Thoroughbred Racing 2024

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He wasn't racing this year since he was 31 years old and retired at Old Friends, but
Ide died

He was a sweet, sweet stallion, always nice to me. I am so glad I saw him when I was there in April.

George, a long eared donkey (or something like that) had been living with Ide since Alphabet Soup died a couple years ago. So now George is alone again, and I think that makes me sadder than Ide's death. They will find another buddy for him, but poor George.

 

[Sarah]

I wish the argument was that Sierra Leone was the most naturally talented horse. I might agree with that. You could argue that. You cannot say he is the best horse in the field. The best horse in the field doesn’t consistent have issues breaking from the gate and running straight. That isn’t the best horse, that is a horse that is reliant on things being perfect in order to win. Sierra Leone Is talented but has a lot of issues that need to be addressed before he could ever be considered a talented horse with far too many issues when running…

 

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Rich Strike Back in Training with Bill Mott

If he has to re-enter racing, I’m glad it’s with Mott.

 

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I saw that too @skipaway. I’ll be surprised if he really makes a come back, but we’ll see. I’d love to see him retired to the KY Horse Park.

 

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Frank Stronach Facing Sexual Assault Charges

The Stronach Group owns and operates some of the premier racetracks in the US, including Santa Anita Park, “The Great Race Place”; Pimlico Race Course, home of the legendary Preakness; Gulfstream Park, one of Florida's newest entertainment destination centers featuring a casino and outdoor retail village; Laurel Park;

Peel Regional Police said the 91-year-old founder of auto parts giant Magna was arrested again and charged with six counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted rape and one count of indecent assault on a female.

??

 

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Baffert Allowed back in KY

 

[Vagabond]

Maximum Security Disqualified From 2020 Saudi Cup; Midnight Bisou Declared The Winner

Maximum Security (New Year's Day) has been disqualified from his victory in the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup and Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) has been promoted to first, the stewards committee of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced on Friday. The change in finishing order of...

www.thoroughbreddailynews.com

Finally!

But will she be in Paris?

 

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I’m so sad about this:
Rich Strike injured

I really liked him, liked his Derby story, but his owner is such a piece of $hit, I worry a lot about the future for Richie. On the other hand, they did successfully get the previous injury to heal, shown by the current ultrasound which revealed the new injury. And Bill Mott is a great trainer and seems to be a reputable one as well. I hope he will explain things realistically but firmly to the owner. I mean, he wasn’t even galloping or training at 12 seconds to the furlong yet (did 4 furlongs in about 50 seconds in training) and now he’s hurt…. It does not bode well.

 

[skipaway]

More bad news

She had an amazing career! ?

 

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More bad news

She had an amazing career! ?

Oh yes, I saw that and forgot to post about it. She is close in age to Zenyatta. So sad…

 

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Great Travers today! I was able to watch on line on Fox; they give you a free one-hour preview and I started watching about 30 minutes before the race.

I was rooting for Fierceness but would not have been sad if Thorpedo Anna had caught him. I could not believe how close she came. What a filly! She loses nothing in defeat. And Fierceness, perhaps he will finally put to rest his habit of one good then one bad race.... He really hung in there and fought every step of the way, as did Anna.

Fierceness!

 

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As a follow up to my post yesterday, I read that both Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna got Beyer speed figures of 111. Fierceness’s previous best was 110 and for Thorpedo Anna I think it was something like 101. Wow!

 

[Vagabond]

@sk8pics Thorpedo Anna's previous highest Beyer was in the mid-nineties, so she really stepped up to the challenge.

I hope that both Fierceness and City of Troy bring their A game to the Breeder's Cup Classic. It could be a race for the ages.

 

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@sk8pics Thorpedo Anna's previous highest Beyer was in the mid-nineties, so she really stepped up to the challenge.

Thanks! I couldn’t remember exactly what it was. She really stepped up in a huge way! And good for Fierceness, who stepped up by not stepping back!

I hope that both Fierceness and City of Troy bring their A game to the Breeder's Cup Classic. It could be a race for the ages.

Yep!

 

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Interwin died on Sunday morning: Memories of Interwin I’m the friend she mentions as having spent time with him on Saturday evening. My friend and I went around to many of the horses that evening, and made a point to fuss over Interwin because we’d heard his death was imminent. I’m glad we gave him a good last evening.

Here was the announcement: Interwin died

Meanwhile, I also smooched Any Given Saturday and Awesome Gem. Saturday was in a trance while I was scratching his chest and Gem likes having his ears scratched. Silver Charm came right over to me on Monday morning to receive his shreds; Charm and Gem both get shreds due to dental issues. On Saturday Silver Charm wasn’t much interested although he did let me scratch his back, so I was really happy to get such an enthusiastic reception on Monday.

And Touch Gold happily accepted his bananas and on Monday was actually happy that I was scratching his back.

Except for Interwin’s death, it was a magical few days at Old Friends.

 

[Sarah]

Seize the Grey won the PA Derby!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Personal note, I’ve known the track announcer since we were 16.

