The second tour is this Sunday and it will be our largest group ever. All of you that sent me notes are in and we are now over full, so we will need to be prompt and stay together.

Here are the details:

– We will meet you all at the stable gate at 9:00 AM. While we may wait a couple of minutes, late comers cannot be allowed entry to the backside, so please be prompt. The stable gate is located on Barenscheer (sp) Rd. If you’re approaching Canterbury from 169, go straight through the lights instead of turning left at the light. The backside will be on your left. Take the first left and then the first left again. That is the stable entrance. You can park along the side there or along Barensheer on the grass. Please make sure that you are off the road.

– We will check out the end of morning works, go up to the equine pool, swing by the barn and wind up at the admin building;

– There will be a LOT of walking so wear comfortable shoes and be prepared. The tour will take about 2 hours, perhaps a bit more so be comfortable and dress for the weather. There are rest rooms in the admin building and not much along the way, so plan accordingly;

– If you’re bringing kids, keep a close hold of them. There is a lot of potential for injury and we cannot be responsible for kids wandering off. Which leads to the next point…

– Horses have the right of way at all times. We’ll keep the group close together and make sure that we give the horses a wide berth. There will be a lot of activity this time of the morning and we need to make sure that we stay out of the way.

The tours are always a big highlight of the Club and it looks like Sunday – at least as of right now – is going to be absolutely gorgeous!

Miz Owell finished 4th yesterday in her $7500 claiming race. Denny Velazquez had her right where Clay wanted her to be throughout the race but when the time came to start running she flattened out and she ended up getting just beaten for third.

We’ll see how she came back in a few days and see if there is anything different we can do with her to help make her more competitive.

Vanderboom Ridge is back to the track and is doing well. Clay likes the way he came out of the race and is galloping well. Look for him back in about 10-days or so.

Michelle Benson put together a very cool video w/ Denny’s help: a look at the race from the jock’s perspective. Enjoy!

We go in the 5th tomorrow. It’s a straight $7500 claimer going 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf. She’ll break from post 5 with Denny Velazquez on board. The weather looks to be perfect so I think we should have no problems staying on the turf.

Here is a look at the 7 horse field.

Enlightened (Bethke/Nolan) – Claimed out of the same race we claimed Miz Owell. She came right back at the same level and got a good trip but there was nothing in the tank.

Make Money Honey (Diodoro/Ramgeet) – Very solid and very consistent runner. After being washed off twice she’ll finally get a try over the Canterbury turf – though she had a win and a second in those off the turf trips. The Canterbury turf is much different than Turf Paradise so her form may not necessarily translate but she’s going to be dangerous regardless.

Sweet Tango (Bethke/Bethke) – Another Troy Bethke trainee, this Minnesotan just missed last out a level up. Though she was routed at this level two back her other turf efforts have been solid and a repeat of her last could win this one.

Emma Lea’s Song (Silva/Franco) – First off the claim for Silva (0 for 6 first off the claim this year) out of a solid 2nd place performance at this level.

MIZ OWELL (BRINSON/VELAZQUEZ)

Hugsforhennyhall (Oliver/Hernandez) – The speed in the race. Hasn’t been able to hang on since February and the turf is not her favorite surface.

Aaron’s Belt (Weir/Mojica) – Having a very tough meet so far this year but getting her last was her best so far. Drops down now to her lowest level. If she really is improving, the collision of improvement and drop in class could be tough.

I would really like it if we had a little more pace in the race. Having a lone speedster is never good, especially with a short field and having a horse that is an off the pace type. There is one in here, Sweet Tango, who may be able to give Hugsforhennyhall a run for her money early, but she’s prefer to stalk. If she does stalk, she’ll get first run at the leader. The rest of us will be coming late and it will come down to position and a clean trip if one of us is to win.

Denny did a nice job last tie having her in a good position all the way around, but she just didn’t have anything left in the tank. Now she’s 3 more weeks removed from her colicky episode and she’s been doing really well with that. She hasn’t missed a day at the track and, if we have her in position again, she should have more for us down the lane.

Paddock group 3 (Sande – Severson with Anderson – Collier) – you are charged with turning the season around and delivering us a win!

Good luck all!

There will be a space available in Silks on Sunday inside. The tables should be marked. We’ll be around and swing by after the 4th race. We can watch our girl come up and then head over to the paddock.

Here is a short video put together by Michelle Benson at the end of her exercise the other day and a couple of stills as well. It was a toasty, humid morning but she did well and came back nicely. We’re really looking forward to Sunday!