Page 18 - October 2005 The Game

18 The Game, October 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
~ Alberta Racing ~
By Jonathan Huntington
There is no clear-cut choice for Alberta Horse of the Year, but there is an easy choice for who has the best story in this province this season.
Without a doubt, Ding Dong Dandy wins that category.
Almost 14 months after being stuck in racing’s outpost in this part of the country, the three-year-old gelding is the top sophomore runner at Northlands Park, the No. 1 track in Alberta.
He can boast that title now after winning the $50,000 Beaufort Handicap on Alberta Fall Classic afternoon in Edmonton.
Under perfect guidance from jockey Steph Heiler, Ding Dong Dandy hit fourth gear near the final turn and cruised from that point to an easy three length score on Sept. 24.
“He did it so easy,” said Heiler after the one-mile and one-sixteenth tilt.
“He ran an amazing race.”
Amazing is a good word describe this gelding’s story.
It started three months before he was born.
Legendary Calgary broadcaster Ed Whalen died in December 2001.
The voice of Stampede Wrestling for 29 years and the Calgary Flames for 19 years, Whalen was a broadcasting icon in this province.
He invented the phrase “Ring-a-ding- dong-dandy” and it became his catch phrase.
Three months after
he died, a new foal dropped on the ground at Bar None Ranches near Calgary.
To honour Whalen, owner Lynn Chouinard named the youngster Ding Dong Dandy.
However, this story was in danger of never being told.
Ding Dong Dandy was just one of
several two-year- olds in trainer Ron Grieves’ stable at Northlands last summer.
Big numbers are the norm for Grieves – the main trainer on the Alberta ‘A’ circuit for Bar None Ranches – and Ding Dong Dandy wasn’t making the cut.
Roaring while he galloped – obviously a bad sign for any young horse – Ding Dong Dandy wasn’t considered a prime
time player for Northlands and was sent to Pete Dubois at a bush track in Grand Prairie, a small city five hours north of Edmonton.
“He was scared of everything, he kind of held his breath,” recalled Dubois, the Bar None Ranches’ conditioner at one of Canada’s most northern tracks.
But with patience and understanding, life took a much different turn.
Dubois started to calm the steed’s nerves by introducing him to objects around the heavily treed track and barn area.
“He got to think racing was fun,” stated Dubois.
He returned to Northlands last September and proved it, winning two of his next three starts last fall.
That trend didn’t continue this spring due to sickness.
But fun is now – once again - a good word to describe Ding Dong Dandy’s attitude on the track.
At 20-1 odds, with just eight days rest, he ran second in the $300,000 Canadian Derby in late August.
One month later he wins a race on Fall Classic afternoon, which is really the Breeders’ Cup of thoroughbred racing in this province.
The card offers seven stake races for the best Albert-bred runners. In the 9th annual event, Ding Dong Dandy added another chapter to his great story.
Ding Dong Dandy wins Beaufort Stakes. Photo Ryan Haynes
Alberta Fall Mixed Sale October 8
~ Fall Classic Wrap ~
$50,000SturgeonRiverHandicap
2-year-old fillies
How do four wins in five starts and $117,000 in earnings sound for a rookie campaign?
It sounds pretty good to Donver Stable,
Thirty minutes after Speedy Gone Sally’s win, her younger brother won the Premier’s Futurity.
Teagues Fight now has two stake wins this season for owners Max and Don Gibb, who bought this youngster for less than $6,000.
$50,000 Red Diamond Express
Sprinters
Cool Bender is a model of consistency. His victory in the Red Diamond should-
n’t have come as a huge shock. He has been first or second in all five starts at Northlands this season for Ab Brewster and his conditioner Barry Brown.
$75,000 Breeders’ Handicap
Older Horses
Beau Brass could have made history as the first horse to ever win three Fall Classic races.
But Fuhr Ore denied history by scoring the upset of the afternoon, giving Bar None Ranches and trainer Ron Grieves another winner.
$75,000 Distaff
Mares
Floyd Arthur is the first trainer to hit the double-digit win mark in Fall Classic his- tory. His 10th win came with longshot S.L. Charmer.
especially when Magic for just $10,000.
Kaylee’s Magic won the Sturgeon River by almost three lengths, but it could have been six lengths if jockey Rickey Walcott had pushed her.
they bought Kaylee’s
Kaylee’s Magic
$50,000 Alberta Oaks
3-year-old fillies
Speedy Gone Sally is an even better deal than Kaylee’s Magic. Bought for less than $4,000, she has now earned $170,000 for John Murphy after winning the Alberta Oaks over favoured Wild Bender.
$50,000 Alberta Premier’s Futurity
2-year-old colts/geldings
The Devonwood-One Hundred Plus breeding combination at Horizon Farms has definitely proved to be a winning one.
The CTHS (Alberta) Fall Mixed Sale boasts 153 horses in its catalogue which are up for auction on Saturday, October 8 at 6pm at the Sportex Building at Northlands Park in Edmonton. A supplementary catalogue with more than a dozen late entries brings the total to 165 mares, weanling, yearlings and horses of racing age offered for sale.
Rennie Gellner, of the CTHS, says that the catalogue has something for everyone, offering a number of quality yearlings as well as horses that would suit a second
market on the show side. There are horses by local and out of country sires as well as a few nice broodmares which are eligible for the popular thoroughbred breed improvement program in the province. The details of the 2006 Thoroughbred Breed Improvement Program are due out before the sale and are said to include some exciting changes and additions for the 2006 season. For more information con- tact the CTHS (Alberta) at 403-229-3609 or visit their website at cthsalta.com
Northlands Park Stakes Recap
Saturday, September 3, 2005
Bird of Pay Stakes - 2 yr-old fillies $50,000
Winner: Kaylee’s Magic
Owner: Donver Stables
Trainer: Greg Tracy
Jockey: Rickey Walcott
Breeder: Norman J. McAllister in AB Pedigree: Magic Prospect
- Miss Cynthia, by Market Fever
Monday, September 5, 2005 Birdcatcher Stakes - 2 yr-old colts & geldings
$50,000
Winner: Bell n’ Gone
Owner: Bar None Ranches
Trainer: Ron Grieves
Jockey: Real Simard
Breeder: Karen & Mickey Taylor, LLC in ON
Pedigree: Fast Play - Belle Breesing, by Southern Halo
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Speed to Spare Stakes - 3 yr-old & up $100,000
Winner: Beau Brass
Owner: Tom White
Trainer: Rick Hedge
Jockey: Real Simard
Breeder: Denny Andrews in AB
Pedigree: Dixieland Brass
- Isabeau, by Prospector’s Pick
Sunday, September 11, 2005 Three Year Old Sales Stakes - 3 yr-old colts & geldings $49,000
Winner: Cinderchance
Owner: Tom White
Trainer: Rick Hedge
Jockey: Quincy Welch
Breeder: Horizon Farm Ltd. in AB Pedigree: Incinderator
- Chancino Gold, by Gold Stage
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