A five-time leading trainer in Alberta, Tim Rycoft hasn’t had the year he is accustomed to.

He hopes that changes this weekend with Saturday’s annual Alberta Fall Classic - the richest day of the year for

Alberta-breds - at Century Mile.

“Yeah, the year hasn’t gone well,” said the talented and ultra-competitive trainer. “We got off to a slow start. The horses are starting to come around now but it’s a little late in the season,” said Rycroft, who along with every other trainer is chasing Craig Smith and Gonzalo Anderson, who have both had outstanding seasons.

Saturday’s Fall Classic is the last day of thoroughbred racing at Century Mile with the thoroughbreds heading south to Calgary’s Century Downs and the Standardbreds coming to Edmonton.

“I think it’s going to be an interesting and lucrative day - at least I hope so,” said Rycroft, who will also be running Accidental Genius in Saturday’s B.C. Derby.

“Accidental Genius ran very well to get second in the Canadian Derby. He was really running hard in the stretch and he ducked in a bit.”

Rycroft isn’t going to B.C. Instead his brother, Riley, will take Accidental Genius to Vancouver for the Derby while he attends to the five horses he is running on the Fall Classic card.

“I’m staying here because I think we can have some success here and Accidental Genius is going back to where he is familiar and comfortable,” said Rycroft, who bought Accidental Genius specifically for the Canadian and B.C. Derbies.

“If it was a different track that he wasn’t used to I might have gone but he should be fine in Vancouver where he ran second in both the Winston Churchill and Chris Loseth.”

Third-place finisher in the Canadian Derby, Attack, is also going to B.C.

Derby winner Take Charge Tom is not going to B.C.

“So it will be pretty much the same field minus the winner in B.C.” said Attack’s trainer Craig Smith.

“Attack came out of the race good but a little tired,” said Smith. “He’s trained well since the Derby.”

But back to the Fall Classic for Alberta-breds where there will be two top Quarter Horse races and seven $50,000 thoroughbred stakes - one for each age and sex as well as a sprint - the six furlong Red Diamond Express.

There’s the Alberta Premiers Futurity for two-year-old colts and geldings, the Sturgeon River for two-year-old fillies, the Alberta Oaks for three-year-old fillies, the Beaufort for three-year-old colts, the Fall Classic Distaff for older fillies and mares and the Alberta Breeders’ Handicap for older male horses.

Rycroft is sending out five horses for the Classic card: Bank Draft in the Sturgeon River; No More Lies in the Oaks; Relaxgodoitramone in the Premiers; and Holiday’s Again and Writ in Storm in the Beaufort.

Rycroft expects good things from all of them with the probable exception of Writ in Stone who, on paper, looks like a flyer.

Analyzing his chances on Saturday horse by horse Rycroft began with Bank Draft

“Bank Draft only had one start and she got into trouble at the sixteenths pole where she finished fifth but moved up to fourth.

“She wasn’t going to win that race but she’s a pretty nice filly. We’ll try and get some black type on her.” No More Lies was last year’s Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and Champion Sprinter - tough to do for a two-year-old - when she won four of five - three of them stakes.

No More Lies showed little in her first two starts this year and then toyed with her rivals in the Grande Prairie Oaks.

“I don’t know how good the Grande Prairie race field was but they payed a lot of money for the third-place finisher Gracies Big Day,” said Rycroft.

“I had to wait a long time to run her because she didn’t have any conditions. She’s not in the same class as she was last year but maybe her last race will get her confidence back.

“She’s a nice filly. She likes to run on the lead. My fingers are crossed.

“She’s sure training good.”

Relaxgodoitramone looks like Rycroft’s best chance. A winner of two of his three starts Rycroft said Relaxfodoitramone’s second-place finish was against Big Curl, who he is very high on.

It was also a race where Relaxgodoitramone had a legitimate excuse card which Rycroft doesn’t like to play.

“He wasn’t paying attention at the start and hit the gate pretty hard. Then he had to hustle to get up to the lead. It was enough to leave him dry when Big Curl came up to him.

“He rebroke but it wasn’t enough. They went pretty fast early; he’s got a high cruising speed.

“Relaxgodoitramone came back good and trained really well (Monday) morning. He’s a nice colt.”

As for his fifth starter, Holiday’s Again, Rycroft said the three-year-old colt hasn’t run as expected. “I was pretty high on him last year. He ran good winning two stakes including the Birdcatcher which he won by five lengths.

“His last two starts have been better.”

There is one stand out on the Fall Classic card with the imposing Big Hug towering over the field in the Distaff. Big Hug has already won over $400,000.

“Other than her I think most of the races are wide open,” said Rycroft although Itsallgoodman should be double tough in the Red Diamond Express.

“The Fall Classic has been good to me,” said Rycroft, who has won half a dozen of those races.

“I like the program. Everybody waits for the Fall Classic. It’s a chance for owners to get their money back and hopefully that money goes back into the business.

“We’ve got 118 Alberta-bred yearlings that will be eligible for next year’s Fall Classic on Sept. 19 in Red Deer at the AgriCentre.”

As for this season where he has ‘only’ won 16 of 147 starts with 23 seconds and 27 thirds, Rycroft said “It wasn’t the year I expected. But that’s going to happen. I had a lot of big owners that scaled down. I have to find new people and owners to rebuild the team.

“I like to be leading trainer. It’s a feather in your cap.

“But there are a lot of good horsemen here. It’s so competitive.

“Hopefully Saturday’s Fall Classic and the B.C. Derby gets us pointed in the right direction.”

Curtisstock@icloud.com
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Author: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty.