Weekend Entries
Here's your first look at this weekend's fields at Hastings, including a Saturday card which features the $50,000 Ross McLeod Stakes and the $50,000 River Rock Casino Stakes
Overnights - Sunday, June 11
Taylor Jeszenszky
Popular young backstretch exercise rider Taylor Jeszenszky suffered serious facial injuries in a spill last Saturday and very much needs our support.
Taylor has undergone several operations already and faces a lengthy period of convalescence before she can get back to what she loves. We’d obviously like everyone to give Taylor as much help and support as we possibly can.
There is a donation box in Trackers on the backstretch and donations can also be handed directly to trainer Steve Henson or HBPA secretary Neil Stajkowski.
Alternatively, anyone who would like to donate remotely can e-transfer their donation directly to Neil’s HBPA address: hbpaneils@gmail.com
All donations, no matter how small, will be gratefully received and will go towards helping with Taylor’s rehabilitation. We need her back as soon as possible and we hope you will all join us in sending Taylor all our love and best wishes for the speediest of recoveries!
Rookie Trainer Nicole Rycroft ‘Still in Shock’
By Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport
Racing fans young and old are not alone when it comes to the unbridled rush of emotion when their chosen horse comes thundering down the homestretch at Hastings Racecourse.
Owners and trainers share that same gripping moment of potential victory.
A classic example unfolded for the Rycroft family Saturday, June 3, with the launch of the 2023 Stakes schedule featuring the $50,000 George Royal followed by the $50,000 Emerald Downs.
When 5-year-old gelding Big Union under jockey Ridge Balgobin took control entering the final turn of his 6 ½ furlong journey to draw clear with a three-length victory in the George Royal, there was a family celebration that rocked the entire grounds.
“I am still in shock,” first-year trainer Nicole Rycroft said Monday. “I was watching from the tarmac along with my mom Cathy, my brother Cody, his wife Jessica and their baby boy Rylan. We were standing among the spectators by the finish line. Cody had arrived earlier in the day from Salmon Arm.”
Nicole’s father Kelly was watching on his iPhone in Grande Prairie, AB, where he was working as a heavy equipment operator for Sundown Oilfield.
Cathy and Kelly are co-owners of Big Union along with Albertans Sherlye Benson, Dennis Dale and Tabitha Perry.
While the Rycroft clan was whooping it up, veteran Hastings’ owner/trainer Craig MacPherson was sprinting from his reserved grandstand seat making a beeline for the winner’s circle to be at Nicole’s side.
“I worked with Craig for 12 years as a groom and eventually his assistant,” Nicole said. “My dad trained horses and was a farrier at Hastings for 26 years. I worked for him, too.”
Nicole said she slept-in Monday until 7 a.m., her first day off since January.
No sooner had the buzz subsided surrounding Big Union’s win in the George Royal Saturday, then the $50,000 Emerald Downs Stakes for fillies and mares kept the momentum at full throttle. With leading jockey Amadeo Perez in control, We B Three rallied at the final turn for a two-length victory for trainer Steve Henson and his assistant, son Robbie.
The man leaping from his grandstand seat this time and sprinting to the winner’s circle was owner Dairen Edwards from Willow Creek Farms.
Horse racing is a rare professional sports entity where owners and trainers traditionally mingle with fans during live-time competition. It’s all part of the charm of Hastings Racecourse, known in the trade as one of the most scenic settings in North America.
Bloodhorse Daily Headlines, Thursday June 8
