Season to open week later in 2018

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – With Sunday as the meet’s closing day, Jonathan Zammit, Woodbine’s vice president of Thoroughbred racing, revealed some details for the 2018 season in a memo to horsemen.

Woodbine’s 2018 season will start a week later next year, the Dec. 2 memo said, with opening day scheduled for April 18 and closing day set for Dec. 16. The backstretch will open Feb. 26, with ship-in day scheduled for Feb. 27. The first day of training will be Feb. 28.

Woodbine’s training hours will be altered to accommodate the construction of the new inner turf course, which will take place Mondays through Thursdays. The main track will be open for training between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. on those days, while on Fridays and weekends, the main track will be open between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Zammit’s memo also announced that the controversial ship-out policy, which put restrictions on horses leaving to race at other tracks, will not be enforced in 2018.

Woodbine also will run races in several unique categories next season, including the Turf Endurance Series and the Grey Handicap Race that were introduced this year. Other racing initiatives that will begin next season include a turf sprint series, a Lady in Red Handicap for chestnuts, and Filly and Mare nights.

Pink Lloyd ends season perfect

Pink Lloyd recorded his eighth consecutive stakes win with a 2 1/4-length victory over Ikerrin Road in the Grade 2, $197,050 Kennedy Road Stakes on Nov. 25, capping a perfect 2017 campaign.

Trainer Robert Tiller said Pink Lloyd will not race again this season and will spend the winter at Buttigieg Training Centre in Egbert, Ontario.

Tiller said the plan is to bring Pink Lloyd back next year as a 6-year-old. He added that the connections have not finalized potential target races or if Pink Lloyd would make a start away from Woodbine next season.

“The only plans we have right now are to give him a good winter and to get him back to the races and go from there,” he said. “He’s been extremely well managed so far, and we’re not going to make the mistake that a lot of people make. We’ve been doing this long enough. We’ve got wonderful owners and we’ll figure it out.”

Tiller said he believed Pink Lloyd is in better form now than he was during the summer, but the Hall of Fame trainer is confident the son of Old Forester will come back to the races in good order following his winter break.

“It’s hard to stop on a horse when he’s that good, but it needs to be done and we love him,” he said. “Any time you stop on a horse, you always worry about them coming back the same, but I’m sure he will.”

Pink Lloyd improved his record to 11 wins in 13 career starts with his victory in the Kennedy Road. Tiller said Pink Lloyd ranks among the best horses he’s trained, a list that includes 2001 Canadian Horse of the Year Win City and Domasca Dan.

“He’s done everything that I thought he could do and more,” he said. “He’s by far the best sprinter I’ve ever had in my life. We’ve been very blessed and lucky to have some really good horses over the years. To me, he’s right at the top.”

Trainer Di Paola gets first win

Santino Di Paola, a 23-yearold trainer, recorded his first career win Nov. 26 when D’s Double Eagle rallied from off the pace under jockey EmmaJayne Wilson to win by a head in an $8,000 maiden claimer over seven furlongs on Woodbine’s Tapeta.

“I didn’t really think he got it, to be honest,” Di Paola said. “It’s a great feeling to win, but it really topped it off when the whole Woodbine community started blowing up my phone.”

Di Paola, who’s been around the sport his entire life, said he decided he wanted to become a trainer after college. He currently trains for York Tech Racing Stable, which is owned by his parents, Carmen and Raffaela Di Paola. Di Paola said his parents have been involved in horse racing for more than 40 years and have been very supportive.

“They’ve been great,” he said. “We’ve had 14 in this year. A couple of babies had to go home, but we’ve been relatively injury free. They’ve got some new stock coming in next year.”

As a condition of his license, Di Paola was required to train privately for his parents this season, but he is hoping to expand his stable and go public next year.

“We made a deal with [the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association] that I train privately for York Tech, which is my parents,” he said. “After the first year, if we do well enough, they’ll let me go out and be a public trainer. I’m pretty sure we did well enough. We had a bunch of seconds, thirds, and fourths.”

Di Paola said he was hoping to have a string of 16 to 20 horses at Woodbine next season. He has a team of five people working with him, including his brother Joey and sister Teresa.

“With my parents involved, we’ll probably have 12 and then fill the rest with everybody else,” Di Paola said. “I have a big crew, but I’m very hands on.”