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Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame Nominees Announced, Including Fatal Bullet & Formal Gold

Author: Ryan Knuppel
Published: Wednesday March 31, 2021
The nominations for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame were announced this week, with the final decision set to be announced on April 13th. The decision will not be one that will be taken lightly.
 
But it will be down to the experience of 20 on the committee to decide which one contender from each category will be inducted into the illustrious Hall of Fame. There are three categories to decide before the deadline, with Male Horse, Veteran Horse, and Builder all competitive.

Thoroughbred Male Horse Nominations

Fatal Bullet leads the way in the Thoroughbred nominations. The legendary horse, born in 2005, was named the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2008 after winning the Bold Venture Stakes, Tom Ridge Labor Day Stakes, and Kentucky Cup Sprint Stakes. As well as that, he also picked up success in the Hendrie Stakes.
 
That 2008 season was the strongest of his career, as he won on all but two starts. He added Phoenix Stakes success in the following season.

As well as being named the Canadian Horse of the Year, he was named the Canadian Champion Sprinter. Fatal Bullet ended his career on the track in 2013 after accumulating $1,377,256 in prize money.
 
Among the other nominations in the category is Heart to Heart. The Canadian horse won the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap and Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes during her career, with both successes coming in 2017.

He was named Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse in 2014. He was retired from the track in 2019 after failing to win in his final three starts.
 
Joshua Tree is the third and final nomination, with the Irish horse winning multiple major races throughout his career. His first major success came in the Royal Lodge Stakes in 2009, before he won three Canadian International Stakes in 2010, 2012, and 2013.

He remains the only horse to have won the race on three separate occasions. He also won the Ormonde Stakes, Qatar International Invitational Cup, and Prix Kergorlay during his illustrious career.

Thoroughbred Veteran Nominations

Formal Gold is the headline name in the Thoroughbred Veteran Nominations. He is still regarded as the best horse that never won a championship, but he did hold a positive advantage of four wins from six against the legendary Skip Award.

The major wins in his career came in the forms of the Donn Handicap, Brooklyn Handicap, and the Woodward Stakes, which all came in 1997. Formal Gold also held the record for three of the eight fastest Beyer Speed Figures during the 90s.
 
Mt. Sassafras is one of the main contenders for the nomination. One of his most notable successes came with success in the Gulfstream Park Handicap in 1997.

He also famously edged out Formal Gold for fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic during his career. Not Too Shy rounds off the contenders for the Veteran nomination. She was regarded as one of the very best fillies and mares of the era, as he won 23 times from 55 starts between 1968 and 1971.

Builder Nominations

The final category at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is for Builder. Charles E. Fipke is among the nominations. He owned and bred legendary horses such as Not Bourbon, who went on to win the Queen’s Plate in 2008, and Perfect Shirl, who won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2011.
 
Sam Lima is one of the contenders, and he played a prominent role in the sport for 60 years through the formation of the Jockey Club of Canada. The final nomination is Vicki Pappas, who runs LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, and has played a role in over 600 horses being re-homed.

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