Turf Stars Descend on Woodbine

For one day each year, the racing world turns its collective eyes to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada to realize the promise of a day of rich, world-class racing.

Year after year, Woodbine delivers.

This special day is Canadian International Day, which this year falls on Saturday, Oct. 16. International Day is the richest day of racing on the Canadian racing calendar, boasting three grade I stakes for total purses of $3.5 million, excluding bonuses. The feature event is the 1 ½ mile Pattison Canadian International, which is preceded by the 1 ¼ mile E.P Taylor Stakes for fillies and mares, and the six furlong Nearctic for sprinters. All three races are on the turf, and are Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series races.

International critics will question the quality of these races, so allow me to take a moment to list some of the past winners, who speak for themselves:

-Bunty Lawless
-Kingarvie
-Bull Page
-Dahlia
-All Along
-Sky Classic
-Singspiel
-Chief Bearhart
-Royal Anthem
-Mutafaweq
-Ballingarry
-Sulamani

-And finally, the great Secretariat, who travelled to Canada to make his final start in the Canadian International. The race was also to a be a homecoming for Secretariat’s Canadian-born trainer and jockey, Lucien Laurin and Ron Turcotte, respectively; However, Turcotte had to sit out the race on a riding suspension, and was replaced by American rider Eddie Maple (who I will crown an honourary Canadian on the merits of his surname; it doesn’t get much more Canadian than that!)

Having lost that battle, these critics will next attack the quality of the local Canadian horses. I will encounter that argument in two ways. First, I will discuss the merits of some of the local entrants:

Nearctic:
Field Commission: Won this race last year.

Grand Adventure: Won the Connaught Cup (gr. IIIT) and King Edward Stakes (gr. IIT) over the Woodbine course earlier this year. I personally think this is the best turf horse at Woodbine.

Signature Red: Won the Highlander Stakes (gr. IIT) over the course earlier this year.

Fatal Bullet: Million-dollar earner, Canadian Horse of the Year, second in the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I).

Woodbourne: A shocking third at 52-1 in the Woodbine Mile.

E.P. Taylor:
Mekong Melody: Winner of two stakes events at Woodbine this year, including the Dance Smartly (gr. IIT).

Miss Keller: Won the Canadian Stakes (gr. IIT), third in the Ballston Spa (gr. IIT) at Saratoga after winning the De La Rose at that track. Third in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (gr. IIT). Has three wins and is yet to be out of the money this year.

International:
Simmard: Third last out in the Bowling Green Handicap (gr. II). Won last year’s Chief Bearhart Stakes. Trained by perennial leading Canadian trainer Roger Attfield.

Fifty Proof: Second to Redwood last out in the Northern Dancer (gr. I) in his stakes debut. Off the board just once in eight career starts. Trained by red-hot Woodbine conditioner Ian Black.

I would then argue that while Canada has a small but competitive local contingent, keeping all the prize money at home is not what this weekend is all about. I would be thrilled to see the home team win or hit the board in any of these events, and will be rooting for them to do so, but success for the International players will be what makes them come back. This is evidenced by the fact that Juddmonte Farms is going for its fourth International win with favoured Redwood. Woodbine offers a product that is truly appealing across the globe, and that is competitive races with rich purses over a high quality track at a top class racing facility for horses, horse people, and fans. These races are staged at Woodbine all year long, but are highlighted on International Day. So while we take pride in seeing our local horses keep the pace with top class international fields, the ship-ins must experience some success as well so that they want to come back. And if these owners and trainers can go back to their home countries and spread the word about Woodbine, we have hardly lost.

So wherever you are in the world, sit back, relax, and enjoy a great evening of racing on North America’s best turf course.

Canadian Goldmine, This Weekend at Woodbine

To anyone doubting the quality of Canadian racing, I ask you to please turn your attention to this weekend’s race cards at Woodbine.

On September 18 and 19, Woodbine will play host to five graded stakes, headlined by the $1 million Woodbine Mile (G1).

On Saturday, the two-year-olds will take the spotlight in the $200,000 Natalma Stakes (G3) for fillies, and the $250,000 Summer Stakes (G3), open to males and females. The next day, older females will face off in the Canadian (G2); turf-routers will take the stage in the $750,000 Northern Dancer (G1), and the program will wrap up with the Woodbine Mile (G1), which has drawn some of the best milers from Canada, the U.S., and Europe.

This weekend’s stakes program is worth $2.5 million excluding state-bred and Breeders’ Cup bonuses, which tack on another $590,000. All five stakes will be contested over Woodbine’s elite E.P. Taylor turf course, which I constantly contend is the best grass course in North America.

This year’s Mile weekend program has attracted star runners from Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including Grade 1 winners Marsh Side, Victor’s Cry, and Court Vision. World-renowned trainers like Neil Drysdale, Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, Eoin Harty, Rick Dutrow, and Dermot Weld, all of whom have become regular Woodbine shippers, will go for pieces of the purse pie.

