Barn Notes (or Shedrow Shennanigans)

Go Alex Go rallied for a nice 2nd today going 6 1/2f. Considering A) he hasn't run in 52 days (not for lack of entering, mind you) and B) 6 1/2 is way too short for him - he ran a damn good race. Thought of the race as a nice warm-up and wanted to know "When do we really run, now?" Drank a whopping 1/4 of a bucket of water. He's fit enough, but where to run? *Sigh*

Miss Cedar Key is in for Friday and Blakers and Astilbe are in Sunday, though I may scratch Blakers and run him the 8th if the race goes... Astilbe needs to run cheaper, but it's time to see what her race quirks are going to be now that we have her training straightened out, ad in the current climate you just get in when you can.

 

So, Miss Cedar Key ran a decent race (they went really, really fast for $5,000 claimers - 22, 45, 1:10, and 116 and change). I thought she may have gotten a tick tired, but when we scoped her after the race it turned out she bled fairly significantly. I ran her pretty cold, so now I know what to tweak on for the next trip. I will keep her on 5 days of antibiotics and clenbuterol to clean her lungs up and prevent complications (like pneumonia) form the bleed. I was okay w/ how she ran before she had an excuse. She'll do.

Scratched Blakers for Sunday, then the race didn't go for Friday. *sigh*. Entered Shiney for the 7th time and it didn't go, again. Let her breeze (on purpose) today and she went in 49 with a gallop out in 101.45 - that's smokin' for this 2 turn track.

Precious and Airhead are in Tuesday. Airhead should run better in her 2nd start - they all have to learn the racing game. Precious is going to have to seriously try to not win in her race. Easiest bunch she has ever faced. Not that I put anything past the moody wench, but she should be able to win this one.

 

Yes, but I only went w/ 2 1/2 ccs - I no likey a lot of Lasix, especially on fillies. I didn't use any adjunct medications this time, I will next time. I may up the Lasix a tick to 3cc, but really don't like to use any more than that. I'll also start her on Knox Geletin daily in her feed - a good, old-school trick to help horses who bleed.

 

Well, we had a great day today. Ran 6th. Yeah, 6th,but with Astilbe My Heart who had some serious, serious,seemingly insurmountble mental issues when I got her in Nov. Her previous 2 starts with her first trainer resulted in beating 1 horse each time (1st time the other horse did not finish the race). Today she did almost everythng right on a day with 40mph wind gusts. She got "attacked" by a blowing oat sack when we left the barn then had a loose horse come at us literally 2 minutes after the oat sack and she's never been at this track. She was a bit reluctant to load (as was 1/2 the field) and ran greenly on the backside, but came up the inside and was passing horses right to the end. Didn't get real tired and scoped clean.

First time I went to beeze this filly (3 weeks after her 2nd race w/ the other trainer) she got to the head of the lane, threw her head up, and stopped. I mean came to a HALT. Then, she walked, jogged, loped, stopped again, walked, jogged, loped all the way down the lane and then tried to take off in the far turn! All we could figure was the last trainer had tried to plug her in. As a 2yr old. A$$hole. She had no muscle tone, had no clue how to balance off the bit and gallop with her whole body - she just threw her feet out until they quit hitting her. Top that off with a healthy dose of learned "I don;t wanna!" and I really only gave us a 25% chance to ever get her to the races. Feeling kinda proud after today. Owner and breeder were on tears over how well she ran. Jockey is not a popular, or particularly strong, rider, but has been galloping for me the last several months and really gets along with this filly. I got some flack over riding her from some friends, but owner was on board, and I am long past giving a sh*t about what others think I should do. I know my horses.

I never dreamed of training racehorses when I was a kid, I was even reluctant to get my trainer's lic when I had to, for the farm. All I ever wanted to be was a horseman (not like get through the Horseman's Gate kind, but a horseman). Fillies like Astilbe and Shiney make me think I may be at least heading in the right direction to accomplishing that. Good day, today!

 

Not sure why or when the IRB started that? I used to use 2 1/2 ccs when I was there. One of the biggest bone-head moves I have eve witnessed was when (maybe 9 yrs ago) the IRB disallowed the use of conjugated estrogen (an anti-bleeding adjunct med) and upped the Lsix to 10cc. Gee, let's see just how dehydrated we can make a horse! grrrrrrrrr

 

I left after Arlington in 2006. Was never subjected to Polytrack myself. And, yeah, the lotsa Lasix thing will put me on my soapbox pretty quickly .


Well, Precious found a way to get herself beat badly yesterday. Jock grabbed her face pretty hard in the first turn and she flipped the bird. I am a bit annoyed w/ the jock - he was fighting her to back out of the early going when they were setting super slow fractions. He usually has a better clock than that, plus he knows you can;t fight her or rush her or anything early - all the rider can do is sit still and let her find her stride - or she gets mad and won't run.

Airhead was wound like an 8 day clock in the paddock, just barely kept her few marbles from rolling away. Then she loaded "eh" but not bad. THEN the 9 horse pitched a winger and tossed her ride out the back, injuring him. Sooo, they unloaded the entire field and ponied them around while they got the 9 and her rider out of the way. I was really expecting that to be the last straw for Airhead and to see her tearing away from the pony, over the rail, and beat us back to the barn w/ the jock's saddle! Erica reloaded "eh" again, but that really rattled her pea brain and she didn't break worth a crap. Spotted the leader 20 and the field 10 down the backside (going 5 1/2 f). Was still a long way last around the turn, then turned on the afterburners and came FLYING up the rail to run a really close 5th (maybe 6th, it wa stight). I need to watch the replay tonight and clock her last 1/4 - I am betting it was 22and change. She galloped out on top. She might be really tough next time - unless she loses her mind completely,that is :laugh:.

 

One of the reasons is, if there weren't a minimum amount a guy could have a horse who was a bleeder and on Lasix who was going to be the heavy favorite in a race. If the trainer was a bad gambler he could give the horse a tiny, tiny amount of Lasix, knoing the horse would bleed and not win, ten next time give him enough Lasix that he ran well at longer odds and cash a ticket.

Like the real world, racing's RULES come into play strictly to thwart the jerks out there.

 

Entered 3 today for Tuesday - Astilbe, Legal, and Shiney (12th time I've entered her) and got nothing in. Nada. Stay home. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! Next entries are for Friday and they have 2yr old QH Trials, so no shot there. See what kind of extra races they write for next Saturday.... Not sure who is going to 100% flip out first - myself, or Shiney!

 

Got Astilbe (5th) and Roman (8th) in for Saturday. Roman's first out and Astilbe is in going a mile. It might be pushing the limit distance wise on Astilbe's pdigree, but I am going to try. I tink she may like the slower pace of a mile and she is a big, stretchy built filly.

 

Here are some pre-race pics of some of the stable's recent starters:

Reddy:



Astilbe:



Cedar Key:



Alex:

 

No, by "plugged in" I mean they hung a battery operated "machine" in her neck at the top of the lane to "zap" her, ala the Diazo controversy in the Arkansas Derby 20 years ago .


As to the other, there are a few old "let 'em run loose every morning" old guys out there, but most of those types find they run out of stock really quickly that way, except maybe Break-'Em-Down Larry Jones, but he has an inexhaustible supply of critters.