Natalma upgraded to Grade 1 status for 2016

Edited Press Release

The Jockey Club of Canada’s Graded Stakes Committee held its annual review of the graded and listed stakes in Canada and while the number of Graded Stakes in Canada remains unchanged at 44 there is one notable upgrade for 2016.

The Graded Stakes Committee meeting was conducted by Committee Chair Jeff Begg with all committee members as well as the race secretaries from Hastings Racecourse, Northlands Park and Woodbine Racetrack, on Tuesday.

After reviewing the NARC figures for all graded and listed races in Canada, the committee determined that the Natalma Stakes at Woodbine would be upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1 status in 2016.

The status for all other graded and listed stakes in Canada will remain unchanged in 2016. Canada will now host five Grade 1, 15 Grade 2 and 24 Grade 3 races in 2016.

In the past five years some participants and some of the winners of the Natalma, a turf event for two-year-old fillies, have gone on to achieve awards and multiple graded wins such as:

2015 Natalma

• Catch a Glimpse (winner) – Next out Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner, 2015 Sovereign and Eclipse Awards finalist for champion two-year-old filly
• Gamble’s Ghost (second) and Caren (third) are both 2015 Sovereign Awards finalists for champion two-year-old filly

 

2014 Natalma

• Don’t Leave Me (sixth) – Two-time Grade 3 winner and 2015 Sovereign finalist for champion three-year-old filly

 

2012 Natalma

• Spring in the Air (second) – Grade 1 winner, 2012 Sovereign Award champion two-year-old filly
• Kitten’s Dumplings (fourth) – Grade 1 winner

 

2011 Natalma

• Dayatthespa (second) – Three-time Grade 1 winner, 2014 Eclipse Award champion turf female, 2014 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) winner
• Stephanie’s Kitten (third) – Five-time Grade 1 winner, 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2) winner, 2015 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) winner, 2015 Eclipse Award finalist for champion turf female
• Hard Not to Like (fifth) – Three-time Grade 1 winner, millionaire

 

2010 Natalma

• More Than Real (second) – 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2) winner

 

2009 Natalma

• Biofuel (seventh) – 2010 Canadian Horse of the Year and Sovereign Award champion three-year-old filly, 2009 Sovereign Award co-champion two-year-old filly

 

The Jockey Club of Canada Graded Stakes Committee evaluates and reviews the graded stakes in Canada annually and determines whether races should be upgraded, downgraded or remain the same. The committee base their decisions on the cumulative NARC ratings for five consecutive years.

The committee reported that the following stakes races in Canada have lost black-type status effective 2016:

Race		Track
Alberta Premier’s Futurity		Northlands Park
Edmonton Juvenile Stakes		Northlands Park
John Patrick Handicap		Northlands Park
Madamoiselle Handicap		Northlands Park
River Rock Casino Handicap		Hastings Racecourse
Two-Year-Old Filly Sales Stakes		Northlands Park
Wild Rose Handicap		Northlands Park

 

The following black-type stakes races are at risk of losing their black-type status in 2017 if the minimum age/sex RQS and the minimum cumulative RQS is not achieved in 2016:

Race		Track
Birdcatcher Stakes		Northlands Park
Chris Loseth Handicap		Hastings Racecourse
CTHS Sales Stakes – 2YO fillies		Hastings Racecourse
Emerald Downs Handicap		Hastings Racecourse
Princess Margaret Stakes		Northlands Park
Sir Winston Churchill Handicap		Hastings Racecourse

 

Graded Stakes for 2016 in Canada:

Grade 1

Canadian International		12fT		WO		3up
Woodbine Mile		8fT		WO		3up
Northern Dancer Turf		12fT		WO		3up
E.P. Taylor Stakes		10fT		WO		3up f/m
Natalma Stakes		8fT		WO		2yo f

 

Grade 2

Summer Stakes		8fT		WO		2yo
Sky Classic Stakes		11fT		WO		3up
Nijinsky Stakes		12fT		WO		3up
Play The King Stakes		7fT		WO		3up
Nearctic Stakes		6fT		WO		3up
King Edward Stakes		9fT		WO		3up
Highlander Stakes		6fT		WO		3up
Autumn Stakes		8.5f		WO		3up
Kennedy Road Stakes		6f		WO		3up
Bessarabian Stakes		7f		WO		3up f/m
Nassau Stakes		8.5fT		WO		3up f/m
Dance Smartly Stakes		9fT		WO		3up f/m
Canadian Stakes		9fT		WO		3up f/m
Connaught Cup Stakes		7fT		WO		4up
Eclipse Stakes		8.5f		WO		3up

 

Grade 3

Grey Stakes		8.5f		WO		2yo
Mazarine Stakes		8.5f		WO		2yo f
Marine Stakes		8.16f		WO		3yo
BC Premier’s H.		11f		Hst		3up
Bold Venture Stakes		6.5f		WO		3up
Seagram Cup Stakes		8.5f		WO		3up
Dominion Day H.		10f		WO		3up
Singspiel Stakes		12fT		WO		3up
Durham Cup Stakes		9f		WO		3up
Valedictory Stakes		14f		WO		3up
Vigil Stakes		7f		WO		3up
Ballerina Stakes		9f		Hst		3up f/m
Maple Leaf Stakes		10f		WO		3up f/m
Ontario Fashion Stakes		6f		WO		3up f/m
Seaway Stakes		7f		WO		3up f/m
Royal North Stakes		6fT		WO		3up f/m
Ontario Matron Stakes		8.5f		WO		3up f/m
Whimsical Stakes		6f		WO		3up f/m
Hendrie Stakes		6.5f		WO		4up f/m
Ontario Derby		9f		WO		3yo
British Columbia Derby		9f		Hst		3yo
Canadian Derby		11f		NP		3yo
Selene Stakes		8.5f		WO		3yo f
Ontario Colleen Stakes		8fT		WO		3yo f

 

The Jockey Club of Canada was founded in 1973 by E.P. Taylor to serve as the international representative of the Canadian Thoroughbred industry. The mission of The Jockey Club of Canada is to promote and maintain a high standard for Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Canada at a level which is recognized internationally for the benefit of all those interested in the sport.