Ron’s Gizmo seeks milestone score in Steady Growth
TORONTO, December 12, 2024 – The $100,000 Steady Growth, a 1 1/16-mile main track stakes for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds and upward, headlines Sunday’s final card of the 2024 Woodbine Thoroughbred season.
A 7-year-old son of Giant Gizmo out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Street Kid, veteran campaigner Ron’s Gizmo chases his first stakes success in a race he finished third in last year.
Fashioning a 7-4-3 record from 30 starts along with $313,203 (U.S.) in purse earnings, the physically imposing dark bay, trained by Ron Sadler, has finished outside the top five only three times since his debut on Aug. 6, 2020.
Unraced at 2, Ron’s Gizmo broke his maiden in his third start, on Sept. 13, 2020, a three-quarter length score at 20-1 over 1 1/16 miles on the E.P. Taylor turf.
“He is well over 17 hands,” said Sadler. “We knew he was going to be a very nice horse, so we took our time with him. He went to other barns and came back to us. He’s been an absolute star for us.”
Owned by Linda Theil and Harri Hosein, Ron’s Gizmo has contested just two stakes, the first coming in the 2023 Steady Growth, and a second in the Grade 3 Durham Cup, on Sept. 28.
He arrives at Sunday’s engagement off a fifth in 1 3/8-mile test over Woodbine’s inner turf on Nov. 2.
“It was a good effort,” said Sadler. “He just didn’t quite get the trip he wanted, but he ran very well and wasn’t beaten that far by some very nice horses.”
Seeing Ron’s Gizmo in the stakes winner’s circle on Sunday would be a welcome scene for his connections.
“He deserves it and so do the owners,” said Sadler. “Harri Hosein was a groom for me for many years and he wound up owning half of this guy. He and Linda are wonderful people, and this horse means the world to them. He means the world to me too.”
Alafia ‘Laffy’ Campbell is the groom.
“Gizmo and I have such a great bond,” said Campbell. “I enjoy grooming him. He’s such a big horse, but he is truly kind. At home in the barn, he’s the nicest horse to walk, even on race day. He loves his treats, but when he gets out on the track, he’s all business, just ready to go and I love that about him. He’s a pleasure to be around.”
Ron’s Gizmo, along with nine other Sadler trainees, will spend the winter on a farm near Richmond Hill, about a half-hour’s drive north of Woodbine.
“This year has been wonderful,” said Sadler, who has won 12 races and posted 27 top three finishes in 56 starts to date. “The horses have all performed well. Everything just seemed to flow, and the racing gods seemed to be on my side.”
Other hopefuls include graded stakes winner Secret Reserve, and multiple stakes winners Dun Drum and No More Options.
First post time for the 13-race card is 1:10 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.
Field for the Steady Growth (Race 11)
Post – Horse – Jockey - Trainer
1 – Mason’s Gamble – Jose Campos – Josie Carroll
2 – Maakwa – David Moran – Shana Lopez
3 – Allegorical – Jeffrey Alderson – Carlos Grant
4 – Ron’s Gizmo – Rafael Hernandez – Ron Sadler
5 – No More Options – Ryan Munger - Zeljko Krcmar
6 – Lac Macaza – Sahin Civaci – Julia Carey
7 – Secret Reserve – Eswan Flores – Mike Mattine
8 – Dun Drum – Fraser Aebly – Ian Black
9 – Rapid Test – Austin Adams – Catherine Day Phillips
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
