Page 26 - April 2007 The Game

26 The Game, April 2007 Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
Archie MacDonald and his wife Marlene
2006 leading trainers Barbara Heads and Terry Clyde
Trainer Terry Jordan, jockey Chad Hoverson, and owner Bob Cheema shared the glory with their crew.
left to right Terry Ajmaer, K.K. and Shaheen Sangara, proud owners of BC bred 3-Year-Old SEVEN SECRETS
2006 BC Thoroughbred Industry Awards
Coquitlam, BC (March 20/07) -- True Metropolitan was the star of the show at the 2006 Thoroughbred Industry Awards presentations March 16. Named BC’s Thoroughbred Horse of the Year as well as Top Older Horse he twice put owner Bob Cheema and trainer Terry Jordan in the spotlight at a sold-out awards banquet at the Boulevard Casino.
True Metropolitan won seven stakes races in 2006 with victories in the Spangled Jimmy, the Westerner, and Speed to Spare at Edmonton’s Northlands Park and the Herald Gold Cup at Stampede Park in Calgary. Then after scoring impressive wins at Hastings Racecourse capturing the Sir Winston Churchill and Premiers, True Metropolitan finished his amazing season by winning the Woodbine Slots Cup in Toronto.
Cheema, who also took home the champion sprinter trophy for his good horse Quiet Cash, finished the 2006 season at Hastings as the leading owner with 20 wins and just under $450,000 in earnings.
Barbara Heads and Terry Clyde were named co-winners in the leading trainer category, each recording 48 victories. They were co-winners of the Diamond Award of Excellence.
Pedro Alvarado and Mario Mario Gutierrez were named leading rider and top apprentice. Russ and Lois Bennett made the familiar trip to the podium as leading breeders for the 20th time in 21 years. The Bennetts’ earnings were more than $574,000 in 2006. Vying Victor was both the leading sire and leading juvenile sire; Desert Mouse was the champion broodmare.
There were three inductions to the BC Racing Hall of Fame.
ARTIC SON, a winner of 13 races and $501,000. A three-time winner of the BC Cup Classic and former Horse of the Year Artic Son was owned by Amir Vahabzadeh and trained by Cindy Krasner. He is a happy pensioner today at Vahabzadeh's farm in Aldergrove BC.
Popular Hastings horseman Lance Giesbrecht was a well-deserved inductee in the trainers category. Giesbrecht, a four time leading trainer at Hastings holds the record of most victories in a season, 76 set in 1997 when he posted an impressive 29.8 winning percentage. He trained for owners John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery, Cecil Peacock, Peter Redekop and fellow inductee John Gunther.
Owner-breeder John Gunther first ran horses at exhibition Park in the 1970s later moving his operation to Glennwood Farm in Versailles, KY. In 2005 Glennwood horses, Stevie Wonderboy and First Samurai, finished first and third respectively in the Breeders Cup Juvenile. Stevie Wonderboy won the Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old in North America. Gunther also has had two horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby,
Kimberlite Pipe and Eye of The Tiger. Both finished fifth.
Archie MacDonald’s last official duty as Chairman of the Hall of Fame, was to emcee the induction ceremonies. His final duty was to turn over the reigns to Daily Racing Form analyst Randy Goulding.
Following is the complete list of 2006 award winners:
HORSE OF THE YEAR (Open): True Metropolitan (Owner:
Bob Cheema, Trainer: Terry Jordan). HORSE OF THE YEAR (BC) Spaghetti Mouse (Owner: Pauline & Nick Felicella, Trainer: Gary Demorest). OLDER HORSE (Open):
True Metropolitan.
OLDER HORSE (BC):
Spaghetti Mouse.
SPRINTER: Quiet Cash (Owner: Bob Cheema, Trainer: Terry Jordan) OLDER FILLY OR MARE (Open): Monashee (Owner: Canmor Farms, Trainer: Tracy McCarthy.
OLDER FILLY OR MARE (BC): What a Blurr (Owner: D21 Stable, Trainer: Steve Henson). 3-YEAR-OLD (Open): Halo Steven (Owner: Marta Racing Ventures, Trainer: Barb Heads).
3-YEAR-OLD (BC): Seven Secrets (Owner: K.K. Sangara, Trainer: Harold Barroby).
3-YEAR-OLD FILLY (Open & BC): Excited Miss (Owner: Leif Nordahl, Trainer: Barb Heads).
2-YEAR-OLD (Open & BC): Ookshada (Owner: PM Racing &
TD Stables, Trainer: Jacobson-Cloutier). 2-YEAR-OLD-FILLY (Open & BC): Suva (Owner: Jeffrey Sengara, Trainer: Steve Henson).
BREEDERS OF THE YEAR:
Lois and RJ Bennett
BREEDER OF SADIE DIAMOND
WINNER: Carol and Bryan Anderson (Chelsey’s Image).
BREEDER OF JACK DIAMOND WINNER: Whitehouse Stables (Ookashada).
CHAMPION SIRE: Vying Victor. CHAMPION JUVENILE SIRE: Vying Victor.
CHAMPION BROODMARE: Desert Mouse.
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Terry Clyde and Barb Heads.
BACKSTRETCH AWARD:
New Stride (retired horse placement). LEADING TRAINERS: Terry Clyde, Barbara Heads.
LEADING JOCKEY: Pedro Alvarado LEADING APPRENTICE JOCKEY: Mario Gutierrez.
Photosby JimReynolds
Bob Cheema owner of Quiet Cash and True Metropolitan
Jeffrey Sengara whose filly SUVA was voted two-year-old of the year poses with proud son Kevin
Hall of Fame inductee Lance Giesbrecht and cowboy turned poet for the evening Brian Cozak
Leif Nordahl and granddaughter Jessica took home the trophy for EXCITED MISS as top 3 year-old filly
Lola McCarthy and son-in-law Chris Loseth with Monashee's plaque for older mare
R.J. 'Russ' and Lois Bennett smile after adding another trophy to their extensive leading breeder collection
Mark and Toni Jacobson-Cloutier trainers of 2-Year-old (Open & B.C.) champion OOKASHADA