LETHBRIDGE - It's all over for another season, all that's left at the Rocky Mountain Turf Club for 2009 is the beaming smile of Stan Webb and his rider Scott Sterr.

Sterr, who had been experiencing a rather slow fall meet, made everything right Sunday when he brought trainer Stan Webb's Casino High home well in front in the $76,750 Alberta Bred Quarter Horse Futurity.
Usually ridden by Brooke Mellish, who opted instead to ride Webb's unbeaten Jackpine Savage, Casino High with Sterr in perfect control ran away with the field. Mellish finished third, behind Fast Fifty with Sean Evans aboard. The winner paid $6.70, 4.90 and 3.20 with a lowly Quinella of $9.40.

"With the exception of the Thanksgiving weekend and some rain this past Saturday, we've had a fairly good year and we closed things out in style," said RMTC CEO Max Gibb, who spent much of Sunday shaking hands and saying goodbye and thank you to race fans and horsemen as Whoop-Up Downs shut down until 2010.

"Saturday's card featured a series of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Stake races with purses exceeding $85,000 and with our regular purses the horsemen ran for more than $100,000. Then Sunday, under ideal late Fall conditions, we passed the $100,000 mark in purse money again, due mainly to Alberta Bred Quarter Horse Futurity with its huge purse of $76,750. The big race, which saw the time trials go last weekend after a delay from the Thanksgiving weekend, was sponsored by Kay and Gary Haus."

Last season's rookie of the year, Teagan Oulton came through twice Saturday in big-money races, once for trainer Brant Laczo and then for William Leech. Teagan piloted Cristole home on top to capture the $16,210 Whoop-Up Downs Canadian Paint Championship in a thrilling 400-yard dash. She followed that win up aboard Classy Prospect in the $13,200 seven furlong three- year-old fillies Stake on the Leech horse.

In a 400-yard sprint Nate Smith was astride See The Feature, and that's exactly what the speedster did as he sprinted home first to make trainer Beverly Stockwell a happy lady. Kym Espy hit the 20 mark for the year Saturday (winding up with 23 wins after Sunday's card), and picked up a nice cheque as her share of the $16,200 purse for the Bullys Futurity. Oneforthecrew covered the six furlongs the quickest to give Pete Dubois a winner for Bar None Ranches.

The Dating Game for thoroughbred fillies and mares, with a stud service up for grabs, went to Robert McKenzie's Chatahochie. Sean Evans brought her home on top in this $13,200 race over seven furlongs.

Friday saw a pair of trainers who have not had stellar fall meets come up with back-to-back wins. Ray Gardipy took the first two races and Robert Gwilliam, who won the Rufus Goodstriker Memorial last weekend, won the fourth and fifth races. Ray then turned around and won another race Saturday with Mewow and Sunday with War On Terror.

ALONG THE BACKSTRETCH: The leading trainer for the meet was veteran Tom Rycroft with 15 victories, well up on Pete Dubois with 10 wins... Former RMTC leading rider Angelle Carter picked up a win as a trainer-owner Sunday with Okies Red Warrior... Sunday saw the running of the Jessi Payne Memorial won by War on Terror giving Ray Gardipy another winner thanks to rider Desmond Bryan... "Jessi Payne died Oct. 15, 2005 in a single vehicle rollover near Olds where she was attending Olds College," said RMTC Race Manager Dot Stein. "She was an avid rider and spent a great deal of time with her grandparents, Ivan and Shirley Clark. Shirley is the parade marshal for the RMTC and Ivan is a former jockey"... Grandpa Ivan, now a trainer picked up a win Saturday with Lot A Smoke... Jessi was involved in the Young Riders Development Circuit, nine years in 4-H and loved to trick ride with the Red Rodeo Cowboy Girls Trick Riding Troop. She was a member of the Alberta High School Rodeo Association from 2001- 2005 and an active member of the High Country High School Rodeo Club . . . She had just become a member of the Olds College Rodeo Team... "Jessi's motto was "Reach for the Stars" and she did. If someone told her she couldn't do something, she worked harder just to prove them wrong," said her mother BeaAnn Friesen.

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