We had a AWESOME day here. We sent out 2 older horses.
Silver 'n Shine (he’s 6) went out in a SC allowance and he WON by 9 lengths!! Our first win of the year! (& our 4th win since we started a year ago).
Please Hold has had a time figuring out where he wants to be. Dirt for sure but his distance lets just say he can;t make up the mind on that or equiptment. He was a little lower than i like to run on energy (only a B-C) but the claimer suited him so i took the gamble, and he finished fourth. SO a long rest and then race again and then home.
Once again, didn’t do so well, although the new gelding I claimed placed 2nd out of 6. US Marshall placed 5th out of 6 and Penny Lane…well I can’t remember what she placed, so obviously it wasn’t something to be impressed with. They’re all getting sent home for some R&R.
Battle Hill sent 4 to post today… some good and some not so good results…
First out was [color=red]Polar Star 6th/6 in NW3 9f on dirt, she’s been a pretty consistan runner, today she was just not feeling it… We’ll give her a few more races and see how she goes…
Second out was [color=red]Soifon a created mare we claimed last year, and who started out this year by winning the Gr. 2 San Gorgonio Handicap, today we sent her out in a 10f allowance on the grass and she was 6th/6, it’s her kind of track I just think the distance was a little too much… she seems to like the classic distance…
Next we claimed the 3 yo filly [color=red]Diamonora… she’s from created lines (I created her… so sentimental fave)… she’s only run 5 times… so we’ll give her a rest at the farm and see what she does later next month…
Third and fourth out for us was [color=blue]Via Crucis and [color=red]Metallic Jade (another of my creations)… I usually don’t put 2 horses in the same race… but Jade was ready to go… and there wasn’t another race she could go in… so we slipped her in last minute… they came home 1st and 2nd out of a 12 horse field in the 7.5 f on turf Gr. 3 Cicada Stakes… This was Ch. Via Crucis 2nd Stakes win in a row and Jades first placing in a stakes… and Battle Hill’s first One Two Punch in a race… Both are top turf sprinters… (I seem to have alot of turf horses… and sprinters)…
AHHA! So it was you Dawn, at least for one of them anyway. I keep seeing all these Jade named horses running around(Metallic Jade, Sky Jade, JumpJivin’Jade(that one makes me laugh), Jaded Affair, Jade Suade…etc and the especially weird JudelovesJade which is weird because if I was a boy I was going to be named Jude. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me but I have no idea who named these guys and I in no way have a monopoly on the word Jade(name away!) I’ve just been curious as to where they’re all coming from. (I did name Jaded, a filly born on my birthday, but after she royally sucked I decided it was a bad idea. What kind of racehorse does well being named Jaded anyway? So I gave her to Rhi-her problem now-j/k).
Anyway, my raceday was full of surprises, mostly in a good way.
Ebony Lass fell apart in her race which she probably wasn’t ready for. Still, retiring her is beginning to become more and more appealing.
Cool Trick also fell apart in the G2 San Luis Rey Handicap. She may need more workouts for next time…I guess. She would also make a nice broodmare, especially if she’s going to race like this.
Lahar brightened up the day with his first win, a 10.5f turf NW3. It was his longest race to date and the fact that he’s doing so well on turf is leading me to believe this pretty lightly raced and newly gelded boy just might(I don’t want to jinx it) be like his full sister NCh.Arda who loved longer turf races. I hope he’s consistent like her too. I’ll be looking for a good turf stakes for him soon.
Touch ‘N’ Go was the highlight of the day, surprising the crap out of me(I thought she was tired and maybe ready for home) when she won the 5f G2 AJ Moir against the boys…her 2nd time beating the boys in a stakes race in a row! Whoo-hoo! She won pretty easily and the fact that this is the 2nd time its happened has me thinking about sending her to Dubai for the Golden Shasheen. Problem is that race is only 7 days away and I’d be breaking my own rules about racing a horse more than 4x without farm rest. Still, I haven’t been pushing her as hard as I usually do so if she recovers pretty fast I might send her over there…
How did I end up with a barn full of stakes sprinters? I have at least 4 right now and I don’t know if its a good thing or bad thing…
Oops apparently is a late bloomer in life. I purchased him as a 2yo in August of 2009 and raced him through February of 2011 when I made the decision to sell him as he wasn’t running well for me I hoped someone else might be able to get some nice performances from him. Later that year I found him back on the sale pages and made the decision to buy him back. He was struggling home in most races and it wasn’t looking like he would improve much considering he was a 4yo. I was fond of this guy so I figured to race him until he was ready to retire and then let him babysit the yearlings at the farm. Much to my surprise the his first two races back under my silks he went out and won and continued to be running well late last year though he still showed no inclination to running in stakes. He has to run in open allowances and above though so I continued to enter him in stakes with no expectations. His first start this year in the GI Barretts Stakes seemed to prove that when he struggled home in the bottom group. I couldn’t find any routing turf allowances for him for his next start so to keep him fit I entered him in the Ungraded San Marino Handicap. To my shock he made a big run and finished 2nd/10 behind one of my other runners.
