'08 Press and Media Information
From KEEPING PACE With Keith Gisser
June 16, 2008
CLASSIC HOPEFUL HANNAH IS UPFRONT- Upfront Hannahsboy made his claim to a spot in the $175,000 Cleveland Classic at Northfield Saturday with a stakes record 1:49.2 win in the $100,000(Cdn) North America Cup consolation at Toronto’s Mohawk Raceway June 14. He won by six lengths over Space Walk. Trainer Jim Arledge, Jr., called on Tim Tetrick to drive Upfront Hannahsboy, who has won five of 15 starts and banked $170,954 in his career. The colt is owned by his breeder, retired mega-auto dealer Ed Mullinax, of Amherst, Ohio. Another Arledge-trained Classic hopeful, Sand Shooter, raced credibly in the $1,500,000 North America Cup, finishing sixth. He was race-timed in 1:50.2 and just missed the final check by half a length. The post draw for the Classic is Wednesday and the entry box closes at 9 AM Eastern.
MORE CLASSIC UPDATES- Several other horses are on the horizon for the Classic, including last year’s Ohio Sires Stakes champ Hello Yankie. He qualified well over a sloppy track at The Meadows on June 4, but due to a quirk in the Ohio Sires Stakes rules, which do not allow for off-track time allowances, he did not race in Saturday’s Sires legs at Northfield. Blueridge Western, a career winner of $371,062, returned from a two-week vacation following his second-place finish in the $301,000 Max Hempt Final at Pocono Downs with a third place effort in a $35,000 Three-year-old Open Pace at Harrah’s Chester Downs Thursday. Hello Yankie and Blueridge Western are trained by Mickey Burke. Dragoon K was second, just ahead of Blueridge Western, in the Chester race. He is trained by Rich Gillock for Robert J. Key. Also new on the scene is supplemental nominee Andy Roo. The Erv Miller-trainee was third behind two veteran pacers, Yukon Cornelius and Machete, in his last start at Pocono Downs, race timed in 1:51.3. The Classic allows supplemental nominees in February (there were seven, including Hello Yankie) and supplemental entries at draw time.
| Up Front Hannahsboy wins the Cup Consolation Saturday, June 14, 2008 - by Karen Briggs, for the Woodbine Entertainment Group |
| Campbellville, ON --- As exciting as the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup was tonight, it was in the C$100,000 consolation that a new stakes record was set.
Up Front Hannahsboy sailed away from his competition in the stretch to cross the wire all alone in 1:49.2, six lengths ahead of his nearest rival, Space Walk (John Campbell). It was a new lifetime clocking, by more than three full seconds, for the son of Dragon Again, who was piloted by Tim Tetrick for trainer Jim Arledge, Jr., and it also lowered the stakes record for the consolation by two-fifths of a second. Trade Editor and driver David Miller picked up third, with Idle Hour and Jack Moiseyev finished fourth. Ed Mullinax of Amherst, Ohio bred and co-owns Up Front Hannashboy with Ron Jackson of Powell, Ohio. The 3-year-old pacing colt has racked up five wins in 15 starts; this was the first victory of his sophomore campaign. |
From Keeping Pace
6/9-CLASSIC UPDATE- Ken Bencic’s Western Outfitter cruised to victory on Northfield’s special Tuesday card, establishing his credentials to the June 21 Cleveland Classic. The son of Western Hanover posted a 1:57 win on a sloppy track against older horses… A trio of Classic eligibles competed in eliminations for the $1,000,000 North America Cup in Toronto and Sand Shooter, the Jim Arledge, Jr.-trainee owned by Bill Sanders and Jerry Silva, finished third in his heat and advanced to the final, to be contested Saturday at Mohawk. Up Front Hannahsboy, owned by Ed Mullinax and also trained by Arledge, was fourth in his heat and will be an also-eligible after losing a lottery among the three fourth-place finishers to get into the final. He will likely compete in the North America Cup consolation on Saturday. Daley Deposit Only was a non-factor in his division, finishing 7th. The possibility of supplemental entries grows stronger, with declarations due Wednesday, June 18 and no clear-cut favorite emerging. You can get all the updates by logging on to our special Classic website, www.northfieldpark.com/cleveland_classic/index.aspx.
