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Tuesday, August 7, 2001
HEADLINE Lord Nelson romps in Classic: Spreading B.C.
Cup races over days proves to be winner
BYLINE * Tom Wolski
SOURCE The Province
Notes scribbled from three days of B.C. Cup racing programs:
Let's figure this out. During the last three days 58 of the best B.C.-bred
(thoroughbreds) horses in this province competed for
$365,000 in purse money.
Six of those horses earned $32,460 for their owners,
while R. J. Bennett's Lord Nelson literally ran away with $42,354 by easily
winning the featured $65,000 B.C. Cup Classic.
Of that money won by those seven owners, 10 per cent
went to winning trainers and jockeys.
Three jockeys swept the seven B.C. Cup races: Mark
Patzer, with three winners earned $9,738 for his efforts. Frank Fuentes's,
two winners were worth $7,481, while Wilson's paycheque increased by
$6,397.
There were no trainers with multiple wins, but the
seven who were victorious earned an average $3,740.
As in past B.C. Cup races, fans wagering on logical
horses went away smiling.
Four of the seven winners were heavy favourites, two
were second choices in the wagering. The only upset winner came in Monday's
$50,000 B.C. Cup Distaff, when Mark Patzer nursed Canada West's
Princess Premier to a $34.10 wire-to-wire victory.
When it came to this event's top crowd pleaser, the
honours went to fan favourite, Breakaway Stables' Mike K. The 1999 B.C.
Horse of the Year, who only recently returned to racing after a 19-month
layoff, withstood a strong challenge over Jame Redekop's Ryson
to capture the $50,000 B.C. Cup Sprint.
``He's [Mike K] a tough horse and when he makes the
lead, he has a tendency to relax,'' said jockey Frank Fuentes, rider of
Mike K.
``When I looked and saw Ryson was coming at us I was
concerned as Ryson is a horse who just loves a sloppy surface.''
In the featured $65,000 B.C. Cup Classic, it was all
Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Bennett's as Lord Nelson went wire to wire for the easiest
of wins.
The son of Maudin's work was made easier when trainer
Robbie Anderson elected to scratch speedster Bold Four Thoroughbreds and
Arnett's King Jeremy from the race.
``I was hoping the track would get faster,'' said Anderson.
``King Jeremy really doesn't prefer to run on a sloppy racetrack. It was
a tough decision, but you have to do what is right for your horse.''
Since 1995, the B.C. Cup had been run as a single one-day
event. This year the format was changed to fill three race days.
``I think it worked well. Overall for the total Hastings
Park handle we were up 6.9 per cent,'' said Phil Heard, general manager
at Hastings Park.
``I think spreading it over three days makes a lot
of sense.''
Wolski can be reached at: www.sportofkingstv.com
Source: Vancouver
Province
E-mail Tommy Wolski at twolski@home.com
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