Happy Anniversary

I was reminded earlier today that our first victory came exactly 5 years ago (Leather N Lace). Coincidentally, as I was putting No Lip’s winner’s photo in my album over the weekend, I reflected back on some of the 100+ photos. A trip down memory lane if you will.

I was drawn to the participants in the photos. Sadly, a few of those who joined us in the circle have passed away. Others are friends who I don’t keep in touch with as much as I would like. For most of us, the years have simply passed with a few more gray hairs (or less hair in many cases) and a few extra pounds. Lastly, I observed how my nieces have evolved from pre-teens into young ladies.

I surely miss the days when dozens piled into the photo on a warm summer night at Canterbury. I don’t think we’ll see those days again anytime soon, but I’ll always have the photos.
Enough of the mush – we have another race to look forward to this weekend as No Lip attempts to put our stable on the map again at the Fair Grounds. I have not looked closely at the competition yet, but we did draw a good post and the jockey took the mount back – both positive signs. There is a $100k stakes race that same night at another track – my hope is that many of the more accomplished peers will go for the higher purse and give is a shot to compete for the $50k at the FG. The race is scheduled for the grass, but there is mid-week rain slated for New Orleans. I would like to see what he can do on the green. The worst case scenario would be a soft turf course that may not be safe for the runners.

Quick Update

Not much news to report this week. Tom indicated that No Lip came out of his race in good order last week (winner’s circle photo has been added to blog). As of now, the next logical race at Fair Grounds looks like it will be Feb. 5th – an allowance race on turf. Tom also mentioned that he would keep an eye on the condition book at Delta Downs (another track in LA) for any races that might also make sense. Either way, he should be good to go in a couple weeks.

Calling an audible

When Tom and I spoke early in the day, it was not our plan to have No Lip on the lead early. After watching the 1st 3 races, Tom had noticed that there was a definite track bias to speed on the rail. So when he called me 20 minutes before the race, we agreed that the instructions to the Jock would be to do what he could to secure the rail early.

While those instructions could have cost us the race by asking the horse to do something he wouldn’t want to do, the strategy was likely a major reason why he won the race today. The bias might make the race look better than what it would otherwise, but given our long drought between trips to the winners circle, I am not going to find any fault with today’s win. If anything, it allows me to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

The win doesn’t assure any future success since he will have to step up his level of competition. However, it will at least buy us time to figure out whether or not he can turn into something “special’.

Last but not least, I will finally be able to at least partially get rid of the sour taste left behind from his first race. Here’s hoping his race today is a better indication of what we can expect.

Managing Expectations

Tom called me this morning to chat about the upcoming race for No Lip. He said about the only thing he has done differently this time around is back off his training a little bit. If you recall, about a week before his last race, he had a very quick 6 furlong workout that may have had something to do with his poor performance. That is not likely, but he really has no other reason to change anything else in his routine. Other than that, he continues to train well and in Tom’s words “looks better physically than any of the other horses with him on the track at the same time in the morning”. He added that while he thinks he can run well, he is also “nervous”.

From my perspective, I can only go off what I saw with my own eyes. Last time, I expected him to win. For this race, while I hope he can win, I will expect to finish last. That way, I cannot be disappointed. Bet at your own risk!

Trend or Mirage?

No Lip is scheduled to race on Friday (race 4) against many of the same competitors that beat him last time. If he runs another clunker, the obvious conclusion will be that his last race was an indcication of what we can expect. He drew the inside post and faces a total of 8 foes, so we can eliminate "wide trip" from the excuse list.

If he wins, we move forward with him. If he does not run well, then I'll likely start the process of finding him a new home.

For those of you looking to place a wager, if he floats up to 8-1 or better, the risk-reward makes it worth throwing a couple dollars at.

No luck in the box

We entered No Lip in a race for Monday, but so did 23 other owners and we were not lucky enough to draw one of the 10 starting spots. They did write back a race on the dirt for Thursday and we will enter that one. I was looking forward to seeing what he could do on the turf, but that will have to wait for another day if we go forward with him after his next race.

A couple partners took the option offered last month and cashed out. So the rest of us remaining picked up a little extra % of the ownership.