Happy crew with Agassiz winner C.C. Ride.
by George
Favourites scored in five of the eight races on Saturday night at the Downs, including the $30,000 Agassiz and the $30,000 Distaff, and the Pick-4 carryover from Friday night stimulated the pool to reach an astonishing $44,534 before the fourth race.
Jockey Adolfo Morales was the star jockey on the evening, winning the first three races including both the Agassiz and the Distaff.
In the Agassiz, Morales patiently stalked a forced pace aboard heavily favoured C.C. Ride from the outside, made his move on the final turn and opened up into the stretch, drawing off the win by 4 ¾-lengths. Calitor rallied to finish second and it was 2 ½-lengths back to Danger Rules in third. Pure Glory finished fourth and last after setting the pace inside under pressure from Danger Rules to late on the final turn.
The final time was 1:42.20 for the mile, but the winner probably could have run faster. The Manitoba-bred 5-year-old by Candy Ride-Notable Crusader by Crusader Sword was simply too good for his rivals. Bred by Dr. Betty Hughes and owned by Gerald Babchishin, C.C. Ride was winning his third race in a row in the Agassiz while improving his lifetime record to 8-1-4 from 22 starts for earnings of $127,770. He earned $18,000 for the Agassiz win. Trained by Tanya Lindsay, C. C. Ride paid $2.40 to win.
Golden Stripe is led into the Winner's Circle after winning the Distaff.
K-5 Stable’s Golden Stripe was similarly dominant in the $30,000 Distaff Stakes, although she utilized a different running style. Morales sent her to the front from the outset in the one-mile race, rated her to the stretch and drew off as he pleased to win by 6 ½-lengths over Tactical Girl. Key to Glory finished another 1 ¾-lengths back in third. The final time for the race was 1:43.00, but like C.C. Ride, Golden Stripe likely could have run faster if necessary.
Trained by Shelley Brown, the chestnut 7-year-old Manitoba-bred mare by El Corredor-Terra Cotta by Rare Brick was bred her owner, who was happy to see her improve her stellar lifetime record to 9-8-2 from 26 starts for earnings of $270,382.
The word was out on the Pick-4 carryover of $5,501 going into Saturday’s card and the pool swelled to $44,534 by the time the fourth race and first leg of the Pick-4 left the starting gate.
Hopes of cashing a monster ticket were on everyone’s agenda after heavy favourite Realistic Dreamer finished out of the money in the fourth race won by Minotaur won at 4-1, but it was not to be after even-money favourite Lots of Chrome won the fifth race followed by 3-1 shots Dream Now and Doc Tab in the sixth and seventh races respectively. The $2 Pick-4 paid $371.90.
The 15% Pick-4 is really starting to catch on at the Downs, with average pool sizes of around $7,000 and growing, and carryover pools that have ranged from $20,000 to over $40,000. The masses will be back in the pools again on Wednesday, as most went home happy with their Pick-4 payoff on Saturday. It was a decent payoff considering the odds on the horses that came in, but for a brief few moments…
There were some wheelbarrow dreams.
Next Post Time for Live Racing: 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 21, 2013