Patience and Santo Get Sovereign Awards Nod
Hastings' superstar Infinite Patience will be the sole equine contender for this year's Canadian Jockey Club Sovereign Awards, while breakout apprentice Kimal Santo is our only two-legged nominee
Perhaps slightly surprisingly, there are just two Hastings’ representatives up for gongs at this year’s Canadian Jockey Club Sovereign Awards.
Infinite Patience, who again carried all before her last season, is among the nominations for Champion Older Main Track Female, where she is up against Charles Fipke’s homebred Nassau Stakes (G2) heroine Lady Speightspeare and the Florida-bred Bessarabian Stakes (G2) winner, Our Flash Drive.
Breakout apprentice Kimal Santo, seen below getting the traditional soaking after winning his first race back in June, makes the shortlist for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey; where he faces Woodbine protagonists Slade Jones and N’Rico Prescod. Santo struck up a Stakes-wining partnership with the outstanding Kloepatra last season on his way to a debut campaign that notched the young rider 15 winners and more than $300,000 in prize money.
The Sovereign Awards can sometimes feel a little Woodbine-centric and, sadly, that was again the case, with no place on the list for either BC Derby winner Regal Riot or At Attention, whose magnificent campaign included wins in the BC Premiers (G3) at Hastings and two Stakes events in Alberta — the Century Mile Handicap and the Speed to Spare Championship Stakes.
At Attention’s connections are entitled to feel a little hard-done by when they see the Robertino Diadoro-trained Soy Tapatio, who At Attention beat both times they met, make the list for Champion Older Main Track Male. Such are the vagaries of awards.
Three-to-Follow for 2023
Hastings riding legend Richard Hamel is next up with his three-to-follow for the 2023 season.
Hamel, who hung up his tack in 2019 after a storied career that saw him crowned leading rider at the East Van oval on no fewer than five occasions, rode 1,664 winners, earning connections more than $21 million in prize money in the process.
Richard remains an important part of the racing scene at Hastings. He serves as a valued member of the HBPA board and keeps his hand in with the horses through his partner, Charlene Miller. There are few more shrewd horsemen than Hamel and so it’s probably best to keep on the right side of his three-to-follow!
KLOEPATRA, 2019, b f by Cairo Prince — Kaiserin (Tiznow)
Owner: WYN Racing Stables Corp.
Breeder: Emory A. Hamilton
Trainer: Larry Grieve
Purchased out of the late Glen Todd’s dispersal sale for a cool $60,000, KLOEPATRA developed into a top-class filly last season for the newly minted WYN Racing Stables and trainer Larry Grieve. The athletic-looking filly progressed through the ranks quickly, breaking her maiden in July before climbing resolutely to the sophomore summit via wins in the BC Cup Hong Kong Jockey Club Handicap and the British Columbia Oaks. Obviously among the best of her generation at Hastings, it remains to be seen whether she will return to Vancouver or, instead, ply her trade in the big leagues. Wherever she goes, she’s definitely worth following.
NEIGHNEIGH, 2020, b f by Cross Traffic — Jessica Clay (Uncle Mo)
Owner: Rob and Sheena Maybin
Breeder: Respite Farm Inc.
Trainer: Rob Maybin
Snagged out of the CTHS Horses of Racing Age Sale by Rob Maybin, NEIGHNEIGH ran out a comfy and deserving winner of the Fantasy Stakes just a few weeks after breaking her maiden at the first attempt. Two runs. Two wins. She’s clearly a filly with a future and will have plenty of interested eyes on her come the new season.
SUNBIRD, 2020, b g by Orb — Marketway (After Market)
Owner: Nick and Pauline Felicella
Breeder: Glen Todd
Trainer: Terry Jordan
Richard picks another lightly-raced sort here and another bought out of the late Glen Todd’s dispersal sale last Spring. SUNBIRD was also bred by Todd. Like Neighneigh, Sunbird ran just twice, breaking his maiden at the first time of asking in August, before putting a serious dent in some tall reputations by landing the Ascot Graduation Stakes in October. Any normal winter progression should see the son of 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb among the leading three-year-olds at Hastings this coming season. Sunbird is the last horse owned by the recently deceased restaurateur and local racing legend, Nick Felicella (see below).
All Business!
HBPA board member Denise Praill had her own paparazzi to deal with at Hastings on Friday morning, as she posed for pictures ahead of a feature planned for BC Business magazine. Denise, the CEO of Canuck Place Children's Hospice in her ‘real’ life, is a tireless contributor behind the scenes at Hastings — and she never misses an opportunity to remind the wider world that racing remains a vibrant and exciting pursuit at Vancouver’s oldest sporting venue.