While I would love to give you some tips for this weekend’s stakes, my handicapping skills are admittedly abysmal. For more on the dimensions of each of these races, I give you to my Blood-Horse buddies Jason Shandler and Jack Shinar:

Natalma and Summer Stakes

Canadian Stakes

Northern Dancer

Woodbine Mile


Woodbine was also the feature of this week's That Handicapping Show on Bloodhorse.com. For the picks of Blood-Horse writers Jason Shandler and Tom LaMarra as well as Tim Holland, click here.
As for personal preference, I will be most looking forward to the Northern Dancer Stakes this weekend. The Northern Dancer is part of Woodbine’s excellent summer turf route program, which each year brings back the top older runners in Canada, as well as some regular ship ins, like Marsh Side. These are the types of runners (distance on the turf) least desired at stud in North America, which is fine by the racing fan in me, because that means we get to watch them do battle year after year rather than head to the breeding shed; the true definition of competitive sport. Stalwarts of this program that will compete Sunday include Marsh Side, Windward Islands, and Spice Route.

As a quick aside, I would ask you to take a glance at the purses of the undercard races this weekend at Woodbine. We have maiden races for almost $70,000, allowances races for over $70,000, and some claiming events worth almost double their tag. Almost anyone can host a few expensive stakes, but this is the type of purse structure that keeps horsemen going day in and day out. These high purses contribute to attracting the leading runners from around the world, who come to Woodbine with their connections and inject more money into our industry. All of this creates a cyclical effect that results in high quality Canadian racing year after year.

For full entries, visit Equibase.com. For more information about Woodbine, visit WoodbineEntertainment.com

Canada-Bound Euros

The connections of Darley Prix Jean Romanet (gr. I) top two finishers Stacelita and Antara have both indicated that stops in Canada could be on the radar for their fillies after the August 22 contest at Deauville in France. Both fillies are reported by the Racing Post as being considered for the October 16 E.P. Taylor (gr. I) at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The E.P. Taylor, a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" series race, will be contested at 1 1/4 miles on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor turf course.

Read more about Stacelita and Antara HERE.

Mainstream Mayhem

In the Thoroughbred industry, the media has a key role to play in bridging the gap between newsmakers and fans. It is a journalist’s duty to report the facts so as to keep audiences well informed. With well-informed audiences, we will maintain interest and grow fans, which spawn industry participants and people that inject money into our sport.

Informing of fans is largely achieved through trade publications, but when the opportunity arises to promote the industry and the sport in the mainstream media, it is the journalist’s duty to take full advantage of that opportunity.

With the 151^st running of the Queen’s Plate on July 4, we had the perfect chance. The presence of Queen Elizabeth II for the first time since 1997 seemed to provide Woodbine a much needed revival, bringing fans out in throngs. These fans wagered the second largest daily amount in Woodbine history. The grandstand, apron, and paddock areas on July 4 were much more crowded that this blogger has ever seen in eight years of attending races at the Toronto track.

The Queen offered a bridge between racing circles and the general public, an opportunity that should have been seized by sports writers to publicize the hell out of horse racing. While there were some solid articles written for mainstream publications, it was the following article that caught my attention, and must be addressed:

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bill_lankhof/2010/07/04/14608091.html

Bill Lankhof is a columnist for Sun Media. In a column, a certain amount of opinion and ridicule is acceptable (although spelling and grammatical errors are never acceptable). This article, however, appeared in numerous local newspapers around Ontario as the only post race coverage of the Queen’s Plate. This is not a news article.  

The focus from the lead is on attendance issues at Woodbine, and when the focus finally turns to where it belongs (on Big Red Mike), Lankhof delves into a discussion of the gelding’s attitude and antics, most of which occurred before his win in the Plate Trial Stakes three weeks ago (Big Red Mike was considerably well behaved on Plate day). No where in his story does Lankhof mention that Big Red Mike has never been off the board in six starts, including two stakes wins, and that he is an incredibly gutsy gelding who campaigns for wonderful, hardworking connections who all more than deserved this win.

It is obvious that racing is facing issues regarding track attendance, and I am in full support of exploiting and dissecting those issues; it is the only way to reach a resolution. But I also believe there is a time and a place, such as within industry circles and trade publications. When we have the opportunity to promote our sport and product in the mainstream media (a chance that is increasingly rare), it is vital that we report the aspects of our sport that will interest the public. And there are plenty of opportunities for this. Racing has no shortage of colourful personalities, human or equine, with charming stories that will generate interest. If we are interested in seeing our industry survive, one of the most basic ways to do so is to create fans. Because without fans there are no bettors or industry participants, and without these people, there is no money. You do the math.

More Carolyn

So you may have noticed I'm writing a lot about Carolyn Costigan this week. Yes, I'm a journalist and I'm supposed to be unbiased, but what can I say, I think she's awesome! Earlier this week, I posted part of an interview I did with Carolyn where we discussed the future of racing and social media. Below is the part of the interview where she talks about her experience with horses, Roan Inish, and her training techniques. Enjoy!

KNR: Can you tell me a little more about the training you did with Roan Inish leading up to the Oaks? A lot of people were concerned that she only had one seven furlong prep this year leading up to this race, but you didn’t seem concerned at all.

