A
Golden Season
Following up on a one-two finish in the Canadian Oaks, Sam-Son
Farms wins their third Queen's Plate.
by Jennifer Morrison-Learn
Republished
with permission from Canadian Thoroughbred The Samuel family of Milton,
Ontario has won dozens of major stakes races and awards with
their homebreds. It is a three-decade legacy in thoroughbred
racing developed by Ernie Samuel. But perhaps none of those victories
were more special than that of Scatter the Gold in the 141st
Queen's Plate at Woodbine racetrack on June 25.
It was the first ever victory
for Scatter the Gold, who became the second three-year-old to
win the Plate as a maiden since Golden Choice did it in 1986.
The Sam-Son Stable has enjoyed a strong season in 2000 and, according
to trainer Mark Frostad, this year's runners are the most talented
he has had since he began training for Sam-Son in 1996. Sam-Son
had already won the Canadian Oaks earlier in June with homebred
Catch the Ring.
The running of the 1 1/4 mile Plate, the first leg of Canada's
Triple Crown, marked the end of a confusing Plate week in which
a mixed bag of 17 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, including five maidens,
were readied for a shot at the record $1,000,000 (Cdn.) purse.
Pete's Sake, the six-length winner of the Plate Trial Stakes
three weeks earlier for owner Jerry Frankel of Texas, was a tepid
favourite but not a popular pick.
The son of '93 Plate winner Peteski was beaten over 24 lengths
at Belmont Park in May in his first start after winning his maiden
and was 22 to 1 on Trial day. Pletcher, who raced a horse at
Woodbine the day before the Trial, didn't even stick around to
watch the horse win.
The 'little guys' were well represented in the Plate field. The
winterbook favourite for the race, I and I, was a $5,500 yearling
purchase by owner and trainer Wellesley Clayton and was coming
off a charging second place finish in Pete' s Sake's Trial.
Restaurant owners Neil and Irene McLellan experienced their first
Plate with their $32,000 purchase Bold n' Fancy and newcomer
Brando Brako and partner Marty Dinkin enlisted Pat Day to ride
their improving colt Runaway Love.
Sam-Son, which lost its best two-year-old of last year when Dixieland
Diamond suffered a condylar fracture at the Fair Grounds in January,
rested its hopes on Scatter the Gold, whose best finish from
four career starts was a second in a maiden race on grass, and
Strike Smartly, also a son of Mr. Prospector and a half-brother
to Dance Smartly.
The latter, an impressive maiden winner at Keeneland this spring,
was thought to be the best chance for the farm until he finished
a disappointing fifth in the Trial. When Todd Kabel, the colt's
regular rider, suddenly switched over to Scatter the Gold two
days before the race, the press were left scratching their heads.
Trainer Roger Attfield, a seven-time Plate winner, spiced up
the post position draw when he chose post position 17 for For
Our Sake, a colt he owns with Bill Werner and Mickey Canino.
And trainer Reade Baker had touted Earle Mack's Fartherthanuthink,
an allowance winner, all week to the Toronto media.
The race's most talented runner, at least in sprint races, was
Wake at Noon, a small chestnut fellow who won three stakes races
at the start of the season but failed his first two-turn test
when third in the May 21 Marine Stakes (Can-III).
Toss in nine longshots, including Pletcher's promising Cozzene
colt, Lodge Hill, and the fans were presented with a perplexing
betting race.
The Plate didn't get off to a smooth start when maiden Colebrook
Lake reared up in the gate and had to be scratched. After a delay,
the gates suddenly sprang open and Lodge Hill was left flat-footed.
As expected, speedster Wake at Noon sprinted to a short lead
with Tricky Hearts and Runaway Love pushing him along to the
first turn. For Our Sake, despite his cumbersome post, grabbed
a beautiful spot under jockey Robert Landry and used that to
his advantage when he went for the lead on the final turn.
Meanwhile, Kabel was after Scatter the Gold right from the start,
urging his late running colt to keep in touch with the field
early.
"I tried to make him lay closer to the pace than he normally
likes to," said Kabel. "He's a big playboy and I just
wanted to keep his mind on the game the whole way."
