Dragon Drew ($43.10) and Ciera Pruitt win the seventh race on Tuesday night at ASD for trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr. resulting in a massive $1 Pick 4 payoff of $9,039.10. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
By G.S. Thompson
Trainers Steve Keplin, Jr and Devon Gittens were about as hot as a trainer can get this week. Keplin scored a hat trick at ASD, while Gittens won three races at Woodbine and another locally.
Keplin won two races on Tuesday and another on Wednesday to move to a commanding lead in the trainer standings. He won the first race on Tuesday with Sumitup ($11.20), and the third race with Judo ($8.60). He also won the fourth race on Wednesday with Joe’s Had Enough ($3.20). Keplin is winning at an amazing 37% clip and tops the standings with 11 wins, followed by Tom Gardipy, Jr. (7) Lise Pruitt (6) Jared Brown (5) and Wendy Anderson (5)
Joe’s Had Enough wins the fourth race on Wednesday, giving leading trainer Steve Keplin, Jr. a hat trick on the week. Prayven Badrie up. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Gittens, who conditions horses both locally and at Woodbine, turned some heads at Woodbine on Sunday, winning with two first-time starters, both ridden by former ASD jockeys. Gittens teamed up with jockey Keveh Nicholls to win the second race at Woodbine on Sunday with So Delicious ($25.60) and the ninth race with Dontgobackonurword ($23.80) and Juan Crawford.
Gittens also won a race on Saturday at Woodbine and another at ASD on Wednesday with Venti ($3.40) for owners Larry Falloon and Maddy Derksen. All three Woodbine winners were owned by Canada’s leading owner Bruno Schickedanz. Gittens is now fifth in the Woodbine trainer standings with a record of 7-5-2 from 28 starts, a 25% win clip.
Venti (#6) on his way to victory in the second race on Wednesday at ASD, giving trainer Devon Gittens his fourth winner on the week, three of which came at Woodbine. Rachaad Knights up. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
The hot jockeys on the week were Sven Balroop and Prayven Badrie, who each scored hat tricks. Balroop now leads all jockeys with 11 wins, followed by Badrie and Damario Bynoe with 10 wins apiece. Antonio Whitehall and Rachaad Knights round out the top five with nine wins each.
Tom Gardipy, Jr. won a pair of races on the week including the seventh race on Tuesday with Dragon Drew ($43.10), ridden by Ciera Pruitt. Dragon Drew combined with the winners of races four through six – Corredor ($34.20), Smackoverlime ($13.10) and Thatswhathesaid ($3.00) – to cap off a massive $1 Pick 4 payoff of $9,039.10 from a Pick 4 Pool of $139,377, which boosted the total wagering handle to $1,597,466.
Longshot Corredor (#4) and jockey Damario Bynoe on their way to winning the fourth race on Tuesday at ASD for trainer Norbert Keshane. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia photo)
The huge Pick 4 payoff on Tuesday resulted in a huge influx of cash into Wednesday’s Pick 4 pool, which came in at $198,789. Wednesday’s $1 Pick 4 paid $301.55, and the total wagering handle for the evening was a whopping $1,947,741!
Racing continues next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. See you then!