CC: No, because when I was in Ireland I was experiencing that firsthand. You’ll see horses that are trained into classic races and that’s because the trainer is doing the training, they’re not relying on races to put fitness into a horse, but they say that a race is the equivalent of having four or five fast works, so you’re getting to that fitness level quicker. I had had her out in California, so I’d started a base on her already. The Fury was too short for her, seven furlongs is too short. When she came out of it I was able to get a grasp on the level of fitness that it gave her, and if it didn’t give her enough fitness for what I needed her to be for the Oaks, then I would have run in the La Lorgnette. Horses are fragile creatures. A friend of mine that worked for me in California, she said that one of Wayne Lukas’s quotes is, “horses are like strawberries, they go bad overnight.” So when you have a good horse, you have to pick and choose your races. There’s no point in wasting a race on a race that was $150,000, when I wanted her to win a $500,000 race. And then it comes down to the confidence that you can do that, and that you aren’t worried about what other people are saying. I was given the confidence and the not worrying about other people by working for Jim (Bolger). He doesn’t give a hoot what anyone thinks. He does his own thing. When you work for somebody like that, it rubs off. So I was confident in my ability, and confident that I didn’t care what other people thought.

KNR: And she’s obviously come through on the two most important days, the Princess Elizabeth and the Oaks. It probably made a huge difference too with you being able to get on her everyday and be able to feel how fit she was and where she was at.

CC: Exactly. You don’t know that if you’re not on them, and you’re relying on the communication of your rider. I don’t have the numbers or the need for a top quality exercise rider at the moment, because I’m able to do that myself. But someday I’m going to need a good top quality exercise riders that’s able to communicate in a way that the two of us understand what we’re talking about. And that’s just finding the right person and paying them enough.

KNR: I remember you saying to Bill Tallon yesterday about how getting on your own horses was one of the most important lessons that you took away from Jim Bolger as well.

CC: Yes. He rode his horses up until a couple years ago. I mean, he’s 68 or 67 right now.

KNR: Can you tell me a little bit about why Roan Inish began her career in Ireland? I know you were over there at the time, but just exactly what the thought process behind that was?

CC: I knew that I would be coming to Canada to write my trainers exam, and that I would be having my first full season this year, and it wouldn’t do any harm to have one of my horses in the stable that I knew everything about, that wasn’t in training with a different trainer, and the filly was a yearling turning two, and my dad just said to me over the phone, “where do you think I should send this horse, to which trainer?” And I said quite honest, the only trainer that I think is worth any salt, worth their weight, in the world, is Jim (Bolger). He said, “alright, I’ll send her there, then you’ll know everything about her when you start training her.”

KNR: Of the horses that you currently have, did you have just her over there?

CC: Yes, just her. And she’s got lovely breeding, we own the dam, and we just thought if we could add something a little bit exotic to the mare’s page, ie. the horse wins some races in Ireland or Europe, you’re just doing something a bit more proactive for the broodmare’s pedigree.

KNR: Going back a bit, I wonder if you could explain to me a little about when you started getting involved with horses, at a young age, and then when you got into Thoroughbreds?

CC: I always loved horses, and I went to school with the idea that I would do pre med courses and become a vet, but my physics grades weren’t high enough. You probably know that becoming a veterinarian in Canada is probably the hardest course to get into.

CC: We got our first racehorse when I was probably 13. It was four years before we saw the inside of the winner’s circle. We’d go to the races at Hastings Park and we were the best dressed people there. But the horses were useless. So we learned the right way, because when you have the winners right away you think it’s easy, and it’s not an easy game. The lows can be long and painful, so you’ve gotta enjoy the wins. My parents are enjoying the Oaks win so much. We know what it’s like to be in a lull.

KNR: Who was the first really good horse that you worked around?

CC: I was with Arravale when she was being broken. I learned how to break yearlings at Windfields Farm in Oshawa. And she was one of the yearlings being broken at the time. The guy that was in charge of the yearlings there, his name was John Neville. He was an older Englishman. He broke the yearlings in a format that I would see again later when I was on Darley’s course, because he did it the English way, which is also the Irish way, and in some places in the world they like to do it a little quicker, and they take some shortcuts, and it doesn’t always work out. And I’m thankful that I learned the right way.

KNR: What age was it that you came to Windfields?

CC: Probably 2004.

KNR: How long did you work at Windfields before you did the National Stud?

CC: I went to Windfields, and I really hadn’t done too much hands on work with horses at that stage. I was kind of thrown into the deep end. They were one week away from the yearling sales here at Woodbine, and I was given a pitchfork and told, “muck out those six boxes, and keep up with us while we muck out.” I had a very rude awakening. And the following weekend we were at the sales, and my feet were covered in blisters after the first day. I remember I climbed into bed after the first day at the sales, and I was in tears. I thought, “I don’t know how I’m going to work the rest of the week at this sale.” But I did. Then I spent the winter at Windfields, and I had a great time. Because once you start working that hard and doing physical labour, then you have a new appreciation for the people who do that job, and you know how much work is involved, and a level of pride comes into it. And you understand what it is to show a yearling that the work has gone into that yearling, and what it is for the groom to lead up their horses to the races. This is their horse. This horse looks good because of me. I think it’s so important that you experience that first hand and know what those people go through when you’re employing them, and that they really care about their horses, they get attached to them, you know. You want the horses to do well for them, because they go through the highs and lows as well. 