Today he was entered in the Ungraded Flag Down Stakes and I had hope that maybe his last performance wasn’t just a lucky fluke and apparently it wasn’t. He ran just in behind the leaders and then ran past them all to win. He may be nothing more that a lower level stakes performer but for a horse who was looking less than impressive last year this is big.
First, we claimed [color=green]Rough N’ Ready from his SC claimer. Created lines, first start, he ran 1st until he DNFed in the final furlong to finish 4th. Next start will be a touch shorter for him, I think. I picked him out because I am a country fan and all I had in my head when I was scanning through the post parade was Trace Adkins’ “Rough n Ready”.
Then was my only entry of the day. Recently claimed [color=red]Littleover went out in a SC starter. She was undefeated going into the race and was winning at the sixteenth pole but couldn’t quite hold on, finishing 2nd. Her record now stands at 4–3-1-0. I think she was a little happier in her flat races before I claimed her out of her SC claimer and will probably switch her back once that feature goes into place, but not a bad effort here at all!
Between the 2 year olds and the claimers, the shedrow is getting a little full!
Oh man…it’s been a while since I’ve sucked this bad…
Aside from Indian Summer placing 2nd in his NW2, everyone tanked. Northern Gentleman was 7th in a maiden, and Born To Run and Storm Of Swords were both unplaced in the turf Stakes I had them in. Gah! Oh well.
We had a good day at Vaucluse. To summarise (I feel too lazy to write everything out) the two highlights were our two claimed horses having their first starts with us. Misty flew to the states and won her allowance and Five Star Hotel had a great win in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup b[/b]. It’s always great when you claim a horse for $30,000 and she wins a $250,000 stakes! Other runners finished fourth (stakes), one fifth (allowance) and two sevenths (both stakes).
Thanks His dam is Promise Land and he was originally Landslide but I thought Lahar sounded cooler(think very big, very scary landslide, often a hazard after volcanic eruptions-that’s the geology nerd in me). Hopefully he turns out to deserve the upgrade!
Coleman Branch had a somewhat decent day. We sent out five and were relatively pleased with the results.
[color=red]Afterlife ran 3rd/7 in a 6f Allowance, making it her 6th show. Trying some different equipment next time to see if she’ll win again.
[color=red]Notice Me finished at a dismal 10/14 in her 6.5f Maiden. With her record on the flat at 6-0-0-0, I’m thinking she might need to try it over the jumps.
[color=red]Still Fleeting, a recent claim with pretty lines on her sire’s side of the family, bombed by finishing 6/6 in a 5.5f Allowance. I think we’re going to try her on the flat a few more times then switch her to steeplechasing since she has yet to win.
Next for the boys.
Sent out [color=blue]Lil Prince and [color=blue]Highland Gamble (a fairly recent $5k claim) in the 9.5f Flag Down Stakes. Lil Prince’s 5th place finish was a little disappointing, but he hasn’t run much lately and is just coming back from a rest. Gamble took the best finish of the day, however, as he placed 2nd after running 4-3-3-8. Considering his pedigree I shouldn’t be surprised, but it was great to see that “Stakes Placed” on his page.
First up was Beautiful Dancer in a NW3. She easily wired her race, winning by over 8 lengths. She has 2 wins and a 3rd from 3 starts this year, so we’re excited.
Next up was Eleanor Rigby making her 3yo debut. She made a huge move from the outside to win her race by 7 lengths. She’s no longer a maiden, and we’re looking forward to seeing how she does with allowances.
Four runners, two 2nd’s, a fourth and a fifth. The biggest downer was Desperado returned with swelling in his right front leg and will probably be out for a month or so.
Good day here, just two out, and coincidently they were in the same race.
[color=blue]Indy’s Class ran a solid second (2/13) in a 7.5f allowance at Aqueduct. It was his third lifetime start and first time on the board, so I’ll look for more allowances to put him in to see if he keeps up the good running.
[color=red]Grand Thunder was in the same race and ran a respectable 5/13. I’m still figuring her out, but I think she has some promise.
(I did name Jaded, a filly born on my birthday, but after she royally sucked I decided it was a bad idea. What kind of racehorse does well being named Jaded anyway? So I gave her to Rhi-her problem now-j/k). 
