Page 8 - April 2009 The Game
P. 8

8 The Game, April 2009
The 2008 Alberta Champions
Suzie Rides to War
Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
meant Twiggy would be close to the front and out of trouble. She looked to me to be the best horse in the race. As an added bonus, she had her favourite
The Suffolk Girls
The 2008 Alberta Thoroughbred Awards dinner was held at the Northlands AgriCom on March 21. The following are this year’s award winners: (information from www. thehorses.com)
Dandy Dora
Victorious in all three Edmonton
When her mare, Twiggy T
was claimed, Suzie Pye was devastated. On the phone that
night, she told the trainer, JC
Gilbert, that he had to get the mare back, whatever the cost. She gave him further instructions to bring Twiggy’s warm winter blanket to her new trainer’s barn and make sure he
put it on her. JC wasn’t pleased
with these directions but Hilary
and I made sure he served his penance.
2008 Leading Jockey: Quincy Welch - The sixth time he has won
the award in the last seven years. Welch had 155 wins and 317 top-three  nishes in 512 mounts last year. His purse earnings topped $1.9 million in 2008.
2008 Champion 2-year-old colt: Robo Willie
2008 Leading Trainer: Robertino Diodoro - First time winner of the award, Diodoro recorded 53 wins last season and 130 top-three runs in 293 starts.
The No. 1 contender for the Canadian Derby before falling ill last summer.
Bargaining began the next
morning. Each day, Suzie
would phone me from Atlanta
and I would faithfully relay
her latest bid to JC, who was negotiating with the new
trainer. By the end of the week, a deal was struck and Twiggy was back in JC’s barn. There was no extra money in the coffers now.
2008 Leading Owner: Bar None Ranches - Total earnings for last year surpassed $525,000.
Called a cash register by owner Kevin Lung, she had eight top-two runs in ‘08.
surface, a heavy, drying out track.
At 12-1, she was a steal. I conferred
2008 Leading Breeder: Horizon Farm Ltd. - Their homebreds earned $377,236 in 2008. This marks the second straight year Horizon Farm has won this award and the third time in four years.
All  ve wins last year were stakes, as she earned almost $210,000
When she returned from Atlanta, Suzie was reunited with her beloved Twiggy. She would be in the saddle for the next race, though she did give some thought to putting Hilary Brown back on. Hilary had ridden the mare well and had one important advantage— ve pounds off. Though Suzie had been riding for less than
a year, and had only three wins, she didn’t have the bug.
with Denise and together we put $10 on the nose. (Denise and I were used to risking our lives but not our money— that was a big bet for us.)
2008 Freshman Sire: Tempered Appeal - He is owned by Bar None Ranches.
Win total at NP: Alberta Breeders Handicap, Sun Sprint and Spangled Jimmy.
2008 Champion Claimer: Norm’s At Cheers
2008 Champion Alberta-bred: Teagues Fight
Five wins and eight top-two  nishes in 2008 for $50,000 in earnings.
Lifetime earnings of $542,835 - and every dime has been earned in Alberta.
In 1975, there was an age limit on apprentices. Anyone over the age of 26 applying for a license was not eligible for the  ve pound weight allowance. Suzie was 28 when she applied and had to plunge into her career as a journeyman. Needless to say, it was almost impossible for her to get mounts. She often railed against this regulation stating emphatically that
2008 Champion Sprinter: Inuit Fisher
He has won 15 races from 28 career starts with 23 top-three  nishes.
Finished in the top three in all six Alberta starts in 2008.
2008 Horse of the Year: Teagues Fight
He won the Journal Handicap at Northlands.
2008 Horseperson of the Year: Danny Dion
2008 Champion 2-year-old  lly:
“I want to hear how she explains this one!” I exclaimed in disgust, ripping our ticket to shreds.
starts last year, including two $50,000 stakes.
Captured the Birdcatcher and Edmonton Juvenile at Northlands.
2008 Champion 3-year-old colt: Arkhill
He won the Alberta Derby and Ky Alta for owner Ted Davis.
2008 Champion Older Mare: Tanika
2008 Champion Older Horse: Teagues Fight
We helped Suzie prepare for the race and checked her equipment, as usual. She was out in the saddling paddock on time, ready to go. We watched the screen closely as the horses loaded into the gate. Twiggy broke sharply and was headed to the front with the leaders but Suzie was standing up in the stirrups, pulling her back. She then crouched down, allowed her to run a few strides before standing up again. First she was on the rail, then she was outside. She continued to weave in and out like a rudderless ship, drifting to the middle of the track for the turn and close to the outside rail for the trip down the homestretch. She  nished well off the board.
In Calgary he won the Herald Gold Plate and Sales Stake.
it was not only unfair but against the constitution, just as the ruling against women jockeys had been. I agreed with her but who wanted to tackle that bastion of male authority, the Racing Commission?
Within minutes, the door to the jocks’ room  ew open. Suzie stood there, covered from head to toe in heavy, wet dirt. She blinked furiously to get the dirt out of her eyes. “Ah forgot to put ma goggles on!”
A Head at the Wire
A Series of Real Life Stories by Paddy Head
Jason Teague New Race Secretary
Northlands Racing Secretary Fred Hilts has retired from his position to become a jockey’s agent at Northlands. Before his departure he recommended 37-year-old Jason Teague as his replacement. Starting as an entry clerk in 1999, Jason had been working as Fred’s assistant since 2002.
Did You Know....
That 2003 Canadian Derby winner, Raylene’s  rst foal will be racing as a two-year-old this year at Northlands Park under trainer Rod Haynes. The  lly named Jeppino is by Fusaichi Pegasus and owners Calmar Stables hope that she will race late this summer.
The now nine-year-old mare was the winner of 16 races and career earnings of more than $775,000. She had a  lly by A.P. Indy last year and a colt by the same sire this year. She is scheduled to be bred to Tiznow for 2009.
In March of ’75, the spring meet began. I was sitting in the jockeys’ room studying my mounts in the Racing Form and decided to take a look at Twiggy T’s race. (Needless to say, it was not a claiming race.) I was surprised by the lack of talent in the short  eld. As sometimes happens, the allowance race presented an easier  eld than the $5000 claimer. There was no real speed in the race which
Denise and I soon got over our lost bet but Suzie was on slow boil for
the rest of the afternoon, mumbling and complaining. The incident of the forgotten goggles led her to thoughts of her lack of mounts and the unfair ruling which deprived her of the apprentice weight allowance. By the time we left the jocks’ room, her mood was explosive. She wanted to  ght, not only for herself but for every aspiring jockey, man or woman, beyond the age limit.
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When we reached the parking lot, Suzie was at battle pitch. “Ah’ve
had enough,” she declared, a steely determination in her voice that I’d never heard before. “Ah’m takin’ the Massachusetts Racing Commission to court.”
Suzie, like David was about to take on her personal Goliath. This was one  ght I wasn’t going to miss.
The Game April 2009.indd
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