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Trainer Mark Frostad sends out the triple-threat of Colorful Judgement, Parasail and Shoal Water
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Parasail (post eight, 8-1)
Since 1956, when Woodbine Racetrack opened, Awesome Again is the lightliest-raced horse to win the Queen’s Plate, doing so in only his third career start. That was in 1997.
On Saturday, Parasail could become the lightliest-raced winner of the Breeders’ Stakes, at least since the inception of the Triple Crown in 1959. The undefeated bay gelding will also be making just his third career start in Saturday’s third and final leg of the coveted Triple Crown and, like Awesome Again did in the Plate, he’ll be making his stakes debut as well. No horse has ever won the Breeders’ Stakes (since 1959) while unbeaten. History could indeed be in the making.
It’s a tremendously difficult challenge, but one which trainer Mark Frostad feels Parasail could be up for.
He’s got a couple of things going for him. One is his breeding. He’s a son of Sam-Son’s Smart Strike, who sired last year’s Breeders’ Stakes winner and Sovereign Award recipient, Portcullis. His dam is Dancing With Wings, so he’s a full brother to older stablemate Soaring Free, who has turned into a terror this year, winner of the turf Grade 2 Nearctic Handicap and now being pointed to the Grade 1, $1 million Atto Mile in September.
Parasail’s two wins consist of a maiden six furlong dash on the main track June 12, followed by a one mile turf allowance win on July 6. So, he can win and he can ‘turf’. But does he have enough conditioning to glide the mile and one-half distance against far and away the toughest group of rivals he’s faced yet?
“That (getting the distance) remains to be seen,” said Frostad. “He only had the one start when he went a mile. He sure handled that pretty well. I’ve always liked the horse and of course, Soaring Free, we’ve always liked him. So who knows how good they are.”
However, there’s no doubt as to how the Breeders’ Stakes is going to unfold early, as far as pace is concerned. “He sure will be (on the engine),” said Frostad, emphatically. “He’ll be looking Wando right in the eye. Certainly Wando won’t have an easy lead in the race. We’ll see if Wando can rate or not. If he can’t rate, he’s in big trouble.”
Parasail had his final Breeders’ tune-up on the training track on Sunday, working with stablemate and multiple stakes winner Strut The Stage, clocked in 1:01 2/5 seconds for five furlongs. “I was really happy with his work. He worked awesome,” added jockey Robert Landry, who will be looking for a second Breeders’ win, after steering Pinafore Park to the winner’s circle in 1998. “It was more or less a maintenance work, but he did it very, very nice and very easily.”
“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it (the mile and one-half distance of the Breeders’),” continued Landry. “ He’s been on the lead both starts, so that’s probably where he’s going to be. He was very impressive in his last. He really moved a lot better on the grass (than his maiden win on the dirt). He really impressed me. He won pretty easily that day. I guarantee it (the Breeders’) will be an honest pace.”
Parasail was unraced as a juvenile. “He was not really close to the races last year,” explained Frostad. “He’s a tall, turf-type horse so they are generally later-developing horses. But he’s really matured well this year. The thing that impressed me was his race against older horses, non-winners other than, going a flat mile. He ran a big race. He just pulled away from them at the end. He’s got a lot of talent and he will be able to stay with Wando.”
Shoal Water (post six, 9-2)
Trainer Mark Frostad has always contended that Shoal Water is better on the grass than the dirt. After all, the son of Smart Strike made his career debut on the lawn last year in the prestigious Cup and Saucer Stakes and just missed....gamely finishing a half-length behind Mobil in the mile and one-sixteenth contest over the yielding course. An impressive debut, indeed.
In Saturday’s Breeders’ Stakes, the bay gelding will get a chance to prove that he is better on the turf, taking a third consecutive crack at Wando, who seeks to become only the seventh Triple Crown winner in history (since 1959).
And wouldn’t a win by Shoal Water, who will be reunited with jockey Todd Kabel, who has been aboard for both of the horse’s career wins, be ironic. Not only would it be Kabel’s first Breeders’ Stakes victory and a record (since 1959) sixth win for Sam-Son, but it would also deny Wando, the horse Kabel gave up in order to ride stablemate Mobil in the Queen’s Plate, Triple Crown glory. Kabel, himself, was poised to win the Triple Crown with Scatter The Gold in 2000, but finished third to Lodge Hill in the Breeders’. A victory would also give Woodbine’s leading stakes rider in 2003 a career ‘Triple Crown’, since he’s already won the Queen’s Plate (twice) and Prince of Wales (once).
