Page 16 - July 2005 The Game

16 The Game, July 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
By Peter Gross
I received great help putting this column together from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Director Louis Cauz, Daily Racing Form handicapper Jennifer Morrison and trainer Roger Attfield who has saddled seven Queen's Plate winners in the past 30 years. I have included their comments as noted.
The toughest decision I've made is to disqualify any horse that never ran in Canada. That means Nijinsky ll and The Minstrel, both fabulous horses (and sensational sires), did not make the list.
As with any list, opinions will vary. What you won't dispute is that this country has produced some amazing horses:
25: Inferno
Just the fact that it has been exactly 100 years since Inferno won the 1905 King's Plate entitles this colt to the list. Often bur- dened with as much as 136 pounds, Inferno beat the best in North America at Saratoga in handicaps and was no slouch at home, win- ning the King Edward Gold Cup three times, the Durham Cup twice and the Toronto Cup.
Cauz: "No discussion among old-timers of who was the fleetest Canadian-bred could proceed until someone had said, "I mean, next to Inferno, who was the most memo- rable?""
Inferno
24: Runaway Groom
Off a two-month rest in 1982, Runaway Groom stunned the bettors by finishing second in the Queen's Plate at odds of 38-1. Then he captured the Prince of Wales and Breeders' Stakes. However, it was what he did in August of that year that Canadians should never forget. Going off at 13-1 in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Runaway Groom was expected to be an afterthought in a field that included Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol, Preakness champ Aloma's Ruler and Belmont winner Conquistador Cielo. Runaway Groom rallied from last under jockey Jeff Fell and won the Travers by half a length, leaving the American broadcasters apoplectic and completely unprepared to explain what had happened. Runaway Groom has also been a huge hit as a sire - his offspring have earned more than $25 million.
23: Peteski
Peteski had the bad luck to be great at the wrong time. His sweep of the Canadian Triple Crown in 1993 elicited a universal ho hum because he was the fourth horse in five years (With Approval, Izvestia, Dance Smartly) to pull off the triple. It should be noted though, that his time of 1:54 2/5 in the Prince of Wales smashed the track record by 1 3/5 seconds and was two seconds better than Izvestia's time in that race. Following his win in the Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine, Peteski came back one month later to score a rousing 4 1/2 length romp in the Molson's Million at a mile and an eighth. He is not
placed higher on this list because he has yet to establish anything of note through his progeny.
Attfield: "He was great on the dirt, but was going to be fantastic on the turf. He was a true competitor with so much heart. It was very disappointing when we had to scratch him the morning of the Breeders' Cup. I was very high on him."
22: Fanfreluche
This second place finisher in the 1970 Queen's Plate was a true Canadian champion, winning the Manitoba Centennial Derby, the Natalma Stakes, the Bison City, the Fleur de Lys and the Quebec Derby. She also took the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, knocking over the best 3 year-old fillies in North America. As a broodmare, Fanfreluche was equally successful, giving Canadian racing fans L'Enjoleur (Canadian Horse of the year for 1975), Medaille D'Or, La Voyageuse, and L'Extravagante. In 1977, Fanfreluche was stolen in a bizarre 'horse- napping' case. She was, fortunately, recov- ered unharmed after missing for almost six months. At the time she was in foal to Secretariat and the healthy colt was subsequently named Sauf et Sain - Safe and Sound.
21: Victoria Park
An amazing three-year-old season in 1960 puts this horse among the elite. E.P Taylor's homebred was the first Canadian to hit the board in an American Triple Crown event. Victoria Park was third in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Preakness and passed on the Belmont in order to run in the Queen's Plate, which he won easily in 2:02, a time which stood until Izvestia shaved a fifth of a second off 30 years later. His offspring won more than 25 stakes including three consecutive Queen's Plates (Almoner, Kennedy Road and Victoria Song.)
20: Langfuhr
The grandson of Northern Dancer - his father is Danzig - Langfuhr won three of 11 races as a 3-year-old in 1995, then began dominating in middle distance races. In 1996 he won the Grade 2 Forego Handicap at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont. As a five-year-old he ran off with the Carter Stakes Handicap at Aqueduct and the Metropolitan Stakes at Belmont. He ended his racing career with nine wins in 23 starts, but has become a stunning influence as a dad - his third crop of horses won over $11 million, making Langfuhr in 2003, the leading third crop sire in North America. He fathered Canadian Triple Crown winner Wando.
19: George Royal
The biggest screw-up of George Royal's life is that he was born in 1961, same year as Northern Dancer. George Royal started his career in B.C., and as a three-year-old won nine consecutive races in that province. As a four-year-old, in 1965, he ran to a stunning win in the San Juan Capistrano Stakes at Santa Anita and followed that up with a win in the Canadian International Championship at Woodbine. That was so much fun, George Royal did it again in 1966, winning both the San Juan Capistrano and Canadian International for the second time. When he retired, George Royal had career earnings of $323,693, second only in Canada
The 25 Greatest
to.....Northern Dancer.
