Horse Racing Random

[dryrunguy]

Unified Dreams will race 8/2 at Colonial Downs in Virginia. He'll go 5.5 furlongs on grass--so back to a sprint, but we're giving turf a try. Claiming price is $25K. I actually like his chances in this spot. At quick glance, it's not a strong field. His pedigree suggests he should like turf (sired by a son of Candy Ride; Flatter on the dam's side should work as well).

He'll get bet because this will be his first start since being gelded. (Yes, that's an angle.)

Reylu Gutierrez will ride. We're also adding blinkers for the first time.

Are you the owner of this horse? Is that the horse in your avatar? A very beautiful horse.

I own a small share of Unified Dreams. About 2%.

But he's not the horse in my avatar. That's Imperiously. (I also own a small share of her.) She's a 2-year-old filly that's just getting started. And yes, she's a beaut. We're just trying to figure out why she's so good on the training track in the early mornings but cant' seem to run a step in an actual race in the afternoon. But we'll figure her out eventually.

Then I have two other 2-year-olds, both colts--Doc Ballard and Courageous Copper.

Unified Dreams is my only 3-year-old.

[dryrunguy]

And speaking of Imperiously, she'll give racing in the afternoon another try on 8/3 at Colonial Downs, race 7, #4. Also 5.5 furlongs on the turf. Claiming price is $25K.

Why not? It's worth a try since we need to figure out a way to wake her up in the afternoon. Maybe the grass will do the trick. And breaking from the 4 hole in a full field, she won't have the option to veer right and try to visit the parking lot like she did in her first race (from the outside post).

Also not a great field. Edgard Zayas will ride. He's been riding quite well lately.

[dryrunguy]

I am back home from Ohio and just wanted to fill you in on how Unified Dreams and Imperiously did in their races at Colonial Downs in Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Unified Dreams finished a respectable third in his maiden claiming race ($25K) on Tuesday. He finished third in a field of nine and was 20/1 on the morning line, but went off at 6/1 at post time. He was not claimed. This was Unified Dreams' first race on grass, so I think we're on to something here. He broke poorly (again) but rallied to get up for third. Reylu (the jockey) suggested we try him at a mile on grass, and that makes a lot of sense. Perhaps even a 7-furlong race on grass would work. I suspect we've at least found the right class level--or pretty close to it.

Unified Dreams earned a $4K check. Take away $400 for the trainer and $400 for Reylu. So $3200 will cover his barn bill for the month. He still owes us a lot more, though. Think of it as back rent.

Meanwhile, Imperiously won her race on grass at Colonial on Wednesday while I was driving back home! She earned $24K for that win, Our partnership will get $19200 of that. She was 12/1 on the morning line, which was probably generous, but went off at 5/1 at post time, which I don't quite understand. LOL!. She was not claimed, so we still have her. Now, the hard part... Finding a race for her against other winners. Grass seems to suit her as well. And more ground seems in order. She finished very, very well and won going away. Glad we still have her.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if both Unified Dreams and Imperiously turned out to be horses that excel at a 7-furlong distance. It also wouldn't surprise me if both preferred a synthetic surface over both turf and dirt. Both pedigrees appear to be receptive to running on synthetic. To date, neither has tried it. And horses that like turf TEND to also like synthetic--but not always. Others (like Bold Article) really relish the synthetic.

Anyway, two very successful races over 2 days. I am pleased.

[dryrunguy]

Video of Imperiously.

[dryrunguy]

Meanwhile, Doc Ballard will give it another go tomorrow in Race 7 at Gulfstream. This time he'll try a mile and 70 yards on the synthetic. It's still a maiden special race, so he will not be eligible for purchase. Leonel Reyes will ride.

It's a field of 10. Doc is 1 of 4 in the field with racing experience. None of the horses with experience have done anything on the track--yet.

Of the 6 first-time starters, there's a home-bred colt bred and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, trained by Saffie Joseph, and will be ridden by Edwin Gonzalez who is probably the best synthetic rider at Gulfstream. But Saffie doesn't win with first-time starters very often. Then there is another first-time starter that was purchased for $250,000 and is trained by Mark Casse. Edgard Zayes will ride that one.

Those were the two that really stood out to me at quick glance. I'll study the race more closely tonight.

For Doc, this is as good a spot for him as any. And I expect him to go off at a bit of a price at post-time because, in spite of Saffie's poor record with first-time starters, that horse will get bet solely because of the Ramsey/Saffie/Edwin Gonzalez connections.

Hopefully we get a second win in a row.

[dryrunguy]

Okie dokey. Let's just pretend that race never happened. I'm guessing Doc squarely detested the tapeta surface. Doc only beat 1 horse--and that was only because the other Saffie Joseph horse crossed the finish line without a rider. He and Doc were so far back that I never saw what happened to Edwin Gonzalez. But at some point, he was dismounted.

[dryrunguy]

A few updates.

As expected, we're having a helluva time finding another race for Imperiously. There just aren't many races written for 2-year-old winners that aren't stakes races. We have tried to enter her in three different races--two on grass at Colonial and one on dirt at Gulfstream. None of them got enough entries. We'll keep trying. We'd prefer to keep her running on grass, but we may have to settle for a dirt race.

Doc Ballard was gelded after his last race. His behavior has changed dramatically--as we hoped. He should be ready for another race in about a month--maybe less.

