Breeders Cup

He started in 5 Breeders Cup races and set a record from a hard charging Honest Lady. A track and race record.

Geldings with no breeding career can compete as long as soundness and age hold, and Kona Gold showed the heart of a champion every out, never giving up. A spiral fracture was found in his upper front leg, which was inoperable. It is saddening and ironic that he stayed sound where activists criticize  - on the track - for so long and was injured in retirement in the pasture. winer of nearly $2.3million with 14-7-2 from 30 starts he showed his class time and time again on the track. He also represented the TB with that same champion style.

Continue reading "The Thoroughbred World Loses Legends"

hree year old filly who dared tread outside her gender AND age! It's criticized she won't be at the Breeders Cup but it seems like unless something spectacular happens then she's done everything she needs to do for Horse of the Year, top 3 year old, top 3 year old filly and only Zenyatta arguably could stand between her and a clean sweep to best female running.

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 Horse racing has some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. There are stories that are quite unlike other sports because the main players do not care about prize money or earnings and have no concept of retirement. The horses themselves either have the will to run and compete or they don't, and if they don't there is no amount of whipping that will make them be a champion.

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In other breeding notes, Eclilpse champion and 2006 Breeders Cup Juvenile fillies winner Dreaming of Anna is in foal to Street Cry. Vertigineux is not a name that rolls off the tongue but most fans know her daughter Zenyatta very well...and next year's half sibling will be sired by Henrythenavigator. A half sister by Bernardini is at foot. Does Henrythenavigator sound familiar? He was second to Raven's Pass in the 2008

Continue reading "foaling season names in the news."

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.

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ap that follows Nicanor's outing will come as a relief.  Entered is the good-looking Breeders Cup Dirt Mile winner, Albertus Maximus.  Albert the Great was a favorite of mine in his heyday and a true New York horse, winning, among others, the Jockey Gold Cup (by nine), the Suburban and the Dwyer.  He earned $3 million before he was finished, and is underappreciated, in my humble opinion.  I was ridiculously touched when I learned that Tracey Farmer still owns him.  Albert the Great stands today at Pin Oak Lane Stud in Pennsylvania.  He's had some nice offspring - most notably the speedy but flaky NobizlikeShowbiz.  Albertus Maximus gave Albert his first

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"The Iron Lady" was not big in stature but in the 1986 Breeders Cup Distaff she was in a strong field of fillies including Twightlight Ridge, Outstandingly and Fran's Valentine. Lady's Secret opened up on the backside by 5 1/2 length and as they approached the turn it seemed they would catch her but like her sire she was not done. She found another gear and opened it up twice putting distance between her and the rest of the field. At the time that placed her fifth on the all time money earning list and she was considered up with champions Precisionist for the big prize of Horse of the Year.It is impossible to think of past champions without arguably the greatest bargain in Thoroughbred history at $17,500. In the only meeting of Triple Crown winners he triumphed as well as one of the greatest sires in the world. He is t he only undefeated Triple Crown winner. He made the Sure-win popular on appearance. Seattle Slew was unchallenged and eased to his early three year old wins. He was discounted but despite being bumped hard and trapped behind horses at the start he made the other horses in the field forgettable. J.O. Tobin was an English champion but could not stay with Slew in the Preakness. In the Belmont he faced an uphill battle with an off track and an undefeated mount that swept the Crown. J.O.Tobin exacted revenge in California in Slew's last race as a three year old. Health issues interfered with his four year old season. After a head defeat by one of those forgotten horses Slew headed to the Marlboro Cup to take on that year's Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Slew and Affirmed drove to the wire overwhelmingly ahead of the rest of the field then defeated Exceller in the next race. Those three went on to the Jocky Gold Cup with much anticipation. During the race Affirmed's saddle slipped and his race was over but Exceller and Seattle Slew fought head to head, nose to nose and at the wire Exceller's nose was in front. Slew was later retired and sired champions Swale and Landaluce.Although those champions are still brought to mind others have been forgotten. Traditionally there are races named after our champions and one of these is the Roseben Handicap. Roseben is one of those horses who does not have a legacy to pass along. As a gelding he didn't have a breeding career and at the time of his birth in 1901 there was little reason to make note of him. Without a breeding career the gelding continued doing what he knew - racing. He a start in the Manhattan Handicap which he won by five lengths and today people brush that off. Pshaw...five lengths is nothing. Look at Arazi and Secretariat and Smarty Jones with larger margins. There is one big difference. Roseben did it carrying 42-49 pounds more than his rivals, something absolutely unheard of today. Can you imagine the reaction if, say, Curlin had carried over 160 pounds to his wins? Roseben set an American weight record *AND* set a world record to boot! A week and a half later he shattered the track record by a second and a half from the previous record and three seconds faster than the course record. This stood at Belmont until 1957 when the great Bold Ruler topped the mark. Coming back again at age six he was entered in a six furlong with fully 60 pounds more weight than his runner up and still came close to record time with daylight between him and second place. Roseben left a lifetime record of an incredible 111 starts with 52 wins, 25 second and 12 times third with $75,110 in earnings (remember this was 100 years ago!). After retirement he was said to be a saddle horse and humiliated more than one horse that dared challenge him on the New York bridle paths. The gallant gelding died in 1918 and is now holding a place befitting of a champion in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.Along with the champions that dominated there's others memorable for their gutsy determination to not give up under pressure and the stories around them. Cecilia Straub owned Tiznow and watched her "baby" Tiznow triumph in the

Continue reading "Remembering Thoroughbred Champions"