Thanks to Michelle Benson who again this season has started compiling amazing videos including this gem of our race day with Kipper Key. You’ll notice right near the end of the video someone comes over and places a red tag on K2’s halter indicating that a claim has been made.
Again, best of luck to the new connections. We’re back to shopping and we are looking to pick up another horse or two quickly.
With a complete absence of speed in Kipper Key’s local debut and only three opponents in the field over a muddy racetrack, our boy did a nice job to close stoutly but still finished a clear second to Red N Black Attack.
K2 picked up $3400 for the win and we also grossed $10,000 on the sale. Yes, K2 got claimed from us by trainer Valerie Lund. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised – I really didn’t think we’d get claimed out of this group – but it happens if you don’t have a stakes type horse and it happened to us.
We certainly couldn’t have run him higher to ‘protect’ him, you have to run where you think you have a chance of winning the race. When you race in claiming company, if you’re not a little bit nervous that you might get claimed then you’re probably running too high! We ran him where he belonged and we wish him well with the new connections.
Now we will commence the look for a new horse immediately. We thought we were looking for our second horse but now we’re looking for our ‘stable star’!
Fortunately we made some money on the claim – something that we haven’t been able to do the last few years – so that’s nice.
We will go ahead and get the first financial statement up in the next few days, though obviously missing a few items but it will be nice to see about where we are as we get back to buying!
K2 gets his first start in front of the home fans today and while it’s a short field it is by no means an easy race. It’s a $10,000 claiming race going six furlongs over the main track. We will have a spot signed off for us at Silks so Heather and I will meet the gang there for Race 1 and then any group 1 folks can head on over to the paddock. The past performances for the race are below.
Here is a look at the field:
KIPPER KEY (BRINSON/FRANCO)
Tester (Diodoro/Carreno) – He is 3 of 6 in 2016 with a stalking running style. His figures and connections are solid and in his most recent start he scored at Turf Paradise at this level.
Red N Black Attack (Diodoro/Rosier) – Recent claim by the Jacobson barn has made his way into the Diodoro fold and is moving from California. He had a tough first out after the claim in a conditioned $10K at Los Alamitos. This may be a bit of a softer spot but will still need a better effort. Also will want to stalk the pace.
De Facto (Ashford/Canchari) – Winner of two in a row in New Mexico prior to his claim. Outclassed in his lone run at Prairie Meadows in an optional claimer/starter. He may be a notch below these but what he DOES have is a unique and possibly deadly running style in this race: lone speed.
Moon Gun (McKinley/Hernandez) – He was a solid router in 2015 taking a Lone Star allowance as well as a $20,000 claimer at Remington. HIs 3 Canterbury starts were not impressive, but two were on the turf and one a stake. Coming in of the long layoff could be problematic and team could be prepping for longer later.
For those of you new to the Club, I try and use this space to talk a bit about how we can win this race. My hope is that Moon Gun will be a little keyed up and raring to go which could give De Facto some pressure up front. Clay mentioned in his interview yesterday that he’d like Geovanni to keep K2 a little closer than he was in his last – no more than 6 or 7 behind. We all know how hard it is to close into sprints here so we don’t want to be too far off.
The inside may be a bit of an advantage which could help us save some ground and keep the stalkers wide. He’ll be coming late but I am concerned that nothing will melt down in front of him.
The wildcard will be the weather. It’s been a bit rainy and there is a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow with an 80% chance of rain. Our boy has one win in five starts over a wet track and his PPs also show a good 4th in a Remington Park allowance over a sloppy course. Only Moon Gun shows a win over an off track.
Rain or shine it is paddock group 1.
Here is the track analysis of the race from their website:
It is certainly starting to get exciting around here with our boy going on Saturday afternoon.
Here are some notes on the paddock as well as, if we are very lucky, the winners’ circle.
The first paddock group is Feldman – Laborde.
The paddock is an exciting place to be before a race but it can also be a very dangerous place. You need to be on the lookout and alert for anything. Some of you may recall a couple of years ago that a horse got loose after dumping his rider and broke through the fencing, only captured several yards into where the crowd would have been moments earlier. Bottom line – be aware and have the ability to get out of the way should something unexpected happen. If you bring your children in, you are responsible for them. They cannot run around or play unattended in the unlikely event that something happens.
We are the 1, so our spot will be right across from where you enter the paddock near the stairs that go down to the jocks room. With everyone and one guest we could have up to 80 people in there. We can be from our number backward, please do not spread out toward #2 and crowd the other owners. We are lucky that to our left there are no spots so we can have a little extra room.
At no time should anyone be on the walking ring once the horses come out of their stalls. Please stay on the grass. If you do not make it to the paddock before the horses are on the walking ring, please do not enter. If we get a spot to watch the races together (like Silks or another location) I will be at that location for Race 1 and we can all go over together. If you’re not there, just meet us over at the paddock after the photo of Race 1 and we’ll all go in together. I’ll post what I know tomorrow when I post the race preview.
