In Good Hands

Looking at the Top 100 standings for 2008 (see Equibase.com), we find Jamie as the #8 trainer in the country. He is 1 win behind Todd Pletcher (yes, that Todd Pletcher) with about half as many starts. For jockeys, Daniel is ranked #2. As I have mentioned several times before, we are fortunate to have access to such a successful combo.

Speaking of good fortune….

Now that we are “out” on Dawn Raider (that is, we have received more in purse money than what we paid), I thought I would share a quick story on that claim. On 9/15/07, we tried to claim a different horse (Camptown King) in an earlier race, but lost the shake. Jamie, Dan, and I then turned our attention to a later race, found a couple we liked and settled on Dawn Raider- the rest is history.

That said, if it wasn’t for Lite Brigade winning a race and being claimed the day before, we would have never had enough money at Arlington Park to claim anything. But since he was claimed, and Arlington’s meet was closing that weekend we wanted to reinvest the $$. Just another example of how valuable Lite Brigade was for us. His success has enabled us to make a lot of moves we otherwise might not have been able to afford.

Just In Time

With severe weather in the area, half the state of Florida without power, and a turf course getting softer by the minute, things did not look good for Dawn Raider in the early stages. He was able to mount a fierce rally, make up about 5 lengths in the final few hundred yards and score the victory. With most of our wins coming with horses on or near the early lead, a race like today offers a nice contrast in style.

Nothing on the board for our next race - entries come out Thursday for Saturday races.

Matt

P.S. Dan K. must have lost a couple pounds in the sweat box to help lighten our load today :)

New Addition

We claimed a horse today - Balsero. He is a 5 year-old gelding bred in Kentucky (same breeders as Chief Magistrate). The claim amount was $12,500 (split w/ Jagger, Inc.). When looking at his PP's he reminded me a lot of Ravencliff. Let's hope for similar results (minus the tendency to jump tire tracks).

Matt

Dead Weight

Has anyone noticed that our worse races of late have been with horses we own with Dan K. I'm starting to think he is an anchor. General (2nd place) probably needs to cut back to a one-turn race and No Tolerance (4th place) could use a drop in class and a return to the grass.

We'll try to reverse the curse with Dawn Raider on Tuesday (race 9).

Matt

Mixed Results

Did anyone happen to notice the name of the horse that beat Brigade today (Uncledannysbrother)? It was a tough loss - he was a step slow coming out of the gate and in a short race like this, the margin of error is slim. I was not real surprised that he was claimed away from us. That said, I would be lying if I said that it did not sting a lot when the claim was announced. Brigade never finshed out of the money for us and both times sold for more than what we bought him for.

As I mentioned in my 3Q07 review, the quarterly valuation of the horses can be quite tricky. As such, when applicable, once horses are sold, I will try to pass along the details of my evaluation. For Brigade, I valued our share on 12/31 at $15,000. After the claim today, purse $ won, and expenses paid out, his total realized value to us since quarter-end was approximatey $22,000. We should expect to get more claimed away from us as we continue to be aggressive in placing horses in races where they should be competitive (see General and No Tolerance races in the next couple days). Subsequently, we will have to be smart about replacing them with new buys.

Now on to the best part of the day - Peagus put forth a HUGE effort. Similar to Brigade's race, I had a pretty good idea about the outcome soon after the gates opened. He finished the 6.5 furlongs in a tick off Tytus' track record. Nice!

Matt

Halfway Point

Today was the 47th day of racing this year at Tampa - the halfway point for the meet. We saddled our 15th winner today (Secret Lies) - that was was my goal for the entire meet. Speaking of "Lies", our hope was that she would finish in the top 4 to gain her turf eligibility. She did that and more today with a convincing win. Time to set a new goal.

Next race: ?? Nothing on Tuesday or Wednesday, we'll be entering a couple for Thursday when entries are drawn on Tuesday.

Matt

Puzzler

I am not sure what to think about Ravencliff's desire to jump over tire tracks. Sooner or later, it is going to cost us a race. Worse yet, it may lead to an injury (horse or jockey). For now, we'll take the victory and be relieved that he has had such a big lead before making his leap.

Next race - in an attempt to get Secret Lies qualified for the turf, she runs on sunday (race 7)in a $16k claimer. A top 4 finish will make her eligible for turf races.

