[align=center][center][color=purple]BLACK TYPE PRESS[/align]
[align=center][color=purple]Vol. 1; Issue 1[/align]
Welcome To The BLACK TYPE PRESS, Final Furlong’s own newspaper written by FF players!! The staff:
[align=center]Kunigal-Manager, Horse of the Hour & Advertisements;
Dawn-Hall of Fame;
Jade-Breeding;
Jason-Race Analysis/Predictions[/align]
For more information on the BLACK TYPE PRESS please contact [color=maroon]Kunigal.[/center]
[align=center][color=red]Up and Comming Stallion by Dawn[/align]
GCh. Highland Laird
This spring while looking over the stallions contemplating who I was going to breed to, I found a stallion that has been slightly overlooked. GCh. Highland Laird. Bred by Final Furlong and owned by Stillwater Farms, Highland Laird was foaled in 1998 sired by the Chef-de-Race Stallion Highland Rouge.
GCh. Highland Laird was race 4 time as a 2 year old Placing no lower than 3rd. Winning a total of $145,000.
5f Dirt GIII for 2yo 1st
7f Dirt GII for 2yo 1st
7f Dirt GI Black Tie Affair Memorial for 2yo 3rd Beaten by Highland Raven 1st, and Highland Pride 2nd
7f Dirt GI Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Colts for 2yo 2nd beaten by Highland Pride 1st
Then as a 3 year old he was switched to Steeplechase and raced 8 times, placing no lower than 4th.Winning a total of $1,095,00
5f SC GII for 3yo+ 1st set a speed record of 0:56.0
6f SC GI Chase The Wind Stakes for 3yo+ 1st
10f SC GI Colonial Cup for 3yo+ 2nd Beaten by Highland Pride 1st
11f SC GI Heritage Stakes for 3yo+ 2nd Beaten by Highland Pride 1st
12f SC GI Historical Cup for 3yo+ 3rd Beaten by Highland Pride 1st & Valid Wager
7f SC GI Vision & Verse Stakes for 3yo+ 3rd Beaten by Highland Pride 1st & Killing Time 2nd
9f SC GI Rolls Royce Handicap for 3yo+ 4th Beaten by Highland Pride 1st, Killing Time 2nd & Valid Wager 3rd
5f SC GI Breeder’s Cup SC Sprint for 3yo+ 1st
Although he had a brilliant race career, when sent to stud he was overlooked by breeders for ICH. Highland Pride, also sired by Highland Rouge and Highland Laird’s nemisis. Siring only 6 foals between 2003 & 2005 they have garnered a total of $13,667,350! The most noted of which are:
Ch. I’m A Foxx a retired Stakes winning Steeplechaser
ICh. Spectacular Lady (out of the Spectacular Bid daughter, Spectacular Times) now a broodmare, a 7 times Stakes winning Steeplechaser
WCh. High Chances (who is still racing), a 22 times Stakes winning Sprinter
NCh. Eternal Lady (Who is still racing), an 8 times Stakes winning Steeplechaser.
With this kind of record I had to go see this stallion, so I called Stillwater Farms and made an appointment to go see Highland Laird and talk to his owner Shanthi.
As I pulled into the visitors parking area, I was greeted by a young woman that had a bright smile and a welcome hand shake. Shanthi was more than happy to give me a quick tour before meeting Highland Laird. The horses were breath taking, walking around the farm seeing the pastures with mare & foals, We talked about some of the upcoming Laird yearlings, A full sister to ICh. Spectacular Lady, Quite A Lady is high on the list of hopefuls for the 2011 race season along with the Olympic Colors daughter Tartan owned by Clover Spring Stables.
As much as I enjoyed the tour, I was anxious to meet the man I had come to see. As we approached the Stallion barn I asked Shanthi about Laird as a race horse, “I’ve always thought of him as my “team player” horse…looking at his race record, you’ll see he frequently came in second or third to other Stillwater horses, such as Highland Raven and Highland Pride. He always did his job, never worse than 4th, but he ended up playing second string to other horses a lot. Though he finally ended up specializing in sc sprints, which Raven and Pride didn’t do, so he escaped them a bit that way.”
