MARYJEAN, Emmanuel Esquivel up, heads postward in the opener on Wednesday, December 3 at Hawthorne. MJ has drawn the 2 hole in the small, six horse field. The race is 6 1/2 furlongs over the main track. We’re bringing her back again at the $5,000 claiming level.
Post time is 12:55. I will be in Iowa but you can be sure I will be pulled off SOMEWHERE to see if the Club can make it 4 wins a row and it’s record 5th win in a single season!
Preview to come – Good luck!!
Here are the proofs of the photos of Terice’s win.
We have been granted an all inclusive (postage included) pricing of $22 per picture, down from their standard $27 per picture. This will be applied to all pictures ordered from now forward (of either Terice of MJ). There were a couple of folks that already ordered Terice photos and those will only be charged $22 but the previously ordered MJ photos (and I’m among that small group) can not be adjusted.
Here, again, is their information:
Four Footed Fotos
708-780-3700 x3654
www.fourfootedfotos.com
Just click on “Hawthorne Winners’ Circle” on the left and select the appropriate date and race to preview the photo.
A couple of folks have commented on how difficult it is to make money racing horses – be it at this level or any level. Though I addressed it in the “comments” section of a previous post, it probably warrants greater exposure so I’m going to address it here.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind with the Club:
– though we try and make money, the focus of the Club is for it to be an educational endeavor;
– horses further up the class ladder tend to run less often – mostly because there are fewer of them – and are more expensive so we would only be able to run one horse and that makes it difficult to show all we’re able to this way with 2 horses;
I am going to post here a link to a blog from a friend of mine, Steve Zorn, who runs partnerships in New York and races mostly on the NYRA circuit (Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga). The thrust of the article is that it has gotten easier to break even in NY with the addition of the slot revenue from Aqueduct. While the costs are more, so are the purses, though not in proportion.
For example, while Steve shows that the costs of training runs about $90 a day and we are only $60 ( a 33% difference) he also shows that open Maiden Special Weight purses are north of $50,000 while we were at $27,000 (a 46% difference). And while purses here have increased wonderfully (Thank you Canterbury Park/Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community partnership), he states that the average claiming purse in NY is about $35 – $40,000 which is a far cry from what our average claiming purse is – maybe $20,000. However you slice it, it’s VERY hard to make money as an owner in this business.
Here is the link:
http://businessofracing.blogspot.com/2012/03/update-cost-of-thoroughbred-ownership.html
Attached below is the October Financial Statement. As you can tell, we do not have a vet bill yet from Illinois for October but I didn’t want to wait any longer to get these posted.
As we head into the final month of the Club we have 2 healthy horses on winning streaks probably running a bit below their actual value. If this were a private group there is the probability that we may try and move them up the ladder a bit to go after more money – one of the ways this differs a bit from “standard” horse ownership. However it sure has been fun getting on this roll and both girls should be very tempting apples to be picked coming back at this level again in a few weeks.
Emmanuel Esquivel may be my hero. Three times he’s climbed aboard and three times he’s booted us home a winner. As the field moved through the first turn and he had her sitting all alone in fourth I turned to Heather and said, “This kid is good. She’s in the exact right spot – now she just needs to be good enough.”
Obviously she was, taking command in the lane and pulling away to win, making it look easy.
With two claims in the race, I thought that someone went ahead and took her but alas, that was not to be. We’ll be bringing them both back at this level in a few weeks and give them all another chance. It’s not that we necessarily want to let them go but we have to and I’m way okay winning our way to the end of the season.
With that win, The Club achieves back to back 4 win seasons and, with no claim, we have a chance of breaking our own record in the next month with another win.
I will get back in touch with the track photographer and see if he has anything for us that I can present to you.
Congratulations everyone!!!
As Terice goes postward on Friday afternoon, she carries on her back a 2-race winning streak for the group as well as a new rider, for her, Emmanuel Esquivel. Esquivel has done a wonderful job with MJ and has kept her in the mix until it was time to make the move. Ideally he’ll be able to do the same here.
