Jockey Ciera Pruitt (outside) gets up just in time to win the 6th race on Wednesday for her mom, trainer Lise Pruitt, aboard longshot Bromeo. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Apprentice jockey Ciera Pruitt won her first two races of the meeting, former Hastings Park trainer Robert Maybin turned loose another horse who knows where the wire is, and Jerry Gourneau scored another hat trick on Wednesday to increase his lead in the trainer standings on the only day of racing this week, after severe weather forced the cancellation of Tuesday’s card.
Pruitt was over the moon with her two wins, which formed a sandwich around her mount in the fifth race, Neighneigh, which stumbled at the break and unceremoniously dumped her. Pruitt won her first race of the meeting aboard Preachers Secret ($6.10) for trainer Jason Homer, and followed up with her second victory, and first for her mother, trainer Lise Pruitt, aboard longshot Bromeo ($29.80) in the sixth race.
Christine Reaves leads jockey Ciera Pruitt in the winner’s circle on Wednesday after her first win of the meeting aboard Preachers Secret, for trainer Jason Homer. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
When asked what it felt like to fall on the ground in the fifth, Pruitt said, “ It felt great after I won the sixth!” It was an emotional scene outside the winner’s circle after Bromeo won for mom and daughter, with hugs and tears all around.
Taking nothing away from the wire-to-wire victory by My Liam ($3.50), who won the featured seventh race of the evening for trainer Steve Keplin, Jr., the performance that really caught our eye on Wednesday was that of Queen of Attitude ($6.90) in the fifth race. The 9-year-old mare brought an amazing record of 15-9-3 from 31 starts into the race for her first start of the year and looked like a winner from the time the field reached the three-eighths pole.
Stalking from just off the rail going into the turn, Queen of Attitude swung outside for the drive, caught a game Cumberland Falls in mid-stretch, dueled that one into submission and drew out under jockey Christopher Mamdeen to win by 1 ¼-lengths for trainer Robert Maybin. It wasn’t the fact that she won, it was the way she did it. If you want to know what a good horse looks like, watch this replay.
Professional racehorse Queen of Attitude lived up to her name with a win in the 5th race on Wednesday for trainer Robert Maybin. Christopher Mamdeen up. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
A former Hastings Park trainer, Maybin has now won three of nine starts since arriving at the Downs. He learned his trade growing up with horses in Ireland. So combine a lifelong horseperson with a horse that knows how to win, and voila. Sometimes the game looks so easy, but we all know better.
Trainer Jerry Gourneau scored a hat trick on Wednesday, winning the first two races with Short Speech ($2.90) and Rockets Red Flair ($2.70), and the last race with Witt’s Ten Touch ($3.10) to bring his win total to 21 for the meeting, 12 more than runner-up Steve Keplin, Jr. (9), followed by Wendy Anderson (5), Mike Nault (5) and Jason Homer (4).
Trainer Jerry Gourneau scored another hat trick on Wednesday and continues to dominate in the standings with 21 wins. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Jockey Antonio Whitehall won a pair of races to move to within one of leading rider Sven Balroop, who took home a single on Wednesday to maintain an 11-10 edge over Whitehall in the jockey standings, followed by Javaniel Patterson (8), Tyrone Nelson (5), and Dario Dalrymple (5).
Jockey Ciera Pruitt gets hugs from mom, trainer Lise Pruitt, and dad, former jockey Jerry Pruitt, after winning the 6th race on Wednesday. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
The $3 minimum Pick 3 continues to be popular among bettors, and it was especially lucrative in the sixth race on Wednesday. The combination of High Miler ($10.90) in the fourth race, Queen of Attitude ($6.90) in the fifth, and Bromeo ($29.80) in the sixth resulted in a $3 Pick 3 payoff of $4,570.95!
There’s money to be made here.