dan Vella

11 – Chairman Bob – Patrick Husbands – Kevin Attard

The post Vella Pair Primed For Cup & Saucer Stakes Challenge Sunday At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pair Of Juvenile Stakes Highlight Friday’s Card At Woodbine

A pair of competitive $150,000 two-year-old stakes, the Clarendon Presented by HBPA of Ontario, and the Shady Well Presented by Pepsi, share the spotlight on Friday's eight-race card at Woodbine.

Each set for 5 ½-furlongs over the Tapeta, the Clarendon and Shady Well, for Ontario-bred rookies, will be featured on Racing Light Live, to be broadcast from 7-9 p.m. ET on TSN.

The card also includes the final leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series, which drew 11 hopefuls for the 1 ¾-mile marathon on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Trainer Andrew Smith has cross-entered the filly Silent Resent in both stakes.

A dark bay daughter of Silent Name (JN), the dark bay, bred and owned by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, made her debut on Aug. 7 a winning one.

Sent on her way at 14-1, Silent Resent converted a head advantage at the stretch call of the six-furlong Tapeta race into a four-length win in 1:11.33.

“It was a nice win,” said Smith. “I'm not sure about the caliber of horses we beat, but she won quite easily. I thought she'd run a good race first time out because she had shown quite a bit in the morning.”

In her most recent start, the one-mile Victorian Queen Stakes contested on the Toronto oval's Inner Turf, she finished sixth, six lengths back of the winner.

“She was pretty rank early and that was kind of the end of the race for her,” offered Smith. “Had she rated a little better, I think she would have run a little better. I thought she was going to run better, so I was disappointed there. I thought she'd stretch out, but she didn't relax for us. That was the main problem. Had she relaxed she would have been able to finish better.”

Smith, who is enjoying a solid 2021 campaign, believes the filly will come back with a stronger effort on Friday.

“She's heading into this next start doing pretty good. She's certainly sharp and I think she'll like the cut back in distance. Around the barn, she's very aggressive. She wants to train hard all the time and is go, go, go all the time.”

Trainer Katerina Vassilieva will send out first-time winner My Girl Sky in the Shady Well.

A daughter of graded stakes winner Dynamic Sky, My Girl Sky overcame a less-than-ideal start in her career bow on September 5th at Woodbine.

“She's got a lot of heart and determination,” said Vassilieva. “She has that will to win. She had every excuse not to run well after having sort of been bumped at the break and missing a step. But she came flying home. I think she's a gutsy filly and it's worth taking a shot in a spot like this.”

Vassilieva wasn't quite sure how the grey filly would respond the rest of the way after the tough beginning.

“I was surprised that she had that kind of a break because when Steve [jockey, Bahen] worked her from the gate – there were two other horses in with her that day – she broke the fastest and the sharpest. I think both myself and Steve were expecting her to, if not be on top, to be somewhere in the mix of things early – very close to the pace or on the lead.”

The conditioner's expectations on where My Girl Sky, owned by Kevin Drew, would eventually finish changed throughout the course of the race.

“When that (breaking sharply) didn't happen, I hoped she would have a good experience and learn something from it. As the race went on, I thought we had a chance to hit the board. Then, I realized we actually had a chance to win. That's when it got exciting. She had a really good closing kick and she really ran on when Steve called on her. That was nice to see.”

Vassilieva has enjoyed working with her young charge.

“She's a sweetheart. She loves people and she's very kind. She loves attention and she loves her work. She's all business on the track. She loves to train and seems to enjoy being a racehorse, I would say.”

Dan Vella, who won consecutive editions of the Shady Well, in 1994 with Honky Tonk Tune and one year later with Heavenly Valley, is represented by Marie MacKay in this year's running

Bred and owned by Track West Racing and Donald Whalen, the daughter of Noble Mission (GB) debuted on September 11 at Woodbine, finishing second at 14-1 to Aubrieta in the 5 ½-furlong race on the Tapeta.

Aubrieta, a two-year-old daughter of Speightster, trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, looked impressive in that 1 ¾-length score last month.

The Conrad Farms' homebred will once again be ridden by Patrick Husbands in the Shady Well.

Six contenders, including Simcoe Stakes champion, Ironstone, will vie for top spot in the Clarendon.

The Shady Well is slated as race six. The Clarendon is scheduled as race seven on Friday's 4:45 p.m. program.

