"Kip Deville is not a people person. He's a race horse, he doesn't like to be petted, he doesn't like all that funny stuff around him. He's like a man, he wants to show up on the big days and he's all race horse, as you could see today."
Rick Dutrow

"“Coming down the stretch, I wasn’t even thinking about the (other horses)—I knew we would have enough,” Velasquez said. “There’s always plenty of horse with him. He’s going to be tough to handle wherever we end up.”"
Cornelio Valesquez

Having won the Grade 1 Turf Handicap in one of the numerous notable races that went off at Gulfstream Park last weekend, and having pushed his bankroll past $3 million dollars, the self-reliant Kip Deville is now pointed towards the Dubai Duty Free in March. Trainer Rick Dutrow's goal is to get his unflappable six-year old gray the male turf horse Eclipse award for 2009. If there were a lifetime achievement turf horse Eclipse, Kip would smoke the competition. As it stands, he's a sure bet for the Hall of Fame and to have more than one graded stakes named after him some day, but I'd love for him to get an Eclipse Award and be officially celebrated in his own time.

Continue reading "Kip Kip Hooray - It's Another Day At the Office for Kip DeVille with a Win at Gulfstream Park"

Larry Jones has informed the Louisiana Times-Picayune that he's closing up shop as a public trainer after Breeders Cup 2009. His decision is definite. The good news is that nobody besides Larry Jones believes his decision will stick.

The popular and colorful 52-year old, famous as the trainer of Hard Spun, Eight Belles, Proud Spell, and this year's potential three year old star, Old Fashioned, talks of retirement as if he's overdue for the rocking chair, but the real problem is that Jones has become worn out by the price of success. As the demand for his services have increased and his operations have expanded, Jones was becoming a Todd Pletcher-style trainer/racing manager/executive - an achievement about which most trainers can only dream. Jones hates it.

Larry Jones is seriously hands-on. This means getting on his horses-in-training himself. Trailer the horse himself, drive the trailer too. Know his exercise riders and grooms not only by name (Deidre and Corey), but be familiar with and supportive of their individual career ambitions. (Both aspire to be trainers some day.) This homespun style of operations was going the way of the dodo as Jones' barns filled with more and more top quality runners. Hard as he works, he can't be everywhere at once or do everything. But he doesn't feel like Larry Jones unless he can. The big time has made Jones feel old and tired.

Continue reading "Larry Jones Says He's Done After 2009 - Is this Just Adios and Not Goodby?"

Old Fashioned is wearing me down.  When Derby prep season started I admired Old Fashioned but rooted on Chocolate Candy, Hello Broadway and Capt. Candyman Can, among others.  I still do like those three very much.  But at the moment, Old Fashioned seems to actually want the Derby more than anyone else, and since none of his connections are among the crowd I customarily root against (I'm a race fan with personal likes and dislikes, way more than a lover of "the action"), I may as well cry uncle.  He seems to want it so much and have so much talent that I want it for him. His focused intent in every race reminds me of Invasor. I always felt it would kill Invasor to lose, which happened to him only once. I feel the same way about Old Fashioned.

Continue reading "Old Fashioned Wins Smartly"

Oy.

The particular soap opera slant of the Animal Planet's new reality show "Jockeys" makes me cringe.  There's soap opera in horse racing, but Jockeys doesn't just churn up a lather around the personalities inside horse racing for enhanced dramatic effect; it's often illogical about the way the business functions.  

The examination of the rise of a young jockey vis a vis the struggle of the veterans to hang onto their position is a legitimate enterprise. However, Jockeys implies that all of Joe Talamo's wins are a personal defeat for Aaron Gryder, same as the Steelers killing the Cardinals. Not to mention, I watch this thing and think "Aaron Gryder? Aaron Gryder?" That's random. I guess Jockeys needed to assign its pre-determined roles to the jockeys willing to participate, and some of the casting is strained.

Continue reading "Jockeys!"

In the El Camino Real on Valentine's Day, my sweetheart Chocolate Candy delivered a win to swell the hearts of his supporters. Although this previously confirmed come-from-behinder was a bit too fresh too early, landing in an unaccustomed position on the lead with a lot of stretch left to cover, Chocolate Candy turned the challenge into an opportunity to demonstrate his versatility.

In a season notable for visually impressive three year olds with questionable speed, Chocolate Candy laid down two fast mid-race quarters in :23 and :24. The heat melted Axel Foley, who faded to fourth, while Chocolate Candy persevered through the final furlong and repelled two late charging rivals.

Despite winning four out of his past five races, Chocolate Candy has attracted detractors

Continue reading "Fresh Chocolate Candy Wins El Camino Real Derby"