In the fortunate event that we are able to get to the winners’ circle this summer we would like to keep the winners’ circle photo to Club Members. Now that we are over 160 members it is too crowded and too dangerous to bring guests in and I do not want members who paid their money, like everyone in the Club, to get shut out. It would not be fair.
That said, as Clubbers we want you all in the picture if we get one! It will be imperative to be quick and be friendly.
By quick I mean should the time come and we win, make your way to the winners’ circle as quickly as possible It is important for the horse to wind down, get to the test barn and get back to the barn so we do not want the horse out on the track circling around waiting for us to all get in.
By friendly I mean that if we are all going to get into the picture we are going to have to get very close together on the risers, maybe even turn a bit sideways to get everyone in. Out of necessity there will be some people on the ground area. I will be there, arms spread wide, begging you all to stay to the one side of me. Behind me is where the horse is going so please don’t try and slip by me, gather together, friendly like, on the other side.
After a race the horse is very high strung and excited and can be hard to handle. They can fire off kicks and strikes without warning and we do NOT want anyone getting hurt. Again, stay alert.
Photos again will be $10 and available a few days after the race directly from the photographer’s office downstairs (take the stair down to the basement next to the nut stand, take a right and follow the signs). We will have some printed up but if there is enough demand there may be a wait. Please be patient, they are very busy on race day.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday!
Winners’ Circle photo example
If anyone missed it on Twitter (@CBY_Racing_Club), Kipper Key will sally forth from post position one in the second race at Canterbury on Saturday. He will carry Geovanni Franco for the $10,000 claiming race going 6 furlongs over the main track taking on four opponents.
We’ll post an analysis of the race as well as paddock etiquette (Group 1 is representing Saturday) and a reminder of the paddock groups in a day or so.
Good luck and look forward to seeing you out there!
For the sake of clarity, in the state of Minnesota you are required to apply for an owner’s license if you own more than 5% of a horse. Given the Club has a membership of over 150 the fractional ownership percentage of each individual is less than 1%, therefore no licensing is required, nor would anyone be eligible.
Unfortunately there was nothing for Kipper Key to enter opening weekend. While he continues to do well, the first race eluded us opening weekend. There are, however, some possible opportunities next weekend depending upon where Clay thinks we may have a better fit.
While my preference would be a $10,000 claiming 6 1/2 furling race over the main track, there are not any of those in the condition book. However there are races at a mile and at six furlongs with claiming prices from $5000 to $10,000. We’ll see where we think he’ll fit best and, if all goes well, we’ll have a race next weekend.
For you information, here is the timetable for when races are drawn here:
The races we are tentatively looking at are Friday night or Saturday afternoon. I’ll be talking to Clay this weekend and perhaps we will know by Sunday afternoon if/when we K2 makes his local debut!
Kipper Key returned to the workout tab this morning, going an easy four furlongs in :49.8 which was the 19th quickest time over the distance out of 36 runners this morning. He was not asked for a ton of speed, just to get rolling and stretch his legs more than he has been able to in order to get ready for the next race. We still do not know if we will make it in opening weekend or not but we will try!
And speaking of the next race…
Now that we are gearing up for opening weekend, it is time to split the group into several paddock groups. In past years I have split up the group and Heather would go ahead and pull them out of a hat to determine the order. This year, when I printed out the list, I didn’t have the paper tray extended and the list spilled everywhere so the order is the order in which I picked them up! While they are still alphabetical, we are not starting with A. Also, the last two groups are a bit of a conglomeration so check closely.
We have 166 people in which means there are roughly 41 in each group. We do allow a single guest. As you can imagine, this could mean a LOT of people in the paddock. I will post later about paddock etiquette and safety but a couple of things here that are obvious. You all are on your honor so please only enter the paddock on your designated days. Also, please confine yourself to a single guest (understandable if your there with a couple of kids but please don’t invite the extended family and neighbors), we want to give everyone the opportunity and still maintain the safety of the paddock whilst also preserving the experience for the other owners as well.
With no further ado, your paddock groups for 2016 are:
Group 1: Feldman – Laborde
Group 2: LaCasse – Ryshavy
The next two are a little tricky:
Group 3: Sande – Severson with Anderson – Collier
Group 4: Connell – Erickson with Sheggeby – Zenner
Just a reminder as well, if you are on Twitter, please follow the Club @cby_racing_club. There are a few things that we get up there while we’re “in the field” that are quick hits like a picture, or first report of a work, etc., that may or may not make it into the blog.
Finally, Heather and I are overwhelmed by your good wishes. The wedding went off without a hitch and we are tremendously thankful for all the kind words.
See you at the track!
Kipper Key galloped this morning over the main track.
He continues to train well.
More on potential race dates to come……
Canterbury Racing Club 