Congratulations!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by tlgrevelis

MARYJEAN and young Mr. Esquivel ran a beautiful race tonight at Hawthorne, taking the 8th race by 4 1/2 lengths (winner’s purse share: $4920). MJ was well positioned throughout and Esquivel sat patiently on the rail. When there was an opening, he sent her on through and she did the rest impressively as the narrow 2nd choice (Slick Philly was 1.40 to 1 while our gal was 1.50 to 1).

When Slick Philly could not get out to an uncontested lead and I saw her sitting in 4th I was feeling pretty good about things and once she struck the front, there was no looking back.

We’ll see how she comes back but look for her to return at $5,000 again as the year starts to wind down. Same for TERICE. She came out of her race well and we’ll be looking at making her an enticing claim over the next couple of starts.

Nice job by Clay, Juan and all the folks in the barn.

For those of you that want a winners’ circle photo, here is the information:

Four Footed Fotos
708-780-3700 x3654
www.fourfootedfotos.com

Just click on “Hawthorne Winners’ Circle” on the left, choose October 31, 8th race. The cost is $25 per photo plus postage. This is a different photo company than at Canterbury so we have no discounts there.

Congratulations everyone!!!

MARYJEAN – Race Preview

Posted on October 30, 2014 by tlgrevelis

MARYJEAN heads postward at approximately 6:04 Central Time Friday (Race 8) at Hawthorne to take on a field of $5,000 claimers that have not won 2 races in 2014 or 3 races in 2013-14. She is the 2nd choice on the morning line for the 5 1/2 furlong dash.

Here is the field:

1 Prissy Ruler (Wells/Montalvo) – Though she has hit the board a few times, none of the efforts have been particularly threatening.

2 MARYJEAN (BRINSON/ESQUIVEL)

3 Passionately Sweet (Hellman/Lopez) – Should stay close to the pace but has had trouble finishing races recently until her last. She could be ready to surprise OR it may have been an anomaly.

4 Mirka (Reavis/Colvin) – 15th start of 2015! Dirt form has not been great.

5 Slick Philly (Brueggermann/Aragon) – Morning line favorite. A consistent sort who is bumping up a wee bit in class. Been steady since her return to the races after a year and a half absence. May be lone speed.

6 Magdalenka (Gore/Cosme) – Beaten by our girl the day we claimed her. She hasn’t come close to that 2 race winning streak she had since. The 5 months off didn’t appear to help but perhaps she needed one.

7 Gostosa (Perez/Thornton) – May need a wet surface to be successful. Decent class drop makes her dangerous.

8 The Bosser (Turco/Emigh) – We beat her in our first out at Canterbury. She’s been relatively consistent but unable to win except in a $4000 non-winners in a year event.

9 Salutethehero (Bentler/Slinger) – This class level may be a bit out of her wheelhouse.

For such a short sprint you would expect for there to be more speed in the race than there is. The morning line favorite, Slick Philly, seems to be the consistent speed in the race which could put him in front alone. Salutethehero, Passionately Sweet and Prissy Ruler have shown flashes of early speed but not consistent enough to give me confidence that there will be someone going after Slick Philly. We’ll see if someone goes early and ends up giving us something to run at. If we can get some early pace with someone softening up the favorite, we could be in good shape. If everyone decides that the other gal should do it, though, we may settle for “second best” again.

Heather and I will be at the race. I was lucky enough to have some business in the area before and after the weekend so we’ll be there to root our gal on.

Good luck everyone and good handicapping on the Breeders’ Cup!

MARYJEAN in on Halloween

Posted on October 28, 2014 by tlgrevelis

MARYJEAN drew post position 2 in the 8th race at Hawthorne. It’s a $5000 claiming race going 5 1/2 furlongs. Emmanuel Esquivel will be the pilot.

Let’s hope for treat not a trick!

TERICE 7th

Posted on October 25, 2014 by tlgrevelis

After looming into contention heading into the lane, TERICE ran into all kinds of traffic issues and never made a move. Thornton tried to move through a hole at the top of the stretch but it closed quickly and he angled outside where he was promptly blocked again. After that, TERICE just quit running and followed the pack in for 7th place.

We’ll evaluate how she came back in a couple of days and we’ll go from there. Don’t be surprised to see us drop her way down on the dirt to try an induce a claim. This is where we differ a little bit from a conventional partnership where we can keep the horses year over year, but a win and a claim at a lower level wouldn’t be awful and we’d get out with something.

In the “hits just keep on coming” department, MARYJEAN did not get in for Thursday. Clay and I have not connected yet so I’m not sure why, could be we lost our preference by going to Ohio, but we’ll get her in as soon as possible – even if it ends up being at $4000.

TERICE – Race Preview; September Financials

Posted on October 25, 2014 by tlgrevelis

Once again poor Terice drew far outside. We absolutely cannot seem to get any breaks when it comes to post position for her. But let’s take a look and see what we’re up against in 6th, a 1 mile turf event at Hawthorne. It’s an $8,000 claiming race with a purse of $10,000 with Tim Thornton up.