Artic Fern Injury Still Unclear

Gustav Schickedanz's Artic Fern, the early favourite for the July 4 Queen's Plate after winning three consecutive races in 2010, is undergoing tests to determine the cause of the lameness that resulted in him being withdrawn from consideration for the Plate earlier this week.

Artic Fern, a three-year-old son of Langfuhr - Wood Fern, by Woodman, came up sore in his left foreleg the morning after his final work in advance of the Queen's Plate on June 27. He was declared out of the $1 million Plate the following morning by trainer Mike Keogh.

According to Lauri Kenny, the farm manager for Schickedanz's Schonberg Farm, Artic Fern left Woodbine Racetrack on June 29 for the Toronto Equine Hospital, where he underwent a nuclear scintigraphy the next day. During a scintigraphy, the animal is injected with radioactive isotopes which light up hot spots on the bones. Two hot spots were found on the lame leg of Artic Fern: one on the shin, and other on the pastern.

It is unclear at this point what exactly the injury is. Artic Fern was vanned back to Woodbine Racetrack the morning of July 2, and will undergo a blocking process in the next few days. During blocking, nerves are injected with a blocking agent that will mask pain. If the lameness disappears after a specific nerve is injected, that will determine the area of the injury.

Plate on the Brain

I've been typing hard this week turning out stories for Bloodhorse.com, and here are the results!

Sam-Son Trying to Win 6th Queen's Plate

Trainer Costigan Trying For Queen's Plate

Mobilizer Getting Attention in Queen's Plate

Hotep the One to Beat in Queen's Plate

It's been a great week back in the press box writing, interviewing, and researching. Thanks to The Blood-Horse for publishing my work!

Happy Canada Day!

Meet Emile Ramsammy. In addition to being one of the leading riders at Woodbine Racetrack, Emile is also one of the Toronto oval's most colourful personalities. Ever festive, Emile rides in costume each Halloween, and he is well known for dying his hair for the silks of his Queen's Plate mount each year. In 2006, Emile won the Queen's Plate aboard Edenwold while sporting orange hair.

Not surprisingly, Emile showed up to this year's Queen's Plate draw on July 1 dressed for the occasion (Canada Day).

Emile rides Mobthewarrior in the July 4 Queen's Plate. Can we expect to see his hair a hue of green for the silks of owner Andrew Fredericks, or will he break tradition and instead celebrate the corresponding American holiday? We will find out.

Thanks for playing, Emile!

Plate Posts Are In

Beneath a bright sun July 1 at Woodbine Racetrack, the connections of the 13 horses entered for the 151st running of the Queen's Plate gathered in the paddock to select their post positions for the July 4 race. The event was emceed by track announcer Dan Loiselle, with Canadian olympic medallist Alexandre Bilodeau serving as the guest drawmaster.

The first draw was for the selection sequence, which turned out as follows:

1. Smart Sky

2. Ghost Fleet

3. Big Red Mike

4. Roan Inish

5. Dark Cloud Dancer

6. Mobilizer

7. Giant's Tomb

8. Hotep

9. Mobthewarrior

10. Moment of Majesty

11. D's Wando

12. Who We Gunna Call

13. Vicar Street

After a two minute consultation period, the connections selected their positions:

1. Vicar Street, 30-1

2. Who We Gunna Call, 30-1

3. D's Wando, 20-1

4. Dark Cloud Dancer, 15-1

5. Big Red Mike, 6-1

6. Smart Sky, 30-1

7. Ghost Fleet, 20-1

8. Giant's Tomb, 12-1

9. Mobilizer, 7-2

10. Roan Inish, 9-2

11. Hotep, 3-1

12. Mobthewarrior, 10-1

13. Moment of Majesty, 12-1

I will spend the next few days tangling with my choices, but at this junction I have two sentimental choices and two logic choices. My sentimental picks are D's Wando and Mobthewarrior, both of which I helped raise and sale prep two years ago. My logic choices are Mobilizer and Roan Inish. Roan Inish trainer Carolyn Costigan has proven that she and her star filly can never be ignored, and I believe it would be foolish to overlook them now. Mobilizer is a horse that struck me from the beginning, and I believe he would have gotten a lot out of his Plate Trial runner-up effort. Attfield adds blinkers for this race.

Here are some photos from the July 1 draw:

Robert Costigan silks.

Emcee Dan Loiselle with guest drawmaster Alexandre Bilodeau.

Our beautiful racetrack.

 

Queen's Plate Interviews: Carolyn Costigan

It's an obvious fact: the media digs feel-good stories. That story surrounding this year's Queen's Plate is of Carolyn Costigan and Roan Inish. In less than a year as a licensed trainer, Costigan has parlayed a wealth of international experience into wins in two of Canada's most important races with the filly owned by her parents. Carolyn goes about her job with a focus on the horse, a refreshing air of confidence and a not-to-be-denied attitude.

