Slacker 2yo, 3yo Hopefuls

Racing
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We all have those two year olds who couldn’t find their feed bucket without large neon signs and a bread crumb trail. The ever-hopefuls with stellar pedigrees and ADD tendencies. Or those high-priced yearlings that are still eating money rather than making. Not everyone from our “2yo’s of [Year]” thread come through.

What are some current 2 year olds you hope will transform into better 3yo’s? Any horses you hope will wizen up before the Triple Crown? Or maybe a 2yo who is bred to bloom late and you’re counting on a good 3yo season.

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I currently have 3 that I hope will find their feet in their 3YO year.

[color=blue]Major Victory is a July colt by gold-ranked GCh. Major’s Flight and out of silver-ranked Man O’War mare, Ch. Fairly Persistent. He has 3 older brothers, all who have matured late 2YO/3YO, so I’m hoping he picks it up a bit next season.

Next is [color=red]Fractal, by NCh. Changeling and out of one of my favorite mares, Ch. Limelight. She’s been my most successful 2YO, with a 2nd and 3rd out of 4 starts. Hoping this is a sign that things will only get better from here.

Final hopeful is [color=red]Magician’s Rose, by gold-ranked ICh. Magic Glory and silver ranked Crytorose. 3YO sister Luck of the Rose seems to have matured nicely this year, so I’m hoping Magician’s Rose will follow her example.

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Ha… almost all of them?  ::)

I do hope that [color=blue]Oh Hay will be more mature next year… his dam was a terrible 2yo, but his sire was stakes level… however, they both did well as 3yo’s so I hope he’ll do the same. He’s born in March so should really be ready soon…

[color=red]Yay or Nay - this girl is still unraced because of her height. I didn’t even send her to training. She’s not supposed to be very tall but still has a hand to grow; which may never happen of course. Her dam was a winner and stakes placed as a 2yo, but she also did well at four.

I bought [color=blue]Brand X for a small fortune :stuck_out_tongue: because he is, indeed, very well bred and I wanted to support a small stable. He has yet to win a race but apart from that, he wasn’t always such a loser in those 10 races this year.

Another one is [color=blue]Zooming Through. His dam is a mystery. She finally understood the racing game when she was four already; and confirmed that by winning Gr. 1 Breeders’ Cup SC Distaff Endurance. Sire also earned most points and purse money as a 4yo so I guess this boy is still going to be a baby next year; but we already started racing him lightly because he reached the expected height (almost…).

And there is [color=red]Rodarte which I just claimed from FF. When you get a horse like this, you hope it will be really good… by FFCh. I’m No Fool and out of gold ranked dam. For now, she was 3rd once and dead last in her first race for us. Now she’s having a short rest and we’ll soon send her for some serious training.

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Two claims from this year I’m hoping will turn into nice three year olds. [color=red]Vampris is out of a silver-ranked Danzig mare and from the same line as NCh. Boldness Shows, GCh. No Sudden Moves, WCh. Subzero Justice, and an old horse of ours NCh. Rocket Fuel. She was unplaced in 5 starts this year. Her dam was FF-campaigned her entire career and didn’t have the best overall record, but Dark Demand foals seem to do best as they get older.

Our other claim this year is [color=red]Acatour, a TakeMeToHollywood daughter out of a gold mare by A.P. Indy. She raced 14 times this year and hit the board twice. I’m thinking she’ll do best with rest + gradual training before hitting the track; three of her MSW half-sibs did best at 3+.

[color=blue]Strongheart is a late July baby unplaced in 3 starts this year. By Strider out of an unranked Whirlaway mare, he definitely comes across as a late bloomer. It’s hard to say how exactly he’ll do, as his dam only produced one another foal who is unraced, and his dam’s half-sisters have not produced any foals.

Out of one of my favorite mares, [color=blue]Jawbreaker managed a 2nd and 3rd in 4 starts so not bad, but he’s definitely bred to, well, be bad at two. His sire, Drum Major, was terrible at 2 but really took off at 3+. Jawbreaker’s half-brother, Get the Axe, was winless at 2 and his half-sister won half her starts at 3.

Finally, I’m hoping [color=blue]Brawny Locket will pick up at three. By Giant’s Causeway out of an unranked The Black mare, I like the Sire/Broodmare Sire combo but the best he’s managed is a 4th and a lot of rough workout comments. He is also a late July baby, so I’m thinking he’ll do better next year.

