Stable Update

Carnivore and Stonebridge Terror both drew the six hole in the Burlington Stakes on Saturday night.

They drew in with colts that I would like to have avoided - namely, Art Colony and Well Said. I consider them to be the two best colts right now until they prove differently, so I feel my chances of winning on Saturday night are slim. Hopefully we can pick up some money.

Carnivore bounced back from a poor race and finished second to Art Colony last Saturday night at Mohawk. He got scorched pretty good going to the front from the outside and finished strong in 1:51, so I was happy with him. Carnivore appears to want to leave the gate hard and get into the hunt early to race his best so I think you can expect to see Paul drive him that way.

Stonebridge Terror finished third on Sunday night in the OSS final at Rideau Carleton. He had a bad post, ran into traffic problems and finished strong so I was very happy with him. He has six days between races now after two long ships to Ottawa so I am asking a lot of Terror. Normally, if I had a favourite for the NA Cup I would skip the Burlington to get a little more rest but at this point we are a fringe player so I am just trying to grind out some money. Stonebridge Terror is a very good feeling, tough horse so I think he will be fine.

St Lads Popcorn finished fourth last week in the OSS final at London. She had a very tough trip, parked first over for most of the mile and hung tough to get a check so I was satisfied with her effort. The next morning she was lame and blew an abscess out of her front foot. I was very surprised by this because it must have been really hurting her in the race but she still put in a good effort. She is a special filly with a tremendous heart.

As a result of the abscess, she has lost a large part of her hoof wall that needs time to heal. She is back jogging sound now. Around 90 per cent of horses with a foot like this would still be lame. Popcorn's next race would be the Fan Hanover which is coming up quickly. It is the biggest purse of the year for her but I am just taking things day by day. If she isn't at or close to her best I will skip the Fan Hanover and wait for the next OSS event. There are some great three-year-old fillies out there, especially Yellow Diamond. She is the most impressive three-year-old filly that I have seen in quite a while.