Hastings Weekly Winter Round-Up
Our equine athletes have started returning to Hastings ahead of the 2025 season, while some familiar local names are among the Sovereign Award nominees
Sovereign Awards’ Finalists Announced
Peter Redekop’s sensational season has been recognised ‘back east’ with AUGUST RAIN, AVANA and APPREHEND all receiving Sovereign Award nominations.
Jockey Club of Canada, Toronto, February 19, 2025
The Jockey Club of Canada is pleased to announce that the E. P. Taylor Award of Merit will be presented to Roger Attfield during the 50th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony on the evening of Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Woodbridge, Ontario. Selected unanimously by the Jockey Club of Canada’s Stewards, the E. P. Taylor Award of Merit is a lifetime achievement award honouring those who have made significant contributions to the thoroughbred industry in Canada and accomplished outstanding individual achievements in Canadian thoroughbred racing and breeding. An honoured member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Mr. Attfield has experienced decades of success, including having trained three Canadian Triple Crown winners in Izvestia, With Approval, and Peteski, and is a well-respected ambassador for Canadian horse racing and breeding.
The Jockey Club of Canada is pleased to announce that there will be two winners of the Special Sovereign Award; both Emma-Jayne Wilson and Moira will be recognized during the 50th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony. Selected unanimously by the Jockey Club of Canada’s Stewards, the Special Sovereign Award recognizes a particular achievement within a given year. The honour is being bestowed upon Emma-Jayne for surpassing Julie Krone’s purse earnings record and continuing to be a bold ambassador for Canadian horse racing, and Moira for her outstanding achievements on the race course and in the sales ring in 2024.
The Jockey Club of Canada is proud to present Victor James with the 2024 Outstanding Groom Award sponsored by OLG and Ian Dick with the Outstanding Off-track Worker Award. Both Victor and Ian are spoken of very highly by their nominators, Josie Carroll and Colleen Dalos, respectively.
With over twenty-five years as a groom for trainer Josie Carroll, Victor James exhibits outstanding loyalty and dedication. Groom for champions such as Ami’s Gizmo, Serenading, and Tyson, Victor has also overseen the running of trainer Josie Carroll’s barn.
A veteran of the thoroughbred racing scene in Ontario, Ian Dick has been the manager of Buttigieg Training Centre for many years after taking a position there as assistant manager in 2013. Some of the outstanding runners which have benefited from his time and care include Paramount Prince, Patches O’Houlihan, and Pink Lloyd.
The Jockey Club of Canada is also pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 Sovereign Awards and 2024 Media Sovereign Awards categories.
2024 Sovereign Awards Finalists
The finalists in each of the following categories are listed in alphabetical order.
Champion Two-Year-Old Female
ARISTELLA (ON), by More Than Ready - Back to Love (Street Cry)
NITROGEN (KY), by Medaglia d’Oro - Tiffany Case (Uncle Mo)
SOUPER SUPREME (ON), by Souper Speedy - Platinum Steel (Eddington)
Champion Two-Year-Old Male
DREAM ON (KY), by Not This Time - Mamma Kimbo (Discreet Cat)
HE’S NOT JOKING (KY), by Practical Joke - Collegeville Girl (Central Banker)
SCORCHING (ON), by Mo Town - Samsal (Consolidator)
Champion Three-Year-Old Female
