Horse Racing Random

[dryrunguy]

So, I have some things to report.

My filly, Bold Article, was sold for $50000 a few weeks ago--a very fair price for her and a 5-fold increase over her original purchase price. She will be moving to California, if she hasn't already--probably the Santa Anita/Del Mar circuit. She's almost as well traveled at this point as Swiss Skydiver.

I will miss her so much. But this is business.

My colt, Tiz the Dude, raced at Tampa Bay Downs on New Year's Day. He was awful, finishing fifth out of six. Even though he has a win, the partnership is having a difficult time finding a buyer. Finishing fifth out of six after taking a huge drop in class while going off as the morning line and post-time favorite didn't help. At all.

Meanwhile, my other filly, danceswithbourbon, who has not yet raced and just turned 3 years old, is now in Tampa and will soon resume training after having growing pains. (She's a big girl.) She is a daughter of Outwork (by Uncle Mo). Outwork finished as the #1 freshman sire of 2020. His babies like turf most but can perform on dirt as well, and she is out of a Gone West mare, which should further accentuate the turf credentials when she is ready to race. We think that will be around March. Jordan Blair is training her.

In addition to danceswithbourbon, I'm joining the new partnership with Shooting Star for three 2-year-olds for 2021--one colt and two fillies. I have been told two of the three should be ready to race early in 2021. Of course, that can change at any moment. All three of them will be trained by Saffie Joseph (same trainer as Bold Article and Tiz the Dude).

[Fastbackss]

This was a good read - looks like you are experiencing many elements of the business already.

Oh, and now I need a bourbon.

[dryrunguy]

Fastbackss, I have this absurd fantasy... That I can sell all of my sheep, level the barn, rebuild a horse stable, and buy Bold Article for a brood mare. Crazy, no?

[Fastbackss]

Let's revisit this after I have another bourbon...

[ponchi101]

So, I have some things to report.

My filly, Bold Article, was sold for $50000 a few weeks ago--a very fair price for her and a 5-fold increase over her original purchase price. She will be moving to California, if she hasn't already--probably the Santa Anita/Del Mar circuit. She's almost as well traveled at this point as Swiss Skydiver.

I will miss her so much. But this is business.

...

This is a peculiar way to announce you are rich
Good for you. And glad you are here

[dryrunguy]

LOL! No, I am not rich. I only get a small percentage of the sale and the purse money. Actually, when it is all said and done, after Tiz the Dude is sold, I'll only get about 40% of my original investment back. Had all three of the horses in the partnership performed the way Bold Article did, then I would have made a few bucks. But this is the chance you take.

[dryrunguy]

Tiz the Dude has been sold. I was not told the sale amount, but he is now with a new trainer in Louisiana and is actually entered to race later this week at Delta Downs. So that means the Bold Article/Tiz the Dude partnership is over.

Meanwhile, I received a wonderful picture of my 3-year-old filly through another partnership that has yet to race. She had growing pains (she grew too much too fast as a 2-year-old and had to be sidelined from training). But she did an unofficial work yesterday morning, will undergo a series of works over the next month or so, and, if all goes well, will take to the Tampa Bay Downs track sometime in late February or March.

I introduce... Danceswithbourbon. FYI, the guy walking her is 6' tall. Yup, she's a big girl.

[JazzNU]

She's a beauty

[ponchi101]

What an impressive animals indeed. Dances with Bourbon? Dances with Champagne...

[dryrunguy]

She's a beauty

The hard part will be figuring out what she wants to do. Her dam's pedigree, coupled with the success of other Outwork babies, screams turf--probably a mile or more. But big horses typically don't do well on turf. Generally. There are always exceptions.

I don't envy Jordan's position (Jordan Blair is the trainer). Given her growing pains, I would be inclined to start her out on turf, maybe at about 6 furlongs. Turf is so much easier on the bodies of first-time starters (unless you get mugged twice like Bold Article did on her debut).

But it wouldn't surprise me at all if what she really wants is a mile or more on dirt. The Gone West influence on the dam's side prefers turf, but it doesn't exclude dirt success at all. Hell, Gone West was out of a Secretariat mare.

[dryrunguy]

What an impressive animals indeed. Dances with Bourbon? Dances with Champagne...

Well, she's a Kentucky bred, so you have to go with bourbon.

[JazzNU]

@dry, I checked with @ponchi and if you want this thread moved to the Other Sports section of the forum, it can be done. It's more your thread than anyone else's so totally up to you imp. I noticed it wasn't there when I was posting about NBC Sports Network the other day so I thought I'd mention it.

[ponchi101]

Too late. I moved it. It is a sport, and belongs here. But, if you feel it needs a place in OTHER STUFF, I can move it back.
Again, to me it is a sport.

[dryrunguy]

@dry, I checked with @ponchi and if you want this thread moved to the Other Sports section of the forum, it can be done. It's more your thread than anyone else's so totally up to you imp. I noticed it wasn't there when I was posting about NBC Sports Network the other day so I thought I'd mention it.

I've been meaning to ask for it to be moved, but I kept forgetting. That's where it was on the previous version of TAT. Thanks Jazz and Ponchi!

[dryrunguy]

I can report that Danceswithbourbon had her first official work at Tampa Bay Downs Sunday morning after a very long layoff. It was not a fast work (3 furlongs or 3/8 of a mile; she was 21st out of 33), but that's okay. We weren't going for that. We just wanted to take her out for a spin and make sure she got through it okay, which she did.

She'll do another work at 3 furlongs this coming weekend and then a 4-furlong gate work the weekend after that. If all goes well after two more works, she'll either go into a race, if we can find one we like (we don't want a maiden claiming race, and we'd prefer a turf sprint), or she'll do another work, this time at 5 furlongs, and then race.

The trainer, Jordan Blair, may need to get creative with the folks in the office at Tampa Bay Downs to get them to write a race for her. He has a very good relationship with the folks there.

So, that's where we are. The plan is NOT for her to win first out--not to mention, Jordan doesn't have a reputation for that. Her second or third starts will be where we're thinking about how and where to get a win. That's more Jordan's style.