George Royal
18: WonderWhere
Wonder Where had such an inspiring three-year-old season in 1959 that she was voted Canada's Horse of the Year, even though New Providence had become the first horse to capture the Triple Crown. Wonder Where swayed the voters by winning the Canadian Oaks, the Woodstock and the Achievement Stakes as well as the Belle Mahone, Maple Leaf, Selene, Fury and Star Shoot Stakes. That's eight stakes wins in 17 starts and a pretty nice four-year-old cam- paign as well with victories in the Canadian Maturity, the Inferno, the Nassau and the Whimsical Stakes. Out of 33 lifetime starts, she won 19, took place nine times and was third three times, failing to finish in the money just twice in three years.
17: Chief Bearheart
Chief Bearheart's defining moment came in the 1997 $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Hollywood Racetrack when he came from far out of it to beat the best turf horses in the world. The Chief also used his late kick to score the Canadian International at Woodbine and those two triumphs were enough to convince the voters to give him the Eclipse as best Turf Horse in 1997. He continued to perform as a five-year-old in 1998, winning the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont, setting a track record in the process. Chief Bearheart also won the Niagara Breeders' Cup handicap and the Sky Classic Handicap at Woodbine and finished his career with 12 wins in 26 races and earnings of $3.4 million for owner-breeder Sam-Son Farms.
16: Flaming Page
The general feeling is that Flaming Page was robbed when they voted for Horse of the Year in 1962. All Flaming Page did was become the first filly to win both the Canadian Oaks and the Queen's Plate, doing so within a week. On top of that her $88,075 made her Canada's leading money earner in 1962, but strangely, Crafty Lace won the voters' hearts. Not ours though. Crafty Lace is not in our top 25. As a broodmare, Flaming Page had just three foals. One of them was NijinskyII who won the English Triple Crown, and another was Fleur, who delivered The Minstrel, the 1977 Horse of the Year in England.
15: Afleet
Unraced as a two-year-old, Afleet served notice of greatness in 1987 when he won the Grade I Jerome Stakes at Belmont. Afleet's time for the mile was 1:33 4/5th, second fastest in the 117-year history of the race. Later that year he won the Queenston and
Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine, but ran second to Market Control in the Plate itself. As a four-year-old, Afleet won the Grade 3 Toboggan Handicap and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap, both at Aqueduct. His third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Sprint pushed his career winnings to $995,235. Afleet is a money-maker as a sire; his offspring include five Breeders Cup starters - Northern Afleet, Top Secret, Big Sky Chester, Primo Ordine, and that race caller's delight, Flat Fleet Feet.
14: Belle Geste
In the early 70's Belle Geste was sensa- tional on the grass in Canada. A big stunning filly, Belle Geste started 41 times and came first 22 times with 11 seconds. She set a track record when she won the 1971 Breeders' Stakes and another with her victory in the 1972 Canadian Maturity when she outlasted Kennedy Road, stopping the timer in 2:01 2/5 for a mile and a quarter on the lawn.
Cauz: "Trainer Carl Chapman used to call her "Lana Turner". When she got on the grass she could beat anybody."
13: Glorious Song
1980 was a veritable symphony for Frank Stronach's Glorious Song. She raced 11 times and earned $525,617, which at the time, was a record for a Canadian-bred. That year she won the La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita, then the Santa Margarita, then shipped east to capture the Top Flight Handicap giving her successive wins in three Grade One races. Later that year she would defeat Overskate in the Michigan Mile and an Eighth and for good measure she returned to Woodbine to spank the colts in both the Dominion Day Handicap and the Canadian Maturity. She probably clinched her Eclipse Award as 1980's best filly or mare by running a close second to Spectacular Bid, creating the most obvious exactor of all time in the Haskell Handicap at Monmouth Park.
Attfield: "She was not only a great race filly, and an Eclipse Award winner, but also the Dam of world-class top stallions Rahy and Singspiel."
12: Sky Classic
By winning the Cup and Saucer, Grey and Summer Stakes in 1989, Sky Classic was voted Canada's outstanding two-year-old. A serious injury compromised his next season, but once he healed, he was a monster. In 1991 he captured the Rothman's International Handicap , the Arlington Handicap in Chicago, the Early Times Manhattan Handicap at Belmont and the Early Times Dixie Handicap at Pimlico, collecting over $1 million as a four-year-old and earning Sovereign Awards as Best Older Horse and Champion Turfster.
Izvestia