It proved to be another highly productive week for local breeders. All bar one of the nine races offered on Sunday went the way of BC-bred runners, with a satisfying 13 races over the two days falling to horses bred in our beautiful Province.

In addition, four of the winners were graduates of the CTHS BC yearling sale, while three more passed through the CTHS horses of racing age auction.

Highlights among the BC-bred winners included CASCADE BILLY (Bakken), who put on an impressive display to draw away from a competitive-looking allowance field under Silvino Morales for the three-year-old’s owner, breeder and trainer, Mel Snow.

Snow’s good form continued on Sunday when he saddled CTHS graduate SLEW’S DA BOSS (Cause to Believe) and the Loire Miller-bred HEART OF TEXAS (Texas Wildcatter) to notch a double and move his total onto five for the season.

Numerically speaking, the training plaudits last week belonged to Cindy Krasner and Dino Condelinios, who both greeted three winners apiece over the two days. KRISSY (Pop Artist) got Condelinios’s week off to the best start when the three-year-old, who is trained, owned and bred by Dino, took Thursday’s opener with some panache.

The Condelinios barn is in flying form right now and he also saddled PEPPERMINT (Palace) and WILSON (Pop Artist) for the Swift Thoroughbreds team. Originally a US $42,000 Keeneland November Breeding Stock purchase, Swift snaffled the filly up for close to half that when she was re-offered at the CTHS yearling sale, while Wilson is a Swift homebred and a second winner last week for the underused sire, Pop Artist.

Krasner’s triple began in the race after Krissy’s win when she saddled her own YOU GOT THIS (Gio Ponti) to land her third career win. Krasner then struck twice more on Sunday, landing a brace of $4,000 claiming contests with HARLAN’S ANGEL (Flat Out) and the BC-bred GMT BABY (Shrug).

GMT Baby’s victory was one of three last week for the deceased BC sire, SHRUG (Medaglia D’Oro), who was also represented by VOLO VELOCE on Thursday and, in the ninth and final race on Sunday, SPROG.

Sprog was yet another win for “Twink” Baumgartner and those lucky people involved with the Sandown Racing Club. However, even though it was a second victory (to add to a third-place finish) for Sprog this season, it makes sobering reading to note that the four-year-old’s earnings stand at less than US$5,000 for the 2020 campaign. We all know the reasons why, but racing is going, rapidly, to become unsustainable for owners, trainers and breeders in the Province if we can’t find a way to return purse structures to pre-pandemic levels.

Sprog’s win was a sixth of the season for Baumgartner’s small barn, putting her onto a win percentage of 60% and a win/place/show that is running at a remarkable 90% - the very definition of a purple patch!

Barb Heads leads the trainer’s race at present, both numerically and in terms of prize-money won, and the barn struck again on Thursday with the BC-bred BAMBOO ELEVEN (Cause to Believe). The four-year-old filly’s win was a 13th of the season for Heads and formed the final leg of a Scott Williams three-timer on the day. Williams struck again on Sunday (aboard GMT Baby) to move on to 24 for the year and put him in second position on the riders’ table behind Amadeo Perez.

Perez notched a three-timer of his own on Sunday, partnering the aforementioned Wilson, Heart of Texas and Sprog, while there were riding doubles for Silvino Morales on Thursday and Enrique Gonzales on Sunday.

Gonzales’ double helped him back into the hunt following an absence through suspension and his victories came aboard two BC-bred runners sired by the young Emerald Acres stallion, LENT (Pulpit). The first came in the shape of the two-year-old FOOT SOLDIER for the in-form Milton Palma barn and owner/breeder Tamara Baker, while the Embree Farms-bred sophomore, RACING RIVER, secured the double for trainer Brian Phillips and owners Shamrock Racing Stables.

The remaining BC-bred winner of the week was the attractive chestnut, SPOKANE’S GEM (Gemologist), who was saddled by Rob VanOverschot. The five-year-old CTHS horses of racing age sale graduate was a second win of the week for breeders Tod Mountain Thoroughbreds, following You Got This.

Finally, it was great to see some youngsters run over the more sensible distance of six furlongs with a maiden $16k claimer going to another CTHS horse of racing age sale graduate in PAY MY WAY (Commissioner) for trainer Charlene Miller.

Don’t forget that racing this week takes place Saturday, on an afternoon when Hastings battles for betting handle with a little contest back east called the Kentucky Derby, and Sunday. First race is due off at 3pm on both days.