All posts by jporchak

Racehorses

Warrawee Koine Retired

Given the challenging nature of the current racing environment in the province of Ontario, many horsepeople would elect to continue to race their stock as long as they brought in a positive economic return. Even though Warrawee Koine still has massive earning potential on the track, Trot Insider has learned that the hard-knocking seven-year-old has been retired and will now switch over to broodmare duty. Continue reading Warrawee Koine Retired →

Awards, Racehorses

Mister Herbie Named Best Older Trotter

On Saturday night Standardbred Canada announced the winners for the 2012 O’Brien Awards, which honour Canada’s best in harness racing over the past season.

Mister Herbie’s name was added to the list of O’Brien Award Champion Older Trotters. His season included a stakes record 1:51.3 in the Glorys Comet Trotting Series Final at Woodbine, where he defeated the great San Pail by a nose. Another impressive effort of the 2012 season was a Canadian record mile of 1:50.4 in the Maple Leaf Trot. He also added wins in the Cutler and the Frank Ryan Memorial and was the runner-up in the Nat Ray, the Allerage and Breeders Crown. Bred by Warrawee Farm, Mister Herbie is Owned by Jeffrey R Gillis, Hillsburgh, ON – Mac T Nichol, Burlington, ON – Gerald T Stay, Buffalo, NY.

The annual Black Tie Gala was held at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario.

The awards are named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Racehorses

Mister Herbie Wins Frank Ryan

Winning the 48th edition of the Frank Ryan Memorial at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday evening turned out to be a piece of cake for Mister Herbie, who cruised to an easy victory in 1:54 for his O’Brien Award-winning connections – driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Jeff Gillis.

Mister Herbie was hustled off the gate from Post 6, and after being parked to the quarter pole in :27 by Windsong Geant he eventually worked his way to the lead. He clicked off middle splits of :55.4 and 1:25 before using a :29-second final frame to seal the deal by 2-3/4 lengths over Windsong Geant. Andover America came on late to finish third. Despite early breaks, Daylon Magician and Frenchfrysnvinegar managed to take home the final cheques in the rich trotting tilt.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTVH0CXDCPQ

Mister Herbie put a smile on the faces the pari-mutuel backers that sent him off as the 3-5 choice, and he also had his ownership group – J Gillis G Stay of Hillsburgh and Mac Nichol of Burlington, ON – grinning ear-to-ear, as well. It was the sixth win of the season in nine tries for the four-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie-Independent Lassie. The lion’s share of the purse helped the 16-time winner push his lifetime earnings to $1,088,653.

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