Catch a Glimpse honored as Canadian Horse of the Year

Edited Press Release

The Jockey Club of Canada held its 41st Annual Sovereign Awards event Friday evening on the elegantly transformed third floor of Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Sovereign Awards are Canada’s premier awards for Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding with both the owner and breeder of each Champion horse being recognized with a Sovereign Award Trophy for first time winners or a Gold Sovereign Coin for those who have won a trophy previously.

Catch a Glimpse parlayed a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) into a Sovereign Award as Canada’s Horse of the Year.

The Mark Casse trainee has suffered just one loss in her career thus far, with that coming in her debut in an off-the-turf contest at Saratoga last July. On turf, the chestnut daughter of City Zip is unbeaten in four career races.

Catch a Glimpse broke her maiden in a turf allowance at Woodbine in August, then proceeded to take both the Natalma (Can-G2) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. That closed out the Kentucky-bred’s juvenile campaign, for which she also earned a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion two-year-old filly and champion turf female

Catch a Glimpse debuted as a three-year-old in the Herecomesthebride (G3) at Gulfstream Park on February 27 and easily scored by 2 1/2 lengths. Her record currently stands at 5-4-0-0, $767,526.

Canadian Horse of the Year Points Results

Catch a Glimpse (117), Academic (50), Shaman Ghost (39), Interpol (13)

Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Points Results

Catch a Glimpse (156), Caren (64), Gamble’s Ghost (36), Ami’s Mesa (14)

Canadian Champion Turf Female Points Results

Catch a Glimpse (115), Strut the Course (113), Button Down (GB) (36), Habibi (NZ) (8) 

Riker took home Canadian champion two-year-old male honors for his victories in the Grey (Can-G3), Colin S. and Swynford S. Originally trained by Nicholas Gonzalez, the Include colt has been transferred to Casse for his three-year-old season.

Champion Two-Year-Old Male Points Results

Riker (127), Amis Gizmo (73), Conquest Daddyo (60), Shakhimat (14)

Mark Casse was honored with his fourth straight Sovereign Award as Canada’s outstanding trainer.

Canada’s Outstanding Trainer Points Results

Mark Casse (154), Roger Attfield (59), Josie Carroll (18), Kevin Attard (18)

Are You Kidding Me and Miss Mischief took home Sovereign Awards as Canada’s champion older male and female, respectively. The former racked up a 7-3-0-3 mark in 2015 that included wins in the Eclipse (Can-G2), Nijinsky (Can-G2) and Autumn (Can-G2). Miss Mischief compiled a 9-3-2-2 mark, with wins in the Bessarabian (Can-G2) and H.B.P.A. S. highlighting her campaign and also earning her a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion female sprinter.

Canadian Champion Older Male Points Results

Are You Kidding Me (136), Melmich (44), Stacked Deck (33), Golden Sabre (21)

Canadian Champion Older Female Points Results

Miss Mischief (132), Cactus Kris (35), Uchenna (Ire) (33), Touching Promise (30)

Canadian Champion Female Sprinter Points Results

Miss Mischief (86), Cactus Kris (65), Caren (58), Skylander Girl (17)

Interpol beat out Are You Kidding Me as Canada’s champion turf male after capturing both the Northern Dancer Turf (Can-G1) and Sky Classic (Can-G2) while putting together a 7-4-0-0 season.

Canadian Champion Turf Male Points Results

Interpol (129), Are You Kidding Me (49), Reporting Star (39), Danish Dynaformer (29)

Stacked Deck sported a 9-4-0-2 mark by the end of 2015, including wins in the Kennedy Road (Can-G2) and Bold Venture S., to earn a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion male sprinter.

Canadian Champion Male Sprinter Points Results

Stacked Deck (144) Calgary Cat (55), Tower of Texas (36), Bye Bye Bernie (18)

Shaman Ghost and Academic were honored with Sovereign Awards as Canada’s champion male and female three-year-olds of 2015, respectively. Shaman Ghost’s biggest win came in the Queen’s Plate though he also captured the Marine (Can-G3) and finished second in the Prince of Wales S. en route to racking up a 6-4-1-0 mark in 2015.

Academic took the Woodbine Oaks, Canadian Derby (Can-G3) and British Columbia Derby (Can-G3), as well as placed second in the Maple Leaf (Can-G3) to compile a 2015 mark of 6-4-1-0.

Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Male Points Results

Shaman Ghost (158), Danish Dynaformer (62), Lucky Lindy (44), Breaking Lucky (10)

Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Points Results

Academic (160), Don’t Leave Me (34), London Tower (34), Brooklynsway (27)

Rare Opportunity took home a Sovereign Award as Canada’s 2015 outstanding broodmare

Canadian Outstanding Broodmare Points Results

Rare Opportunity (48), Awesome Lass (40), Star Guest (29),   Uproar (25)

Sam-Son Farm has won 10 Sovereign Awards since 1975 as Canada’s outstanding owner, but before 2015 the most recent of those came in 2010. Last year the operation recorded 26 wins, 22 seconds, 12 thirds and $2,270,899 in earnings from 106 starts.

Canadian Outstanding Owner Points Results

Sam-Son Farm (111), Conquest Stables, LLC (68), Ivan Dalos (45), Riversedge Racing Stables Ltd. (22)

Two-time Sovereign Award winner Eurico Rosa da Silva won more races in 2015 than he ever has in one season since he came to Woodbine in 2004 (811-202-141-114, $7,666,388 in earnings).

Canadian Outstanding Jockey Points Results

Eurico Rosa da Silva (141), Luis Contreras (72), Rico Walcott (24), Patrick Husbands (20)

Erika Smilovsky was honored as Canada’s outstanding apprentice jockey, compiling a mark of 161 starts with 11 wins, 15 seconds, 22 thirds and $363,793 in earnings.

Canadian Outstanding Apprentice Jockey Points Results

Erika Smilovsky (127), Fanny Crausaz (48), Isabelle Wenc (30), Kayla Pizarro (28)

Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs has won this Canada’s outstanding breeder category nine times and in 2015 racked up 91 wins, 103 seconds, 97 thirds and $4,837,101 in earnings from 612 starts.

Canadian Outstanding Breeder’ Points Results

Adena Springs (121), Sam-Son Farm (64), Tall Oaks Farm (33), Eugene Melnyk (25)

The E.P. Taylor Award of Merit went to R.J. (Russell) and Lois Bennett for their longtime involvement and commitment to Thoroughbred Racing in Canada.

The Jockey Club of Canada presented the following Sovereign Media Awards:

(Media) Outstanding Photograph – Chris Young, “Early Morning Groom,” published GlobeandMail.com

(Media) Outstanding Writing – Curtis Stock, “A Love of Horses,” published Edmonton Journal

(Media) Outstanding Audio/visual and Broadcast – “Talkin’ Horses,” Season 2 Episode 17, Aired CTV and CTVtwo October 3, 2015

The annual Jockey Club of Canada Award was presented to Nick Beare at the School of Media Studies and Information Technology, Humber Institute of Advanced Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto in November 2015.

Catch a Glimpse photo courtesy of Keeneland/Coady Photography