A week to remember at the Downs

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This article was published 08/08/2025 (275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Whew! What a week at the Downs!

On Monday, there was the disqualification of unofficial winner Take Charge Tom in the Manitoba Derby. On Tuesday, three-year-old filly Welcometohollywood recorded the largest winning margin in North America for the day. On Wednesday, the same horse that capped off a $6,237.70 Pick 4 in 2024, Captive Kitten, did it again, this time to the tune $22,913.95, and he did it on Girls Night Out to a backdrop of fancy hats, classy outfits and winning smiles.

It was the exact opposite of smiles in the camp of trainer Robertino Diodoro after the 77th running of the Manitoba Derby however, when his horse, heavy favourite Take Charge Tom, became the first competitor in the history of the race to be disqualified from the win spot, but the official Stewards really had no choice.

Before the horses had even gone a quarter mile in the 1 1/8-mile race the “inquiry” sign was posted on the board, meaning something in the early running of the race needed a closer look by the Stewards. Immediately after the race, jockey Brian Boodramsingh aboard No. 1 Border Song lodged a claim of foul against the riders of No. 3 Mr. Jaws and No. 4 Attack.

This was followed by trainer objections against the unofficial winner by Jason Homer, trainer of No. 5 War is Hell, and Craig Robert Smith, trainer of No. 4 Attack.

The head-on replay that followed was clear. Take Charge Tom and jockey Rasheed Hughes had moved too quickly towards the inside after the horses had entered the main track for the first time, taking the path of No. 5 War is Hell before being clear of that rival, and causing him to clip heels.

Take Charge Tom continued to come over and also put the squeeze on the horse to his immediate inside, No. 4 Attack, who then did the same to No. 3 Mr Jaws, to his inside. Those two horses were forced to steady and come over on No. 1 Border Song along the rail, who was forced to check severely.

Take Charge Tom was subsequently disqualified and placed seventh behind Border Song, and the official order of finish became No. 4 Attack, No. 6 Maldini, No. 3 Mr Jaws, No. 1 Border Song. The winner paid $14.50, $6.60, $5.30 across the board.

“It’s not the way you want to win, but it’s racing,” said the 41-year-old Smith after securing his first Derby triumph. “I’ve been on both sides of it. I’ve been on the winning side of objections, and I’ve been disqualified in big races and getting taken out.”

Smith, currently the second-leading trainer in Alberta who has topped those standings in recent years, explained how the objection came about: “Where I was watching the race, I couldn’t see exactly what happened initially. When the Stewards put up the inquiry, I watched it and talked to my rider, and he said he was interfered with. So once I’d seen it again, I said we need to make an inquiry.”

The interference was crystal clear. “All he had to do was keep a straight path and he was going to win the race,” said Smith about Take Charge Tom. “If he made a straight pass, he still wins the race, and there’s no inquiry. That was the difference.”

A third-generation horseman whose parents and stepfather Rod Cohen trained horses, Smith grew up on a farm where his parents “Did everything they could to keep me away from the racetrack. But I’d already spent so much time with horses, and then my mom went back to the track, and you’re hooked.

“It’s not a career. It’s a lifestyle,” said Smith, noting his dedication means “I’m not married.”

Despite the controversial finish, Smith was confident his horse was improving throughout the race. “The important part was that my horse was getting to Take Charge Tom in the last part of the race. The last 16th of a mile, the last 100 yards, my horse was really coming on.”

That late kick bodes well for the longer $200,000 Canadian Derby on Aug. 23 at Century Mile, just outside Edmonton, the second leg of the Western Canadian Derby Series, which also includes the $125,000 B.C. Derby at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse on Sept. 13, and offers a $100,000 bonus to any horse that can win all three races.

Welcometohollywood dominated the $50,000 Manitoba Oaks on Tuesday with a commanding 15 3/4-length victory for trainer Jared Brown and ownership partner John Ganas. The Omaha Beach filly captured her second consecutive stakes at the track under Antonio Whitehall.

Not to be outdone, Captive Kitten created even bigger fireworks at the betting windows on the same night, rallying from last to win Tuesday’s finale under Javaniel Patterson for trainer Victoria Morse and triggering a massive $22,913.95 Pick 4 payoff. Fans will note Morse and Captive Kitten also anchored one of the biggest Pick 4s of 2024 at $6,237.70.

The week of live racing ended on a stylish note on Wednesday with Girls Night Out, and try as we might…

We couldn’t find a frown anywhere.