August 24, 2023
By Woodbine Communications/ Chris Lomon
TORONTO, August 24, 2023 – Rookie and sophomore Canadian Premier Yearling Sale graduates will step into the spotlight Sunday afternoon at Woodbine for a quartet of stakes races totaling $600,000 in purse money.
The annual Canadian Sales Stakes precedes the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s yearling sale (sponsored by OLG), held on Wednesday, August 30 at noon (ET) in the Woodbine Sales Pavilion.
$100,000 ALGOMA STAKES – for 3-year-old fillies, foaled in Canada. 7 furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 9
Seven hopefuls, including Zana, trained by Steven Flint for Malta Manors Stables, will square off in a wide-open edition of the Algoma.
A bay daughter of Goldencents-Philzana, Zana broke her maiden in her most recent start, a sharp one-length score at six furlongs over the E.P. Taylor turf on August 5.
The bay filly, bred by Denny Andrews, sports a record of 1-2-0 from four starts.
Other starters include Rocket Riley, a dark bay daughter of Souper Speedy-La Nina, who followed up a second-place effort in her debut with a three-quarter length win at 6 ½ furlongs over the Woodbine Tapeta.
Bred by Frank Mermenstein, Rocket Riley is trained by Willie Armata for T and T Racing Team.
FIELD FOR THE ALGOMA
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Lady Urus – Rafael Hernandez – Steven Chircop
2 – Great Kate – Ryan Munger – John Mattine
3 – Souper Sinclair – Jose Campos – Philip Hall
4 – Tamana – Rachel Slevinsky – Nigel Burke
5 – Zana – Justin Stein – Steven Flint
6 – Rocket Riley – Kazushi Kimura – Willie Armata
7 – Where’s Samnbailey (S) – Jason Hoyte – Evette Chartrand-Hoek
$100,000 ELGIN STAKES – for 3-year-old colts & geldings, foaled in Canada. 7 furlongs on the Tapeta. Race 8
Seven starters, including El Cohete, a son of Society’s Chairman-Diannecantretire, will chase top prize in the Elgin.
Unraced at two, the Mike De Paulo trainee made his debut, a fifth-place finish, on May 13.
“I ran him in open allowance, but I was a little disappointed in the result,” De Paulo. “But we put him on the grass, and he won, which was a really nice effort.”
In his most recent outing, the dark bay was third in a 1 1/16-mile Tapeta race on July 30.
“I don’t know if he bounced a little, but I was a little disappointed with that race,” offered De Paulo.
Owned by Rocco D'Alimonte and Frank Annecchini, El Cohete is 1-1-1 from four starts.
“He can get a little pumped up,” said De Paulo. “He’s a good-feeling horse. He’s always been a good work horse. We had a little shin trouble with him last year, but he’s been okay this year. We always thought he could run.”
Tylonn Green is the groom.
FIELD FOR THE ELGIN
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – El Cohete – Rafael Hernandez – Mike De Paulo
2 – Rapid Test – Kazushi Kimura – Catherine Day Phillips
3 – Forest Buzz – Eswan Flores – Sid Attard
4 – Legal Catch – Emma-Jayne Wilson – James Begg
5 – Chairman Rainbow – Rico Walcott – Norm McKnight
6 – It’s a Fluke – Sahin Civaci – Darwin Banach
7 – Kinetic Stone – Ryan Munger – Ravendra Raghunath
First race post time for Sunday’s 11-race card is 1:05 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on the races through HPIbet.com, Bet365 and the Dark Horse Bets app.
El Cohete and jockey Rafael Hernandez winning Race 2 on June 15, 2023 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo).
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