Latest news with #Canadian-bred
UPI
4 days ago
- Sport
- UPI
Horse racing's heavyweight Journalism back in weekend action
1 of 3 | Journalism (R) is entered in Saturday's $1 million Grade I Haskell at Monmouth, a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Classic, File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- Top 3-year-olds return to action in weekend racing with the Grade I Haskell at Monmouth Park and fillies on parade in the Group 1 Irish Oaks, Group 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga and the Woodbine Oaks in Canada. Del Mar swings into action, providing graded stakes action on both coasts on turf and dirt at a wide variety of distances. In short, a racing fan's dream, a handicapper's challenge and a bettor's opportunity. We'd "bettor" get on with it. The 3-year-olds Saturday's $1 million Grade I Haskell at Monmouth is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Classic, but should odds-on favorite Journalism win the 1 1/8-mile heat, that would be irrelevant. The Curlin colt is pretty much welcome at the big dance already after winning the Santa Anita Derby and Preakness and finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. The other seven, though, could need a free pass to get into the Classic, and the most likely of them would seem to be Gosger. The Nyquist colt won the Grade III Lexington at the Keeneland spring meeting, skipped the Derby and finished second in Preakness in the dramatic finish that saw Journalism wipe out a 4-length lead in well under a furlong. The other six in the Haskell field aren't bums. But they're not Journalism, either. Sunday's $150,000 (Canadian) Plate Trial at Woodbine is the local prep for the King's Plate and is similarly restricted to Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. The Oaks Crowd Saturday's $500,000 Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga has a field modest in size with six entries, but large in talent. Immersive, the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and Eclipse Award winner, was undefeated at 2 but finished second in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Churchill Downs in her 2025 debut in June. Take Charge Milady, the Monomoy Girl winner, tries for a repeat. La Cara won the Grade I Ashland at Keeneland and Grade I Acorn at Saratoga. Sunday's $500,000 (Canadian) Woodbine Oaks is restricted to Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies, but the limitation hasn't prevented some of the contestants from going on to graded glory, including 2022 winner Moira. Twelve are set for this seemingly wide-open edition, including five to be saddled by the Mark Casse team. Casse already has four Oaks wins to his credit. Coincidentally, he got his 4,000th North American training win Thursday at Colonial Downs in Virginia. Distaff There's a lot of talent scattered around the nine entries for Saturday's $500,000 Grade III Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park. The eye goes to Dorth Vader, last-race winner of the Grade I Ogden Phipps in the slop at Saratoga, and Majestic Oops, who steps up on the heels of three straight wins. Step right up, pick a long shot and win a top-shelf prize in this one. Sprint Saturday's $400,000 Grade II Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga attracted some of the world's top dirt sprinters. Book'em Danno and Mullikin exit a 1-2 finish in the Grade III True North. Nash, Baby Yoda and Full Moon Madness have been improving steadily. Nakatomi and Skelly return after filling the exacta spots in this race a year ago. Friday's $100,000 Jersey Shore for 3-year-olds at Monmouth Park has a field of six. Filly & Mare Sprint Scylla is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of nine for Sunday's $200,000 Grade II Honorable Miss at Saratoga. The 5-year-old Tapit mare hasn't won for more than a year, but has been competitive in top company. She was second in the Grade II Bed o' Roses Stakes in her last. Turf Saturday's $600,000 Grade II United Nations at Monmouth Park features the 1-2-3 finishers from last year's running -- Get Smokin, Grand Sonata and Tawny Port. Among the others, Redistricting, Rebel Red, Limited Liability and Vote No look capable of putting on a good show. Filly & Mare Turf Seven are set for Saturday's $300,000 Grade III WinStar Matchmaker at Monmouth Park and a case can be made for most of them. Saturday's $200,000 Grade II San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar is a lively looking heat with nine 3-year-old fillies set to mix it up. South African import Gimme a Nother looks to bounce back from a bad day in her last start while contesting Sunday's $200,000 (Canadian) Grade II Canadian Stakes at Woodbine. The Gimmethegreenlight mare finished second twice in graded stakes for trainer Graham Motion before reporting seventh in the Grade I New York Stakes at the Spa last month. Turf Mile Del Mar's traditional opener, the Oceanside Stakes, is a restricted 1 mile on the grass for 3-year-olds. Saturday's $100,000 Wickerr Stakes for 3-year-olds and up also has restrictions. Both bear watching, especially in a year when the Breeders' Cup World Championships return to Del Mar. Turf