Scatter the Gold advanced steadily from the half-mile pole until
he was in third place and behind the dueling Wake at Noon and
For Our Sake turning for home.
"I was pretty confident I had the two horses in front of
me," said Kabel. "But I didn't know if there was someone
closing at me and I wasn't about to look back."
I was following Scatter the Gold but was finishing as fast as
that rival and had to settle for second, four lengths clear of
For Our Sake. Longshot Allende rallied to be fourth.
Pete's Sake pulled up before the quarter-pole but trotted to
the finish line and walked home. The colt was apparently okay
after the race and shipped back to Belmont Park before he was
sent back to Woodbine to be trained by Wray Lawrence.
The time of 2:05 2/5, over a lightning fast Woodbine track, was
quite slow and solidified the popular opinion that this was one
of the weakest Plate fields in over a decade. Only two editions
in the last 21 runnings have gone slower.
Kabel said the declining form of Strike Smartly and the good
recent workout for Scatter the Gold led to his decision to partner
the latter in the Plate.
"It's one of the few times I've been right but I obviously
picked the right one today and I'm thankful the horse came through
for me," he said. "I said to Mark before I got on the
horse, 'This one's for Mr. Samuel'. It's kind of emotional right
now."
The Plate victory, the third for Sam-Son and second for Kabel,
was the second for trainer Mark Frostad, who sent out '96 Plate
winner Victor Cooley for Windways Farm.
"He really hasn't figured out what it's all about yet,"
Frostad said about Scatter the Gold. "The first indication
we had that he wanted to run was last time on the turf. We worked
him a week before the Plate and he showed it again."
In typical Sam-Son fashion, Tammy, Liza and family went "ballistic"
in the owner's box as Scatter the Gold crossed the finish line.
"It's an incredibly emotional day for us, We're still kind
of floating and you don't quite believe that you won it. It's
tough because we wish dad was here."
Scatter the Gold is now eligible for a $500,000 bonus if he can
win the other two legs of the Triple Crown - the Prince of Wales
Stakes at Fort Erie on July 23 and the Breeders' Stakes on the
Woodbine grass on August 12.
Nearctic Stakes
Neil Drysdale put on another training clinic when he brought
back Shadwell Stables' Kahal, a six-year-old son of Machiavellian,
from a five-month layoff to win the $225,200 Nearctic Stakes
(Can-II).
Kahal was given a picture-perfect ride by California-based rider
Brice Blanc to rally from last place in the six-furlong turf
test and win by a length.
The time of 1:11 was solid considering the soft condition of
the turf. He paid a healthy $19.00 as the fifth choice.
Dogwood Stable's Gone Fishin finished second ahead of Woodbine
local Mr. Epperson.
Horse
Sport-- Sept 2000
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One month after Samuel passed
away, the Sam-Son breeding program came full circle when Scatter
the Gold, a son of Sam-Son's champion mare and Plate winner Dance
Smartly, took off in the stretch to win Canada's most important
race.The infield winner's circle was a "free for all of
hugs, kisses and tears" as Samuel's daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz
described the emotions following the race.
"This is the most special," said Samuel-Balaz. "Number
one is because of Dad and we know he's with us today. It couldn't
be happening at a better time. Secondly, to have a Plate winner
from a Plate winner is unbelievable." |
As expected, speedster Wake
at Noon sprinted to a short lead with Tricky Hearts and Runaway
Love pushing him along to the first turn. For Our Sake, despite
his cumbersome post, grabbed a beautiful spot under jockey Robert
Landry and used that to his advantage when he went for the lead
on the final turn.
Meanwhile, Kabel was after Scatter the Gold right from the start,
urging his late running colt to keep in touch with the field
early.
"I tried to make him lay closer to the pace than he normally
likes to," said Kabel. "He's a big playboy and I just
wanted to keep his mind on the game the whole way."
Scatter the Gold advanced steadily from the half-mile pole until
he was in third place and behind the dueling Wake at Noon and
For Our Sake turning for home.
"I was pretty confident I had the two horses in front of
me," said Kabel. "But I didn't know if there was someone
closing at me and I wasn't about to look back." |
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|Injury Prevention|
|No Helmet - 911|
|"New Lids"|
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