July 4, 2010: Courtesy of Woodbine Entertainment TENPINS COLT WINS QUEEN'S PLATE! BIG RED MIKE, ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, made every pole a winning one in taking the 151st edition of the $1 million Queen's Plate, Canada's most famous horse race for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds, Sunday at Woodbine. Trained by Nick Gonzalez for Terra Racing Stable, BIG RED MIKE, a homebred chestnut gelded son of TENPINS - Regent n' Flashy, took the field through an opening quarter in :24.43, the half in :49.39 and six furlongs in 1:14.31, while being dogged by Sam-Son Farm's Hotep and slight favourite Mobilizer. After a mile was reached  in 1:38.74,  the top two positions still hadn't changed, as BIG RED MIKE loped along with a one length lead.   When the field turned for home, the front runner quickly opened up on his pursuers, then held Hotep safe through a prolonged stretch drive to win by one and one-half lengths in a final time of 2:04.89 for the mile and one-quarter over Woodbine's Polytrack.    Second choice Roan Inish, winner of the recent Woodbine Oaks and one of two fillies in the field of 13, rallied for third, one and one-quarter lengths behind Hotep, while Giant's Tomb, another Sam-Son Farm hopeful, came on for fourth, a neck behind Roan Inish.  Meanwhile, Mobilizer faded to 10th. With Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attending the Plate for the fourth time (1959, 1973, 1997), da Silva thus became the first jockey to win back-to-back Plates since Craig Perret in 1992-93, when he won with Alydeed and Peteski.  Last year, da Silva was aboard the winner, Sam-Son Farm's Eye of the Leopard. "He ran very relaxed, he gave me no problems," said da Silva. "He was so focused, you know.  I went to the lead easy and he did the job.  This horse ran so hard today. I'm just so proud of him.  I'm going to see the Queen today." BIG RED MIKE, who outlasted Mobilizer by a half-length in the Plate Trial on June 13 with a similar front-running performance, thus became the 25th Plate Trial winner and third consecutive one (following Eye of the Leopard in 2009 and Not Bourbon in 2008) to claim the Queen's Plate.  He's also the first gelding to win since longshot T J's Lucky Moon captured the 'Gallop for the Guineas' in 2002. For the 58-year-old Gonzalez, who celebrated his 1,000th career win last month, it was his first Plate win with his first Plate starter.  For owner Terra Racing Stable (Dom and Frank Romeo), it was their first Plate win as well, but the Romeos had entered several horses in past Plates, the latest being Classic Mike, who finished eighth in 2002. "I'm pinching myself to see if this is real," said Gonzalez.   "I left it up to Eurico.  I thought it was going to be a jockey's race.  My wife (Martha), son and I were jumping up and down so much that it's just kind of a blur in my eye right now."  "This will probably be one of the most memorable days of my life," added co-owner Dom Romeo. "I have been 35 years in racing and breeding. I bred this horse, which makes it much more satisfying. Our hopes are always to win the Queen's Plate and the Queen being here is magnificent. It's very exciting." BIG RED MIKE picked up a pot of $600,000 for the historic win, pushing his career bankroll to $667,396.  It was his third win in only six career starts. Sent postward the 5-1 third choice, BIG RED MIKE paid $12, $6.30 and $4.40, combining with fourth choice Hotep ($6.90, $4.70) for a $80.90 exactor.  A 5-11-10 (Roan Inish, $4.30 to show) triactor returned $284.20, while a $1 Superfecta [5-11-10-8 (Giant's Tomb)] lit the toteboard with a $1,375.80 payoff. Now, it's onto the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, July 25 at Fort Erie, at one mile and three-sixteenths.    The third leg is the $500,000 Breeders' Stakes over one and one-half miles on the turf, August 15 at Woodbine. Only seven horses have won the Triple Crown since its inception in 1959, the last being Wando in 2003. June 28, 2010: COUNTRY CLUB SUE, the 3yo filly out of Cincy Sue, by Cherokee Run, won the 11th race at River Downs, a one mile allowance by four lengths. June 26, 2010: THE BIG HIGHROLLER, the 4yo gelding out of Crafty Annie, by Crafty Prospector, scored his fifth career victory in the 9th race at Mountaineer Park going one mile by nearly two lengths. June 22, 2010: SOON, the 4yo gelding out of Just Zooming, by Schembechler, won the 3rd race at Fairmount Park by a nose going one mile and seventy yards. June 13, 2010: BIG RED MIKE WINS