Sprint Isivunguvungu was on a bit of a roll in the United States after his import from South Africa, but then hit the wall when sent in April to Dubai, where he reported 10th in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint. He's back for Saturday's $100,000 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park. Saturday's $175,000 Grade III Caress for fillies and mares at Saratoga has the top five finishers from last month's Grade II Intercontinental over the course -- Pipsy, Future Is Now, Kairyu, Time to Dazzle and Pandora's Gift. A 4-year-old filly named Caress is a "main track only" entry. Sunday's $175,000 (Canadian) Grade II bet365 Connaught Cup at Woodbine has a field of 10 to go 7 furlongs. Around the world, around the clock Ireland Coolmore and trainer Aidan O'Brien send out four of the seven confirmed runners for Saturday's Group 1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh. Among them is the prohibitive favorite, Epsom Oaks winner Minnie Hauk, not surprisingly jockey Ryan Moore's choice to ride. The Frankel filly has won three of four starts, including the Cheshire Oaks in her 3-year-old debut. Her only loss was a second in her career bow, when Wemighttakedlongway got the jump on a big field, set an easy pace and held on late. Wemighttakedlongway, trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien, was fourth at Epsom and fourth again in the Pretty Polly over the Curragh sod June 28. Al Riffa and Shackleton figure in a nine-horse field for the Group 2 Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup at 1 3/4 miles. Al Riffa, a 5-year-old by Wootton Bassett, was second to Rebel's Romance in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting in his most recent start. Shackleton gets a different test after he reported eighth in the Irish Derby in his last outing. It's another family feud as Joseph Patrick O'Brien handles Al Riffa and dad Aidan trains Shackleton. Only four were left in for the Gain Railway Stakes for 2-year-olds with the elder O'Brien in charge of the solid antepost favorite, True Love. The No Nay Never filly got her first win in her third start, the Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, vanquishing 22 rivals in that one.
CBC
06-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Planting before the May long weekend? It depends what you want to grow, and how
Some green thumbs are finding ways around the old rules about when to get that spring garden started Media | Should you wait until Victoria Day before you plant? Caption: How and what you plant might make a bigger difference than when you get into the garden this spring. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. As sure as spring frost turns to morning dew, gardeners are once again weighing the old maxim that you shouldn't plant before the May long weekend if you want to reap a healthy harvest. Should you wait for June's first moon? Or does a changing climate mean an earlier final frost? More than a dozen early spring shoppers were browsing the hollyhocks, roses and compost at the east-end location of Ritchie Feed and Seed when CBC News visited on a recent weekday morning to ask about their long weekend plans. "That has changed. It's now the middle of May," said Sheila Lang, who was looking for climbing roses. "I guess it's global warming or whatever." Stephanie Dragan was looking for Canadian-bred roses, all the better to take advantage of the sunny weather. "Just because the weather seems to be warming up and so I find we can get a little bit more of a head start on the season," she said. "Things like cold weather vegetables, roses — I like to get planted out a little bit early." Benoît Côté prefers observable measurement over groundhogs, almanacs or old sayings. "You subscribe to what the weather is and what good old Environment Canada and other people are telling you," he advised. "You just go with it." On top of the warmer weather, Victoria Day falls relatively early this year on May 19. The garden centre's general manager warned you never know when a late frost will strike. "That wisdom is mainly for annuals and veggies and stuff that are a little less frost-hardy. Usually in May, as long as the soil is warmed up enough, perennials, trees, shrubs — they can go in earlier," Michael Ritchie said. Protect your 'babies' At the Growing Together Community Farm near Shirley's Bay in Ottawa's west end, volunteers start their first shifts in the second week of May, and there's a greenhouse prepped for a seedling sale on the weekend of May 24. Maureen Russell, a self-described "crazy tomato lady," is organizing this year's sale and understands the temptation people feel when they bring home a fresh bounty. "They're so eager to put them out in the garden, and that's when you're going to get failure," she said. Russell uses improvised cloches made by cutting the bottoms off plastic bottles to get her tomato plants going. She has also draped sheets and towels over plants to shield them from a late May frost. "I'm an anxious gardener," she said. "You can take chances with your seeds, but you also need to protect them because they're babies!" Image | Hélène Hébert gardening consultant Aylmer