The race is a $5,000 claiming race going a mile and 16th over the main track. It’s the 5th race with an estimated post time of 3:50 Central Time.
Here is the field:
1 Beertent Baby (Rainwater/Molina) – Hasn’t been able to finish better than 3rd since graduating her conditions. She’s sets the pace in most of her races and will look to do so again in here.
2 Changeforanickle (Lynch/Slinger) – Probably take a minor miracle just for this one to hit the board given her performances for the new connections. The water doesn’t get any shallower moving to Hawthorne from Fairmont.
3 I’ve Heard Rumors (Becker/Roman) – Had a rough go over the main track last out. This one has been really hit and miss. If she’s “on” then she’ll be coming from off the pace. Her regular rider is aboard so if anyone knows how to get her going it would be him.
4 Grayrock (Turco/Felix) – Your 7/2 Morning Line favorite is riding a 2 race winning streak at this level and distance. She stalks beautifully in a style reminiscent of MJ. She is going to be tough to beat.
5 Wildcat Devil (Cristel/Aragon) – Stretching out after exclusively sprinting in her career. Her only win in her past performances was in a non-winners of a race in a year. Otherwise she hasn’t been particularly competitive. She did show speed in that one win but that appears to be an aberration.
6 Dreymore (Randazzo/T Thornton) – A weak third at this level since coming to Hawthorne. She was much more competitive in the Spring at higher levels.
7 Wild Luna (Turco/M Thornton) – Wins this year have come at Turf Paradise, Canterbury and Fonner – all lower levels than this. Her last two at Hawthorne have been relatively non-descript.
8 TERICE (BRINSON/ESQUIVEL)
9 Metonga Mist (Ryan/Meza) – This one could not want to come from further off the pace. Her problem is going to be the lack of pace to run at in here. In her win at this level two back, she came from 23 out of it after having trouble at the break. The race will really need to set up for her and I’m not sure that this one will.
10 Number One Gal (House/Emigh) – Another with a win at this level two races back, she has shown to run better close to the lead though it’ll be tough for her to take on the front runner from the 10 spot. She stays close and she’ll be trouble.
While MJs last couple of races were pretty clear to me, this one is a bit more murky. Jeff mentioned to me that this could be a good betting race and I think he’s right. The money should be a little spread out and for you trifecta and superfecta players, smart boxing here could provide a nice payoff.
Can Terice win? Well, she always can win! I don’t think she’s over her head in here and I thought she had all kinds of trouble in her last race and had no chance whatsoever. If she can stay right around where Grayrock is going to be, then we’ll see who has what left on the way home. Given the lack of speed in here it wouldn’t surprise me if Beertent Baby is able to hold on for a piece in here – and maybe a big upset if she can shake loose and slow it down.
I don’t think that our girl is a clear cut claim in here either, though if you were heading to Tampa and wanted a turf runner, I think she’d be solid or for someone that might want to lay her off until Canterbury in the summer. We shall see. As far as I’m concerned, I think she’ll run well in here but will need some breaks to win. If she has to go head to head with Grayrock down the lane, I wouldn’t bet against our girl’s toughness.
Good Luck!
Terice will be going in Friday’s 5th race at Hawthorne. Emmanuel Esquivel replaces Tim Thornton on board.
The race is a $5000 claiming race going a mile and a sixteenth over the main track. As mentioned earlier, we are trying to entice a claim since it’s getting to be that time of the year for us.
Preview to come! Good luck!
Four Footed Fotos, Hawthorne’s picture provider, sent over these proofs of MJ’s two wins for us. We are working on getting a volume discount if there are people interested in buying photos. I’m sure it won’t be as good as what we get with Coady since there will probably be less people ordering and there has to be shipping costs, but I’ll see what I can do.
As an FYI, we have been trying to enter TERICE going long on the dirt for $5000 but the race hasn’t filled. There is one in the book for next Friday so we’ll try again this weekend.
In the meantime, enjoy the proofs!
Once again, a very patient ride by Emmanuel Esquivel got Maryjean home first by about 2 1/2 lengths. He had her well positioned throughout and, while there was traffic in front of him, she made one move between horses and then bravely split a pair at the top of the lane to win under steady urging.
