Page 16 - April 2005 The Game

16 The Game, April 2005
Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
~ Alberta Racing ~
Life on the Backstretch at Stampede Park
Photos by Pat Gauvreau
Joan Petrowski is a rather unique trainer.
"Now what's this suppose to cover?"
By Jonathan Huntington
In past years, when Bubblegum Kid used to run in stake races in this province, Petrowski was known to carry a huge pail of Double Bubble in her hands and a give a slab of gum to almost any- one walking near the paddock or her stable.
But Petrowski could become known for something more important this spring: being the architect behind a Derby winning stable.
With the annual Calgary spring thoroughbred meet just underway at Stampede Park, the quiet 62-year-old conditioner appears to have a barn that’s packed with contenders for the 75th Alberta Derby on June 18, the
Fancy Return to Form?:
If Linda Smith is right, there will be plenty of smiles in Fancy As’ camp this year.
After watching Fancy As in training this win- ter, Smith believes the once unbeatable runner is returning to form.
“He’s like the old Fancy As,” said the seven- year-old steed’s co-owner.
If Fancy As can show his old form in real races later this meet, he’ll quickly become a candidate for Comeback Horse of the Year in Canada.
Once the most popular and most powerful horse in Alberta, Fancy As’ life was a nightmare
highlight race of the year.
Although she’s been training for nearly 30 years, Petrowski has never found the winner’s circle on Derby day – but Poor Iggy gives her a great chance this year.
An impressive winner of last fall’s Canadian Juvenile Handicap in Edmonton – the most prestigious two-year-old race in the province – Poor Iggy is the early favorite to win the Alberta Derby.
“I think he does have the pedigree to go the (Derby) distance (of one-mile and one-six- teenth),” she said.
Poor Iggy winning the Canadian Juvenile Handicap at Northlands Park in 2004 with jockey Shannon Beauregard in the irons. Photo by Ryan Haynes.
in 2003 and 2004. After wining the first two races of his 2003 Calgary cam- paign – therefore stretching his career undefeated streak in Alberta to 12 races – the former Alberta Derby champion start- ed to show signs of
colic.
In the end, it wasn’t
colic but a strange appendage was restricting the flow of waste from his system.
The outstanding steed needed surgery the day the problem was detected to save his life.
Obviously, that hap- pened – but life hasn’t been the same since for was bought for only
She also has a pair of
undefeated sophomores in Love’s Conquest and Tiger King.
To be blunt, Love’s Conquest was nothing short of spectacular last year, winning his two allowance starts by a combined 22 lengths.
The Cinderella contender of the group is Magic For Six.
“He was bought for just $3,000,” remarked Petrowski of the stakes-placed colt.
But the rural Alberta native knows not to count her chickens before they hatch.
“I’m sure there will be a few lumps and bumps along the way (to the Derby),” she explained.
But she couldn’t have picked a better year to have a potent group of challengers.
Just days before the start of the meet, executives with Horse Racing Alberta – the governing body of the sport – announced major purse increases.
The Alberta Derby is now worth $125,000, up 25 per cent from last year, and the two key Derby prep races now offer a $50,000 purse, up from $40,000.
And if Petrowski emerges from the 47-day Calgary meet with the top three-year-old runner, the biggest payoff could come in Edmonton, where the Canadian Derby at Northlands Park now features a $300,000 purse.
Money, Money, Money: A total of 11 Stampede Park stake races will be run with a record purse this spring.
Due to increased betting and revenue from slot machines in racetrack grandstands in 2004, HRA was able to raise 10 Calgary stakes to $50,000 and the Alberta Derby to the before mentioned value.
the Manitoba-bred that $3,200.
After earning $651,437 in his first four years at the track, winning a truckload of huge races in Western Canada like the 2001 Canadian Derby and starting in the $1 million US Santa Anita Handicap in 2002, Fancy As has barely won a dime since.
“Everything made him cranky last year,” said Smith, who watched Fancy As lose all four of his starts last season.
But this year is a different story.
“He’s a totally different horse this spring,” said Cody Anderson, Fancy As’ groom.
It’s hard to argue with that after watching the gelding post two stellar workouts last month.
His first real test could come in the Stampede Park Sprint Championship on April 30 or the Teeworth Plate on May 21.
"Kaycey and Amber enjoy spending a day at the track with their parents visiting their horsey friends."
"Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go"
"We have to stop meeting like this"
Fact Box on Stampede Park Meet
Dates: April 1 – June 19 (47 days) Purses: $5.4 million
(est.); $115,000 per day Post Times: 6 p.m. Wed. & Fri.;
1 p.m. Sat. & Sun. MT Admission: Free
Major Races:
Stampede Park Sprint – April 30; Herald Gold Plate – June 12; Alberta Derby – June 18.
Live Audio/Video: www.stampede-park.com