Gatineau Quebec Caption: Gardening consultant Hélène Hébert stands in front of a protective fabric tunnel at the year-round garden she maintains at her home in the Aylmer sector of Gatineau, Que. (Matthew Kupfer/CBC) Open Image in New Tab Plant and harvest all year Over in the Aylmer sector of Gatineau, Hélène Hébert is already harvesting spinach, onions and other hardy crops under the protection of a low fabric tunnel. "Most gardeners in Canada are just begging for the last frost day to happen, and I don't care about that! I really don't. I just plant whatever is adapted for the season I'm in," she said. Hébert is a gardening coach with online courses on year-round gardening. She said climate change has made summertime gardens more vulnerable to hazards such as hail in the spring. She said without protection for heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers, gardeners may want to wait until the second weekend of June to plant outside. Meanwhile, Hébert said her shoulder seasons are benefiting from warmer winters. Spinach she planted in October is ready for harvest, and she added spring plants in March. "Where I planted my spring garden used to be my winter garden…. The soil in there thawed while there was still snow around, so I was able to start planting my spring garden early," she said. "It gives you so much more freedom. It shatters the limitations we think we're bound to [in] gardening."
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Frumpy Pamela Anderson looks worlds away from Baywatch glory days in grey 2025 Met Gala gown
Pamela Anderson embraced a more understated style while appearin g at the Met Gala 2025 in New York City on Monday. The former Playboy pinup, 57, looked worlds away from her Baywatch glory days as she showed off a conservative new hairdo paired with a grey Tory Burch gown while arriving at the at Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ditching her long platinum blonde tresses, the Last Showgirl star rocked a short bob with blunt bangs for the occasion. Her floor-length long-sleeve gown, which featured a bateau neckline and exaggerated hips, was covered in sparkling details throughout. Continuing her recent embrace of a more natural look, the actress showcased her complexion with minimal makeup. While on the red carpet Pamela revealed her glam 'only took a few minutes' calling it 'very simple.' Pamela was joined by her son Brandon Thomas Lee, 28, at fashion's biggest night. The star accessorized with Pandora jewelry for the event. Meanwhile Brandon, whom she shares with rocker ex Tommy Lee, 62, looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo. Pamela also posed with the designer of her gown, Tory, 58, at the event. In a red carpet interview, Tory praised Pamela as 'otherworldly' and said she was beautiful 'inside and out.' Anderson's Met Gala debut last year saw her in a flowing Oscar de la Renta gown, channeling Old Hollywood glamour. After several decades in the spotlight, the star has shocked fans with bold beauty and fashion changes in recent years, including opting to go makeup-free for red carpet occasions. She's turned a corner in her career over the last year, gaining critical acclaim for her 2024 starring role in The Last Showgirl. The Canadian-bred beauty earned her first Golden Globe nomination with the release of the Gia Coppola-directed feature, and amassed Oscar buzz. However, the film did not become a contender when the 2025 Academy Awards nominee list was unveiled in January. Pamela was a good sport about the snub, telling Elle magazine at the time, 'Oh my gosh, it's not something I ever expected. Doing the work is the win.' Anderson starred on Baywatch for five seasons, from 1992 to 1997. She played the iconic role of C.J. Parker, a stunning lifeguard. Other big names at this year's event included Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, Gigi Hadid, Simone Biles and more. Every year on the first Monday of May, a series of A-listers gather in their most extravagant looks for a lavish ball hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The annual invite-only event has a theme each year, with this year's theme as 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,' inspired by Monica Miller's work, which includes her book Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. It is meant to pay homage to black dandyism, a style with European roots which started post-Emancipation and came out in full force during the Harlem Renaissance. Monica is the chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, as well as a professor at the institute. According to Monica, Black dandyism is 'a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary - especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even,' via Vogue. The 2025 gala theme focuses on menswear, 22 years after the 'Men In Skirts' theme - which was the first gala to focus only on menswear. The Met Gala 2025 will be co-chaired by Wintour, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Colman Domingo, and Pharrell Williams. NBA icon LeBron James was one of six athletes named to the committee of the 2025 Met Gala. Unfortunately, the Lakers star won't be attending.