6/2-SUPER CLASSICO- It was a tough weekend for several $175,000 Cleveland Classic competitors, with Sand Shooter finishing fourth and Up Front Hannahsboy finishing fifth in their respective $100,000 Burlington splits at Mohawk Raceway, near Toronto, but it was Daley Deposit Only who had the toughest weekend. Sent off the third choice in the $500,000 New Jersey Classic at The Meadowlands, he was parked out the entire mile from post nine, pressuring the fractions. Just a bit more than a length back at the head of the stretch, he tired badly to finish ninth. Others worth watching as they attempt to earn their way into the Classic include a pair from the Dan Altmeyer Stable, Shoot First and Lookout Hanover, and Jodi Schillaci-trainee Western Outfitter, who races here as part of our special Tuesday, June 3 live card. First race post is 6:30 that night, and Western Outfitter is in the 14th race on the 15-race card.5/27-CLASSICO- The $175,000 Cleveland Classic is June 21 and Sand Shooter is looking like a possible favorite. Owned by Bill Sanders and Jerry Silva, who bought into the colt in November, the son of Western Hanover picked up a 1:51.1 win in his seasonal debut, a $42,552 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows on May 9. Trainer Jim Arledge, Jr., plans to race him lightly this year, but the Classic is a definite possibility for the colt, who banked over $329,000 last year at two. Papa Hemingway is another possible Classic entrant. Owned by Gary Cook and trainer Brian Brown, he has been competitive racing in Pennsylvania this year, with a career bankroll of $41,000 despite being lightly raced. Trainer Dan Daley’s homebred Daley Deposit Only has been money in the bank for Ann-Mari Daley, Jared Daley, Richard Lombardo (of Solon) and Brian Doolittle. He won a $25,000 New Jersey Classic elim in 1:51.4 at The Meadowlands earlier this month after an eye-popping 1:51.2 qualifier at Pompano Park. The $500,000 New Jersey Classic Final is Saturday, May 31. Blueridge Western has hovered just outside the sport’s Top Ten all year and finished second to Badlands Nitro in the $301,072 Hempt Final at Pocono Downs on Saturday. He has eight career wins and earnings of $366,862 for owner George Leon.
| Somebeachsomewhere pronounced "back on track," Sand Shooter, Upfront Hannahs Boy qualify well Sunday, May 25, 2008 - by Greg Blanchard, for the Woodbine Entertainment Group |
| Campbellville, ON --- The undefeated Somebeachsomewhere made the short jaunt from the Baycairn Training Centre to Mohawk Racetrack this past Friday morning to go a training mile for conditioner Brent MacGrath.
The son of Mach Three, who was scratched from his first scheduled start at the Campbellville oval on May 17, breezed in 2:14, with no residual issues from the bruised foot that kept him out of the first Ontario Sire Stakes Gold Series Elimination of the season. "He was excellent and came out of it very well," MacGrath said when contacted by phone on Saturday night. "We had him X-rayed again afterwards, just to make sure everything was fine -- and it was. I'm going to take him over again early Tuesday morning and buzz a mile in 1:56 or 1:57 and, if I'm happy with him I'll enter him for the Burlington (Stakes). I think we're back on track." Somebeachsomewhere is perfect in six starts, including his 1:49.3 world record in last summer's C$1 million Metro Pace. He was rated number one in this year's Hoof Beats Experimental Ratings, and has been listed as the 5-2 favorite in Trot Magazine's Spring Book. Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, a pair of Pepsi North America Cup eligibles from the Jim Arledge stable qualified very impressively in their first tour of the Mohawk track. Sand Shooter and Upfront Hannahsboy, both coming off victories in their first start of the year in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action at The Meadows, trained in 1:55 off a first half-mile timed in one minute. Both colts are housed with local trainer Bob Young, who sat behind Upfront Hannahsboy during the training session. He was very impressed with both colts. "They both got a hold of the racetrack really well," Young commented. "Upfront Hannahsboy has a lot of high speed. He's physically not as impressive as Sand Shooter, who is one big, powerful colt. Jason Moore (Arledge's assistant trainer) said that he (Sand Shooter) really liked the big track. It's the first time he's been on anything other than the smaller tracks this year, and Jason said he was traveling more freely and seemed to really enjoy it." Sand Shooter was a devastating 1:51.1 winner in his lone outing this year, which came over a sloppy track on May 9. Upfront Hannahsboy was also sharp in winning his Pennsylvania Sire Stakes division the same day, in 1:53. Both colts are expected to train again on Wednesday in preparation for this coming Saturday's Burlington Stakes, at Mohawk. For more information on this year's Pepsi North America Cup, visit northamericacup.com. |
| Sand Shooter launches campaign with PASS victory Saturday, May 10, 2008 - by Evan Pattak, for the Meadows |
||
| Meadow Lands, PA --- Sand Shooter, runner-up in last year's Breeders Crown for pacing freshmen, launched his 3-year-old campaign impressively on Friday (May 9) at The Meadows by effortlessly taking a division of a $202,360 Pennsylvania Sires Stake, scoring in 1:51.1 over a sloppy track.
The stake, known as the Bye Bye Byrd, was contested over five divisions, with Upfront Hannahsboy, Mystery Chase, Sheer Brilliance and Truponder capturing the other splits.
“He's big and strong now, and he had plenty left in the tank,” said Jim Arledge, Jr., who trains the son of Western Hanover for Bill Sanders and Jerry Silva. Sand Shooter's stablemate, Upfront Hannahsboy, provided Arledge and Miller with stake doubles but had to work harder for his victory. The son of Dragon Again, using Lasix for the first time, accelerated from post position eight for early position, then came uncovered to wear down 1-5 favorite Its That Time. He prevailed by three-quarters of a length in 1:53, with Arterosa third. “At the end of last year we knew he was bleeding,” Arledge said, “but we couldn't get him on Lasix at the right time. He trained back super. He likes a horse in front of him. If he can get that, he'll pass anybody. He was at Peninsula Farm all winter, and he really filled out.” C. Ed Mullinax owns Upfront Hannahsboy who, as Sand Shooter, is being pointed to the Burlington and the North America Cup |
| BLUERIDGE WESTERN TAKES BERRY’S CREEK AT MEADOWLANDS
|