AVANA (BC), by Vino Rosso - Revealing Moment (After Market)
CAITLINHERGRTNESS (ON), by Omaha Beach - Belatrix (Giant’s Causeway)
KIN’S CONCERTO (ON), by Mendelssohn - Kincardine (Fusaichi Pegasus)
STORMCAST (ON), by Mitole - Scolara (Quiet American)
Champion Three-Year-Old Male
AUGUST RAIN (BC), by Sungold - Bitatude (Super Saver)
DRESDEN ROW (KY), by Lord Nelson - Elle Special (Giant’s Causeway)
MY BOY PRINCE (ON), Cairo Prince - Hopping Not Hoping (Silent Name)
Champion Older Main Track Female
BIG HUG (AB), by Mr Big - Temeeku (Unusual Heat)
ELYSIAN FIELD (ON), by Hard Spun - Elysian (Smart Strike)
FASHIONABLY FAB (ON), by Silent Name - Flashy’s Legacy (Curlin)
Champion Older Main Track Male
APPREHEND (KY), by Arrogate - Hero’s Amor (Street Hero)
PARAMOUNT PRINCE (ON), by Society’s Chairman - Platinum Steel (Eddington)
WICKED DJANGO (ON), by Wicked Strong - Belcarres (Flatter)
Champion Female Turf Horse
FEV ROVER (IRE), by Gutaifan - Laurelita (High Chaparral)
FULL COUNT FELICIA (KY), by War Front - Claire de Lune (Galileo)
STORMCAST (ON), by Mitole - Scolara (Quiet American)
Champion Male Turf Horse
CRUDEN BAY (ON), by Big Screen - Executive Affair (Bold Executive)
FILO DI ARIANNA (BRZ), by Drosselmeyer - Principessa Capri (Northern Afleet)
PATCHES O’HOULIHAN (ON), by Reload - Maytheforthbwithu (Silent Name)
Champion Female Sprinter
GAL IN A RUSH (KY), by Ghostzapper - Hudson River Gal (Dynaformer)
PLAY THE MUSIC (KY), by Mo Town - Hey Little Sister (Jump Start)
STORMCAST (ON), by Mitole - Scolara (Quiet American)
Champion Male Sprinter
FILO DI ARIANNA (BRZ), by Drosselmeyer - Principessa Capri (Northern Afleet)
MY BOY PRINCE (ON), by Cairo Prince - Hopping Not Hoping (Silent Name)
PATCHES O’HOULIHAN (ON), by Reload - Maytheforthbwithu (Silent Name)
Outstanding Broodmare
DANCING ALLSTAR (BC), by Millennium Allstar - High On Believen (Honor Grades)
EXECUTIVE AFFAIR (ON), by Bold Executive - Ascot Affair (Ascot Knight)
PLATINUM STEEL (PA), by Eddington - Crafty Toast (Crafty Prospector)
Outstanding Breeder
Adena Springs
Anderson Farms Ont. Inc.
Chiefswood Stables Limited
Outstanding Owner
Barber, Gary
Chiefswood Stables Limited
Schickedanz, Bruno
Outstanding Trainer
Attard, Kevin
Carroll, Josie
Casse, Mark E.
Outstanding Apprentice Jockey
Aebly, Fraser
Moran, Pietro
Vives, Sofia
Outstanding Jockey
Civaci, Sahin
Hernandez, Rafael Manuel
Husbands, Patrick
Horse of the Year
The Horse of the Year finalists will be announced during the 50th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony.
Judging for the Media Awards is performed by media professionals within the industry selected from across North America and the United Kingdom.
Listed in alphabetical order, the Media finalists are:
Digital Audio/Visual and Broadcast Category
Peter Gross – Podcast Episode 233
Horse Racing Alberta – Women in Thoroughbred Racing
Goh Iromoto – The Long Run
Photograph Category
Skip Dickstein – Magnificent Moira, Winner’s Jubilation
Barbara D. Livingston – Moira
Mary Jane Sibbitt – Right Way/Wrong Way
Writing Category
Mike McIntyre – Resolve and Reinvention at a Gallop
Jennifer Morrison – Trials, Tears and Canada’s Queen of Racing
Joe Nevills – ‘She Means Everything’: Attard Team Says A Long, Short Goodbye To Moira At Fasig-Tipton November Sale
The winner of each category, along with Canada’s Horse of the Year for 2024, will be announced during our milestone the 50th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony on the evening of Thursday, April 24, 2025 at Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario.
