Jottings

Just wanted to pass along a couple quick notes:

1) While Stumbling Block is entered for a race this Saturday night, there is a decent chance that we may scratch and look for a better spot.

2) A couple weeks ago, we came within an eyelash of making a large $$ claim at Keeneland. If we would have proceeded, it would have been by far the most we have ever spent on a horse. We backed away at the last minute and the horse finished third so it remains to be seen whether or not we made the right decision.

A Tribute

I originally decided to not pass along the following information since we no longer own the horse, but I have changed my mind – Tytus raced at Thisteldown over the weekend (5th place). After the race was over, he took a bad step. He suffered a fractured sesamoid and the decision was made to put him down.

I was filing some recent winner’s circle photos last night and came across the trophy for the Shot of Gold Stakes. After seeing the trophy, I felt compelled to pop in the DVD and watch the race again. It was such an exciting race, and we had a huge gathering in the photo. Tytus was a mean horse and not much fun to be around in the barn. He was a bear to train and over the years had a number of ailments to overcome. In the end, we gave him away in order to avoid the low return vs. expense ratio. Despite all that, we had a great run with him from late 2007 through Derby Day 2008.

As I write this, we may be just a few hours away from achieving our 100th win as a stable. For me personally, none of the 99 was more exciting than May 3, 2008.

Next Up: Milestone

Last night's win by Straight Laced was # 99 for the stable (first win @ Penn National) - the next victory will be one to enjoy. However, since S.L. was claimed away from us last night, we only have 2 runners left to help us achieve that milestone. With the claim, the books are now closed on S.L., and we managed to walk away with a modest profit despite selling her for half what we paid. It was her 7th win of 2009 - only a handful of runners in North America have more wins for the year. That said, much like Wild Adventure, she has a knee that will likely limit any future success. We may have gotten out at just the right time.

Slewey and Block are ready for their next races as we await the right conditions at Penn National. The 3Q09 summary will be wrapped up and sent to partners within the next couple days.