Hastings Round-Up
More horses appear on the work tab with each passing day; while we take a look at some of the hardworking horsemen and women helping to keep two shows on the road
Preparing for Take-Off
Dennis Dale, Peter Morris and Ed Welsh’s Sadie Diamond heroine AIR FORCE (Counterforce) was among Friday’s workers at Hastings. The filly, part of a good-sized group from the Keith Pedersen barn throughout the morning, enjoyed a three-furlong breeze; her second of the spring. Although a meaningless statistic at this stage of affairs, the fastest of the morning’s workers over the three furlongs was the Edgar Mendoza-trained, once-raced maiden, PENALTY TO RANGERS (Storm Victory). Mendoza and Pedersen provided the lion’s share of workers on Friday as handlers continue to ramp up conditioning ahead of opening day on April 30. Pedersen was also responsible for seven of the eight who worked four panels on Friday morning, although it was the Robbie Henson-trained RACING RIVER (Lent) who stopped the clock quickest. You can see all of the times workers from Friday by clicking on the blue button.
Yearlings For Sale
Canadian Thoroughbred Horses Society (CTHS) Vice President Ralph Jesiak is offering three yearlings for sale.
Jesiak, who enjoyed a crackerjack 2022 season as the breeder of winners of both legs of the two-year-old CTHS Sales Stakes races with LOVEABOVEANDBEYOND (Counterforce) and BUCK IN COMMAND (Second in Command), is anxious to ensure the three yearlings have the best preparation possible ahead of this year's CTHS Sale.
“They are nice yearlings,” Jesiak said. “I wish I could keep them but it’s just not possible at the moment due to my health. I want to make sure whoever takes them on has enough time to prepare them for the sale, if that’s what they want to do.”
The three well-bred yearlings are all colts and comprise: a full-brother to the CTHS Sales Stakes hero BUCK IN COMMAND (pictured); a COUNTERFORCE (Smart Strike) colt out of GIGI (The Factor); and a colt by CONVEYANCE (Indian Charlie) out of RENEE’S GIFT (Atta Boy Roy), who Jesiak purchased as a three-in-one package at last year’s WTBOA Summer Yearling & Mixed Sale at Emerald Downs.
Anyone who is interested in finding out more can contact Ralph directly on: 604.644.3226
Working Both Sides
While it’s tempting to think that the horsemen and women of Hastings simply hibernate once the season ends each fall, the reality is that ends must be met – and it’s not everyone who can jet off to warmer climes until the weather improves.
Fortunately, the skills required to care for Thoroughbreds and run racecourses are transferable, regardless of the horse breed and, so, during the winter months, many names and faces familiar to racegoers at Hastings can be found out in Surrey, on the backside of Fraser Downs, BC’s ever-present Standardbred track at Cloverdale.
They’ve been racing at Cloverdale for many decades and under the Fraser Downs banner since 1996. There is a long and proud history of Thoroughbred people turning their hand to the ‘jughead’ world. For many, such as Shawn Lawson (above), the passion they have for Standardbred horses runs as deep in their blood as it does for the Thoroughbreds.
“I just love it,” Lawson explained when we talked at Fraser Downs recently. “It’s as much a social thing as it is work.”
Lawson, who has been hanging around the backstretch since he was a kid, will be renewing his Thoroughbred training career this year, taking charge of a team of Willow Creek-owned horses at Hastings, but he still finds the time to help out at Fraser and can’t foresee a time when he wouldn’t be a regular on the Cloverdale backstretch.
“It’s just lots of fun to hang out with friends and to be with the horses,” he said.
The names of those dedicated to both disciplines are many and varied. Nichelle Milner, for instance, is racing operations manager for both venues. Natalie Woodrow (below), meanwhile, helps Nichelle in the office and is also a member of the adrenaline-fuelled Hastings’ gate crew that does such magnificent work ensuring the safety of horses and riders at the start of every race.
Outrider Cindy Barroby is another ever-present at both tracks, while a variety of key ‘race-day’ personnel include the likes of Registered Animal Health Technician, Sylvia Drew. On the front-side, in the warm, there is the Racebook team headed by CEO Matt Ruhlman that also includes the familiar voice of veteran commentator Dan Jukic, who calls the action at both tracks.
Long-time Hastings trainer Pat Jarvis (above), who as an accomplished seamstress is also in demand to create many of the blankets, silks and blinkers seen at both tracks, has become a successful owner of Standardbred horses over the past two seasons and finds the ‘winter game’ a good way to relax without the stress of needy owners!
“I get just as excited with a Standardbred runner,” she said. “But it’s less stressful because I’m not training them!”
Several of the Standardbred drivers also have close ties with the Thoroughbred world, including Allan Molloy (below), who has been coming over from Vancouver Island to drive on Thursdays and Fridays and driving up a storm this season (he currently enjoys one of the leading wins-to-drives percentages in the standings and is on eight wins for the season). Molloy was a familiar face at Hastings, where, in addition to acting as a valet, his farriery skills were also much in demand.
However, Thoroughbred or Standardbred, the real work of course is done by the grooms and, with only a small overlap of season between the two sports, there is plenty of opportunity to work both places, as Larissa Zagorsky (below) explained: “I like the flexibility of being able to ‘swing groom’ in both places,” she said. “It’s a little more relaxed here at Fraser than it can be with the Thoroughbreds.”
Zagorsky will be back at Hastings again this summer, as too will a lengthy supporting cast list of important players, such as Riley Noble (below), who was grooming at Fraser Downs the night we visited. At Hastings, Riley looks after no less a star than INFINITE PATIENCE and is another who is typical of the ties that bind these two horse families together.
Racing continues at Fraser Downs each Thursday and Friday evening until May 5, while the eagerly-awaited 2023 Hastings season begins on April 30.
Dubai World Cup
The travelling circus that is top class international racing plants its Big Top in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday morning (our time), with $12 million up for grabs in the 27th running of the Dubai World Cup. A full card of million-dollar Stakes action gets underway at 4:30am, with the big race due off at 9:35am. A field of 15 are scheduled to go to post for the 10-furlong dirt contest, including a strong contingent of raiders from Japan. North American hopes rest with the Bob Baffert-trained morning line favourite, COUNTRY GRAMMER (Tonalist), who will be looking to follow up on his famous win in last year’s race. Connections of the six-year-old will be hoping for a mirror image of 2022 when the globetrotter arrived in the UAE on the back of a second-place finish in the mega-rich Saudi Cup. Owned by Commonwealth Thoroughbreds LLC and Winstar Farm LLC, Country Grammer will again be ridden by Frankie Dettori and will renew rivalry with Japan’s historic 2023 Saudi Cup winner, PANTHALASSA (Lord Kanaloa) - N Reid.
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