Friday, 18 July 2014 00:00

Ralph Klein Breeders Stake!

The $45,000 final of the Ralph Klein Breeders Stake will headline this Saturday’s July 19th race card at Alberta Downs.  The field of eight very talented 3yr-old fillies will line up behind the gate in the tenth race in memory of King Ralph. 

Rollin Deep has drawn post one and has been named the 3-5 morning line favorite.  Rollin Deep is trained and driven by the O’Brien Rising Star Award winner Travis Cullen.  She is owned by Lucy Raymond of Edmonton.  The three-yr-old daughter of Ponder-Rapid Jenna dominated her elimination last week winning by over eight lengths in a new lifetime mark of 1:53.1.  This was the sixth lifetime win for Rollin Deep which boasted her lifetime earnings to $24,906.  Justapassin Fanci (Hudon) was second, Charismatic Art (Gagne) third and Shark Festival (Clark) fourth. 

The first elimination of the Ralph Klein Breeders we saw Great Desire (Piwniuk) enjoy a pocket trip to win in an impressive time of 1:53.2.  Great Desire is trained by Michelle Danroth and owned by Graeme Bevington.  Triple Action (Gray) was second a length back while Sweet Sugar (Marino) and Rummys Command (Clark) took third and fourth spot respectively.

This Saturday’s final should match up to be an exciting race.  This very strong field of three-yr-old fillies will no doubt put on a great show.

The line-up:

Post Horse Driver Trainer M/L
Post 1 Rollin Deep Travis Cullen Travis Cullen 3-5
Post 2 Justapassin Fanci Gerry Hudon C. Kolthammer 6-1
Post 3 Shark Festival Keith Clark Keith Clark 5-1
Post 4 Triple Action Jamie Gray Joe Ratchford 3-1
Post 5 Great Desire Blake Piwniuk Michelle Danroth 2-1
Post 6 Sweet Sugar Jim Marino Tim Brown 4-1
Post 7 Charismatic Art JF Gagne Marjorie Dumont 6-1
Post 8 Rummys Command P. Giesbrecht Keith Clark 5-1

Ralph Klein Day - “Remembering Ralph”

Ralph was a long-time proponent of Harness Racing. Ralph attended the races frequently at Northlands Park and enjoyed talking with people that were knowledgeable with Standardbreds. Ralph is remembered for fondly loving our sport and often took the harness seat to drive in the annual “Premier’s Challenge for Charity”. He reflected his driving experiences as quite a rush. He was still an owner in the Don Monkman Stable showing his continued support for an industry he loved.

In 2006, Klein was honored at Northlands with a statue, "dedicated by the Alberta Horse Racing and Breeding Industry to the Honorable Ralph Klein, in appreciation of his efforts and contributions towards industry revitalization."

Ralph will always be remembered and honored here in Alberta with the Ralph Klein Breeders Stakes for three-year-old Fillies.

Shannon “Sugar” Doyle will be back on Alberta soil to MC the day.  The day will be filled with promotional events and prizes for all ages.  The winners of each race will receive a sponsored horse blanket.  ASHA will host their “Fan Appreciation Draws” where an estimated total of $2000 in betting vouchers will be given out and one lucky fan will cash a ticket every race.  One lucky bettor will win a beautiful pack-pack filled with tons of great prizes which includes a $20 betting voucher.  The children will enjoy a petting zoo and carnival games.  The ice-cream truck will be onsite selling $2 ice-cream treats.  Food specials will also be offered.  Autographed drivers posters will be handed out along with driver’s autograph sessions.  

The Ralph Klein Day is sponsored by ASHA, Horse Racing Alberta and Alberta Downs.

On Sunday, July 20th we will see the final of the $45,000 Brad Gunn Stake for three-yr-old colts and geldings contested. 

Post time 1:15pm.

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