For this reporter, however, the most intriguing tidbit about Carolyn is her obvious passion for racing, and her desire to innovate the sport in an effort to generate new fans. I was fortunate this morning to spend some time with Carolyn this morning as part of an upcoming feature for The Blood-Horse, and I was able to ask her about her ideas in detail. Here is what she said:

*"Editor's Note": As Carolyn is determined that the focus should be on the horse, she may not be pleased about this. But I find it so interesting, I couldn't help it!

KNR: One of the things that I’m really interested in talking to you about is that you seem to be really interested in getting more people involved, new fans and that kind of thing, in the industry, and I wonder if you can tell me what you think are the most important things that need to happen within the industry to grow the fan base and to make the sport thrive?

CC: Money needs to be invested in advertising and giving access to the horses online. Digital media formats like YouTube. Woodbine is only now beginning to show horses doing fast works on their website. Keeneland had been doing it before, and they’re still not doing a good enough job. All the horses that worked this morning, you should be able to go on the Woodbine website, punch in their name, and watch their work. And they need to invest more in IT.

KNR: You use Twitter…

CC: That’s really easy. I didn’t know what it was. My brother was like, you’ve got to start Twittering. My brother is 25. I was asking him, what do I need to do with my website? Because he’s young, he’s seeing the new websites that are being created, and he’s online all the time so he knows what the new things are. He said you’ve got to Twitter, that’s where you need to be.

And then, I’m always reading Inc Magazine, and Wired Magazine, and all these magazines that talk about what people are doing that’s new. So I try to read them and see if there’s something I can apply, like the webcam that’s being set up. We’ve just run into so many closed doors. We’re getting there. It’s the smallest thing now that’s holding it up. But what I read about Twitter is that Twitter is supposed to bring people to your site. So like Ray Paulick is doing now, he’ll Twitter, this is the news that I posted today, and this is today’s topic, and then you bring them to your website, then they read your blog. I’m careful with the blog that it’s about the horses, and what the horses did, and I’m trying to make the blog so that it’s not just for horsemen, it’s for people that don’t know why we do certain things, or don’t know why two-year-olds need to gallop together, or that they need company, or different little things like that, like the horses had their teeth floated today, and just being able to give little tibits that someone would say, ‘oh, I had no idea that horses had to deal with that.’

Like Darley has their Darley For Kids. It’s set up for five-year-olds, but I mean, even five-year-olds are probably bored with the Darley For Kids sites. How they’re doing a diary of the foal. Well, the foal is changing every week, and that’s where the industry has to change, it has to be proactive, and it has to realize that these things are important. And that means kids want updates all the time. I don’t want to wait until next week to see a new photo of the foal. The foal is changing every day.

KNR: Well with the nature of the media now, people have become accustomed to having up to the second updates, and that’s how the industry really needs to grow to realize that.

CC: I think one of the issues that the industry faces worldwide is that the people that are in places of control and are in charge of things like the status quo, and it’s easy to keep things the same, and it’s easier to deal with the enemy you know than the enemy you don’t know, type of philosophy. Change is hard, especially for older people. I think in some respects the industry all over the world needs to work as a team, like I think marketing people in North America should go to Australia, and see how the Australians market, because they do a fantastic job there. They just need to be proactive and talk to more people who are under 25, and see what interests them, and work at it so we can keep their interest.       

There’s a famous quote out of the movie Let It Ride where the main character’s wife is with him in the Turf Club, and she says to him, “I don’t understand why everybody has to gamble, why can’t you just watch the horse race?” And he says, “there’s no racing without betting.”

There’s no racing without betting. And there’s no betting without bettors…

KNR: And there’s no bettors without fans.

CC: Exactly. And there’s no owners without fans. It all comes from the general population. If you can reach for the general population by making them fans, then you have access to them.

KNR: Can you tell me a little more about, it sounds like you’re having difficulties with the webcam thing, but what your goal with that is? Would it be online for people to see?

CC: Yeah. I have to be careful with the grooms and the guys that are working there. There are privacy issues, so if there’s nothing going on in the barn, then yes I would like the webcams to be on in the afternoon, you can go online and check out the horse. We would only do it with horses like, she’s the star of the stable right now, so it’s interesting for people to see her, even if she’s just standing in the box. It’s such a simple concept, but people are attracted to that.

KNR: Like they did with Mine That Bird last year at Santa Anita leading up to the Breeders’ Cup, he had the stall cam. It was called Bird Watching or something, it was really interesting even just to see him standing there.

CC: I actually just purchased a new helmet camera. It’s a bit more advanced than the one I had used previously. I didn’t publish anything I had used previously because the quality wasn’t good enough. Hopefully I’ll get that up and going and get some more video footage.

KNR: Aside from the marketing and publicity of the industry, do you have any great concerns regarding the health of the industry?

CC: Definitely. If you watch the Oaks race replay, and then the camera pans the grandstand, well it’s almost empty. And that just makes my heart deflate. It’s Canada’s premier race for fillies, and the grandstand has every right to be full. That’s just fan base, and that’s advertising, and that’s young people wanting to come. They have to have something they want to come for. If they don’t know about it, like here’s a filly that’s running against the boys in Canada’s biggest race. Well that’s a perfect opportunity for people that know very little about racing to say, “cool, the filly’s taking on the boys.” That should be, you know, I’m going to root for her, because she’s going to be the underdog.