PLATE TRIAL Courtesy of Woodbine Entertainment Terra Racing Stable’s homebred BIG RED MIKE, ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, pulled off an upset Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes. The mile and one-eighth prelude to Canada’s most famous horse race, the Queen’s Plate on July 4, went postward with a field of eight, as the public hammered Hollinger, last year’s champion two-year-old colt/gelding, down to 7-5 favouritism. But it was the Nick Gonzalez-trained BIG RED MIKE, a son of TENPINS, who led at every pole, although pressed by Hollinger and Mobthewarrior for much of the 68th edition of the Trial. Turning for home, the Roger Attfield-trained Mobilizer cut to the rail to challenge the pacesetter as the duo hooked up for a heated stretch duel.   It looked like Mobilizer and Jono Jones would go right by the leader but BIG RED MIKE not only fought back, he inched away in the closing yards to win by a half-length in 1:50.41.  Mobthewarrior hung on for third, another length and three-quarters back, but a half-length in front of fourth-place-finisher Giant’s Tomb.  Meanwhile, Hollinger faded to eighth and last, the worse performance of his brief career. “It looked like it was a race without a lot of speed in it,” said Gonzalez. “Even though we tried to get him (BIG RED MIKE) to relax in the morning, it didn’t look like it was time to do that today, so we tried to let him ride his own race, and he did it.” “You know what, he was walking so relaxed outside, but once he (BIG RED MIKE) came inside the track, he turned to, “I’m the Man”, that I really loved. He is just a great horse,” explained Rosa da Silva. “He is very comfortable. You know, we did just a nice pace. The horse that came beside me (Mobilizer), he is a very, very, nice horse, but this horse fought so hard. I am very proud of him.” The result could bode well for both horses.  Twenty-four Plate Trial winners have gone on to win the Queen’s Plate, while 11 runners-up have come back to claim the ‘Gallop for the Guineas.’ Watch the Plate Trial Video Replay May 24, 2010: NOON AT NIGHT, the 3yo filly out of Zadie Creek, by Repriced, broke her maiden going one mile and seventy yards in the 10th race at Prairie Meadows by four and one-half lengths. May 22, 2010: SMART CARLY, the 4yo filly out of Miss Icicle, by Charlie Barley, won the 2nd race at Charles Town going a mile and one-sixteenth by a half-length. May 20, 2010: SMART TORI, the 3yo filly out of Smart Jane, by Smarten, won the 4th race at Pimlico Race Course by four and one-half lengths going a mile and one-sixteenth. March 26, 2010: FIVENINETEEN, the 4yo colt out of Hearts Delight by Clever Trick, broke his maiden by a half-length in the 1st race at Gulfstream Park going five and one-half furlongs. March 24, 2010: SMART CARLY, the 4yo filly out of Miss Icicle, by Charley Barley, broke her maiden going a mile and one-sixteenth in the 9th race at Laurel Park by three-quarters of a length.  March 19, 2010: WEBBER, the 4yo gelding out of Classic Misty, by Sky Classic, won the 5th race at Sam Houston by a length and one-quarter going a mile and one-sixteenth. March 10, 2010: SPARE ME TEN, the 3yo gelding out of Alphacat, by Tabasco Cat, won the 2nd race at Hawthorne Race Course, a mile and seventy yard maiden special weight by a half-length.

February 26, 2010: TENPINS TO STAND AT ELITE THOROUGHBREDS Five time Graded Stakes winner and millionaire TENPINS (Smart Strike-Maid’s Broom, by Deputy Minister) is moving to Elite Thoroughbreds in Folsom, Louisiana for the 2010 breeding season. TENPINS earned $1,133,449 racing from three to six, earning black type nine times, including a track record setting victory in the G2 Washington Park Handicap. He ran the 9.5 furlongs in 1:55.17 defeating Macho Uno in the process. With his third crop two-year-olds of 2010, TENPINS ranked among the top 25 Leading North American Freshman and Second Crop sires. He is already sire of four stakes winners, ten stakes horses in his first two crops to race, with progeny earnings over $1.8 million. The son of Smart Strike out of a Deputy Minister mare is bred on an identical cross to Horse-of-the-Year Curlin. He is a product of the Mr. Prospector/Northern Dancer cross, which has also produced outstanding sires Kingmambo, Distorted Humor, Elusive Quality, Speightstown, Grand Slam and Thunder Gulch. TENPINS is expected to arrive at Elite Thoroughbreds Saturday afternoon, and will be ready for inspection, Monday, March 1. He will stand for a fee of $3,500 Live Foal.