Blog Post
Nigel Reid • Aug 12, 2020
Coulterberry wins Lieutenant Governors' - photo by Michael Bye
Nine of the 16 races over two days went to BC-bred runners, while a further two winners were bred outside the Province by locally based breeders. All of which underscores the notion that without BC-bred horses there would no racing at Hastings - something worth remembering as we approach this year’s CTHS Yearling Sale, scheduled for the Chilliwack Heritage Park on September 8.
There were racing thrills aplenty last week. COULTERBERRY (Finality) swept past last season’s BC Derby winner FIVE STAR GENERAL (Distorted Humor) in the $50k Lieutenant Governors' Handicap Stakes on Thursday while, on Sunday, Glen Todd’s frontrunner MISS PROSPECTOR (Harbor the Gold) took the $50k BC Cup Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes under a magnificent front-running ride by Scott Williams.
Coulterberry’s win was one of three last week for trainer Mark Cloutier. He also struck with CHEF (Congrats) and WICKED FORTITUDE (Wicked Strong) on Sunday.
The Christine Ammann barn, meanwhile, continues in terrific form and, interestingly, all three of her winners over both days were bred in BC by owner/breeders Tod Mountain Thoroughbreds but were by stallions based outside the Province.
ILHABELLA (Flat Out) broke her maiden on Thursday while, on Sunday, the opening two events went to Ammann’s all-conquering barn thanks to STAY FANTASTIC (Stay Thirsty) and juvenile maiden winner, KANDY KATIE (Twirling Candy).
Kandy Katie’s win came against boys in what was the first six-furlong two-year-old contest of the season. And there was much to like about the way the scopey-looking daughter of California-based sire Twirling Candy performed on her debut.
However, the most eye-catching two-year-old winner of the week came on Thursday when the Sandra Loseth-bred LITTLE BLACK DRESS (Lent) blitzed her five rivals in a three-and-a-half furlong gate-to-wire drag race. Trained by Steve Henson, Alex Marti’s mount hit the wire in 39.23s – close to SUMMERLAND’S (He’s Tops) 2018 track record (38.85s).
Little Black Dress, purchased at last year’s CTHS Yearling Sale by Pocket Aces Racing Stable, set up a double on the day for Henson, who also saddled the KY-bred FRANKIE MACHINE (Wilburn) for an impressive third consecutive win of the Hastings season.
Frankie Machine’s win was one of three winners for rider Scott Williams, who sealed the hat-trick aboard SATURNA (Cause to Believe) in Thursday’s penultimate contest.
Bred by Floyd Tompkins, Saturna’s win was a welcome second of the season for handler Pat Jarvis and one of seven BC-bred winners on Thursday.
Away from Hastings, the five-year-old BC-bred mare RAIDER (Stephanotis) landed the $40k Shirley Vargo Handicap Stakes at Century Mile on Friday. Trained by Greg Tracy, Raider is bred by Bill DeCoursey and is a half-sister to last season’s phenomenal filly INFINITE PATIENCE (Sungold) who, incidentally, goes for the $500k Woodbine Oaks this coming weekend.
Two-year-old watchers will have noticed that another of the mare’s daughters, DEFINITE PLEASURE (Second in Command), made her debut in Little Black Dress’s dash on Thursday. The record will show that the Barb Heads-trained youngster (who is another CTHS Yearling Sale graduate) finished last, having missed the break, but that tells only part of the story and there was much to like about her introduction to racing.
The riding plaudits for the two days belonged, narrowly, to Amadeo Perez, whose six-winner haul put him firmly in charge of the title race with 18 wins - three, four and five ahead of Messrs. Morales, Williams and Hernandez, respectively.
The prize-money trainers’ table is being lead by Mark Cloutier at the moment, although it’s a narrow lead of less than $5,000 ahead of Glen Todd. Numerically, the leading trainers are Christine Ammann and Glen Todd who have both saddled nine winners, one more than Barb Heads and Steve Henson.
Interestingly, all nine BC-bred victors were by different sires and in addition to those already mentioned, there were winners for Rosberg, in the shape of the John Snow-trained SARGENT RICK, Second in Command via the Harold Barroby-trained-and-bred IT’S IN COMMAND and, from the Dino Condilenios barn, Swift Thoroughbred’s homebred Pop Artist gelding, WILSON.
The former BC-based sire GOTCHA GOLD, meanwhile, notched another for breeders Steen and Cathy Reggelsen in the shape of HILARIOUSLYNAUGHTY. Owned by Nite and Day Stable and Joanne Todd, Hilariouslynaughty was a first winner of the season for trainer Brian O’Connell.
Racing resumes this Thursday evening with the BC Cup Sir Winston Churchill Stakes the highlight of eight races. Seven high-quality three-year-olds are scheduled to line-up for the $50k contest, including Chris Loseth Handicap winner SYNERGY (Sungold), impressive recent allowance winner PORTER GENT (Second in Command) and last season’s Ascot Graduation winner, CAPILANO CANYON (Abraaj) - who is yet another Stakes-winning graduate of the CTHS Yearling Sale.