KNR: Especially with fillies doing so well recently, having so many fillies beating the boys around the world recently, it should be a big topic.

CC: It should be. Like Zenyatta is hugely popular. And if the connections of Zenyatta never shared anything about her she wouldn’t have as big a fan base. She’d have the racing fan base, but she wouldn’t have an attraction from the general public, which she has because they share information about her. It’s just advertising, in a blunt format, it’s just telling people and making the information readily available.

I was asked by a couple of reporters yesterday at the BBQ, “so this horse raced in Ireland, how did she end up in Ireland?”, “Well, I was there.” “Oh, you were in Ireland?” All the information is online.

KNR: They didn’t do their research.

CC: Exactly. If they were online, they would know, because it’s been quite clearly stated. If you Google Carolyn Costigan, my website is, I’m paying Google to put the name of my website right there. If you Google Roan Inish, the same thing. If you Google David Moran, the same thing. Arravale Racing will pop up. So these people obviously aren’t online. So they’re already behind the eight ball. And I had to laugh, this one reporters said to me, “what time will you be working Roan Inish on Sunday?” I said, “oh, I’ll Twitter it on Saturday night.” “Oh, so where will I get that?” “It will be available on my website.” “Oh right, ok, so I have to go online.” “Yeah, you do have to go online.”

KNR: Oh my gosh, that’s unbelievable.

CC: Yeah, to you. How old are you?

KNR: 21.

CC: There you go. So we should be talking to people under 25 and saying “how do I get information to you?”

That was my final assignment in Dubai, how to attract the next generation to racing.

KNR: What did that project entail?

CC: The website I’m doing right now. At the moment I don’t have anything other clients, I only have my dad, but when I do, the website is set up in a way, as I had done in the project, that you log in, as a client, and then you have your own virtual stable. There’s your webcam and you can see your horses, there’s your horses that you own with Arravale Racing, there’s a little comment about what your horse did today. And you can log on to the website anywhere in the world.

Queen's Plate Interviews: Adena and Attfield

An interview with Mike Rogers, Business Manager for Adena Springs North and Stronach Stables, and Sean Smullen, Farm Trainer for Adena Springs:

KNR: Can you tell me about the decision to breed to that horse (Motivator?)

MR: What happened was, there was a private offering to buy shares in him; He was a syndicated stallion. Frank reviewed it, thought it was a good investment, so we bought a share in Motivator. So we own a share in Motivator. The Queen is the controlling shareholder, but we own a share, so once we purchased a share in him, the Queen stands him at The Royal Stud, so we sent one of our mares over there to breed to him because we’re part owner and we bought a share in him. And that foal of course is Mobilizer.

KNR: So that share entitles you to one breeding per year?

MR: Yes. Actually I think the first year they allowed two. They allowed two breedings in year one with our share, and the other foal wasn’t born, the mare didn’t catch, so we only have the one foal, and that was Mobilizer.

KNR: So since then have you continued to breed a mare to him each year?

MR: No, we haven’t, we haven’t taken advantage of that share. I think one year we sold it, and then the other year he couldn’t stand because he had a health issue he was dealing with, and I’m sure this year we’ll send another mare to him.

KNR: Can you tell me why the decision was made to send that particular mare (Kris Is It, dam of Mobilizer) to Motivator?

MR: For sure it had to be a barren mare, she couldn’t be in foal, because of the timing to ship them over there, so we went through our list, we looked for mares that weren’t in foal at the time, because the timing wouldn’t have worked, because we had to get them in quarantine and get them over there. And with our typical breeding program, we don’t like to inbreed, so that foal, Mobilizer, is not inbred. So that was one of the reasons.

KNR: What time of year did you have to send her (Kris Is It) over there?

MR: We sent her over in the fall of 2005 I think it was. We boarded her at a stable over there for a while, then she bred to Motivator and we brought her back I think it was roughly 65 or 70 days after being in foal. We brought her back actually to the States first to our Kentucky farm, it was just easier, and then we shipped her up to Canada in the fall of that year, and she had Mobilizer here in Canada.

KNR: So she had to be in England a certain period of time before she was bred as part of the quarantine rules?

MR: Yeah. We just wanted to get her over there sooner, get her acclimatized. We got her in the fall and she was bred that winter. She got covered early, early January. We’ve sold her since, we probably shouldn’t have.

KNR: That’s usually how it goes, right? I wonder if you can tell me if you have any memories of Mobilizer as a foal? Was he a standout?

MR: Me, I’m the business manager, but I was always getting reports that he was well liked. And then when he was being broken as a young horse at our Florida farm, the trainer down there said he was clearly standing out as one of the better ones. Then when we got him to Roger Attfield. He immediately liked him. He liked him right away. When he was two years old, Roger said, ‘let’s be patient with this horse’, and we’ve done whatever Roger recommended, but he liked him from day one, so he’s clearly shown himself as having above average abilities right from the very beginning.

KNR: Do you know of anyone I could speak to who worked with him at a young age?