Fan can watch and wager on all the action with HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$150,000 SHADY WELL STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Aubrieta – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

2 – My Girl Sky – Steven Bahen – Katerina Vassilieva

3 – Silent Resent – David Moran – Andrew Smith

4 – Ya Mar (S) – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse

5 – Shanghai Shamrock – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

6 – Marie MacKay – Justin Stein – Daniel Vella

7 – Silver Magnatized – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard

$150,000 CLARENDON STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Silent Runner – David Moran – Michael Doyle

2 – Silent Resent – Antonio Gallardo – Andrew Smith

3 – Ironstone – Ademar Santos – Willie Armata

4 – Bossy Holiday – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

5 – Drop a Caribou – Daisuke Fukumoto – Robert Tiller

6 – Repeat the Heat – Rafael Hernandez – Michel De Paulo

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British Royalty Crowned The Winner Of Breeders’ Stakes

It was coronation day for British Royalty, who closed out the OLG Canadian Triple Crown with an impressive triumph in the 130th running of the $401,600 Breeders' Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine.

A bay son of English Channel, British Royalty, who had been claimed away from trainer and co-owner Barb Minshall this summer, made his Triple Crown series debut a successful one, sprinting away from his rivals with ease to win the race for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds.

Facing a field that included Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct, Plate runner-up Riptide Rock, Prince of Wales Stakes champ Haddassah, and a host of other talented turf types, British Royalty had his work cut out for him.

On an overcast day at the Toronto oval, he came shining through with a top-shelf score.

It was Safe Conduct who seized control of the 1 ½-mile grass marathon, as Haddassah, in second, and Keep Grinding, in third, kept close tabs on the leader, while Patrick Husbands had British Royalty comfortably settled in seventh spot through an opening quarter in :25.00.

The Plate winner continued to call the shots through a half-mile reached in :51.53 as Collective Force, now second, shadowed the pacesetter's every move. Husbands guided British Royalty into sixth spot, as the gelding and Riptide Rock started to gain momentum on the frontrunners.

Safe Conduct soon found himself under siege from both sides, as Collective Force battled on gamely, and British Royalty found another gear, blasting to the lead and holding a one-length advantage on a surging Riptide Rock at Robert Geller's stretch call reached in 2:09.05.

At the wire, British Royalty was a convincing and deserving four-length victor.

Riptide Rock and Collective Force, second and third respectively, were well ahead of their nearest rivals. Harlan Estate was fourth in the race contested over yielding ground. The final time was 2:34.00.

Sent off at 24-1, British Royalty returned $51.20 for the win, marking his second victory in nine career starts.

For Minshall, who lost the horse to a claim on July 11 and then claimed him back on July 24, the win was one of the most rewarding of her career.

“I was looking to win a race, and I took a chance, and I was very upset with myself for taking such a chance,” recalled the champion conditioner, who co-owns the horse with Bruce Lunsford. “And lo and behold, the horse is back in the next time, he runs two weeks later, and I couldn't get in there fast enough to get him back. I knew I made a huge mistake. So, I'm really happy.”

Husbands, who won the 2003 Canadian Triple Crown with Wando, and recorded his fifth Breeders' Stakes title, was understandably thrilled to partner with the Richard Lister-bred sophomore for the first time.

“My agent (Leroy Trotman) came to my house, and he said to me, 'I got a ride for you, but will you look at the form?' I said, 'Leroy, that's what I pay you for. I want to get your opinion.' He said that Barb (Minshall) said you can come and work the horse and if you don't like it, she won't be mad at you. I came and breezed the horse, about 20 minutes later my agent asked me how the horse went. I said please don't tell Barbie, but this horse is light. I've ridden him the last two breezes, and he went twice on softer turf, and he ran (today) the way I expected he would run.”

Emma-Jayne Wilson, aboard Safe Conduct, had high praise for the eighth-place finisher.

“I mean, he's fantastic. I followed him since last year. Obviously, the trainer asked about me about riding him when he was a two-year-old. I've been keeping close tabs on him ever since. So, I mean kudos and congratulations for winning the (Queen's) Plate. I was hoping I could get them another jewel of the crown, but it wasn't our day to day.”

The Breeders' win marked an outstanding weekend for Lunsford, whose homebred Art Collector took yesterday's Grade 1 Woodward at Belmont.

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