Page 22 - August 2005 The Game

22 The Game, August 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
By Jonathan Huntington
Rarely has so much been accomplished in such little time.
At the age of 26, Quincy Welch has already become the most dominant jockey anybody has seen in Alberta in at least a decade.
Five times in the last six years, Welch has been the leading rider in this province. And providing he stays healthy for the rest of the summer, he will cruise to
another jockey title this year.
“He’s gifted,” explains top trainer Greg
Tracy.
“The good ones get horses to relax in
races without fighting them and that’s the ticket (to why Welch is successful).
“And Quincy knows how fast the pace is in every race. He knows how fast everything is going.
“And I guarantee you’ll never see him
get caught if he’s on the lead in the final turn.
“Just start walking to the betting windows (to cash your winning ticket).”
But Welch is about to hit a crossroads in his career.
The young Barbados native is committed to staying at Edmonton’s Northlands Park until closing day Oct. 29.
However, after the commitment is honoured, he would like to ride at a larger, more prestigious track in the next year, be it in Canada or south of the border.
“I would like to see how far I could go,” says Welch.
The fact he wants to move is in stark contrast to 1997, when the idea of leaving his homeland for someplace named Alberta wasn’t exactly appealing.
“I didn’t want to come that first year (1997) because I was just starting to do well in Barbados,”
he explains.
But he listened
to his peers and made the long move north with three other Barbados riders.
“The first two months (in Alberta in 1997) seemed like two years,” he remembers.
“But in hindsight, it
worked out fine.
“I never dreamed (I’d have success) like
this.”
After winning seven races on one card
in Edmonton last summer – setting a new Northlands record in the process – Welch re-wrote a different chapter in the Alberta racing history book this spring.
During the 45-day Stampede Park meet, he won 83 races, a new record.
A Sovereign Award finalist in the outstanding jockey category last year, Welch is on pace to break last year’s marks of 173 wins and $2.27 million in purse earnings in Alberta.
In fact, he could come close to 200 wins in this province and $2.3 million in earnings in 2005.
About the only items left on his to-do list are: winning the Alberta Derby in Calgary and Canadian Derby in Edmonton.
With the help of super-agent Bob Fowlis, Welch might scratch the Canadian Derby off that list this month.
If this is Welch’s last season in Alberta, it would be fitting if he won the richest Canadian Derby in history on Aug. 27.
Backstretch Banter:
Nominations for the $300,000 Canadian Derby – the richest race in Western Canada this year – close Aug. 17. The 76th Run for the Daisies will go to post at 4:45 p.m. on Aug. 27, televised live on the CTV affiliate in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
Around The Track:
Trainer Robertino Diodoro is hoping his newest three-year-old pupil will be among the nominations. Local owners
Randy Howg and Bob Butz paid an undis- closed price to buy Allright in June from southern California.
The acquisition made headlines because Allright competed against Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo in the Santa Anita Derby in early April.
In his only start since moving north to Alberta, Allright finished fifth in the $50,000 Ky Alta Handicap, the major Canadian Derby prep race of the summer at Northlands.
Finish Lines:
Alberta’s most historic racing card is back on the schedule.
After watching three floods hit their tiny community in three weeks in June, the hard-working volunteers in Millarville had to painfully cancel their historic July 1 racing card.
If Mother Nature had co-operated, the tiny half-mile oval in the small southern Alberta town would have celebrated its 100th birthday on July 1.
Recognized as Canada’s second-oldest racetrack, the Millarville oval is home to one racing card a year.
Thoroughbreds and quarterhorses gath- er every July 1 for the annual race day.
Although there is comfortable grand- stand seating for only 2,000, organizers were expecting almost 10,000 people to jam the track on Canada Day.
After much consultation, the card has been rescheduled to Sept. 4, with CTV broadcasting the Millarville Derby live between 4-5 p.m. MT on its Alberta affiliates.
~ Alberta Racing ~
A Must See SELECT Yearling! Hip #101
Bay colt by CAT’S AT HOME out of Imperial Miss. Half brother to Stakes winner ESTONIA, 6 wins 2 to 6, $272,649, stakes placed Imperial Alydeed, 4 wins 2 to 4, $273,842 and 3 other multiple winners from 5 to race.
From the female family of ARCROYAL (G3), Victory Arch (G3), TWILIGHT ENCOUNTER (G3), and MARBLE ARCH Champion (G1)
WINDFIELDS FARM AGENT
Experience the Party of the Year!
S
Black White
&
GALA
Tickets
$200 per person or $1500 for table of eight
Contact LongRun 416-675-3993, ext 3440 for more information
Friday, September 23, 2005
at the Woodbine Trackside Tent
Plated Dinner Open Bar
Exciting Auction Live Entertainment Lavish Prizes
& More!
Natural
Ulcer Problems? Picky Eaters? Pre-Race Proven Herbal Supplement
100% Guaranteed - Will Not Test
#1 Seller Overseas Ask for Wild Forage
Bleeding
Don’t Give Up!
Proven Herbal Supplement
Problems? Stops Bleeding Immediately
100% Guaranteed
Will Not Test - Original Chinese Herb
Tied Up? Untie. 26 years proven results. All natural ingredients, contains NO drugs. Does NOT test.
World Famous - Proven Results
Odds are...Horses on Untie will cover more ground per stride - improving odds of winning!
ABBEY ROAD • Call for details (248) 521-2221 • Fax (734) 261-4434 www.abbeyroadpresents.com
‘
Subscribe to TheGametoday! Call 1-866-886-5827
or visit www.thehorsegame.com
Now In Canada!