SS (Sean Smullen, who happened to be standing nearby): He was with a group of two year olds that came up that year and started breezing a little bit on the farm. I mean he really stood out. He was the one that would jump out at you. I remember watching him breeze, and he just stood out amongst them, you know what I mean?

KNR: This was as a two-year-old?

SS: This was as a two-year-old after coming up from Adena Springs South.

KNR: Can you tell me what his course of action was, after he was broke as a yearling, what he did from there before he began his career?

SS: The majority of the two-year-olds ship from Adena Springs South up to Adena Springs North. He just started to progress a lot at the early stages. We just started breezing them a bit, then they went to their various trainers. So he was at the farm for a short period of time and had a couple of early breezes then went on to Roger.

KNR: Mike, one more comment from you. You know obviously the last time the Queen was here was in 1997, of course another Stronach homebred that year (winner Awesome Again). Do you think that’s an omen?

MR: I don’t know, it would be fantastic, it’s definitely pretty exciting. You know, she invited us over for dinner. All the shareholders in Motivator, we went over to Windsor Castle and had dinner with her, so she’s clearly had a connection already, so it would be great to see this horse win.

KNR: When did you get to do that?

MR: It was May of 2006, so Motivator’s first year at stud, she invited all the shareholders over for dinner, so we had dinner at Windsor Castle. It was amazing.

KNR: Well maybe you’ll get to meet up with her again.

MR: That would be great.

 A few comments from Roger Attfield, trainer of Mobilizer:

KNR: Roger, how do you feel about Mobilizer coming in off of his big effort in the Plate Trial? Do you feel confident in him?

RA: I think that probably would have done him some good, because he’s a horse that didn’t run as a two-year-old, and the schedule I put together for him I think has made sense, and I’m happy with it. I would have liked to have seen him win that race, but he ran a good race. He was really tight there inside and I think he still gets a little antagonized when that happens, and we thought maybe he hung a bit, Jono thought he had plenty of horse there and he should have got up, but he actually did get his head in front there, and the other horse really dug in and run hard. Maybe that’s what got me beat, and Jono tried to actually run the horse strongly. I might run him in cheaters on the day, you know the cheater blinkers, because he just might hang a little bit when he gets to a horse, you know?

KNR: He’s clearly a very talented horse, so I wonder if you could tell me when you started seeing that talent with him?

RA: I saw it as a two-year-old, I was very high on him as a two-year-old, but he was very immature and that’s why I didn’t run him as a two-year-old. He had a few baby aches and pains that stopped me from moving forward maybe at the end of the year, but basically if I had run him, it would only have been once or twice at the end of the year.

*Look for a feature on Mobilizer later this week on Bloodhorse.com.

Artic Feeling

Oh, the racing game. It never fails to humble. Anyone who has been involved long enough has tasted its notoriety for devastation and disappointment. As quickly as you are on top, you’re booted to the bottom.

Just two days ago, I could not have been higher. I was tooting the horn of Artic Fern, the Queen’s Plate contender I had foaled, helped raise, and broke at Gustav Schickedanz’s Schonberg Farm. I would tell the story of the night he was born, and remind everyone that I was the first to sit on this rising star’s back. I told all my family and friends, “put your money on this horse. He’s for real. This is the one.”

Artic Fern would be the one. It all made sense. His breeding suggested it: He is by Langfuhr, sire of a Queen’s Plate winner (Wando), out of Wood Fern, a full sister to a Queen’s Plate winner (Woodcarver). This year, the Queen would be coming to the Plate, which is to be run on my birthday, the fourth of July. Artic Fern is three for four, riding a three-racing winning streak displaying versatile running styles. And he couldn’t be going for better people: both Schickedanz and trainer Mike Keogh are the picture of class and humility, and well-loved by many at Woodbine and in the global industry. Yes, everything seemed to be falling in to place, and the excitement was electrifying.

That was until a late night phone call on June 27. Upon hearing the news, my head seemed to stop working, and all of the strength seemed to leave my body. In an instant, the electricity was gone, and I found myself leaning against the wall for support as I fought back tears of disappointment and anger. The feeling is as cold as the Artic.

Artic Fern had his final work in preparation for the Plate on Saturday the 26^th, moving five furlongs in 1:00.40. He exited the work in good order, but came up lame Sunday morning. His chances looked dim Sunday evening, and he was officially withdrawn from consideration on Monday morning.

So this is where our story ends. But the end of one story must mean the beginning of another, and perhaps bigger things are in store for Artic Fern and Gus's stable. While the disappointment is still crippling, the best I can do is be thankful that it wasn’t worse; Artic Fern is still in the barn, and with some better luck, will live to run another day. I will now have to shift my interests back to D’s Wando and Mobthewarrior, the two Plate contenders bred and sold by Schickedanz. 

