Wins [color=blue]G.Ch. Lohan, (4yo, GCh. My Lucky Day x Thinking of Dreams) 1/10 in the G3 Ajax Stakes in Australia. He earned his “GCh” title with this performance. He needs 2 more SW, one of which must be a G1W, to be stud-qualified.
Seconds [color=blue]G.Ch. No Guts No Glory, (4yo, ICh. Magic Glory x Risk Away) 2/14 in the G2 Kelso Breeders’ Cup at Belmont, in which stable-companion [color=red]Ch. Perfect Princess was 3rd. [color=blue]G.Ch. No Guts No Glory earned his “GCh” title with this performance. [color=blue]Ch. Executive Dreamer, (3yo, ICh. Alley Cat x Executive Session) 2/9 in an OA at Woodbine, in which stable-companion [color=blue]Ch. Superdocious was 3rd.
Thirds [color=red]Ch. Perfect Princess, (4yo, GCh. Worth My While x Celtic Glory) - see above. [color=blue]Ch. Superdocious, (3yo, ICh. Worth the Wait x Whistlin’ Dixie) - see above.
Fourths [color=red]Major’s Luck, (2yo, GCh. Major’s Flight x Lucky Lucky Lady) 4/9 in an NW3 at Woodbine.
Also Ran [color=blue]Gaudy Night, (2yo, ICh. Prince of Wonder x Take the Challenge) 11/14 in a Maiden at Woodbine.
Four of today’s runners will be heading for the Breeders’ Cup for their next race, baring injury:-
[color=blue]G.Ch. Lohan in the Dirt Mile.
[color=blue]G.Ch. No Guts No Glory in the Mile.
[color=blue]Ch. Superdocious in the Classic.
[color=red]Major’s Luck in the Juvenile Turf Fillies.
[color=green]Hero Complex (4yo, Magic Glory) ran 1st in an allowance. This is his third consecutive win. His stablemate [color=red]Matins (4yo, Irish River) ran 2nd, just a nose behind.
[color=green]Hoppin’ Harry (4yo, Dark Continent) won his SC allowance race, his fourth consecutive win.
Question for you guys: how do you decide if a horse is ready bigger, more expensive races or not?
You don’t “decide” - If you can afford the extra Entry Fees, then just take the gamble. If I owned the two horses you mentioned, I would definitely try them in Stakes races next.
[color=green]Hoppin’ Harry may be a problem though, as, apart from the Breeders’ Cup and Breeders’ Stakes races, there are only a couple of SC Stakes races left for the year (I think there is only 1 other race open to geldings, at Aqueduct on October 16th). I did notice that he is on the Qualifiers lists for both the Breeders’ Cup SC Classic (20th) and Breeders’ Cup SC Endurance (13th). If he ran in one of them, he would only need to finish in the first four and you’d make back his Entry Fee.
BTW - Congrats on [color=green]Hero Complex. Even though we weren’t his breeder, we own both his Sire, [color=blue]ICh. Magic Glory, and his Dam, [color=red]Ancient Honour. His successes can only help to boost their Breed Rankings.
Agree with Lewis, if you have the money to enter a stakes race and you can find something that fits your horse surface/distance wise then have a go. BC races are quite expensive but some of the lower grade stakes aren’t always any more expensive than some of the higher value allowance races. I remember in my second year I entered my starter mare in an ungraded stakes as the only suitable allowance race meant I needed to ship her and the stakes option was actually cheaper. She surprised me by winning that race but even if she hadn’t I wouldn’t have lost any more money than if I’d entered the allowance race instead. If you can find something suitable and affordable it’s worth a try, you might find you’ve got some stakes level horses. If not you can always go back to allowances with them. I don’t see any harm in trying especially if they’ve been performing well lately provided you don’t repeatedly run a horse in stakes that never runs well in them as you only end up losing money.
Thanks for the insights, I appreciate it! I guess I’ll give them a go at a stakes race in the near future. Breeder’s cup might be a bit too expensive for me, unfortunately. Can’t wait to see how they’ll do!
[color=red]Ch. Girlfight (4yo, Nightfight) won her OA.
[color=green]Ch. Notmyfirstrodeo (5yo, Temptation) won his OA.
[color=blue]Ch. Zadar (3yo, What’s Your Point) won the G2 Kelso Breeders’ Cup, remaining undefeated for the year. This is his fourth stakes win this year.
PLACES
[color=blue]Ch. Cuchulain (4yo, Irish River) was second in the G3 Ajax Stakes.
SHOWS
[color=red]NCh. Afterglow (5yo, Affirmed) seems to be gearing down for retirement with a 3rd in her OA. However, it earned enough points to change her title, making her the first horse I’ve ever gotten to NCh. title!! I’m sad to think she won’t be racing next year, but I’m super excited about the achievement.
[color=blue]Olympic Torch (2yo, Worth My While) was 3rd in his NW2, his second lifetime start.
OFF THE BOARD
Ripped Jeans (2yo, Witness) was 6th in her maiden, but his get tend to do better at 3/4, so I’m not too worried.
Time For Belles (5yo, Slew O’Scots) was entered into the G2 Queen of the Turf Stakes on a complete whim, where she finished a predictable 6th. I purchased her as a brood prospect this year and am still figuring her out, though I suspect her best years might be behind her. I already want her in my brood band due to pedigree, but I’d like her to earn it on her own merit as well, ideally.