We’ve got a tough task ahead of us,” said Kabel. “Wando’s in top form. He showed that he’s just getting better and better. Right now he looks unbeatable around here. But my horse Shoal Water worked very well the other day (1:03 2/5 seconds for five furlongs over the main track). I know he handles turf well from last year when he ran on it. I know he’s coming into the race good. We’re just going to have to hope for a big effort and a good challenge.”
Shoal Water began his 2003 season on May 30, romping to a four and one-quarter length allowance win with Kabel aboard over 1 1/16 miles, getting the distance in 1:45.24 and registering a 93 Beyer (Daily Racing Form’s speed rating) in the process.
Then came the June 22, the mile and one-quarter Queen’s Plate, only his second start of the year... a very challenging assignment, considering the fact that no horse had ever won the classic with just one previous seasonal start since the Plate was first raced at Woodbine in 1956. Awesome Again won the 1997 Plate in only his third career start and is acknowledged as the most lightly-raced Plate winner of the modern era.
Shoal Water raced well in the Plate with new rider Robert Landry, chasing Wando for over a mile before faltering down the lane to finish fourth, 13 lengths in arrears of the stunning performance by the Mike Keogh-trained chestnut. In the Prince of Wales Stakes, July 20 at Fort Erie, Shoal Water, piloted by David Clark that day, again chased Wando for much of the mile and three-sixteenths before fading to third after being passed by Arco’s Gold in early stretch. This time, he finished six lengths behind Wando.
“He ran very well for a turf horse in those races,” summarized Frostad. “I know he’s better on the grass. In the Prince of Wales, we went to try and pressure that horse (Wando). If we’d run for second money, we’d have got second, but we were trying to win the race. He pressed him (Wando) but he wasn’t good enough and got caught for second.”
Sire Smart Strike, who also raced for Sam-Son Farm and was trained by Frostad, scored his biggest victory in the 1996 Grade 1 Philip Iselin Handicap. In his brief career, the son of Mr. Prospector-Classy ‘N Smart (the mother of Dance Smartly) won six of eight starts. Amongst his offspring, in only four crops to race so far, are Sovereign Award winners Portcullis (Canada’s top male turfer in 2002 who capped his year with a win in the Breeders’ Stakes) and Added Edge, last year’s juvenile colt champion in Canada.
While no sire has produced back-to-back Breeders’ Stakes winners since the inception of the Triple Crown in 1959, the last owner to win consecutive Breeders’ was Kinghaven Farms in 1989 (With Approval) and 1990 (Izvestia). Sam-Son accomplished the same feat in 1987 (Hangin On A Star) and 1988 (King’s Deputy).
In recalling Shoal Water’s juvenile season, Frostad said, “We started off going pretty far and he just missed (the Cup and Saucer). If he’d had a race, he probably would have won. Then for some reason he didn’t run very well in the Coronation. But he had come back pretty quickly (three weeks between races). We brought him back once more, he won but came out of the race with a chip in his ankle. So we took that out. He was off for quite a while.”
Strizzi (post one, 4-1)
Strizzi will be trying to give owner Frank Stronach a third Breeders’ Stakes win, when he goes to the post Saturday in the third jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown. Stronach won the 1992 Breeders’ with Blitzer and the 1994 renewal with Basqueian, both homebreds.
The grey son of 1996 Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion Lit de Justice has been knocking at the door in his last two starts, second to Moonshine Hall in the Charlie Barley, June 22 and second to Mobil in the Toronto Cup on July 12. “Hopefully we can get out of that ‘second-itis,’” quipped trainer Malcolm Pierce. He’ll also be making his eighth start of the year, more than any of the other Breeders’ contestants.
His dam, Mysteriously, a daughter of champion Afleet, was a versatile, multiple stakes winner, on dirt and turf, amassing a bankroll of over $650,000 when she campaigned in the early 1990's. So, the Stronach-bred does has credentials and it really would be no big surprise if he wound up in the winner’s circle on Saturday.
In his last outing, the Toronto Cup, over one and one-eighth miles on the lawn, Strizzi and Moonshine Hall both charged up to the pacesetter Mobil in mid-stretch and looked to go right on by. But it didn’t happen, as the game Mobil fought back to eventually win by one length over Strizzi. “He ran a good race in the Toronto Cup,” recalled Pierce. “You’re never as happy as if you’ve won it. I thought I had a chance at one point there (in the race). It just wasn’t meant to be. That darned Wando and Mobil have given me nightmares all year.”
Pierce, of course, also raced Stronach’s Rock Again, finishing second to Mobil in the Plate Trial, after taking a lead into the stretch and appearing to have the race won. The colt then was third to Wando in the Queen’s Plate. ‘The Rock’ is currently on the shelf, recovering from a non-displaced fracture in a hind leg. Pierce thinks the son of Awesome Again will be back in training in the fall, perhaps readying for a winter campaign in Florida.
