I decided to ask you guys about the filly; although she’s running fabulously, I wonder how would you manage her career. It was hard to determine if she has any preference as long as she was winning all her races but now I think that she prefers dirt.
Should I keep entering her in stakes only? Or find her an allowance race from time to time? How often should she race? She’s recovering very, very quickly… usually in less than a week. But her Natural Energy may need more time I guess…?
At the moment I found her ungraded stakes at Aqueduct at the beginning of December. We always have stakes for 3yo fillies (for the next year) somewhere in the neighbourhood, at Belmont, Aqueduct, Saratoga or Pimlico, but maybe I should ship her somewhere else?
I don’t know if I’m more curious about her future career or about her offspring but of course she will not be retired anytime soon. I’d love to switch her to steeplechase before breeding; that’s what I’m trying to do with all my stakes-level mares.
Thanks for any ideas!
If it were me I’d definitely wrap her career up for the year and give her 2-3 months off - she’s been running really regularly/frequently and her recent decline in performance (if you can count a 2nd/3rd as such) could be due to natural energy. That only recovers with time away from the track, which it doesn’t look like she’s had in large doses since the summer. (To be fair, you have been sending her home a lot between races, but if she doesn’t need to run in a particular race at a particular time, I’d give her a break just to rule that out as a concern.)
I try and give my stakes-level horses an allowance race every now and then - if they’re winning everything in sight, fair enough, but if performance starts to dip I want to give them an “easy” race as a break.
Race-wise I try and gradually try new things - if a horse has only been doing dirt, try a turf race at a similar distance. If they’ve only been doing sprints, try a longer distance. If I’m completely lost with a horse sometimes I’ll just throw them into a race that I’m “sure” won’t work - just to see if my assumptions are correct. Sometimes I’m really surprised (pleasantly or otherwise) by the outcome. I try and wait until at least age 4 (if not 5) to switch to jumps (unless they completely hate the flat or are bred specifically to jump) so that I can rule out immaturity as a reason for appearing less able on the flat.
(As a side note, I would love to lease her down the line if you’re willing. )
Pretty much what Shanthi said. I’d be putting her away for the year now and bringing her back sometime in Feb/early March. It’s sometimes really hard to stop with them when they’re running well but with a rest break hopefully she’ll come back even better
Thanks! I think I’ve never given my horses 2-3 months off! She’ll go on holidays… and a lease is possible of course! Her dam earned a higher title than her granddam and I wish she could beat even that. It would be a very cool line.
So I’m back on this topic… since I posted this question in November, the filly was only lightly raced/trained, only two races this year, and in today’s race she had the most disappointing result, although the track and its condition should be suitable for her.
I guess I’ll try some allowances before entering her in stakes again…?
I’m not super successful in this game, but this is what I see - I think she isn’t having time to settle and/or she’s tired. When I look at her shipping record, she’s going back and forth quite a lot, and arriving at the track just before races and then getting whisked away. She’s been shipped 8 times since January, which is a lot so she could just be super exhausted on NE.
She could also just be an early bloomer. When she’s one of the oldest 2yos (assuming she matured early), she stands out against the immature babies. Once they start catching up and becoming more mature, the difference in abilities isn’t so great.
After 2 races as a 3yo I wouldn’t necessarily claim that as the cause, but I’ve certainly suffered through a fair number of brilliant-2yos-turned-disappointing-3yos. I’m looking at you, Bravado.
She did well in her first race this year, a few flop races is not unusual - i’d say maturation closed the gap so she’s no longer dominating but I definitely wouldn’t give up just yet - she’s still showing nice times.
I have also found that some of my 2yo’s that run well will give up as 3yo’s but tend to come back at 4 or 5, though not always. Try some allowances whilst you play with equips maybe.
Thanks! I’ve been shipping her just for training, hoping that she gets more experience with jockey etc., cause as a 2yo she was more raced than trained… we’ll see how she does in allowances. Thanks guys!
but now I think that she prefers dirt.
but of course she will not be retired anytime soon. I’d love to switch her to steeplechase before breeding; that’s what I’m trying to do with all my stakes-level mares.
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