Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Wide-open field for B.C. Derby
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The 73rd Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby headlines a stellar 10-race card at Hastings on Saturday, and supporting the track’s most prestigious race are five stakes led by the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks.
The B.C. Derby and Oaks are not part of the pick five, which begins on the second race with a $90,631 carryover. However, they are part of the late pick four, which has a $25,000 guarantee.
Post time for the derby is 5:25 p.m. Pacific.
The 12 horses entered in the 1 1/8-mile derby will each carry 126 pounds around three turns.
Weekend Wizard, Sky Promise, and Canadian Game will vie for favoritism.
Weekend Wizard, trained by Craig MacPherson, heads the local contingent. Sky Promise is coming of a win for trainer Robertino Diodoro in the Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park on Aug. 25. Canadian Game ships in from Del Mar, where he finished third in a first-level allowance race with a $40,000 claiming option on Aug. 8 for trainer Doug O’Neill. Glen Todd will be the trainer of record for the derby.
“Glen is going to have Canadian Game up there, so we’ll run him under his name,” O’Neill said. “He is doing great, and he runs well on the turns on mile tracks, so I think he’ll like running on a bullring.”
The Curlin colt races for Reddam Racing. He shipped to Hastings from Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation Center in Redmond, Wash., on Wednesday evening.
“He is gorgeous and seems to have handled the ship well,” Todd said Thursday morning.
Canadian Game, who has tactical speed, will break from post 10 with Aaron Gryder riding.
Diodoro likes the way Sky Promise bounced back from his win over a fast-closing Day Raider going a grueling 1 3/8 miles in the Canadian Derby. He claimed the Kentucky-bred son of Sky Mesa for $40,000 at Churchill Downs on June 30. In his first start for owners Rick and Clayton Wiest, R Stables, and Norman Tremblay, Sky Promise won the $75,000 Manitoba Derby on Aug. 6. Last year, Diodoro won the Canadian Derby and B.C. Derby with Chief Know It All. The races were three weeks apart instead of the two this year.
“You’re always a bit concerned about them coming back this quickly, but he is training as good, if not better, than he was going into the Canadian Derby,” Diodoro said. “He was a bit stiff for a couple of days after the race, but he got over it quickly and he seems to like the track at Hastings.”
Sky Promise, a deep closer, will break from post 6 with Rico Walcott retaining the mount.
The last time Weekend Wizard ran at Hastings he blew away his opponents in the $50,000 Chris Loseth Handicap on July 1. The gelded son of Rosberg came back with a huge effort in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby at Emerald Downs on July 29. He dueled through fast fractions in the 1 1/8-mile race and then battled the length of the stretch with even-money favorite Sippin Fire before giving way late to lose by threequarters of a length.
“I thought his effort in the Muckleshoot would knock him out a bit, but he took it in stride and I was surprised how well he cooled out after the race,” MacPherson said. “He hasn’t missed a beat since and is coming up to the race very well.”
Weekend Wizard should be forwardly placed after he breaks from the outside post with Richard Hamel riding.
Canadian Derby runner-up Day Raider also returns for the B.C. Derby. He is trained by MacPherson, who said he liked the way Day Raider came out of the race.
Not Yet comes off a romp in a nonwinners-of-three allowance race with a $25,000 claiming option on Aug. 20. The 82 Beyer Not Yet received for his 6 3/4-length victory over Smart Deal is the best last-race figure in the field.
“I always thought he was capable of a race like that,” said trainer Rob Gilker, who claimed the son of Colonel John for $16,000 out of his debut last year.
Amadeo Perez bails on Not Yet to ride Apalachee Bay, who is coming off a third-place finish as the favorite in the $50,000 Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial, won by Day Raider. One reason for Apalachee Bay’s loss is that he dueled with El Noble through quick interior fractions.
Apalachee Bay, a Peter Redekop-owned son of Malibu Moon, won the $51,000 Count Lathum at Northlands by five lengths on July 14. He is trained by Phil Hall, who also entered Wise Market, a triple stakes winner with just one way of going.
“Apalachee Bay doesn’t need the lead, but he broke from the rail in the Trial and the way the race unfolded Amadeo didn’t have many options,” Hall said. “Wise Market needs to be in front, so we’re sending him. We’ll let Apalachee Bay stalk.”