Thoroughbred Racing 2023

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Not just you @Sarah. I get what you’re saying. I remember Ruffian had teeny tiny feet and was otherwise huge, and her sire (Reviewer?) had soundness issues, I think. Maybe there was some issue with her dam as well.

But yeah, a horse may race 6 times and then be retired. Is he really sound? Is he sturdy? Flightline was totally dominant and at least he raced his 6 times over 2 years but…. Will his babies be sturdy and strong? Ugh.
 
Sarah said:
Ugh Sarava was euthanized this morning.

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Sarava, 2002 Belmont Stakes Winner, has Died at Old Friends

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Sarava, the 2002 Belmont Stakes Winner, has Died at Old Friends The 24-year old stallion was the first Classic winner to be donated to Old Friends thanks to his owners, Gary Dr
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Just coming here to post this. He had been looking frail, really showing his age. Last time I was there a friend told me I should make sure to see him. I am so glad I did.

I’ll post my Sarava stories tomorrow. So sad that both he and War Emblem are gone way too soon.
 
Here are my Sarava stories.

In the first, I met him in 2013. And the tour stopped by his paddock, and he was happily there to accept carrots, but he made it clear that he did NOT want to be petted on the forehead. One guy on the tour insisted on petting him on the forehead, and after several minutes of that, with Sarava getting visibly more annoyed, he finally grabbed the guy’s sleeve in his teeth a would . not . let . go. The tour guide finally got him to let go by waving sufficient carrots under his nose. Sarava did not hurt the guy, and his point was made.

Next story, I was visiting some years later and had gone through a gate by his paddock at the time. Sarava saw me and hurried over. I was trying to rechain the gate and so my head was down by his fence. I kept saying to him, “Don’t you bite me, Sarava! Don’t you bite me!” He waited patiently and when I finished, I paid the carrot toll, which he accepted graciously and surprisingly gently.

Last story is of visiting him a couple of months ago. A friend had told me to be sure to visit him because he was looking frail. I did and he seemed happy to see me and he accepted a lot of carrots from me and a few pats on his nose (NOT on his forehead).

Rest in peace, Sarava. Say hi to War Emblem. Sniff.
 
Not current racing-related, but the Secretariat Festival in Paris, KY, November 10-12 has farm tours as part of it. You can do a farm tour of Lanes End which includes Flightline and the other stallions and it ALSO includes Zenyatta! :cheer2: :cheer2: I decided to splurge because it's only money. The Lanes End tour I have in a couple of weeks may or may not include Zenyatta, but she is specifically mentioned on this tour through the festival.

She's 19 years old now, still relatively young but you never know with horses, so I can't pass up an opportunity to meet her.
 
Amazombie died yesterday. He was the 2011 Breeders’ Cup sprint winner. The funny thing is that he was purchased as a throw-in when someone bought a horse perceived to be the better one. HAH. I was there when he got to Old Friends. He and Game on Dude arrived together and were very perplexed by the cold weather in Kentucky —they’d just come from California. He and Dude lived together for awhile, but Dude is a gentle soul and Zombie’s high energy was a bit much for him. So then Zombie was paired with Rapid Reduxe, an older horse who holds the record for consecutive wins. They lived together happily for years. Zombie was still in charge and Rapid was like, eh, that’s fine. The story on Old Friends’ Facebook page talks about faithful Rapid, who refused to be separated from his best friend and was put in a stall opposite Zombie so he could see him. Oh, how sad that is, but how sweet at the same time. Zombie was not my favorite horse on the farm —he could be a bit grabby and aggressive in taking carrots— but he was beautiful and smart. I hadn’t stopped to see him in awhile, which I now regret. I’ll be at OF for a few days this weekend and next week and I’ll be sure to visit all my friends there. For now, rest in peace, Zombie. We’ll miss you. I’m glad your friend was with you when you died. :wuzrobbed

Amazombie
 
sk8pics said:
Amazombie died yesterday. He was the 2011 Breeders’ Cup sprint winner. The funny thing is that he was purchased as a throw-in when someone bought a horse perceived to be the better one. HAH. I was there when he got to Old Friends. He and Game on Dude arrived together and were very perplexed by the cold weather in Kentucky —they’d just come from California. He and Dude lived together for awhile, but Dude is a gentle soul and Zombie’s high energy was a bit much for him. So then Zombie was paired with Rapid Reduxe, an older horse who holds the record for consecutive wins. They lived together happily for years. Zombie was still in charge and Rapid was like, eh, that’s fine. The story on Old Friends’ Facebook page talks about faithful Rapid, who refused to be separated from his best friend and was put in a stall opposite Zombie so he could see him. Oh, how sad that is, but how sweet at the same time. Zombie was not my favorite horse on the farm —he could be a bit grabby and aggressive in taking carrots— but he was beautiful and smart. I hadn’t stopped to see him in awhile, which I now regret. I’ll be at OF for a few days this weekend and next week and I’ll be sure to visit all my friends there. For now, rest in peace, Zombie. We’ll miss you. I’m glad your friend was with you when you died. :wuzrobbed

Amazombie
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I really enjoy your “up close and personal’s “ sk8pics. I love hearing about the personalities of these great thoroughbreds. Sorry about Zombie.
 
skipaway said:
I really enjoy your “up close and personal’s “ sk8pics. I love hearing about the personalities of these great thoroughbreds. Sorry about Zombie.
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Aw, thank you so much. I'm so lucky to have been able to get to know so many of these fabulous athletes. It's all because of my boy Tinner, who picked me and showed the staff that I am NOT crazy! :lol: The first couple of years, I was only on tours or with a volunteer, but then they were like, go ahead and visit who you want. I even have my own visitor's pass with my name on it! I'm looking forward to visiting everyone soon.