The office will be closed Tuesday, December 19, 2023 - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 The office reopens on Thursday, January 4, 2024 Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season and good racing in 2024! The Directors and staff - CTHS BC
Plan to attend on Monday August 7th BC Cup Day at the Marquis Tent area
On the Move: Current leading second-crop sire in Canada COUNTERFORCE (seen with Jack Bennett at Road's End Farm)
An Inspiration for 2023 CTHS BC Yearling & Mixed Sale
To: All members of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (BC Division) NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TAKE NOTICE THAT the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (BC Division) will be held: Time: Commencing at 11:30 am Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2023 Place: CTHS (BC Division) Office - Boardroom #7 – 5492 Production Blvd. Surrey, BC The main purpose of this meeting is for the following: 1. to receive the annual reports of the Society; 2. to approve the appointment of the auditor for the 2022 fiscal year; 3. to transact such business that may properly come before the Annual Meeting. Dated this 30th day of May, 2023. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Note: Copies of the 2022 financial statements and minutes of the June 23, 2022 annual general meeting will be available at the meeting or upon request by contacting the office. As per Article XI, Section 9 (a) of the CTHS By-Laws, new business proposed to be discussed at the meetings of the Society, or any Regional Division thereof, shall be delivered in writing to the National Executive Secretary or Regional Secretary/General Manager as the case may be. Proposed new business, endorsed in writing by at least three (3) members entitled to vote at the meeting and received prior to the mailing of the Notice of the Meeting, shall be included in the agenda and may be subject of a vote at the meeting. Only voting members who are present are eligible to vote (no proxies).
What better way to launch the 2023 thoroughbred racing season at Hastings Racecourse than to stage a full-blown dinner party just prior to opening day? First race to launch the 2023 schedule at Hastings is set for 2 p.m., Sunday, April 30. Four nights earlier – Wednesday, April 26 – the industry celebrates its 2022 BC Thoroughbred Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Inductions at the Italian Cultural Centre. Horses from 16 categories will be acknowledged for their performances at Hastings last year. Co-ordinator Minna Rytkonen issued secret ballots to a panel of selectors in December. The winners will be revealed by emcees Dan Jukich and Mike Heads highlighting the April 26 event. Season-ending stats following last year’s 45-day racing calendar confirmed the 2022 leading breeder (Tod Mountain Thoroughbreds), owner (Rob and Sheena Maybin), trainer (Edgar Mendoza) and jockey (Amadeo Perez) awards. BC Horse Racing Hall of Fame 2022 inductees, announced earlier by curator Randy Goulding, are Dr. Ed Wiebe (builder), Richard Hamel (jockey) and Robbie Anderson (trainer). “After a two-year interruption staging the Awards Dinner due to the pandemic, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone again as a kick-off to the 2023 racing season,” says B-J Davidson, CTHS-BC Regional General Manager. “We consider it a huge family gathering.”
COUNTERFORCE LEADING FRESHMAN SIRE IN CANADA; LEADING JUVENILE SIRE IN BC BC HORSE RACING INDUSTRY BONDS WITH POSITIVE NEWS ON ALL FRONTS
Standardbred Canada (SC) and the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) are pleased to announce the development of a National Economic Impact Study. The two organizations are working with Serecon, a third-party research company, to conduct an economic scan and facilitate key stakeholder interviews through a national survey and provide further analysis. The goals of the project are: To increase the understanding of the current state of the sector; To identify and articulate the economic and social impacts of horse racing across the country; To develop strategic recommendations to ensure the sustainability and inclusivity of the horse racing sector; Socialize findings with key federal government stakeholders The study will review such economic drivers as cost of ownership, economic contribution from horses, and industry trends. “We are pleased to collaborate with Standardbred Canada to conduct the economic impact study for the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing breeds,” said Adrian Munro, President of CTHS. “The study will build off of the pre-pandemic era to begin tracking overall impact drivers for our industry.” “This is a first for both national breed registries who have agreed to work together to collect data and information on the horse racing sector in Canada and using the key performance metrics that the survey provides will help us understand and measure our lines of business with the ultimate goal of building a sustainable future for the industry,” said Dan Gall, President and CEO of Standardbred Canada. The final report will be reviewed by CTHS and the SC Board of Directors and is scheduled to be submitted in January 2023. This report will provide an overview of the evolution and current state of the Canadian horse racing industry and highlight the economic and social impacts of the sector, outline challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to consider. Bob Burden, a Senior Director with Serecon, added that “Our team will accurately assess the total contribution of the Canadian horse racing industry to Canada's economy so that both associations will be better equipped to address challenges going forward”. Both parties, SC and CTHS, encourage the horse racing sector to provide information into the research being conducted to allow our sector to be as thorough and accurate as possible with the data collected. To take the survey click here .
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