0905TbV layot.indd - Hastings Racecourse

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By any standard this year’s rendition of the B.C. Cup had to be considered a tremendous success. The huge crowd that turned out was treated to an exciting day of racing and as Hastings General Manager Michael Brown said, “There was an infectious buzz that made me feel very proud of all the work everyone at Hastings did to make it happen.” The first stakes race on the day, the B.C. Cup Sprint, was one of the most exciting. And for everyone involved with the winner, Commodore Craig, it was a sweet victory. A 6-year-old gelding by Vying Victor, Commodore Craig is one of the hardest trying horses around, but most of the time he’s had to settle for minor awards in stakes races. The Sprint was just his second ever stakes win and his first since he was a 3-year-old. “He’s such a nice horse, but he’s had the misfortune to be a stakes horse at the same time as Lord Nelson,” said his trainer, Robbie Anderson. “One thing about him is that you know he’s going to give it his all every time he runs.” Commodore Craig was ridden by Frank Fuentes, who gave a perfect ride. With Five Point Star and Salt Grinder battling it out through quick early fractions, Fuentes had his mount sitting in a cozy position just behind the leaders. Approaching the stretch turn, Fuentes urged Commodore Craig up to engage the leaders. By the time they straightened out, he was in front and he prevailed by a neck in a stretch-long duel with a very game Five Point Star. Commodore Crai is owned an bred by Fred a n d C o r r i n e Gumprich. The bay gelding is a half-brother to the sensational Regal Red. For the second year in a row, trainer Terry Clyde saddled the longest priced winner of the day. Lukin Awesome paid $72.10 for his win in the B. C. Cup Nursery Stakes. Last year Clyde won the Debutante with Backseat Becka, who paid $60.20. Lukin Awesome is owned by his breeders, Leo and Norma Shaw. Lukin Awesome had to overcome a lot more than the usual assortment of problems young horses face while going through the early stages of their development. “He was actually attacked by a bear when he was four months old,” said Norma Shaw. The Shaws live in Barnhartvale, near Kamloops, which according to 2 It’s All About Horseracing BY RANDY GOULDING Norma is “bear country.” “There are a lot of bears where we live, and somehow he must have gotten between a mother bear and her cub.” According to Shaw, Lukin Awesome ran through a fence while trying to get away from the angry bear. “She chased him through a ranch-style wooden fence and one of the boards was driven into his chest. He ended up with a wound that was a good six inches in diameter.” It took about six hours of surgery and a lot of nursing to repair the wound. While most of us were taken by surprise, Clyde was expecting a good effort from Lukin Awesome in the Nursery. “He had respiratory p r o b l e m s going into his last two races,” she said. “He kept filling u p w i t h m u c o u s , but we finally found the right antibiotics and got a hold of it. We scoped himafter his last work and he had cleared up.” A typical traffic jam near Leo and Norma Shaw’s house in Barnhartvale, British Columbia. R i c h a r d Hamel was aboard for the win and he was suitably impressed. “He showed a lot of courage,” said Hamel. “We were hooked every step of the way and he never quit trying.” At $2.80, Alabama Rain edged out Roscoe Pito for the shortest priced winner of the day. Alabama Rain was a relatively easy winner over He’s So Regal in the colts and geldings division of the Stallion Stakes. Ridden by Pedro Alvarado, Alabama Rain made a strong move to take control of the race at the half-mile pole. He drew off in the stretch to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Alabama Rain’s trainer, Lance Giesbrecht, was pleased with the performance and soon after shipped him to Alberta to prepare for the Canadian Derby. (As we were going to press, Alabama Rain was drawing off in the stretch to easily win the Canadian Derby) Roscoe Pito totally dominated the B.C. Cup Classic. Breaking like a rocket under Chad Hoverson, Roscoe Pito went right to the front and was never really challenged while posting an easy 4 3/4 length victory over Coeur Joie. Roscoe Pito appears to have improved dramatically as a 5-year-old. His trainer John Snow has worked very hard at getting the 2003 Horse of the Year to relax behind other horses and it appears to have paid off in spades. While he had things his own way in the Classic, Roscoe Pito was coming off of a very good second to R. Associate in the Grade 3 Lieutenant Governors’ and in that race he looked very comfortable sitting behind the pace setter, Five Point Star. “He’s really matured this year,” said Snow. “Now that he’s learned how to rate, it just gives us a lot more options.” Roscoe Pito, who cost $4,700 as a yearling, has now earned $563,740 for his owners, John Snow, Wildcard Stable, Punjab Milk Foods and Gus Gomes. Robbie Anderson was the leading trainer of the day with two wins. In addition to Commodore Craig’s win, he also won the fillies division of the Stallion Stakes with Slewpast. That was his seventh B.C. Cup Stakes win, the most of any trainer since the inception of the B.C. Cup in 1995. Slewpast ($5.50) was ridden by Frank Fuentes, who was the only rider to win more than one stakes. It was a good day for the Anderson family. Robbie’s sister Barb Heads won the Debutante with Excited Miss, who paid $9.40. She was ridden by Dave Wilson. Next to Roscoe Pito, the easiest winner on the card was Socorro County, who won the Distaff by 3 3/4 lengths. “She had a dream trip,” said her jockey Robert Skelly. Socorro County is trained by Dave Forster. Trainer Dave Milburn sent out a promising 2-
2005 BC Cup Winners year-old, Saanichton, to win the first race of the day. Nicky Wright was aboard. In the nightcap, He’s Good to Go came from last to win the B.C. Cup Starter Handicap by 2 3/4 lengths. He’s trained by Brian O’Connell. Pedro Alvarado was aboard for his second win on the card. The total mutuel handle was $1,367,287. That’s up considerably from last year’s total of $1,162,872. This year only nine races were carded as opposed to 10 in 2004. Obviously, it was a spectacular day and congratulations to everyone that participated. With a successful B.C. Cup in the books we can look forward to what should be an exciting championship season. All of the major races are coming up in September and October and right now there doesn’t appear to be any standouts in any division. Of course the biggest prize is the Grade 3 $250,000 British Columbia Derby. Alabama Rain is certainly the leader of the local contingent, but there are owners and trainers currently shopping around for a potential B.C. Derby winner. Plus, like last year with Flamethrowintexan, there is a good chance someone will ship in from another jurisdiction. Once again it’s shaping up to be a great race. It’s seems like it’s been about 10-years since Vancouver City Council passed a motion allowing slot machines at Hastings but really, it’s just been over a year. Currently, City Council is in the final stages of the process. On October 3 there will be a Development Permit Board meeting at Council where hopefully, a final positive decision on the development application submitted by the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation will be made. Leading up to the meeting, there will be a couple of Open Houses and Meetings regarding the development permit application at the Hastings Community Centre. It’s very important that the members of the horse racing community show up for these meeting to give our support to the application. This means you. People opposed to the original application for slots fought very hard to prevent the original application from going through. That opposition is still there. The meetings are scheduled for September 7, 7:00 to 10:00 pm, and September 10 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Once again it’s very important that we show up to give our support to the application and even more so for people that live in the surrounding neighbourhood. Good luck as we head into the last three months of what could be a very memorable racing season. 3
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Page 9 and 10: Raymond Chow At Hastings Hastings R
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