Ginger Gold Could Use Some Luck in Hendrie

(from track report)
The post Ginger Gold drew for Sunday's $172,950 George C. Hendrie Stakes at Woodbine doesn't suggest it, but trainer Sid Attard is hoping for a little luck when the champion grey makes her return to racing.

Ginger Gold's 2002 campaign can best be described as a year defined by a series of highs and lows, including a win in a major stakes event and a season-ending injury. And even though she'll start from the outside post 13 in the Hendrie, Attard isn't complaining.

"She's just a terrific horse and she's come back very strong from her time off," said Attard, of the lifetime winner of four. "Sometimes bad luck happens, but she's been training great for this race."

The 2001 Sovereign Award winner (2-year-old filly category) took top honors in last year's $500,000 Labatt Woodbine Oaks at the Toronto oval on June 8, an impressive 1 ½-length score as the even-money favorite.

The daughter of Golden Gear then narrowly lost in the Bison City Stakes (second jewel in Canadian thoroughbred racing's Triple Tiara Series) on July 1, ending her campaign with a third-place finish in the Wonder Where Stakes on August 5.

A chip in her ankle was discovered after the Ontario-bred's run in the Wonder Where and Ginger Gold was subsequently shipped to Kentucky for surgery, an operation that sidelined the filly for the duration of 2002.

After a few months of rest and rehabilitation, the Jim Dandy Stable star returned to the training track earlier this year, slowly rounding into the form that has seen the 4-year-old finish in the top-three in each of her nine career starts.

"Richard (jockey Dos Ramos) tells me she's training better than ever," said Attard, off to a strong start in 2003, with six wins and 15 top-three finishes from 24 starters through May 8. "I expect her to run well."

Dos Ramos will once again be in the irons, the veteran pilot having been aboard the lifetime earner of over $800,000 in seven of her starts.

Although Ginger Gold has contested both one- and two-turn events in her decorated career, the four-time stakes winner has never contested the Hendrie distance of 6 ½ furlongs.

That, says Attard, hardly matters in the grand scheme of things.

"The post is tough but I'd like to see her (Ginger Gold) stay close at the beginning, maybe two lengths off the lead, then come home strong," said Attard. "Obviously, we'd like to go longer with her, but we wanted to get her back in action."

$172,950 George C. Hendrie (Can-III), fillies & mares, 4 & up, 6 1/2 furlongs
PP / Horse / Trainer / Jockey
1 / Sheila's Prospect / Lorne Richards / Jim McAleney
2 / Miss Sweep / Ralph Biamonte / Frank Todd Jr.
3 / Devastating / Robert King Jr. / Jim McKnight
4 / Spanish Decree / Frank Huarte / Constant Montpellier
5 / El Prado Essence / Audre Cappuccitti / Patrick Husbands
6 / Leading Role / Gail Casselman / Todd Kabel
7 / Lightning Pace / Vito Armata / Emile Ramsammy
8 / Brass In Pocket / Robert Tiller / David Clark
9 / La Ballerine / Denis Scheffer / Jack Lauzon
10 / Mysterious Affair / Mort Hardy / Robert Landry
11 / Roman Romance / John Simms / Steve Bahen
12 / Mulrainy / Thomas O'Keefe / Chantal Sutherland
13 / Ginger Gold / Sid Attard / Richard Dos Ramos