Please call or email us for more information and to reserve your tickets today! Tickets can also be purchased online at: https://jockeyclubcanada.com/online-payments/.
Chasing the Triple Crown
The first Saturday in May, and with it the Kentucky Derby, is just around the corner.
It’s a time for horse owners, trainers, and handicappers to dream big. The Triple Crown offers us an opportunity as players to hit a big score, or at least to turn a decent profit.
What separates the big days from normal race cards is the amount of money bet into the pools. Overlays and underlays become exaggerated, so having a firm opinion on one or two plays can help make your day a winning one.
Watching the prep races can lead to a significant betting edge throughout the Triple Crown. By learning who the major competitors are and attempting to define their strengths and weaknesses, you will be armed with more information than the past performance lines offer.
Watch for horses who look like they may handle longer distances. While speed horses can take down a Classic race, these days it is more likely that a closer will be crowned the champion.
It isn’t always straightforward to decide if a horse will want more distance, but clues to look for include a horse who had a wide trip and was maintaining or even gaining at the wire, or a front runner who won comfortably after surviving a relatively fast early pace.
A horse who ran an extremely fast speed figure in the most recent start needs to be examined closely, as these types will always take money at the windows and may offer a solid bet against opportunity. Figures can be exaggerated if the horse had everything go its way and these efforts may prove difficult to duplicate. More evidence is needed that the horse can withstand the competitive pressures that the Classic races bring.
Best of luck with the prep races and here’s to a winning season!
New Stride News
Saudi Cup Weekend
The racing world will focus on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend with the fifth running of the Saudi Cup which, this year, is worth an eye-watering $20 million.
The action gets underway on Friday with the Diriyah International Jockeys' Challenge - a groundbreaking competition featuring some of the best international male and female riders, as well as two locally-based jockeys. The riders will compete individually for a share of the $100,000 prize. All races consist of 14 runners, and jockeys will earn points based on their finishing position as well as taking home 15 per cent of the $400,000 prize money from each individual race.
Saudi Cup Day is Saturday and gets underway at 4am PST, with the $20 million Saudi Cup due to get underway at 9:40am PST, with the entire day viewable on https://www.hpibet.com
Romantic Warrior Draws Gate #3 in Saudi Cup
Hong Kong’s champion Romantic Warrior (IRE) will break from gate 3 in Saturday’s US$20m Saudi Cup.
The world’s highest-earning horse has attracted a huge amount of global racing interest since his arrival in Saudi Arabia and was even the centre of attention when given a quick preparatory look of the King Abdulaziz Racecourse parade ring on Wednesday afternoon.
Following the draw ceremony in the Cultural Village later on Wednesday, trainer Danny Shum and jockey James McDonald discovered their position on the track as Romantic Warrior aims to convert his incredible turf performances across international jurisdictions to the Riyadh dirt.
"We’re happy with it," McDonald said after his wife Katelyn selected the number on the stage.
"We didn’t come here with any expectation of a particular draw. He seems to be going really well on the dirt, all the team are very happy with him and my horse has really good gate speed."
Classy Japanese challenger Forever Young (JPN), back in Saudi Arabia 12 months after his success in the US $1.5m Saudi Derby, this year presented by ZOOD Realty, has continued to make progress but was not so obviously lucky when drawn in gate 14.
Trainer Yoshito Yahagi did not appear too downbeat, and said: "I haven’t worried about the draw too much but I’d prefer an outside gate to inside."
Rattle N Roll (USA), trained by Kenny McPeek and representing owners Sharaf Mohamad Alhariri and Lucky Seven Stable, was a tidy winner of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup late last month, is in gate 7.
"We like the seven, that’s great," McPeek said. "He’s got come-from-behind pace, we’re excited to have the horse here and we feel like we’ve a bit of an advantage because he won here already.
"This year the timing worked out really well, he came back bigger, stronger and better and this will be a race that I think will be ideal for him."
Bloodhorse Daily Headlines — Friday, February 20