It's always hard to lose one of them, but Tinner's the one that made me cry and cry.
 
Not current racing, but I remember seeing Any Given Saturday race. He’s at Old Friends now, arrived earlier in the year from Korea. There are horse farms in Korea that are good and others not so good. He was at a not so good farm. The first time I met him, my friend and I went over to his paddock and called him, and his head came up and he all but looked around to see who we could possibly be talking too because surely it wasn’t him! We gave him lots of carrots and fussed over him.

Today when I walked up to his paddock, he saw me and he RAN over to me. :rofl: I gave him lots of carrots. He still can’t believe people want to see him but he’s learned that when people walk up to his fence, they generally have TREATS! So cute. I’m so glad he ended up in a good place.
 
Cody’s Wish returned to his winning ways in this past weekend’s Breeders’ Cup prep. He has 10 wins in 15 starts including 4 Grade 1 wins. The Breeders’ Cup will likely be his last start. He’s 5 so maybe it’s time. I hope he ends up at a farm that allows visits. Word is he will be at Darley since he’s owned by Godolphin. They are SO nice and kind at that farm. I go to their open houses if I’m in town and they are always great. Last time they gave me a couple of hats. Also once when I was there on a tour, I’d missed seeing Holy Bull somehow, and the tour guide took me back again to see him. Holy Bull died not that long after so it was very special for that tour guide to do that.

www.bloodhorse.com

Cody's Wish Regains Winning Form in Vosburgh

Multiple grade 1 winner Cody's Wish likely has one more race left in a brilliant career. Judging by what happened Oct. 1 in the $250,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G2), it should be dazzling.
www.bloodhorse.com www.bloodhorse.com
 
Now Forte is retired. Just one injury after another for him this year, what a shame. There was no way he would be ready for the classic. I wonder about his future as a stallion since he was injured so much of the year and he does not have a win in a triple crown race. If I were his owner, and wealthy, and I thought he could recover I’d give him the rest of the year off and bring him back as a 4-year-old. A successful campaign then and he‘d really be golden. Oh well, will be interesting to see his stud fee.

I also saw the other day that Cody’s Wish is being retired after the Breeders’ Cup. He’s 5 so he’s had a relatively long career for a stallion. He is going to one of the best farms IMO Godolphin‘s Darley. They are so accommodating to fans.
 
So this is funny. Yesterday a call came through on my cell phone, not marked as spam, with a California number. I sent it to voicemail. No message, but I looked the number up. I got a wrong number call from Bob Baffert. :lol: Age is about right and it’s California so… maybe it’s THE Bob Baffert, I dunno. If it was, he was probably calling someone at Delaware Park and misdialed. Wish I would have picked up! I would have told him how much his support of Old Friends is appreciated and what a sweet horse Game on Dude is.
 
sk8pics said:
So this is funny. Yesterday a call came through on my cell phone, not marked as spam, with a California number. I sent it to voicemail. No message, but I looked the number up. I got a wrong number call from Bob Baffert. :lol: Age is about right and it’s California so… maybe it’s THE Bob Baffert, I dunno. If it was, he was probably calling someone at Delaware Park and misdialed. Wish I would have picked up! I would have told him how much his support of Old Friends is appreciated and what a sweet horse Game on Dude is.
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Call the number back! 😂
 
Mandella’s entry to the BC Classic, Geaux Rocket Ride fractured his right leg this morning during training. He is currently being treated at Mandella’s barn. No information regarding future treatment. 😥
 
Mage out of BC Classic due to fever this morning.
Geaux Rocket Ride to have arthrodesis on his right leg later in the day.
 
skipaway said:
Mage out of BC Classic due to fever this morning.
Geaux Rocket Ride to have arthrodesis on his right leg later in the day.
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:( I heard about Geaux Rocket Ride yesterday. They said it was an open fracture, which, if true, does not bode well for his survival. :(
 
I was watching Breakfast at the Breeders Cup on Fanduel TV and the feeling from the reporters was optimistic. They said Mandella said the surgery today was just a joint fusion. They had video of GRR standing in his stall, eating hay with ears pricked.
 
skipaway said:
I was watching Breakfast at the Breeders Cup on Fanduel TV and the feeling from the reporters was optimistic. They said Mandella said the surgery today was just a joint fusion. They had video of GRR standing in his stall, eating hay with ears pricked.
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Thanks! That’s good to hear. So often with open fractures in thoroughbreds, dirt gets in and that leads to infection, and the blood supply is not good to their lower legs and the infection becomes a bigger and bigger problem…. Glad he is eating hay and looked good!
 
Geaux Rocket Ride is not doing well after his surgery. They were not specific about what is wrong but he’s being transferred to another veterinary hospital. 😥
 
skipaway said:
Geaux Rocket Ride is not doing well after his surgery. They were not specific about what is wrong but he’s being transferred to another veterinary hospital. 😥
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I saw that. Wonder what is not going well, specifically. I’m worried about him because of the nature of the injury.
 
And Practical Move died after a workout today at Santa Anita.

Practical Move

I swear, if I owned Cody's Wish I would retire him now. Too many freaky things going on, too many injuries at Santa Anita, and it's not clear if the horse has lost a step. Plus Cody won't be there since it's so far away, I assume...
 
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