Horse Racing Random

[ponchi101]

And... what is a gray filly?
A horse that is... gray? (you have to explain that one )

[dryrunguy]

And... what is a gray filly?
A horse that is... gray? (you have to explain that one )

Yes, a gray horse. They are my favorites. Other types of thoroughbreds are chestnut (a red/brown color--see Triple Crown Winner, Justify) or bay (dark brown color, see American Pharoah). Every now and then, you also see the super rare white thoroughbred (caused by a gene) or black thoroughbred.

Gray horses are interesting. If you see a gray thoroughbred, you know at least one parent was also a gray. If you mate a chestnut with a bay, you cannot get a gray foal.

Another fun fact about grays... If you mate a gray stallion to a gray mare, not only are you guaranteed to get a gray foal; every baby that foal goes on to sire or give birth to will also be gray. It is a genetic certainty. The same is not true if you breed two chestnut horses or two bay horses.

[dryrunguy]

Rock Along will return to the races Friday, November 19 in Race 6 (claiming price of $50K) at Churchill on DIRT at 5.5 furlongs with Florent Gereaux riding again. I all-capped dirt because she has only raced on turf to date. Her last race, which she won back in May with Florent on board, was 5 furlongs on turf. So she's stretching out a little bit more and switching surfaces. There's a chance of rain in the forecast in Louisville on Thursday morning, but if the forecast holds, it should be a good to fast dirt track.

She has been training very well (on dirt). At quick glance, there appears to be a decent amount of speed in the race. Speed is what got her the win in her last race, but this time she'll have company.

She also won't be the only one returning to the races after a long layoff. And that may not be all bad because most of the horses that have run recently have been running poorly.

Saffie Joseph is no longer listed as her trainer. Instead, the head of our partnership is listed as the trainer. I am not sure what that is about. Maybe Saffie has decided he's too big and too important for our small-scale britches. No matter. I have full confidence in Mary.

[dryrunguy]

Well, Rock Along's race went pretty much as expected. I was concerned about the amount of speed in this race, and that was justified. Rock Along was the speed of the speed and led for most of the race, but coming down the stretch, she began to weaken and got passed by horses that ran most of the race mid-pack. She finished sixth of nine. At this point in her development, she's a 5 furlong horse. Anything longer is too long for her--at least for now.

Given the quality of the field, it was a respectable performance, especially given the fact that she had not raced for 6 months.

Rock Along was not claimed (price was $50K), but three other horses were. Again, that underscores the quality of the field at a time of year when a lot of barns are hoping their 2-year-olds get claimed so they can make room for yearlings that will start racing early next year. And in all three cases, the three horses that were claimed went from one good barn to another good barn. Yup, it was a good field.

[dryrunguy]

2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, passed away suddenly this morning after a brief, light work at Santa Anita. There was no injury. He just collapsed after the work was over and had already expired by the time veterinarians reached him.

Ray Pollack reports a full autopsy will be performed. Track veterinarians will also collect hair samples and, hopefully, collect urine samples as well. His most recent race was a second place finish in the Breeder's Cup Classic at Del Mar the first Saturday in November. I saw that race. He looked fine and galloped out well.

[ti-amie]

2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, passed away suddenly this morning after a brief, light work at Santa Anita. There was no injury. He just collapsed after the work was over and had already expired by the time veterinarians reached him.

Ray Pollack reports a full autopsy will be performed. Track veterinarians will also collect hair samples and, hopefully, collect urine samples as well. His most recent race was a second place finish in the Breeder's Cup Classic at Del Mar the first Saturday in November. I saw that race. He looked fine and galloped out well.

[JazzNU]

2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, passed away suddenly this morning after a brief, light work at Santa Anita. There was no injury. He just collapsed after the work was over and had already expired by the time veterinarians reached him.

Ray Pollack reports a full autopsy will be performed. Track veterinarians will also collect hair samples and, hopefully, collect urine samples as well. His most recent race was a second place finish in the Breeder's Cup Classic at Del Mar the first Saturday in November. I saw that race. He looked fine and galloped out well.

Quite shocking and very sad. But relieved that it happened without a crowd there, I remain traumatized by Eight Belles' death.


Also, for real, had no idea Medina Spirit was officially still the Derby winner.

[dryrunguy]

2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, passed away suddenly this morning after a brief, light work at Santa Anita. There was no injury. He just collapsed after the work was over and had already expired by the time veterinarians reached him.

