The first valuable two-year-old event of the season is always an exciting reference point for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

And, encouragingly, half the nominations for this weekend’s $50,000 Spaghetti Mouse Stakes are BC-bred, with two of the others BC-bred in all but suffix - impressive maiden winner DOUGIE DOUGIE and the almost white ZEN BABY are bred by longtime BC breeders Tod Mountain Thoroughbreds and Glen Todd, respectively.

Interestingly, three of the four BC-bred runners are by sires who do not stand in British Columbia.

The Redekop/Hall pair, ASTRONOMICAL and AT ATTENTION (both also homebred by Peter Redekop) are by Harbour the Gold and Shanghai Bobby respectively, while Dougie Dougie is by Gainesway stallion, Afleet Alex.

The Glen Todd bred Zen Baby, meanwhile, is by Todd’s own BC-based stallion Texas Wildcatter and is presumably a KY-bred only by virtue of breeding plans for the dam, Zensational Beauty.

Favourite for the race is likely to be the highly impressive BC-bred Maiden Special Weight winner, CAPILANO CANYON (Abraaj), whose only run to date saw him scoot to a six-length win over a sharp three-and-a-half furlongs.

Two of this Sunday’s Spaghetti Mouse nominees finished well behind him that day and, with a recent bullet workout to add to his credentials, the David Forster-trained juvenile will surely take some stopping.

The remaining two nominations for Sunday’s race are What If Racing’s CRITERION (trained by Mark Cloutier), who is Oregon-owned-and-bred, and is by the Irish-bred Oregon-based sire, KLINSMAN (Danehill).

CATCHACOUGAR, meanwhile, represents the Hall/Gilbert team who won the race last year with the extraordinary SUMMERLAND, and is an Oklahoma bred bought at last year’s Keeneland January Sale for $10,000. Like Capilano Canyon, Catchacougar won his only start comfortably, in this case ahead of Tod Mountain’s BC-bred PORTER GENT (Second in Command), with whom he will renew rivalry on Sunday.

With the catalogue for September’s CTHS Yearling and Mixed Sale now available online, it’s also worth remembering that three of the leading protagonists for the Spaghetti Mouse Stakes (Astronomical, At Attention and Capilano Canyon) are graduates of last season’s auction.

The very best of luck to all the connections of runners in the Spaghetti Mouse and, of course, congratulations to all the BC-bred winners and runners over the past week.

Below are the BC-bred winners for last weekend, as well as one we overlooked the previous week. Please don’t forget to let us know if you spot a BC-bred winner we might have missed.

Incidentally, worthy of special note on the list is KNOCK KNOCK (Sir Gallovic), who became the third individual winner in seven days produced by Glen Todd’s German-bred mare, Big Bertha, following recent exploits of UNDER PAR (Stephanotis) and TACTFUL (Texas Wildcatter).

July 1
Millarville:
VERNON CAT, Bay Gelding, by Storm Victory out of Wild Rose County, by Katahaula County. Foaled Apr 15, 2008 in BC. Breeder: Linda Lytle, Clive Lytle &Can-A-Mex Farms

July 6
Century Mile:
ALL UNDER CONTROL, Bay Gelding, by Storm Victory out of Rose Garland, by Awesome Again. Foaled May 09, 2014 in BC. Breeder: Doug Clyde

Grand Prairie:
OFF THE GRID, Chestnut Gelding, by Mass Market out of Dancing Dalia, by Finality. Foaled Apr 18, 2014 in BC. Breeder: Red Rock Farm.

Marquis Downs:

KNOCK KNOCK, Chestnut Mare, by Sir Gallovic out of Big Bertha (GER), by Tertullian. Foaled May 04, 2013 in BC. Breeder: Glen Todd.

Hastings:

BROTHER ROD, Bay Gelding, by Storm Victory out of Sunshine Shadows, by Behrens. Foaled Apr 13, 2014 in BC. Breeder: Helen Klimes.

WE ARE FREE, Dark Bay or Brown Filly, by Finality out of We Are One, by You and I. Foaled Mar 06, 2016 in BC. Breeder: Mike Anderson & Terry Clyde

ACT UP, Dark Bay or Brown Gelding, by Stephanotis out of Ansede, by Catienus. Foaled Mar 02, 2014 in BC. Breeder: Glen Todd & Ole Nielsen.

July 7
Hastings:
WISE MARKET, Dark Bay or Brown Colt, by Mass Market out of Fuchsia Gold, by Vying Victor. Foaled May 09, 2015 in BC. Breeder: Suzanne I. Anderson.

BAMBOO ELEVEN, Chestnut Filly, by Cause to Believe out of Irish Lyric, by Stephanotis. Foaled Apr 06, 2016 in BC. Breeder: Mr. & Mrs. Kay & Sue Ohashi.