1 Chica Silver (De La Corda/Homeister) – Even though she is dropping pretty far to get in here, it doesn’t appear that she’s liked going a mile in the past. The class drop is enough to make her a threat but an outside one.

2 Hoist the Colors (Granitz/Esquivel) – Likes to be at or near the lead pushing things along. Her last was a very nice effort, weakening after striking the lead after a long pace battle. That was at $16,000 and they drop her down for this one.

3 Che Serai (Young/Aragon) – The class drop in here doesn’t look near as impressive when you take into consideration the allowance was for Illinois bred and her previous efforts were all around $7500. That said, her last $7500 effort was a winning one over the poly at Arlington. She’s had a long layoff with not much in the way of works which makes me think that there may be something amiss here, though she had gone quite a while without a break prior. Likes to be on the lead.

4 She’s Tellin’tales (Domenosky/Perez) – A winner of two in a row and seemingly always competitive at whatever the level, she likes to lay just off the pace which puts her in a very good position when it’s time for the real running to start.

5 Grace of Greatness (Aguilar/Sanjur) – a familiar name to Canterbury fans, she’s another that likes to push the pace a bit. This is the first out for the new connections and trainer is batting 0 with his first out starters.

6 David’s Lucky Lady (Kirby/Emigh) -Dropping deep after getting spanked last out at $16,000. She’ll come from what out of it if she can and try and pick up the pieces of any pace battle up front.

7 Tactical Girl (Sweere/Molina) – Edged us out by a neck for second last out, she’ll try and stay in the mix early and try and get first run at the leaders late.

8 Dontbetellinme (Monbarren/Roman) – Seemingly a bit over her skis in this one, we can’t even count on her to push the pace.

9 TERICE (BRINSON/THORNTON)

10 Delightful Daisy (Boyce/Ocampo) – Beat us all last time out running a beautiful race on the off main track when we got moved from the turf. Her turf form is also not bad and if she can stalk like last time she could be tough – but it’s a lot tougher to get that stalking position from the 10 spot than it is from the 5.

I think our chances in here are good but not great. While there is some speed to run at, there is not a plethora of it. A couple of others will like to stalk and have a better post to do so.

A couple of point are in our favor though. This is Thornton’s second time aboard which will help now that he has a feel for her. Clay also thought she was just too fresh last time and was all kinds of keen to go which left her rank early and tough to settle.

The road to the winners’ circle is going to be to get her to settle down early and lay about 4th of 5th, maybe 5 – 7 lengths off the leaders and then take solid aim at them late. Heather and I toyed with the idea of running down there for the race but I think we’ll be watching it at home on the PC. If any of you are heading south for the race, please travel safely and enjoy the day!

Good Luck!!

Here are the financials for September. 2014 CBY RC Running Financials September

MARYJEAN Preps; TERICE Favored

Posted on October 23, 2014 by tlgrevelis

MARYJEAN worked four furlongs this morning at Hawthorne. Her time was :49 which was the 4th fastest of the 17 horses that worked this morning. Fun fact: the top work this morning belonged to another Clay Brinson horse, Bambazonki, who covered the distance in :47. She was well within herself and appears to be ready to go next week.

TERICE is listed as the 7/2 Morning Line favored among the projected starters in Saturday’s race. Let’s hope she can get some racing luck this time and bring us home a win!

TERICE Takes on Nine Saturday

Posted on October 22, 2014 by tlgrevelis

TERICE will take on nine rivals on Saturday at Hawthorne’s sixth race. The race is an $8,000 claiming race at a mile over the turf. Tim Thornton is again on board and, once again, we can’t shake the crappy post position. I guess we can take some solace in the fact that we’re not the 10 spot…she drew in the 9 hole. Estimated post time is 4:15 PM Central Time.

A full preview will appear later in the week. We also received Clay’s September bill. I shall update the spreadsheet and get that up in the next few days. It will probably appear at the bottom of the preview page.

Good luck!

News and Notes

Posted on October 18, 2014 by tlgrevelis

TERICE and MARYJEAN

There really isn’t a whole lot going on right now. Both girls are working at Hawthorne and appear to be doing well. It looks like we’ll be entering next week: TERICE in an $8,000 claimer on the grass (25th) and MARYJEAN in a $5,000 claiming sprint on the dirt (30th). Of course neither are official until we enter and get in the race(s).

ALEX CANCHARI

Alex is recovering from his surgery and he say he’ll be sideline for about 2 months. It’s great news that the surgery went well and that he will be able to ride again. As many of you have no doubt heard, three jockeys – 2 in Australia and 1 in Indiana – lost their lives riding this past week. It’s easy to forget sometimes just how dangerous this sport is for both the human and equine athletes.

