Page 14 - September 2005 The Game

14 The Game, September 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
~ Alberta Racing ~
Alabama Rain wins Canadian Derby
By Jonathan Huntington
Peter Redekop hasn’t forgotten paying $150,000 US for a horse earlier in his career that didn’t exactly pay the bills.
“The horse never won a race,” said the Vancouver real estate developer, who has owned horses since 1968.
Alabama Rain is another horse Redekop will not forget purchasing - but for a totally different reason.
With the power, speed and determination of a champion, Alabama Rain captured the richest Canadian Derby in history on Aug. 27 at Edmonton’s Northlands Park, becoming one of the best invest- ments in Western Canadian racing in the last 20 years.
“He was an awesome deal,” said Redekop.
That is almost an understatement.
Bought for $16,000 as a two-year-old in training
near Vancouver in 2004, Alabama Rain earned $189,000 for winning the $300,000 Derby - and now has $408,000 in career earnings.
But his victory in the Canadian Derby didn’t come without some very stressful moments for Redekop and jockey Pedro Alvarado.
“I thought we were hopelessly beat,” said Redekop, remembering the first mile of the grueling marathon.
“I had kind of given up.”
Alabama Rain spent the first mile in horrendous traffic on the five-eighths mile Northlands oval.
Surrounded by a pack of runners in the 11-horse field, the Vancouver import was being bounced and jostled under Alvarado.
“I tried to take my horse out of the trouble, but they (other horses) kept shoving me down,” said the Vancouver-based rider.
However, when the field vacated the clubhouse turn during the second lap in the one-mile and three- eighths tilt, Alvarado finally saw daylight to the out- side - and kicked the gelding into high gear.
Bolting five-wide up the backstretch, the 2-1 favourite closed five lengths from eighth spot in a few blinks of an eye.
Vying for the lead in the final turn, Alabama Rain showed his class and determination in the stretch, pulling away to win by almost five lengths.
Ding Dong Dandy - a 30-1 longshot racing on eight days rest, finished second; Knight’s Covenant nabbed third. Out From Africa, the 9-5 morning line favourite after racing on the Canadian Triple Crown trail this summer, finished a disappointing sixth.
“My horse is in such good shape that he did it easy,” continued Alvarado, winning his first Derby in his career.
“He’s totally different from when he is at Hastings (Park, the Vancouver track).
“He’s underweight all the time (at Hastings).
“But today he was on top of his game.”
Alabama Rain will likely take his red-hot game
back home to Vancouver for the $250,000 B.C. Derby on Sept. 24.
Under the guidance of Hastings trainer Lance Giesbrecht, the sophomore runner has now won three straight stakes.
Good News/Bad News at Alberta Yearling Sale
By Jonathan Huntington
There is good news and bad news from the recent Alberta thoroughbred yearling sale.
The bad news: the sale was down almost $100,000 from 2004.
The good news: the $1.235 million gross total from the 2004 auction stands as the record in this province, meaning this year’s sale was still relatively good.
A dark bay colt by Regal Remark-La Belle Bleu topped the
sale with a $40,000 winning bid from W.J. Scott and partners for consignors Sycamore Stable.
To no huge surprise, an A Fleets Dancer baby, a chestnut colt from the dam Little Storm, attracted plenty of bids, with Donver Stable nabbing the yearling for $34,000 from Cam Allard.
This marked the first year an Alberta sale featured A Fleets Dancer offspring. A Fleets Dancer earned more than $1 million for Edmonton owner Cam Allard. After winning the 1998 Canadian
Derby, the feisty colt entered the Louisiana Super Derby. He eventually started in the $4 million US Breeders‚ Cup Classic in 2001.
But there were plenty of horses that didn’t attract much atten- tion during the two-day sale on Aug. 20-21 in Edmonton, and that is a problem.
In fact, 63 horses in the pack of 191 offered at the sale didn’t reach the reserve bid, a startling increase from 37 steeds in the same spot in 2004.
But sale manager Rennie Gellner doesn’t seem too concerned.
“I think that problem is sorting itself out,” said Gellner of the Alberta CTHS division.
“We had one consigner go to Kentucky and bought 12 or 14 horses and his horses weren’t well received.
“I am very confident he will not repeat that process next year.
“Almost 10% of our horses didn’t reach a bid and I think a number of those consignors will not consign horses from those families in the summer sale (next year).”
SharonTomlinson and Rennie Gellner of theAlberta Division of the CTHS, took time out of their busy schedule before the yearling sales to meet with The Game at their office. You can see the Coliseum at Stampede Park in the background from the office patio.
Three-year-old filly, Papoose Dancer, number 8 on the outside, was the eventual winner in her first lifetime start in the sixth race at Northlands Park on August 6 for trainer Lianne Knechtel and owner Norman McAllister. Jockey Nadia Dohnalova was in the irons for the win.
Raylene and Royalty Boy Head Back West
Five-year-old Kentucky bred mare, Raylene, was shipped back to Northlands Park in Alberta after spending a season at Woodbine with trainer Reade Baker. She didn’t waste time upon arriving in Edmonton.
The Calmar Stables & Ranch owned and Rodney Haynes trained, daughter of Tabasco Cat - Petite Princess was the win- ner of the $75,000 City of Edmonton Distaff Handicap on August 28. She was ridden to victory by Rickey Walcott.
Royalty Boy, a 4-year-old Alberta-bred colt had campaigned two seasons in Calgary and Edmonton and made one trip to Winnipeg last year where he won the Manitoba Derby for trainer Bruce Phelan.
Royalty Boy was sent to Woodbine in 2005 and has been unsuccessful in his four starts in Toronto. His next start is reported to be the $100,000 Speed to Spare Stakes at Northlands on September 10.
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