Obviously, the come-from-behind Strizzi needs a reasonable pace in order to make a big, late run. “I think with Wando and (trainer) Mark’s (Frostad) horse (Parasail), a speed horse, the pace will be honest enough. You never know until it happens. Sometimes you get fooled. Sometimes, it looks like there’s one with big speed, then everybody breaks from the gate and they’re holding, holding, holding. But I think it will be an honest pace.”
“(Strizzi) acts like he’ll go all day, so it seems like it’s (the mile and one-half distance of the Breeders’) within his reach. I don’t want to trade (places) with anybody. I’m happy with my horse. He has a chance,” added Pierce.
Strizzi has been busy since the Toronto Cup, with two turf drills. Last Friday, with jockey Emile Ramsammy aboard, he was clocked in 1:01 3/5, handily for five furlongs over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, as he worked with stablemate Sand Burner. “Sand Burner broke off about five lengths in front of him, just to give him something to run at,” said Pierce. “I was happy with it. We had a big work last week with him (July 25, 58 4/5 seconds on the turf training track), so (Friday) was just maintenance.”
On the horse’s personality, he offered, “He’s a handful to deal with. He’s anxious to get out. We usually train him early and get him done and then he’ll sleep for the day. But if he has to wait around, he gets impatient. He prefers to get going early in the morning.”
While Strizzi has raced well in his last two efforts, the fact remains that he hasn’t won since January 8 at Gulfstream Park in Florida, when he miraculously rallied from far back to capture a mile and one-sixteenth allowance event on the turf by four and one-half lengths. “He was well back, I think he was almost last at the quarter pole,” recalled Pierce. “He had an explosive move and was very impressive that day. I still think that’s probably his best race to date. Hopefully, he can repeat that race pretty soon,” said Pierce.
Saturday’s Breeders’ Stakes, no doubt, would be soon enough.
Tracy’s Tonka Toy (post three, 20-1)
Tracy’s Tonka Toy has run competitively on the lawn in his last two starts...ironically employing two different styles, with a solid Beyer figure (Daily Racing Form speed rating) of 81 in each race.
In an allowance race over a flat mile, June 25, Tracy’s Tonka Toy came from far back to finish third, a little over three lengths behind Jeepis Missed.
But in his last effort, the July 12 Toronto Cup, where the gelded son of Ascot Knight hooked the ‘big boys’...Mobil, Strizzi and Moonshine Hall, he was on or near the lead throughout the 1 1/8-mile race, battling the aforementioned Mobil for almost a mile, before giving way to finish fourth, five lengths behind the winner. Still, a very decent effort, indeed, and a good primer, his connections believe, for Saturday’s $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes.
“It’s always been the plan to run him in this race. Jono (jockey Jones) loves this horse. Says he wants to run a mile and a half on the turf. He said this horse just needs more ground. He’s a nice improving three-year-old. He likes the grass. He’ll run on the grass if there’s a cut to it.
The turnaround from last year to this is a rather amazing one for the Gord Colbourne-trained bay. In 2002, he couldn’t finish better than sixth in three outings.
This year, after a dismal opener April 5, he hasn’t been lower than fourth in six starts. “He bled in his first race (this year). We put him on lasix after that. He must have grown a whole hand this year since the spring . He’s just getting bigger, stronger. I think he’ll even be better next year,” said Colbourne.
Tracy’s Tonka Toy was dropped into the claiming ranks in his second start, a $40,000 event. Then, after an excellent second-place showing, the horse gained all the confidence in the world by winning his next start, this time a $50,000 claimer, a runaway nine and one-half length winner over a mile and one-sixteenth.
Perhaps his best race was the mile and one-eighth Victoria Park Stakes, June 8, when he finished third, only one and three-quarter lengths behind Pants N Kisses and Dance Engagement. In his previous start, he was third to Shoal Water, one of his Breeders’ rivals.
Tracy’s Tonka Toy will be piloted, as usual, by Jono Jones, making his first Breeders’ appearance. “Toy” tuned up for the Breeders’ with a five furlong move over the turf training track in 1:01-flat, handily on July 27.
Like Strizzi, he makes his eighth appearance of the season, the most of any Breeders’ starter.
“He’ll be close to the pace. He’s a big-striding horse that wants to run free,” continued Colbourne. “Jono thought he made a big mistake taking him back off the pace (in an earlier race). He’ll go as fast as he wants to go and he’ll go all day. When the pace is slow, the faster horses kind of run away from him and he’s still going to get his legs under him. But after the race ( Toronto Cup), he ran by everybody. Jono couldn’t pull him up. We had to get the outrider to pull him up. Jono came back begging me to run in this race.”
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