Valley Loot named Pinnacle’s top Thoroughbred

Jockey Mike Allen twirls his whip in victory after Pinnacle Horse of the Meet Valley Loot's Sire Stakes win.

Winning is nothing new to Valley Loot.

The four-year-old Demaloot Demashoot filly has done little else but finish first in her career, winning Sire Stakes races in two straight years and tallying up eight other stakes victories at Pinnacle Race Course and Great Lakes Downs.

All that success led to plenty of honors, including 2007 Michigan Horse of the year. Valley Loot added yet another trophy to her case on Saturday after winning the inaugural Horse of the Meet title at Pinnacle Race Course.

Pretty much all of the information in this post comes from the Daily Racing Form website. To see the original story by C.A. Shoemaker, click here.

If you are still here, I will go on…

The awards were presented in the Pinnacle Pavilion following last Saturday’s card. Track announcer Matt Hook selected the winners in each division, as well as leading owner, trainer, jockey and claiming horse.

While many of winners were fairly predictable, there were a few that could be open to debate, namely the three-year-old male division. However, considering that the awards were based solely on performance at the New Boston racetrack, not on the individual’s complete body of work, .

With that in mind, let us take a look at this year’s winners…

Horse of the Year/Older Female of the Year: Valley Loot

Owner: Lisa Campbell
Trainer: Ronald Allen, Sr.
Breeder: Marilyn McMaster
Regular Jockey: Mike Allen

2008 Record: 6-4-1-1
PNL Record: 4-3-1-0

Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes, Farer Bell Lee Handicap (set new track record at 1 1/16 miles – 1:46.99), Larkspur Handicap.

Older Male: Meadow Vespers

Owner: J. Mack Enterprises, Inc.
Trainer: Richard Rettele
Breeder: James & Marcia Arnold and Deborah Miley
Regular Jockey: Ivan Gonzalez

2008 Record: 6-2-2-2
PNL Record: 4-1-1-2

Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes

Three-Year-Old Male: Hot Chili

Owner: Sharon Valley Thoroughbred Farm
Trainer: James Jackson
Breeder: Judy Campbell
Regular Jockey: Mary Doser

2008 Record: 9-1-2-2
PNL Record: 5-1-1-2

Notable Wins: Dowling Stakes (set new track record at one mile – 1:40.22

Three-Year-Old Female: Wave Pool

Owner: Lisa Campbell
Trainer: Ronald Allen, Sr.
Breeder: Campbell Stable
Regular Jockey: Federico Mata

2008 Record: 13-4-0-3
PNL Record: 6-3-0-0

Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes

Juvenile Male: Mr. Conclusive

Owner: Charlie Williams
Trainer: Sandra Adkins
Breeder: Jay and Lu Hall
Regular Jockey: T.D. Houghton

2008 Record: 4-4-0-0
PNL Record: 4-4-0-0

Notable Wins: Patrick Wood Stakes, Michigan Sire Stakes, Michigan Futurity

Juvenile Female: Skyline Star

Owner: Mast Thoroughbreds, LLC
Trainer: Bob Gorham
Breeder: Mast Thoroughbreds, LLC
Regular Jockey: T.D. Houghton

2008 Record: 4-1-2-1
PNL Record: 4-1-2-1

Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes

Claimer of the Year: My Calabrese

I’m afraid I do not have a photo of this horse. My apologies to the connections.

Owner: Frank Kirby
Trainer: Frank Kirby
Breeder: Frank C. Calabrese

PNL Record: 6-4-2-0

Owner: Henry Mast (Right)

Trainer: Bob Gorham (Left)

Gorham:
Starts: 243
Wins: 55
Earnings: $679,775
Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes (Juv. Fillies), Michigan Juvenile Fillies Stakes, Lansing Stakes, Sickle’s Image Stakes, etc.

Mast:
Unable to locate owner statistics for Pinnacle Race Course. My apologies to Mr. Mast.

Jockey: T.D. Houghton

Starts: 465
Wins: 109
Earnings: $1,085,560
Notable Wins: Michigan Sire Stakes (3yo males, Juv. fillies, Juv. males), Michigan Futurity, Patrick Wood Stakes.