Hastings' Weekly Winter Round-Up
Infinite Patience is bound for Kentucky for her first mating, while there were recent wins for BC-breds on both sides of the continent
A First Mate for Patience
The remarkable mare INFINITE PATIENCE, who brought her extraordinary racing career to an end with a rousing head win in last October’s Ballerina Stakes, is on her way to Lexington, Kentucky for her first tryst.
The eight-year-old daughter of British Columbia sire SUNGOLD is slated for a breeding-shed appointment with Darley stallion, HARD SPUN (Danzig).
Now in the sole ownership of hockey star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, INFINITE PATIENCE is expected to remain in Kentucky until confirmed as “full” before returning to British Columbia to ensure her first foal is a BC-bred.
A stalwart of Darley America’s stallion roster, the 21-year-old HARD SPUN has sired 15 G1 winners and remains a potent source of high-quality runners. The sire, who along with WAR FRONT is among the last sons of the legendary DANZIG still at stud, stands at $25,000 (stands and nurses).
Hastings’ Racing Club members will be familiar with HARD SPUN as he is also the sire of former Club favourite SHOOTING JACKET, winner of the Chris Loseth Handicap, as well as a third-place finisher in the Canadian Derby and an eight-time winner at Hastings.
Rider Colony Takes Shape
The Hastings’ jockey colony for 2025 is rapidly taking shape, with HBPA Director Mel Snow confirming that 18 riders have signalled their intention to base themselves in Vancouver for the coming season.
Last year’s top rider Amadeo Perez, who now calls BC home, will return to defend his title while all bar one of his closest pursuers last season will be back in action at the East Van oval.
Kerron Khelawan, whose 36 wins last year saw him finish a gallant third on the list, will be back, as will title contenders Kimal Santo (4th on the list last season), Brian Boodramsingh (5th), Silvino Morales (6th) and Chris Mamdeen (7th).
The most noticeable absentee at this stage is Antonio Reyes who, we understand, has decided to remain at home in Mexico with his family and ride there.
The complete list, in alphabetical order, is: Gabriel Ascencio; Richard Balgobin; Ridge Balgobin; Brian Boodramsingh; Chad Forbes; Jose Gomez; Gordon Gregory; Bebeto Harvey; Kerron Khelawan; Chris Mamdeen; Alex Marti; Shaquil McIntosh; Silvino Morales; Amadeo Perez; Kuri Powell; Kimal Santo; Learie Seecharan and Omar Simpson.
Rudolf Wins Again at Turf Paradise
The Cindy Krasner-trained BC-bred, RUN RUDOLF (Pop Artist), was back in winning action at Turf Paradise this week, where he followed up his eye-catching victory on New Year’s Day with another equally impressive performance; this time sitting in a handy stalking spot just behind the pacesetter POWERIZED, before wearing down the leader inside the final furlong and repelling all raiders to win by a length under Luis Valenzuela.
The six-furlong Allowance Optional Claiming contest represented a step up in class from the four-year-old gelding, who is owned by Randy Lane and Roy Nelson and was bred here in BC by Nite and Day Stables.
Meanwhile, Hastings’ Owners WYN Racing Stables continued their recent good form at Oaklawn when trainer Ian Jewel saddled a second winner of the month following last week’s success by BC-bred, CHICK COMMAND. Friday’s win came from NULLARBOR (Candy Ride) who, given a classy ride by Travis Wales, went gate-to-wire to land the $20,000 claiming contest comfortably by nearly three lengths. NULLABOR was making his second appearance for WYN after being claimed out of a Keeneland contest for $32,000 last October.
Finally, there was success for a BC-bred runner at Gulfstream this week in the shape of Darrell Jones’ FOCUSYN (Dialed In). The four-year-old gelding, who was purchased privately by former Hastings’ handler Tara Neigel and ran out of her Woodbine barn last season, landed a six-furlong Maiden Claiming contest for Neigel’s partner, Steve Jones. FOCUSYN, who was bred in BC by Jamie Demetrick, was claimed for $35,000 following the race by owner Ken Reimer for trainer Saffie Joseph.
