From spill to thrill

It took a Tuesday tornado warning and a face-to-face meeting with the dirt to make the stars align for jockey Ciera Pruitt on Wednesday night at the Downs, but when they did, she finally got her first lifetime win for her mother.

The 23-year-old daughter of trainer Lise Pruitt and former top jockey Jerry Pruitt not only won for her mother, but also won another race earlier on the card for trainer Jason Homer, giving her two victories on the same card after 24 straight losses to start the season. And it couldn’t have happened on a better night — it was also her dad’s 75th birthday.

Pruitt got her first win of the season aboard Preacher’s Secret for Homer in race three, stalking a duel on the turn and rallying outside to win by 2 3/4 lengths after a perfect trip. That would be the exact opposite of what she got on her next mount in the fifth race, Neighneigh, who stumbled twice at the start and sent Pruitt flying hard into the dirt.

Lise Pruitt was in the barn area getting her horse ready for the sixth race when it happened and didn’t see it live.

“I come out here and I see this horse running loose, and I’m like, ‘please tell me that’s not the five (Ciera’s mount),’” said Lise. “As soon as he turned the corner, I’m like, ‘oh no, it’s her horse. Where’s my daughter?’”

The hurts didn’t last long, as Ciera came back to win the sixth race aboard Bromeo for her mother, and the margin couldn’t have been any closer despite a perfect duel-stalking trip. Pruitt said her spill felt a lot better after winning for her mother, but getting there tested her patience.

“It felt like it took an eternity to get there,” said Ciera after scoring the first double of her career. “But I knew I had enough horse. He’s such a cool horse. Once we got the ball rolling, he knew what his job was. It was a great night.”

Bromeo is a Manitoba-bred 3-year-old by Speculating out of Zero Zee, bred by Barry Arnason. Lise was with him the night he was born and has been with him ever since. That emotional bond was evident in the winner’s circle celebration, and the fact that the win was Lise’s first ever win with her daughter in the saddle made it even better.

“We knew it was going to happen eventually,” said Lise. “And it was Jerry’s birthday. How freaky is that? She won one on his birthday last year, too.” The scene outside the winner’s circle was both joyous and tearful, with hugs all around.

On the same night, former Hastings Park trainer Robert Maybin turned loose 9-year-old mare Queen of Attitude — a horse with a record anyone would envy — and she gets my vote for the second most impressive performance of the meet behind only Manitoba Derby hopeful Prime Suspect, trained by Steve Keplin Jr. These two horses will never meet in a race, one being a three-year-old gelding and the other an older mare, but she was a pleasure to watch.

I was at a St. Paul’s vs. Oak Park championship high school football game many years ago and saw a similar performance that announced itself as soon as the Oak Park quarterback swaggered onto the field for the second half, his team down two touchdowns. One look at him and you just knew Oak Park was coming back to win, and there was nothing St. Paul’s could do about it. Two long bombs later, Oak Park tied the game and drew off to win.

Queen of Attitude’s performance on Wednesday was the same. You knew the result from the three-eighths pole. Stalking from just off the rail while roaring to run against the hands of former Hastings Park jockey Christopher Mamdeen, Queen of Attitude moved outside at the top of the stretch, set her sights on the leader, rallied determinedly to catch her target in mid-stretch, duelled and drew out to win by daylight. That’s what you do when you have a record of 16 wins from 32 starts, with nine seconds and three thirds.

Like Prime Suspect, Queen of Attitude knows where the wire is, and she’ll do anything to get there first. Look up her race on the Downs YouTube channel to see why people love horse racing. These are the kinds of horses that do it.

Maybin is three-for-nine here so far and loving his new home at the Downs. He’s spent his whole life with horses and originally learned his trade in Ireland. You can tell by the way his horses run, he learned it better than most. And he’s not the only former Hastings Park trainer to win here so far.

Cindy Krasner is one-for-three and also has a second-place finish, Keith Pedersen is one-for-one, and Demetris Topouzis is one-for-two with an additional third-place finish. These former BC-based trainers are enjoying their time here, and have had great things to say not only about the friendly Manitoba people and the track in general, but also about the racing surface, which has survived impeccably well during the stormy weather.

The Downs surface ranks as one of the best in North America. You can hear it early in the morning as the horses float over it…

Silently.

winnipegfreepress.com/georgewilliams