A Tale of ‘Mouse’ and man
Mike Heads pays tribute to successful and longtime local owner and iconic restaurateur Nick Felicella, who passed away recently.
The local Thoroughbred racing community received sad news late last month with the announcement that legendary owner Nick Felicella had passed away at the age of 91. Together with his wife Pauline, their red and white silks won Stakes races in five consecutive decades and earned a spot alongside the elite in B.C. Racing with their induction into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
Nick and Pauline's journey in horseracing began in 1980 with their purchase of a young horse named RAMBLING NATIVE who, under the tutelage of veteran Hall of Fame conditioner William ‘Bud’ McDonald, went on to win three added money events in 1981 and concluded his three-year-old season by carrying a colossal 129 pounds to a close third-place finish in the B.C. Derby, which in those days was a handicap and not scale weights like it is today. The remnants of that initial success live on today through the family vehicle that sports the personalized license plate RAMBLER, which was the talented colt’s barn nickname. Further success followed in the 80s with the purchase of the two-year-old SALT OF THE SEA, who won the 1987 Jack Diamond Futurity and was voted Champion Juvenile.
The Felicella stable was primarily a one- or two-horse outfit until the 1990's when the stable started to grow; resulting in many Stakes-winning stars such as STOP THE BLUES, who won six added-money events, including the 1993 BC Premiers Championship, on his way to winning just over $400,000 lifetime. Others Stakes winners were FARAWAY PLACES, SHARP SUSPICION, CHEROKEE MISS and RUN WOLF RUN.
The turn of the century brought another gifted runner into the stable when AMERICAN JUSTICE, a BC bred bought for $20,000 at the 1997 CTHS Yearling Sale, captured four Stakes wins, including the 2000 BC Premiers and finished up with over $250,000 in earnings.
The famed Vancouver restaurateurs had their biggest success in the Thoroughbred game when they shelled out $21,000 at the 2003 CTHS BC Yearling Sale to secure a gelding by Ontario-based stallion Archers Bay, out of the mare Desert Mouse. Named SPAGHETTI MOUSE, he went on to become the richest BC bred of all time, racking up 11 Stakes triumphs including the 2005 BC Derby and ended his brilliant career with earnings of $929,000, earned entirely at Hastings Racecourse. The Felicellas resisted the lure of larger purses at other racetracks and chose to race their stable exclusively in Vancouver, demonstrating their never-ending commitment to the local racing scene.
Year after year they heavily supported local breeders at the CTHS BC yearling sale and spent well in excess of a $1 Million on numerous yearlings. They closed out the 2000's with three Futurity wins, which were all graduates of the CTHS BC sales. In 2006 CHELSEY'S IMAGE captured the Sadie Diamond Futurity, while DESERT ALF won the Jack Diamond Futurity in 2007 and SILLY FELLA romped home in the 2009 edition.
Although the stable size became smaller, the successes continued into the 2010 decade with Stakes stars ORCHID’S SILVER, who surprised everyone by winning the 2011 Grade 3 Ballerina at 26-1 and another CTHS yearling sale graduate, I WANT TO DUST HER, cruised home comfortably in the 2012 Sadie Diamond Futurity, earning top two-year-old filly honours at the Awards Dinner.
In 2018 the Felicellas received the ultimate award in the restaurant and food business when inducted into the BC Restaurants Hall of Fame. Their iconic Commercial Drive establishment Nick’s Spaghetti House opened its doors in 1955 and, after 62 years, was closed on December 21, 2017.
Nick Felicella was a mentor with his family, a tireless worker in business and a determined winner in horseracing and it was fitting that the final race he would see at Hastings was another Stakes winning victory by his talented gelding SUNBIRD in last season’s Ascot Graduation.
We have been blessed to have a lot of amazing owners throughout the years here in Vancouver and none more so than Nick Felicella.
Saturday’s Bloodhorse Daily Headlines
El Camino Real Derby Preview from Daily Racing Form
There are ten Kentucky Derby points and an automatic berth in the Preakness up for grabs in Saturday’s El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Eight runners are expected to go to post for the $100,000, 9-furlong contest, including two ‘shippers’ from the powerful Bob Baffert stable. Click the blue button for the full field and there’s a DRF preview video below.
Racing in France
Finally today, we thought racing professionals and fans alike would enjoy seeing this new video developed by the French racing and breeding industry to promote the sport in France. If you’ve never had the chance to go racing in ‘La Belle France’, we heartily recommend it. Take elasticated pants!
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