[color=green]Ch. Manhattan Project finally earned his title near the end of his fourth birthday. He also set his fifth (!) speed record. (Five Mayfair-managed horses have set records in the past three months… not bad for a barn with only twenty-two active racehorses!) He’s the third Mayfair horse this year to earn his title, alongside [color=green]Ch. Battle On and [color=red]Ch. Bye Sweetie, who are just finishing their 2yo seasons. As of last week, for the 2014 season, Mayfair has had horses in the top four 70% of the time. Here’s hoping the trend continues. ;D
I sent my two starters out yesterday just to get a baseline of how they ran and not really expecting too much from them. Both horses left me very pleasantly surprised. [color=green]Grim Augury, a three-year-old gelding, placed 2nd out of 6 in a 12.5f NW2 Allowance on turf, and [color=red]Ama Nesciri, our four-year-old mare, followed suit with another 2nd out of 6 in a 6.5f NW3 Allowance on turf. I’m very impressed with both of them - especially considering they both went off with 50:1 odds. I have planned to have both of them running in similar-distance maidens within the next two weeks if all goes according to plan.
[color=red]Callin Baton Rouge went out in a NW3 F/M race and placed a solid third in a race full of tough mares. The top two horses were in a dead heat, with Baton Rouge not far behind, so I am very pleased with her!
[color=blue]In Cold Blood is a colt we claimed from the 2yo claimer race. He’s the only non-gelded boy on our racing string! He did well before he came home to us, getting a good third as well in a race of colts. We are going to take it easy with him and do some good workouts before we start him again, I have no idea what to do with him but I am happy to have him on board!
[color=red]Outta The Blue was a slight disappointment for us, and our first so far though we know that 2yos are finicky. She was put out in a NW1 allowance for 2yos and placed a sad 8th out of a full field of colts and fillies. She had a very good speed factor so I think we may be on the right track with her, and maybe she just needs to mature. She is half stallion GCh. Simply Heroic and two other Ch rated horses so I think in the future she will be good!
[color=green]Pleasant Knight was our last out! He was one of our starter horses and he has done VERY well for us, placing 2nd in both of his starts, including this one! He was only a half a length off the winning colt and we think this gelding will continue to improve for us Here’s hoping for a maiden break his next time out!
Only had one horse run. [color=blue]Ch.LaForge ran to a 2nd place finish in the Gr.3 Tattersall’s Cup. This is his second time in the money in two stakes races. It also gave him his Ch. title making him our 3rd Ch. horse.
Since I joined FF some 4 years ago, I had never worked my horses (I know, fail). After talking with a friend, I decided to give it a shot since my ponies had been flailing around pretty badly this year. I am now a exercise-the-horses-freak. Best. Day. EVER.
Sent out 4 and they all hit the board!
[color=red]Miss Townsend ran in a 5.5F Allowance and came home a winner. She’s a great broodmare prospect for us (being by Mr. Townsend) and we might consider a stakes race for her in the near future.
[color=red]Luv a Drama is one of those headache 2yo’s but finished a solid third out of 7, and only lost second by a nose. She’s from Alydar’s last crop, and this latest start has given us some hope (and she’s a big 2yo, at 16hh!).
[color=blue]Space Rainbow ran 2nd in an 8F NW3 Allowance against other 3yo’s. He’s probably done for the year, so we’re hoping for a nice 4yo campaign since he IS stakes quality - just a matter of getting him back up there.
Our last out was [color=blue]Orkenstorm, who ran 3rd in a 9F SC Allowance against other 3yo’s. We’re still trying to figure out his niche, since he’s run well at 7.5F and 10.5F but not consistently. But this is the first time in 5 starts he’s finished above 4th, so we’re happy nonetheless
Besides the obvious benefits with fitness, getting experience with the jockey, trying out different equipment, etc…your horses will occasionally get a one-time-only boost to a racing stat. (So if, say, you breezed them and they went really well, they might get a one-use boost to their maximum speed for their next race.) So that can help, too.
Haha.