$3,400 Bargain Becomes Alberta’s Best: Big Hug Honoured as Horse of the Year
The Princess of the Track is now Queen of the Hill
Written by curtisstock@icloud.com
Follow me on X (Twitter) at CurtisJStock and on Facebook
Author: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty.
Absolutely marvelous, Big Hug was named Alberta’s Horse Of the Year Saturday at the annual Night of Champions Awards dinner at Century Mile.
Also named Alberta’s 2024 Champion Older Mare and Champion Alberta-bred, Big Hug won six of her eight starts in Alberta last year capturing the Founders Distaff, CTHS Sales stake, the Fall Classic Distaff and the R.K. ‘Red’ Smith Handicap for owner/trainer Rick Hedge and Lori and Martin Neyka’s Empire Equestrian.
Purchased by Hedge for just $3,400 at the Alberta Yearling Sale, the now-five-year-old mare won $175,500 last year and $354,000 in her career.
Big Hug was sired by Mr. Big and is out of the mare Temeeku, who broke her maiden for no tag at Del Mar, California.
“Best horse I’ve ever trained,” said Hedge, 76, who has trained many outstanding thoroughbreds in his career and many more as a jockey.
“She’s all muscle,” said Hedge, of the mare that was also a finalist for Aged Mare of the Year in Canada.
“She’s got a big heart and she’s very athletic. She’s something special. You never expect to have a horse like her.”
Big Hug didn’t just win races; she dominated.
She won the Red Smith by almost six lengths. She won the Fall Classic and an allowance race by four-eased up lengths and she won the Founders and the Sales Stake almost as easily never even seeming get out of a gallop.
Big Hug was also well named with Hedge, his owners and his barn crew knowing full well how much she loves to have a big hug.
“She’s a snuggler,” said Hedge.
“She’s so good to do anything with. She’s been a pleasure to be around and she’s been that way ever since she was a baby.”
Hedge always thought Big Hug could be something very special but he knew for sure on a warm July 4th morning in 2022 when, as a two-year-old, she breezed three furlongs in 35 seconds.
“I knew she went fast but she did it so easily that I couldn’t believe the time.
“From that day on she was a runner.”
Second in a stakes race in Phoenix, just missing in the Shirley Vargo and a good third in the Northlands Distaff to multiple B.C. champion mare Infinite Patience, who won 22 of 32 starts before being retired as a broodmare, and Majestic Oops, who just won the black type Dig a Diamond stake at Oaklawn Park (more on her later), Big Hug had a spectacular season in Alberta last year.
This year Hedge and the Neykas had bigger plans: they went to the ‘Big Time’ and started in five Graded stakes at Santa Anita, California this past winter and spring.
Big Hug never won any of those tough races but if she had some racing luck instead of one excuse after another she could have.
“Her first race at Santa Anita was the January 19 La Canada,” said Hedge. “She was wide all the way but the biggest factor was that she only arrived in California two days before the race. People say you need at least one work over that track before you run. We wanted to go earlier but the smoke from all the fires in Los Angeles prevented that.”
Big Hug still ran good finishing third.
Next up was the February 1 Megahertz. Big Hug stumbled badly leaving the gate to lose all chance.
“She was 16 lengths back but closed up to lose by just six lengths,” said Hedge.
On March 1 Big Hug made her third Santa Anita start in the Grade 2 Buena Vista.
“Despite being taken back she was three and four wide all the way around. It was not a good race,” Hedge said after finishing fifth.
Big Hug ran what could have been a winning race in the March 15 mile and a quarter Santa Ana. But luck was definitely not in her corner again.
“She was laying second and seemed to be running easily right behind the leader but then the leader stropped at the quarter pole and we got stopped as well. We had to let everyone behind us go by. It was most unfortunate.”
Big Hug’s final foray at Santa Anita came in the Wilshire on March 29. Again Big Hug got stopped. “She tried to go through a hole but the hole closed. She probably lost four lengths and she only got beat by two lengths. She was going the best at the end.
“She proved she belonged with those mares and they were top mares. We’ll run her in Alberta again this year and then we’ll hopefully go back to California. She really didn’t have any luck in any of her California races and I’d like to give her another shot.
In other awards...
No More Lies was an automatic choice as champion Two-Year-Old Filly winning four of her five races last year. She easily won her maiden debut and then, after running second in the Princess Margaret, rolled off three stakes wins in the Sturgeon River, Sales Stake and then a devastating four-length victory in the Freedom of the City.
A $30,000 sales purchase, No More Lies won $115,000.
In a rarity, despite being a two-year-old, No More Lies also took Champion Sprinter.
Varatti was also in a league of his own for Champion Older Horse. He crossed the finish line in front in his last six starts. He won the Don Getty in a romp, won the prestigious Speed to Spare under a great ride by N’Rico Prescod, and three allowance races. He also strode across the finish line on top in the Century Mile but was disqualified for drifting out - seemingly needlessly - very late in the stretch.Purchased privately in Kentucky for just $17,000 by Adrian Munro’s Highfield Investments, the Smoking Guns Stable and champion trainer Craig Smith, Varatti was sold again after the Alberta racing season.
Surprisingly he was sold for $100,000 to interests from the Philippines.
“Varatti just blossomed since Craig has had him,” said Munro. “He grew up and filled out.”
Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year, in what had to be a narrow decision, saw Puttingonthefoil take home top honours. Breaking her maiden in a stake, Puttingonthefoil, who was purchased as a yearling by Curtis Landry for $34,000 also won the Canadian Juvenile before finishing second in B.C.’s Jack Diamond Futurity.
Silkstone was voted Champion Three-Year-Old Filly; Classy City took Champion Three-Year-Old.
Trained by Tim Rycroft, who also trained No More Lies, Silkstone won three races in a row including the Sonoma stakes by three and three-quarter lengths.
Classy City, trained - like Varatti - by Craig Smith and owned by Munro, Smith and Smoking Guns - just like Varartti - went to post 16 times last year, winning four with two seconds and three thirds.
Bought privately in California for $50,000, Classy City won the Western Canada - at odds of 16-1 - and the Count Lathum - at odd of 10-1. The two stakes are Canadian Derby prep races.
Classy City won the Count Lathum despite losing his left front shoe leaving the starting gate when he went to his knees. “Credit jockey Rasheed Hughes for staying composed said Smith.”
Classy City finished fourth in the Derby.
The Champion Claimer was Wedge Pond, owned by Mitch Sutherland and trained by Jim Brown. Wedge Pond won five times last year and had three seconds and two thirds.
Smith was Alberta’s leading trainer for the second straight year; Kemar Chase was the top apprentice; Jose Asencio was the champion jockey; Pierre Esquirol was the leading breeder; and Kirk Sutherland was the Leading Owner.
curtisstock@icloud.com
Follow me on X (Twitter) at CurtisJStock and on Facebook
Author: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty.
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