Courageous Copper is nursing a minor ankle injury. No big deal, though. He'll be out for a little while longer.

Unified Dreams is waiting for his next race. He breezed at Churchill this morning... 3 furlongs in 37.4. A very nice work. We want to keep him on the turf, but Churchill has cancelled their turf racing because their turf course is in abysmal shape. So we're looking at a race on 9/6 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. It should fill with no problem.

I think that's everything.

[ti-amie]

Thanks for the update Dry.

[dryrunguy]

Unified Dreams ran today at Horseshoe Indianapolis. It was originally carded as a 1 mile turf race for a field of 11, but after the rain this morning, officials pulled the race off the turf and ran it on dirt at 1 mile and 70 yards instead. The track was still fast, which he has run on before without success. Unified Dreams was in for a claiming tag of $30K.

And he won! It was his fifth start.

Unified Dreams stalked the pace of the long-shot leader down the backstretch, passed the leader on the far turn, and then finished very well--neither of the other two favorites could catch him. He won by a length and a half as a 6/5 co-favorite. He was not claimed. So we get to run him again. Now he will have to face other winners.

A good day! I've been begging for a jockey that would get him out of the gate more quickly. And Fernando De La Cruz made all the difference the first time he rode Unified Dreams.

[dryrunguy]

Imperiously will race tomorrow (Friday) at Gulfstream--6 furlongs on dirt. We couldn't find a race for her on turf, and she needs to race to keep her condition. It will be a tough ask for her simply because it will be her first time against other winners. But she has always trained like she loves the dirt, so perhaps the light bulb going off in her last race on turf will translate to dirt. We'll see. Edgard Zayas will ride again. It's an optional claiming race, but none of the horses, including Imperiously, will be in for the claiming tag. It's a field of seven.

Doc Ballard will race Sunday at Gulfstream--7 furlongs on dirt. He'll be in for a $16,000 claiming tag. Apprentice rider Alisa Morrison will ride, which means Doc will be carrying 7 less pounds than all the other horses in the field (field of seven). It will be his first start as a gelding. That fact, coupled with the drop in class, means he'll get bet.

[dryrunguy]

Imperiously will race tomorrow (Friday) at Gulfstream--6 furlongs on dirt. We couldn't find a race for her on turf, and she needs to race to keep her condition. It will be a tough ask for her simply because it will be her first time against other winners. But she has always trained like she loves the dirt, so perhaps the light bulb going off in her last race on turf will translate to dirt. We'll see. Edgard Zayas will ride again. It's an optional claiming race, but none of the horses, including Imperiously, will be in for the claiming tag. It's a field of seven.

Doc Ballard will race Sunday at Gulfstream--7 furlongs on dirt. He'll be in for a $16,000 claiming tag. Apprentice rider Alisa Morrison will ride, which means Doc will be carrying 7 less pounds than all the other horses in the field (field of seven). It will be his first start as a gelding. That fact, coupled with the drop in class, means he'll get bet.

Well, I kind of forgot to share how this went. My apologies.

Imperiously took her first shot against other winners. She finished 5th of 6. But that's not surprising. And it was not an embarrassing race. She broke poorly again, and in a sprint, that's not good.

Doc Ballard improve significantly. He finished second. I like his chances on his next out, depending on what the competition brings.

Again, my apologies for not keeping folks properly updated. And thanks for expressing an interest in keeping track.

BTW, Unified Dreams will make his first start against other winners tomorrow (October 6). It's Race 5 at Indiana Horseshoe, 8 furlongs on turf. Like Imperiously's last race, it will be his first run against other winners. He'll be in for a claiming tag of $30K. Fernando de la Cruz will ride again.

I have no expectations. He had a decent 4-furlong training work on 9/22. But we wanted him to run about a week ago. That race didn't get enough entries. The next race we entered him in didn't fill, either. But the third time was the charm. I wish he had another training work around 9/29, but we couldn't do that because he was entered in another race that didn't get enough entries.

[dryrunguy]

Unified Dreams was a very respectable fourth in a field of nine. I thought he ran pretty well given that he just got his first win, was switching back to grass, was jumping up in class, and was supposed to regress. He also beat the two heavy favorites.

That said, Unified Dreams was claimed for $30,000. He was the only horse claimed in the race. His new trainer will be Tom Amoss. As far as I know, Tom Amoss is widely respected.

So unless the partnership decides to claim Unified Dreams back in a future race, which I highly doubt will happen, that's the end of my connection to Unified Dreams.

And that's how this works sometimes.

[ti-amie]

Talk about good news, bad news.

[dryrunguy]

Talk about good news, bad news.

Especially since Unified Dreams seems to be just now figuring it all out. And perhaps that's what Tom Amoss was willing to throw the dice on.

BTW, Equibase has posted a preliminary 89 speed figure for UD's race today. So in his last three races since being gelded, he's gone from a 69 to a 79 to an 89. That is a really good trend. And he's still just 3 years old. Many horses don't do their best running until they get older.

In any case, I'll keep track of him. I just hope he stays in the hands of good, widely respected trainers.

[ponchi101]

I will never understand this sport. The idea of "claiming" just does not register in my brain.
"Well, no, sir, you are not claiming my horse. It is MINE!".
Hope it will be good for you and your buddies, Dry.