 

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Seize the Grey won the PA Derby!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Personal note, I’ve known the track announcer since we were 16.

???
That’s my boy!???

 

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???
That’s my boy!???

Do you own a share?
The only time I bought through My Racehorse, it was a share in Tufnel, who could not run and is now training for another career. Oh well, at least he didn’t get injured.

 

[skipaway]

Do you own a share?
The only time I bought through My Racehorse, it was a share in Tufnel, who could not run and is now training for another career. Oh well, at least he didn’t get injured.

Yes, I own 1 share. I also had a share in Tufnel. Glad he has a new career.

 

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Yes, I own 1 share. I also had a share in Tufnel. Glad he has a new career.

Well, we hope he will! I think he’s still getting settled. I think I read something about a chiropractor kind of thing…

 

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Happy news today from Old Friends! When I think of Big Brown I remember the race call, “Big Brown bounding home!”
Big Brown to Old Friends

I had heard this was coming but was sworn to secrecy. They now have three Kentucky Derby-Preakness winners: Silver Charm, I’ll Have Another, and now Big Brown. Pretty cool. I can’t wait to meet him.

ETA: Wow, I had forgotten that Eight Belles was in Big Brown’s derby. She ran so well, looked strong in the closing yards of the race. It was so sad what happened to her. I just rewatched the race and turned it off before they showed her breakdown.

 

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And in other big news at Old Friends:

Cozmic One
I met Coz when he was in the retired racehorse project show at the Kentucky Horse park, the one mentioned in one of the articles that’s floating around now where he placed 5th in his first big event. I just walked around until I found his barn and the de Sousas were very kind and welcoming. I petted him while Isabella was braiding his mane, thus helping to distract him and Sergio took my picture with him. I also met Isabella at Old Friends once when we were both walking around.

So excited this did come to pass! I had inside info about him and Big Brown. So yay! Now waiting for the next tip to come true…

 

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I missed all the Breeders’ Cup races because I was occupied, but I did get to meet Thorpedo Anna, who won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff pretty dominantly. I gather she is many folks’ favorite for Horse of the Year, and with the way the males horses have taken turns winning the big races, she might be the best bet.

There was a Horse Country tour of Kenny McPeek’s farm, where Anna was getting some rest and relaxation. She has a nickname of the bear and I get where it came from. She didn’t bite any of us but she refused any soft peppermints and only accepted the hard ones. I was impressed she could tell the difference without tasting them.

 

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She totally deserves HOY. Won 6 Grade 1 races this year and a 2nd place in the Travers, losing by a nose.
The most successful and dominant horse this year.

 

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It was also fun meeting Big Brown and Cozmic One at Old Friends around 10 days ago. Big Brown is gorgeous, and he was quite inquisitive when he saw me, and came over to see if I would give him carrots. I did. He is a little grabby with the carrots, not biting but I would feel his teeth on my palm sometimes as he was scooping up the carrots. Coz was super sweet. And muddy.

 

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Two sad losses….
Always Dreaming

Lemon Drop Kid

 

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RIP Uncle Mo?

 

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You beat me to it @skipaway. Lemon Drop Kid is not a big surprise but still sad. When my friends and I would go to Lanes End Farm, Lemon Drop was often out in his paddock, and I have fed him grass that I picked. He was quite sweet.

Uncle Mo was a big shock today. I wonder if we will ever know exactly what happened. I guess he broke his leg, but they said they put him down because recovery would have bee too hard on him… So sad. He was quite the messy eater; always made me laugh to see him eating in his stall with the food EVERYWHERE!

And Always Dreaming, ugh. These animals are so fragile with so many things that can go wrong.

Fly like eagles babies….

 

[Sarah]

You beat me to it @skipaway. Lemon Drop Kid is not a big surprise but still sad. When my friends and I would go to Lanes End Farm, Lemon Drop was often out in his paddock, and I have fed him grass that I picked. He was quite sweet.

Uncle Mo was a big shock today. I wonder if we will ever know exactly what happened. I guess he broke his leg, but they said they put him down because recovery would have bee too hard on him… So sad. He was quite the messy eater; always made me laugh to see him eating in his stall with the food EVERYWHERE!

And Always Dreaming, ugh. These animals are so fragile with so many things that can go wrong.

Fly like eagles babies….

My gut tells me Uncle Mo didn't come out of surgery well and wasn't handling early recovery well... For some horses, stall rest is really really hard. Add in being immobilized and... Sometimes drugs aren't enough and I wonder if there were signs that he wasn't going to be able to handle it. It's only speculation but...

 

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My gut tells me Uncle Mo didn't come out of surgery well and wasn't handling early recovery well... For some horses, stall rest is really really hard. Add in being immobilized and... Sometimes drugs aren't enough and I wonder if there were signs that he wasn't going to be able to handle it. It's only speculation but...

Maybe. I was thinking something similar. I assume he was at Rood and Riddle and they did not have a recovery pool last I heard, which maybe was also a problem.