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I’ve had a couple 2yos do well this year, but I really hope they pick up in their 3yo year.

[color=blue]Suvin IV, I paid a lot of money for lolol He’s by Nightfight and out of a silver ranked mare, Snowcapped. She has a MSW out of The Black and a MSW out of Nightfight, so I’m hoping to see the same from Suvin!! He did manage a win this year, but has mostly bombed. I’ve sent him home for the rest of the year.

[color=red]Louboutin, another horse I paid a lot of money for lolol She’s by I’m Not Fool and out of an unranked, but MSW & multi-millionaire mare, Uncharted. She’s won twice this year, and I tried her in a few ungraded stakes, but the best she’s done was 5th. I’m hoping she’ll be an oaks contender next year, and I’ve already shipped her to Santa Anita to train after have a month or so off.

[color=blue]Rock or Bust, I claimed from Lochiedo earlier this year. He’s by Belanso and out of a Platinum mare, A Rare Beauty. She has a MSW by Giant’s Causeway. He’s raced pretty often this year, so he’s spent most of his time with me at home.

[color=blue]Emoji, is another claimer from earlier this year. I’m really excited about him because he’s half to GCh. Zadar. He’s favored 2nd this year, so let’s hope he gets better!

[color=red]Stiletto, I bought from the yearling auction last year and has been a pretty consistent runner. She’s already won twice this year. She’s out of a silver ranked mare, who has a SP foal by What’s Your Point.

[color=blue]Hollywood Linen, since I missed a chance to breed one of my mares to Foolhardy, I was really excited to claim this guy. He’s the only foal out of an unranked mare, but her dam is Gold ranked, so hoping she’s a good producer! He’s won twice this year, and came in 5th in an ungraded stakes.

Okay so this list isn’t totally all my “slackers” just more the ones I’m excited about. I noticed going through my 2yos that not all of them actually suck! hahaha
I have a few more I may add later.

@Hilda, I put in a claim for Rodarte! So jealous haha

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Can I just say all of them?  Ha.
Truth be told, most of ours are maidens or are still very lightly raced. We also have two stakes winners and two stakes placed already, so it’s not all bad!

[color=red]Glowstick is by Foolhardy out of NCh. Afterglow (x Affirmed). With talent on both sides, I’m hoping she matures into something amazing. Mom didn’t flourish until age 4, though, so I’m not surprised she hasn’t hit the winner’s circle just yet.

[color=blue]Grecian God is by Foolhardy out of HOTY ICh. Twilight Embers, making him 1/2 to our stallion, Fight The Twilight. He has only started once and did come in 2nd, but I’m hoping he hits his stride next year.

[color=red]Maria Von Trapp is by Von Lichtenstein out of platinum-rated Ch. Keria Toon. 4 out of her 5 older siblings are stakes quality (1 SP, 1 SW, and 2 MSW). She is already a winner, but only 2 wins out of 4 starts.

[color=red]Sing Of Heroes is by V is for Victory out of platinum-rated Sovereign Song. 4 out of her 5 older siblings are stakes quality (1 SW, 3 MSW), so the potential is there!

[color=red]Uptown Funk is by Witness out of gold-rated Uptown Girl. She is 1/2 to two MSWs and one SW.

These are definitely the ones I’m eyeballing most for next year!

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Alyssa, where do you find all these platinum mares?!

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Luck!!!  That’s the only way to explain it!!
When I started, I couldn’t afford fancy bloodlines or compete with the bigger stables, so I took chances on mares who didn’t have much proven. Most of my best mares are ones who were unraced/never ran on flat/never raced at the ideal ages of 2/3 (so no idea if they would have been any good).

I currently have the following:
Keria Toon (created), claimed in her first ever race at age 4 - I took a chance without ever knowing if she would have been successful at 2yo/3yo
Sovereign Song (created), bought at age 5 as a multi-winner who had never touched the flat
Twilight Embers (Irish River x created mare), a Color War prize, a broodmare carrying her 3rd foal (so unproven offspring) but a HOTY title
(now retired) Dixie Love (created), bought at age 6 as a one-time winner who never raced at 2yo/3yo (so I hoped she would have been amazing then and would produce winners at 2&3)

I also sold the following before I knew she’d be platinum:

Slew Copy (created), bought at age 5 with just 3 total starts, never ran over flat