Arlington Park Barn Notes (6/10/10)
Contact: Graham Ross
graham.ross@arlingtonpark.com
In today's notes:
BLACKHAWK RED BREEZES EARLY; HAWKS WIN STANLEY CUP LATE
An unraced 2-year-old named Blackhawk Red, owned in part by former Chicago Blackhawk legendary player and coach Denis Savard, breezed a half-mile in 50.80 early Wednesday morning at Arlington Park in a prescient preview of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night.
Blackhawk Red is actually a roan colt by Mizzen Mast out of a Private Account mare that was bred by Tim and Lisa Turney of Shamrock Glen Farm in Versailles, Ky. The youngster was born on St. Patrick’s Day of 2008 (also the Turneys’ wedding anniversary) and may have been representing the luck of the Irish – or at least a leprechaun – when the Chicago Blackhawks found their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow Wednesday evening.
“When he was foaled he was a roan, but he was a reddish roan,” said Turney Thursday. “When we sold the colt to Denis and his group (John Medcalf and Michael Pacella) about a year ago, we suggested the name and they liked it. They also own Our Douglas (who won May 14 at Churchill Downs.)”
Did the Turneys watch Game 6 Wednesday night?
“Parts of it,” said Turney. “I admit I dozed off a little bit near the end, but I woke up when I heard all the cheering around the farm.”
GRAHAM GETS CRACKING AGAIN AT ARLINGTON PARK
Irish-born jockey James Graham, who finished second, three wins behind champion jockey Junior Alvarado in last summer’s final Arlington standings, scored a riding triple Sunday at the Chicago oval to leapfrog from sixth to fourth position in the standings entering Thursday’s racing program.
However, Graham’s Sunday hat trick came after a brief one-day sojourn to Churchill Downs last Saturday, where he won two races and came within a half-length of a triple at the Twin Spires oval.
Better yet, one of the races Graham did win in Kentucky was a big one – a three quarter-length tally aboard Nelson McMakin’s Hot Cha Cha in the Grade III Early Times Mint Julep Handicap, for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles over the Louisville lawn. Earlier that afternoon Graham booted home Mitchell Marsch’s This Way Home to a head tally as a 16-1 longshot trained by Gary Gray.
The Mint Julep served as an excellent tune-up for Arlington’s upcoming Grade III Modesty Handicap July 17, for fillies and mares at 1 3/16 miles over Arlington’s world famous turf course. The Modesty is Arlington’s designed major local prep for the Grade I Beverly D., to be run Aug. 21 on Arlington Million Day as the Arlington Million’s sister race.
Graham won Keeneland’s Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at nine furlongs over the Lexington lawn last fall astride Hot Cha Cha, who is trained by Phil Sims.
Back at Arlington Sunday, Graham started the day off right with a win on Avalon Farms’ Fashion Passion in the opener, dead-heated for winning honors in the fifth aboard Patricia’s Hope LLC’s Party King and concluded his triple in the sixth astride Shadwell Stable’s Daareb.
QUINCY, FRENCHY BOTH WIN TWO SUNDAY
Veteran reinsman Quincy Hamilton and French-born jockey Florent Geroux, both hanging their tack at Arlington for the second time this summer, each scored riding doubles on Sunday’s nine-race program.
Hamilton took down winning honors in the second half of the Daily Double aboard Silverton Hill’s Excelente for trainer Darrin Miller and came right back to the winner’s circle after the third aboard Kindred Thoroughbreds’ Poltergeist for conditioner Donnie Von Hemel.
Geroux dead-heated for the win in the fifth aboard Michael Paulson and Dan Hoefflin’s Storm Galileo for defending trainer champion Wayne Catalano and returned to the winner’s circle after the eighth astride On The Mark Racing’s Zoeling for conditioner Doug Matthews.
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