I then asked What was the deciding factor to stand him at stud? “Bloodlines and heart, mostly. Like I said, he ended up playing second string to Pride a lot, so he wasn’t quite as “obvious” a choice to send to stud, but he had talent on the track, so I figured he deserved a chance. At the time he and Pride were the only Rogue sons at stud, too, so there wasn’t pressure to not retire him due to oversaturation of Rogue lines in the game.”
As we entered ths barn, the first horse to greet us was What It’s Worth. I’d watched many of his foals win on the track and was humbled by his regal presence. Then Highland Laird was led out for me to meet.He was beautiful, a rich bay with a star and snip, standing 16.2h he was impressive but not intimidating.I as usual had apples & carrots in my pockets, which he found instantly. As Laird muched the goodies I had for him, I asked Shanthi How is his personality and what is his daily routine? “Pretty laid back, actually. He’s not afraid to let you know when he wants or doesn’t want something, but he’s not obnoxious, like some of our boys. For a stud, he’s pretty pleasant to work around…he knows his job, enjoys it, and lets us do what we need to do to keep him at it.” “We feed everyone at the barn at 7. The studs get groomed after that, and depending on whether they have girlfriends waiting for them, either go off to stud duty, or get turned out in the pasture. In the afternoons, we try and get most of them out under saddle for an hour or so - it gives them another “job” to do and keeps them interested in life. After that they get turned out for another couple of hours to play, and then it’s dinnertime and bed. Pretty relaxing day, if I do say so myself.”
I walked with her to the paddock that was Laird’s for the day, overlooking the yearling pastures, and asked What do you consider his best lines to cross on? “Pretty much anything, honestly. His damline isn’t in the game, so there’s no concern for inbreeding there…obviously there is when crossing a Rogue-line mare to him, but it worked with High On Love by Highland Pride, so it can be done if you’re careful. His best foals have been from outcross mares with few in-game bloodlines, actually, which leads me to believe that he can only throw BETTER foals with horses whose bloodlines are solid in the game, What’s It Worth obviously has a good “nick” with Highland Rogue, Planet Hollywood is super solid, Rainbow Quest, etc. And the studs keep getting better, so the newer boys would make good crosses as well once their daughters retire from racing.”
“His foals to race so far have been pretty versatile…Spectacular Lady won on dirt and SC from 5f to 10f; Eternal Lady has won on dirt/turf/SC from 7f to 15f; and even the sprinting specialist, High Chances, has stretched out from 5f to 8f easily which is the longest he’s tried to date.”
“I think Laird is a really versatile stud…he can cross with pretty much anything, his foals can handle pretty much anything though I think he, and they, would do best at jumping, and they can do it forever…High Chances is 6 this year, and Eternal Lady is 5…both are going strong.”
I thanked Shanthi for her hospitality and the oppertunity to meet this wonderful stallion. She invited me back anytime to meet any of the horses at Stillwater Farms. I drove out of the driveway with a new found respect for an overlooked stallion, GCh. Highland Laird, and a resolve to book a mare to him in 2011.
[align=center][color=red]Breeding By Jade[/align]
[align=center][color=red]Races by Jason[/align]
[align=center][color=red]Horse Of The Hour[/align]
The Horse of the hour is…
Name of Horse: Gotta Go
Gender: Stallion
YOB: 2006
Owner: KindleHope Farms
Career Achievements: 50(43)-15(11)-11(9)-9(Cool-3(3) $6,486,500 Points: 801
Gr.1s Wood Memorial, Queen’s Plate Stakes, Travers Stakes, South Australian Derby, Toorak Handicap, Melbourne Cup
Career Winnings: 15
Current Status: Racehorse
Sire: Go For Dash
Dam: Times Ebony
Nominated By: Jason of Vaucluse Farms
Why does this horse deserve the ‘Horse of the Hour’: This guy is a very diverse racer. He has won at all distances from sprint races to staying races. He’s won multiple grade one races on both surfaces. His record for 2010 is outstanding being 9(9)-5(5)-2(2)-1(1)-0(0) with $2,376,000 in earnings. In the Hall Of Fame he is third for earnings (2010), seventh for earnings (2008+), ninth for earnings (overall), equal second for stakes wins with five wins (2010), and third for points (2010). He is definitely one of the best 4-Y-O+ males racing this season having proved his class on many occasions this year.
I picked Gotta Go because has had a very successful career in the racing industry and that is important!! I think that he will be an amazing stallion!!
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