Matt

Reality Check

Our unbelievable 12 race streak of Top 3 finishes came to a screeching halt today - Diablo put forth an uncharacteristically dull effort (6th place). I guess she was not quite herself the last few days. She was trying to tell us something, and we listened. Since we claimed her last summer, we have kept her in training at the track. We have shipped her from MN to Chicago to Tampa and she always managed to put in a good run. She needs a break. We're going to turn her out to a farm for a while (at least 6-8 weeks). She'll probably return to Tampa for a race or two before coming home and reuniting with her favorite groom (Jackie).

As one filly leaves, another takes her spot. In Diablo's race, we claimed (3-way split with Dan K.) a 4 year-old Florida Bred named La Celeste. She finished 3rd today in her 14th lifetime race. She comes to us from a small, low % trainer with an ability to run on both grass and dirt. Assuming she checks out fine physically and responds to Jamie's program, she should be a good fit for our stable.

No races on Tuesday or Thursday - Miltos and Ravencliff are next in line for races next week if races go as scheduled.

Matt

Great day for "Team Ness"

While down in Tampa a few weeks ago, we spent a lot of time in the barn area during the morning watching Jamie and his crew perform their daily tasks. Combining Jamie, his staff, the jockeys, and other owners, I came up with the term "Team Ness" (this may ring a bell for fans of the movie You, Me, and Dupree). It was a very good day for the team today.

In race 8, Tytus accepted the challenge of trying the turf and held off a solid field of turf veterans to score a rare wire-to-wire turf victory. The ride commenced with a killer cross-over to save ground from his outside post and finished with grit and determination to secure the victory. In terms of claiming price/race conditions, today's win ranks at the top for WG.

In the next race of the day, the star of Jamie's stable - Lookinforthesecret cruised to victory in a $75k stakes race. The Ness double vaults Jamie into the Top 10 trainers in the country for wins this year.

Congratulations to Jamie and his crew as well as the owner of "Secret". Diablo looks to keep the string of good races going tomorrow (race 10) - Good Luck girl!

Nice R.O.I.

For the few weeks we have owned Secret Lies, she sure has provided a nice return. 2 wins in 8 days has earned her a little time off. Don't be too excited about Diablo's entry for Saturday. She will need a few horses to scracth before she draws in (not likely). The entry for Tytus is secure - a class jump and trying the turf for the first time should make things interesting. His track record will be at risk tomorrow - the track has been playing fast this week and there is a nice $32k race going 6.5 furlongs.

Race Review

It sucks to lose such a "winnable" race. The General put forth a solid effort, but for this bunch, the early splits were way too fast. Down the stretch, the race fell apart and a 25-1 shot picked up the pieces for the win. Sometimes you lose to a better horse, I don't think that was the case today. We'll give it another shot on Thursday with Secret Lies.

P.S. Tax info (and other items) went in the mail today - let me know if you don't see something from me by the end of the week.

Matt

When is it right to be wrong?

I did not have a confident feeling going into today's races, but I was thankfully proven wrong as a couple of the elder horses in the stable ran well. No Tolerance turned in a respectable effort (3rd) off a long layoff/injury. Peagus moved forward from his rusty try a couple weeks ago and found his way back to Tampa's winners circle to get his picture taken.

Next Up: after taking Sunday off, we're back at it on Tuesday with Unreal General - if its a close race nearing the wire, maybe he will stick out his tongue (see picture on the right) to hit the finish line first.

Matt

This date in history (pt. 2)

2/1/07 is a date I have referenced before in this space. To refresh, Brigade won a race (our first at TAM for the year) and we claimed Peagus from the same race. Both went on to have very nice years for us and pave the way for additional runners. If 2/2 is Groundhog’s Day, I declare 2/1 as Lite Brigade Day. Given his layoff coming into the race, it was pleasantly surprising to see him run well enough to win.

Flashing forward to tomorrow, I should pass along that expectations should be muted. I don’t have a real confident feeling about either race (I hope my gut is sending me wrong signals). For those betting, demand at least 4-1 or better before laying some $$ on the line.

No entries for Sunday – we pretty much emptied the stable over the last couple of weeks.

Matt