Ray Pollack reports a full autopsy will be performed. Track veterinarians will also collect hair samples and, hopefully, collect urine samples as well. His most recent race was a second place finish in the Breeder's Cup Classic at Del Mar the first Saturday in November. I saw that race. He looked fine and galloped out well.

Also, for real, had no idea Medina Spirit was officially still the Derby winner.

My understanding is that Medina Spirit's status as the Derby winner is still up in the air.

I am not sure where it fits into everything, but 2-year-olds are now starting to rack up 2022 Kentucky Derby points. But Baffert's 2-year-olds are excluded from the list. I'm not quite sure what this is about. My best guess is that it is a Churchill thing. Last I heard, Baffert is still banned there.

[dryrunguy]

Cryptic Creed will finally make his return to racing Sunday in the 10th race at Gulfstream Park. It will be on Gulfstream's new synthetic track, and he will go 1 mile and 70 yards--that's significantly longer than his first race (5 furlongs), so we'll see how that goes. It is a field of 11, and Cryptic Creed will break from the 10th gate--that's bad luck. Claiming price will be $16,000. He has been training well. All things considered, I'm hoping for a claim, but I'd be shocked if that happened. A good result on Sunday, however, could set the stage for a private purchase. We hope to sell him by the end of the year.

We're just waiting for the right race for Unconscious--she's ready to go. Unified Dreams should resume training in January and run his first race in February--probably at Tampa Bay Downs.
::

In other news, Danceswithbourbon will be entered in the Keeneland January Sale. We'll set a reserve on her (minimum acceptable purchase price) and hope we get it. If she doesn't command that price, we'll go to Plan B--trying to arrange a private purchase.

::

Meanwhile, you may remember the first two horses of which I owned shares and were sold privately in late 2020/early 2021. Tiz the Dude has retired from racing and now resides in Texas with an owner who just happens to be a veterinary assistant. That's a good deal for him. Bold Article remains in California. She ran 4 or 5 times for Vladimir Cerin at Santa Anita and Del Mar, but she never really fired for him. He couldn't figure her out. Plus, he was running her in races that were simply too tough for her.

In her last race at Santa Anita, she was claimed by a new trainer from northern California--Craig Dollase. I was fairly pleased to see this development because I've seen many of the Constitution babies do very well on synthetic tracks like Golden Gate. Sure enough, she finished second in her first race, third in her second race, and then on November 28 she finally won for the first time since November 26, 2020. She was claimed again, this time for $8000, after that race by a guy named Jack Steiner. I don't know much about him. But he seems to win a lot. If he's smart, he'll keep her right where she is and bump her up in class a little, maybe the $12,500 level.

There. Now everything is up-to-date.

[dryrunguy]

Cryptic Creed didn't just win his race. He won GOING AWAY! I am in shock. Complete and utter shock. I'll post the link as soon as Gulfstream's YouTube channel posts it.

[dryrunguy]

Still in shock! Good shock! Cryptic Creed is the 10 horse that stalked and pressured in second until the turn. The favorite, #1, got stuck on the rail off the pace and never had anywhere to go until it was too late. Phenomenal ride by Jesus Rios.

[Fastbackss]

When do you find out who claimed him?

(And also he won going away despite getting heading far from the rail)

[ti-amie]

Wow dry! Great race by Cryptic Creed and great work by his jockey. #proud

[JazzNU]

Awesome @dry! And I hope you put something down when it was 21-1.

[dryrunguy]

When do you find out who claimed him?

(And also he won going away despite getting heading far from the rail)

He was not claimed. Two horses were claimed in that race, but he wasn't one of them. See the chart: https://www.equibase.com/premium/chartE ... =USA&rn=10. So we still own him.

For some levity, it was a VERY slow race. The leader went 25.2 in the opening quarter mile. That is BEYOND pedestrian. But it was probably exactly what Cryptic Creed needed to finish the way he did. It was a large field, but it was not a good field. And that's not uncommon for a 2-year-old maiden claiming race where the connections have already given up on horses and want to sell them.

Now, he has no choice but to face other winners. Which will be a tall order given that his preliminary speed figure came in at only 55. But that is a dramatic improvement over the 19 speed figure he produced on his debut (when he accidentally started to swallow his tongue--twice).

He is a very confusing critter. I will guess that the leaders of the partnership will try to find him a race in the next 2-3 weeks at Gulfstream. At what distance or level? Good grief, I have no clue.