Queen's Plate BBQ

We are officially within a week of the 151st running of the Queen's Plate, and on June 28, Woodbine Racetrack hosted a barbecue to honour this year's contenders. The event kicked off at 12 pm with nine of the expected runners parading in the Woodbine paddock, with track announcer Dan Loiselle providing commentary to the media and horse connections assembled. The Sid Attard-trained Ghost Fleet was the first horse to the paddock, and was followed by the royally bred Mobilizer, D's Wando, Vicar Street, Mobthewarrior, Smart Sky, Dark Cloud Dancer, Giant's Tomb, and the filly Roan Inish. While all of the horses turned out quite well, standouts to this reporter were Mobilizer, Mobthewarrior, and Roan Inish. Dark Cloud Dancer, the most regally bred horse in the field (Storm Cat - Dancethruthedawn, by Mr. Prospector) was also nothing to frown at.

Here are some photos of the early Queen's Plate contenders. With six days remaining until the big dance, last minute additions are still possible, but the current probable field stands at 12 with the June 28 defection of Artic Fern.

Ghost Fleet with trainer Sid Attard (left)

Mobilizer, son of Motivator

Mobilizer shows some spunk

D's Wando

Longshot maiden Vicar Street

2-year-old stakes winner Mobthewarrior

Smart Sky

Gorgeous and regally-bred Dark Cloud Dancer

Another Sam-Son hopeful: Giant's Tomb (by Awesome Again)

And the filly: Roan Inish

A family affair: Roan Inish with trainer Carolyn Costigan (at head) and owners Bob and Nora Costigan. The Costigan's also campaigned Roan Inish's dam, Inish Glora.

A Pedigree Fit For a Queen

Thoroughbred breeder Gustav Schickedanz is a risk taker. And for good reason. How else would the 81-year-old horse enthusiast from Germany have produced more than 40 stakes winners from a small program of mainly breeding homebreds to homebreds?

This is the formula Schickedanz used to produce his 2003 Queen’s Plate winner and Horse of the Year Wando, along with his sire and dam, Langfuhr, and Kathie’s Colleen. Schickedanz has twice won the Queen’s Plate with homebreds (the first being Woodcarver in 1999), but it has been seven years since he tasted victory in Canada’s most important classic, and Schickedanz is hungry for more. That’s why when planning the mating for his 2010 Queen’s Plate contender Artic Fern, Schickedanz took no chances.

Schickedanz loves to win the Plate, and each successful attempt or near miss seems to only fuel the fire. So when Artic Fern, highly touted by trainer Mike Keogh prior to his first start, finished an impressive second in his career debut, Schickedanz began making plans. Those plans were confirmed June 5 when Artic Fern cruised to victory over 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine Polytrack, toying with a highly-regarded field that included multiple Sovereign Award winner True Metropolitan and the up and coming Good General. Artic Fern notched his third consecutive victory as the only three-year-old in the allowance contest, punching his ticket to the Plate and indicating his chances at serving Schickedanz his third Plate win in 11 years.

The pedigree plan behind Artic Fern was a simple one: to produce a Plate horse. One need only look at the dark bay’s sire and dam to see the pattern. Artic Fern is a genetic mixture of Schickedanz’s two Plate winners, Woodcarver and Wando, and he seems to have reaped the best of both champions.

Artic Fern is by Langfuhr, the sire of Wando, and out of Wood Fern, a full sister to Woodcarver. Langfuhr, who finished fifth in the 1995 Plate, is out of Sweet Briar Too, another Schickedanz homebred who also produced stakes winners Princess Ruckus and Wonneberg. Sweet Briar Too and her dam, Prima Babu Gum, are both still owned by Schickedanz, and are living out their lives as retired broodmares at his Long Leaf Plantation in South Carolina. Langfuhr is by Danzig, and is the product of a no guarantee season purchased at auction by Schickedanz at the height of Danzig’s prime.

Wood Fern is one of two full sisters to Woodcarver that Schickedanz has retained for his broodmare band. The other is Forest Flute, the dam of 2009 multiple stakes winner Woodsmoke. Retired early this year, Woodsmoke has joined the Schickedanz broodmare band in foal to More Than Ready.

Artic Fern is the second foal from Wood Fern. Her first foal, Longlasting, races in Maryland. Wood Fern’s current two-year-old, interestingly enough, is a Wando colt named Sharpshot. Hypothetically, should Artic Fern taste victory in the Plate, Sharpshot would be by a Schickedanz Plate winner, out of a full sister to a Schickedanz plate winner, and a three-quarter brother to a Schickedanz Plate winner. Whoa. We can dream, right?



Sharpshot as a foal with Wood Fern.

It is also worth noting that Artic Fern is a result of the same Langfuhr/Woodman nick that has produced Wando and two other stakes winners. Woodman mares have provided the most prolific nick for Langfuhr, with 17 winners from 22 starters for earnings of almost $4 million.

For the record, Artic Fern’s name is a combination of Wood Fern and Briartic, the sire of Sweet Briar Too.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I worked for Gus Schickedanz for four years, and as you can well imagine, I think he’s awesome. Having spent a lifetime with horses and having made his fortune as a homebuilder, Gus has a rare combination of horsemanship and compassion that allows him to understand his horses and provide them with the greatest of care, sparing them no necessity. I want nothing more come July 4 than to see him win his third Plate.

Below are more foal photos of Artic Fern (I was lucky enough to help deliver him). Enjoy!