Horses associated with Osoyoos’ Desert Park Equine Facility and Racetrack put on a show at the Manitoba derby this year.
Mongolian Wind, a racehorse trained by Desert Park trainers Wade Eno, Andrea Cruickshank and Lorne Fraser, won the main race at the big Canadian show, putting up a great race according to Cruickshank. He is set to race at the Assiniboia racetrack on September 7.
Another Desert Park horse was also expected to put up a great race but had to be scratched due to a stomach bug. Sixty Shades of Blue is a young filly who Cruickshank is excited to see race next week.
“She is doing much better and there is another race for her against the boys on Wednesday,” said Cruickshank. “I can’t wait to watch this little filly run, she’s got lots of speed.”
Postman and Shez Wicked Fast out of the Desert Park facility also put up great races, said the trainer, finishing second and fourth respectfully.
Cruickshank said she is proud of the horses coming out of the Desert Park and believes it is a top of the line facility for training.
“It’s just such a nice place to develop the horses. You have everything you need there,” she said. “I love it there.”
Cruickshank said there’s one thing in particular that sets Desert Park apart from other facilities.
“(The horses) came out of Desert Park just super fit and ready to go because the weather is so nice, so you can spring train and get a lot of miles put into your horse out there. That’s the advantage of Desert Park is the weather, by far.”
She and the rest of the training team plan to make Desert Park the training facility for young, up and coming horses in the near future. Until then, the track will continue to train and develop quality horses of all ages.