Congratulations, folks!!
As the weather is cooling off, our girl has been heating up and MARYJEAN heads postward Thursday afternoon as the 4-1 2nd choice in a large field of 12 fillies and mares. The race is a $5,000 claiming race going 5 ½ furlongs over the main track. She drew the rail but is program #2 thanks to the presence of an entry. Emmanuel Esquivel again takes the mount.
Here is a look at the field (in post position order):
2 MARYJEAN (BRINSON/ESQUIVEL)
3 Ganesha (Perez/Sanjur) – She beat a group like this in October relatively handily while recording a nice 70 Beyer Speed Figure. She rallied from off the pace then but came back a couple of weeks later and had no kick at all. She certainly doesn’t have the consistency of MJ but is obviously dangerous when she’s on.
4 Only Annie Peach (Scherbenske/Thornton) – Not a bad little Minn-bred who knows one way to win: on the engine. We’ll be looking for her to display that early speed in only her 2nd out since the Canterbury meet closed – and hope several go with her!
1 Thundering Hoofs (Retana/Lopez) – Best races have come on or near the lead, which we like to see, but had a very rough first behind Ganesh out after a layoff. She certainly appears to have needed a race and, given that lackluster effort, more than one.
5 Grace of Greatness (Aguilar/Molina) – Another Minn bred, this gal has seen better days – and not so long ago. Mostly a turfer, she won 1st out this season in a non-winners of 1 allowance but since then has had a really rough time. With the cutback in distance and the layoff, I would expect her to revert to her seemingly natural style of getting on the lead.
1A Annie’s Showtime (Retana/Montalvo) – The other half of the entry has also shown speed in the past (not unusual for a short sprint, of course). Her two starts since her summer break haven’t been stellar but in her last she did show that flash of early speed which could indicate that she’s rounding into form. She won’t be loose on the lead, however, and that’s a plus.
6 Patricia’s Image (Tucker/Rose) –Riding a two race winning street at Hazel Park in Michigan, this stalker is going to find the competition a bit stiffer than what she’s used to.
7 Lady Scruffy (Haran/Perez) – Another winner of back to back races at Hazel, she’s finished 9th at Arlington and 4th, well beaten by Ganesh, here at Hawthorne last out. She does like to motor when she can, so hopefully she’ll join the gang early.
8 Our Black Beauty (Holder/Bridgmohan) – Hasn’t been a factor since back to back low level conditioned claiming wins at Canterbury early in the season. Drops to the bottom here trying to regain her form.
9 Lydia’s Angel (Matthews/Ocampo) – The 7/2 morning line favorite, she closed sharply in her last at this level but didn’t have what it took to hold off the top two, losing by only a length. She’s 2 of 15 at Hawthorne but has also hit the board an additional 7 times in those races. She should be a factor in the end and it could very well come down to which of us outkicks the other to the wire – patience and a clean trip may have a lot to do with that outcome.
10 Ridgeway Angel (Seagle/Emigh) – Winner of 4 of 5 off the claim, her last two have been a bit disappointing but they were also at higher class levels. She drops down here and is another with stalking speed and could be there in the end.
11 Aprettyunderstudy (Hellman/Cosme) – Winner of 4 of 8 this season – all at Fairmount – found the allowance waters VERY deep at Hawthorne. Speedster has the far outside and needs the lead. Probably won’t be the winner but she’ll certainly have an effect on the pace of the race.
There is certainly plenty of speed to run at in here. The field is enormous and that does make it a bit tough for anyone coming off the pace because of the traffic issues. You’ll have tired frnt runners backing up and enough horses on the track that will make finding a hole difficult.
All the said, I think we come into this in good shape. MJ shouldn’t be too far off the pace and with her spot on the rail she should be able to settle in a nice spot. When horses get tired they tend to lug out and that will hopefully provide a nice hole that Esquivel can guide her through. This one won’t be easy but I think she’s ready and I really like our chances.
Good luck!
Canterbury Racing Club 