Pegasus Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $1 Million
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have an estimated pool of $1 million when racing resumes Pegasus World Cup Day, and there will be a mandatory payout Sunday.
The Rainbow 6 sequence begins with the $165,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3) at a mile for 4-year-olds and up. Harlan’s Holiday (G3) winner Rocket Can is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. The rest of the sequence is the $215,000 W.L. McKnight (G3), the TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare presented by SirDavis American Whiskey, the $215,000 Inside Information (G2), the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) presented by Qatar Racing, and $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Guns Loaded, Ferocious Nominated to Holy Bull
Mucho Macho Man winner Guns Loaded and Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and Hopeful (G1) runner-up Ferocious are nominated to next Saturday’s $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park.
The Holy Bull is one of five stakes, four graded, on the Feb. 1 program. Other stakes are the $150,000 Kitten’s Joy (G3) and $150,000 Sweetest Chant (G3), both on the turf, the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton Forward Gal (G3) and $150,000 Swale.
Guns Loaded, a winner of two of three starts for trainer Jose D’Angelo, is scheduled to put in his final work Saturday for the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull, a race that has been won in the past by Audible, Tiz the Law, White Abarrio, Dialed In and Barbaro.
D’Angelo said Friday Guns Loaded, second in his debut at Saratoga in August at seven furlongs before winning his second start at Churchill Downs at six furlongs in November, is doing “excellent” since winning the one-mile Mucho Macho Man by a diminishing neck. In the Holy Bull he’ll be asked to go another sixteenth of a mile
“Before he ran first time out, I was certain he was a two-turn horse,” D’Angelo said. “That’s why I run seven furlongs. When he showed me his speed, I cut the distance to six and he won impressively. When we went to a mile, [jockey Luis] Saez told me after the race when he feels another horse he gets to running again. In the mornings he looks like he can do it. Hopefully, he can carry his speed.”
Others nominated include Burnham Square, a nine-length winner when breaking his maiden here Dec. 28; Burning Glory, who broke his maiden in his third start at Churchill Downs; Grey Stakes (G3) winner He’s Not Joking; Keep It Easy and Kinetic Control from the barn of Dale Romans, and Tappan Street, a debut winner for Brad Cox.
Moira Voted Eclipse Award Female Turf Champion
Canada's Queen of Racing won American racing's biggest award on Thursday evening at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards.
Courtesy Canadian Thoroughbred
From her debut win in the prestigious Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Woodbine in 2021 to the biggest win of her career, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar in November 2024, MOIRA proved she is one of this country’s very best racehorses.
Moira’s North American ride with her Canadian and American owners, X-Men Racing, SF Bloodstock and Madaket Stable, Ontario trainer Kevin Attard and breeder Adena Springs, culminated on January 23 in south Florida at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards.
The voting totals were Moira, 176; She Feels Pretty, 21; Cinderella’s Dream (GB), 8; Didia (ARG) 1; Gina Romantica, 1 and Sacred Wish, 1.
Donato Lanni, founder of X-Men, a group of Canadian horse owners and friends, accepted the award at the lavish ceremony with many of the team members at his side.
“I want to thank Kevin Attard for doing a wonderful job, a great job. with the filly for four years,” said Lanni, who picked out Moira from the 2020 Keeneland September sale for $150,000. “We were privileged to have Flavian Prat on her [for the Breeders’ Cup]. I want to thank my owners, partners, and my friends, Tom Ryan, from SF, Gavin Murphy, Sol Kumin, the luckiest guy I have ever seen, and the X-Men partners. And thank you Moira, we love, we miss you so much.”
Pacific North Stables
Kelsi Wellard has reached out to let us know that the indoor arena at their Pacific North Stables in Delta is now fully set-up and ready for action. So, if anyone would like to get their 2025 runners going away from the worst of the winter weather, please contact Kelsi via email at Kelsiwellard@hotmail.com or on 604-999-9314.
Bloodhorse Daily Headlines — Saturday, January 25
