Big-hearted Manitoba mare the 'Assiniboia Assassin' wins $100K California race

A Manitoba horse ran away with a win this weekend at a big-time U.S. race worth $100,000.

Escape Clause, a Manitoba-bred mare, won La Canada at Santa Anita Park in southern California on Saturday. She was born andbred in Russell, Man.,by the award-winning Cam Ziprick and Arnason Farms. She's owned by Manitoban Don Schnell, Ziprick said.

The wingrabbed attention in horseracing publications, some of which report she's believed to be the first Manitoba-bred mare to win therace in Santa Anita history.

Her big-time win earned her the nickname the Assiniboia Assassin, a nod to her races at Winnipeg's Assiniboia Downs.

"Iguess because she won in such a dominant fashion," Ziprick said. "We're all still smiling."

Ziprick said he knew from her lineage she'd be a successful horse, but he didn't anticipate she'd be winning on the U.S. graded-stakes circuit.

"She was a decent-bred mare, and she was a very good horse in Winnipeg," he said. "But the more she ran, the better she got. And the more challenges I gave her, the more she overcame."

Escape Clause, whose parents are Going Commando and Danger Pay, was an impressive filly withmuscle in all the right places, Ziprick said. But when he sold her for $5,000 a few years ago, he didn't know how big she'd win.

"Nobody can tell. Nobody can measure how big the ticker is," Ziprick said. "I mean, she just has a big heart and loves to do it."