NEXT YEAR

Now is the time to start thinking about 2015. I’m not sure that we will be doing too much different than this season from an operational perspective. There always is a lot of conversation about the Club dynamics and how things can be changed but we end up coming back to the mission of the Club: to educate Minnesotans about horse racing. We won’t lose our focus on that goal and, should members wish to move on to a potential “for profit” group, start your own group or buy a horse on your own – much the better. That is kind of the point, really: to get folks to the point that, if they wish, they can venture out on their own to join existing partnerships, form one of their own or go solo. If you have any questions, please feel free to let them rip. I’ll try and answer your questions the best I can be they about the Club, joining groups or how to start your own.

Both Gals Back and Gearing Up

Posted on October 6, 2014 by tlgrevelis

Both TERICE and MARYJEAN are back in Clay’s barn at Hawthorne and are doing okay. As we thought, TERICE was very keen to move under Tim Thornton in her race and he had to dance a fine line between trying to rate her but not discouraging her so much that she wouldn’t run anymore either. He felt that when she swung to the lead that that was going to be all she wrote but she tired late – perhaps because of her struggles earlier in the race. We know she’s okay on the dirt and has enjoyed success over a sloppy racetrack but the track was sealed (rolled to keep the moisture out) and perhaps a bit hard and wasn’t entirely to her liking.

MARYJEAN was simply too far back early and when the time came to run, she did her thing, swinging wide and passing everyone (almost) in the lane to put 5 1/2 between her and the third place horse but she was just too far from the eventual winner to catch her. It was a solid second and a check that paid the bills ($2600) but she will run again at Hawthorne next. Though the money was good in Ohio, part of the reason Clay was able to get three horses there was that trainer Joel Berndt was heading there with his own and had some room. Otherwise, he says rides to get to the Cleveland area infrequent and, therefore, expensive, so we’ll wait at Hawthorne and look to go about 3 weeks after her last start (October 1).

While there is nothing in the book for TERICE over the turf at this level ($8000), we will wait a few weeks and see what develops. Worst case we will run her back over the dirt again at this level or maybe even a step lower since the objective now for us is twofold – get a win, but also have them move on to new homes.

On another note, here is a link to more on the ongoing saga in Illinois for those of you that are interested: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141004/ISSUE01/310049970/horse-tracks-stumble-amid-painful-wait-for-slots#

TERICE Takes on Nine

Posted on October 4, 2014 by tlgrevelis

My guess is that before all is said and done we will be running on an “off” main track given the rain that is bearing down on Chicago today. I’m sure that will mean some scratches, but I can’t wait for the changes to be posted (I waited as long as I could) so here goes the preview.

Bonita Rita (Berndt/Lopez) – Not mush turf form and never been on a wet track. Moving up in class without having had much success at the $6000 level. Does seem to like to push the pace.

Reclusive (Silva/Felix) – Our girl has already beaten this one a couple of times already at Canterbury. Dirt form has been decent (though no wet track form) so this one may stay in.

Hoist the Colors (Granitz/Esquivel) – Solid turfer was dropping considerably for this one. 28 of 29 starts have been on the turf or artificial. Hard to imagine that she’s going to stay in. If she does, my guess is that they want her claimed and she may not be the threat she once was.

Tactical Girl (Sweere/Homeister) – Mixed results in her two turf tries. Canadian dirt form was up and down but has hit the board in 4 of 6 wet track starts.

Delightful Daisy (Boyce/Ocampo) – Not a bad summer at Arlington and seemed to really be rounding into form after her last before a layoff after only 4 races. Makes you wonder a bit what may have happened there when they didn’t try to strike when the iron finally got hot.

I’ve Heard Rumors (Becker/Roman) – Another old friend from Canterbury seems to run into issues when she gets thrown into deeper water. She may be a bit over her head in here but she did when her last.

Geneva Lake (Rivelli/Emigh) – Last two coming off the pace on the grass at Arlington were very solid. She just worked though a condition (non-winners of 2) and is joining winners while doing the right thing facing winners after clearing a condition – dropping in class. She’ll be tough in here late.

Clontarf (Matthews/Aragon) – This was to be her first turf try (and still may be…) but is all about the dirt. Her dirt form prior to moving to Arlington was excellent, albeit at lower levels.

David’s Lucky Lady (Kirby/Perez) – Solid performer on the turf at high claiming levels (though conditional). First try against winners was not bad at $25,000 where she was beaten by 4 horses but only was off the lead by less than three. She weakened late and is cutting back a little on distacnce for this one.

TERICE (BRINSON/THORNTON)

Our girl is a better turfer than she is on dirt, but she certainly can run over the dirt. She has also won 2 of 3 races on off tracks which is a good sign as well. I’m a bit concerned that there isn’t more speed in there but that may just mean she won’t have to come from so far back. The 10 post is far from ideal but Thornton on her back is definitely an advantage. She should rate nicely and if the race is moved off the turf she’ll have an additional 70 yards to make up ground since the mile distance will be a mile and 70. We fit well here and I’m cautiously optimistic heading in.