The Minnesota Thoroughbred Association is putting on a series of seminars on owning racehorses.  The information is contained in the flier below.  The first is tomorrow and should be full of information!

We entered Satellite today (and last week!) and, again, the race didn’t fill.  So he’s ready and the race is coming back as an extra on Monday so we’re going to try again.

Lilly is ready to go as well and Nevada has a race in mind so we’ll be looking to enter her as well.

With any luck as all we will have a couple of entries to crow about next week and start the second half of the racing season the week after.

It was a bit odd having a quiet week last week after a bunch of races so close together, but all is well.

Furzy has moved on.  She was placed almost immediately by Doc. Bowman’s Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption so she should be nestled into her new home and new job by now.

Lilly came our of the stake a little sore.  Not “omg her ankle!” sore but “man did I get banged around” sore.  Totally makes sense the way she missed that first turn and pinballed a little bit.  Nothing wring with that and she gets an additional week to recoup.  Let’s not forget either that she had 2 races in 13 days, so a little extra time is warranted.

Satellite is ready to go.  We entered him on Wednesday and Thursday in basically the same type of race – low level claiming race going a mile over the dirt.  However neither race filled so we’ll try again this week, most likely on Thursday given the races in the condition book, though you never know when an extra shows up, so Karl will stay aware and ready.

Whenever the next race is, I will have with me packs of winners’ circle photos for those that want them.  I have 37 of each, if I run out, we’ll order more.  I’ll remind everyone before the next race so nobody forgets.

Finally, below is the most recent financials based upon what I have now.  We will get July’s training bills in about a week as well as the vet bills.  The expenses I did know, I included.

Basically, after the July bills are paid, we’re only out the price of the horses – earnings have covered about all our training so far. That’s not bad and we’re not finished yet!

OCRC2020 – Running financials 7-25

Naturally that wasn’t the finish we wanted to see in the Northbound Pride but we took a chance and I hope everyone enjoyed the ride.  I think we can all agree that Ask Bailey is one impressive filly as well.  Away from the races as long as she was and was able to cruise effortlessly from last to the lead and then draw off  to win by more than four.

Lil broke really well but had a hard time settling through the first turn.  Jockey Alonso Quinonez said she was fighting the turn a bit, almost like she came up on it too quickly.  He said that if she were smooth, he could have got to the lead but the priority was keeping her under control through the turn and straighten her out down the backside.  By the time she settled, she was out of sorts and out of contention.

There is a bright spot, though.  As they turned for home she only had one horse beat and she took aim and was determined not to finished last.  She tried until the end and wanted to win something! It was good to see that kind of effort.

Would she have won if she handled the turn better? I can’t imagine that as good as Ask Bailey is, but this was a very talented group and we probably won’t be seeing the likes of this batch again this season.

So we move forward.  She’s had two races in less than two weeks, so she’ll get a little extra time – about three weeks – and we’ll see the options before us come the turn of the month.  We can go first level allowance, an optional claimer a $16,000 claimer – several options should be there for us.  All will most likely entail going back to five furlongs but definitely staying on the turf.

So while it may have been a disappointing result, it wasn’t a disappointing effort, if that makes any sense.

With Satellite not starting for at least another week, we’ll go from frenzy to a quiet couple of weeks.  I will spend it getting some updates, pulling together the financial information for another spreadsheet update and, I’m thinking, answering some questions.

If you have a question about racing in general, our horses in particular, or anything else you can think of, please shoot me an email at ted@grevelisracing.com and I’ll put together a couple of posts in order to answer them!  Take advantage of the lull, if you will.

This is a fun first for me – doing a preview for the Club for a stakes race.  The race is the $50,000 Northbound Pride Oaks at one mile over the turf.  Alonso Quinonez will ride and we’re breaking from the middle of the field.

We’re not considered by anyone to be a threat, nor is much expected from our girl as she heads postward in the third tonight.  While we most likely won’t be 46-1, we certainly will be considered an outsider. That’s okay.

Here is a look at the seven horse field.

Ask Bailey (Maker/?) – A new rider will be named today as Florent Geroux has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not make the trip from Kentucky.  She’s only run over the turf and is graded stakes placed at two.  She’s been training very well up to this, her first start of 2020.  An improvement over her best 2019 numbers and she could dust this field.  She’ll be running hard late.

Defend the Rose (Robertson/Chirinos) – One of several in here making their firsst effort over the turf.  Coming in after a gate to wire win in the Frances Genter Stakes.  Early speed is her forte.

Urban Fairytale (Wilkes/Canchari) – Solid Gulfstream Park maiden breaker for the Minnesota owned filly.  The win was at a mile over the turf and she sat off the pace before fighting hard to hold on for the win.  Gutsy and talented, she hasn’t raced since that race on March 29th but has been working consistently in Kentucky.

LILFEATHEREDINDIAN (LITFIN/QUINONEZ)

Delia O’Hara (Davis/Butler) – First time over the turf after a very impressive maiden breaking sprint in her first local start.  She had been coming from off the pace in the Southwest as a 2-year old but was right up on the lead in the win.

Machos Vision (Biehler/Biehler) – A stakes winner on the dirt at two at this distance in Oklahoma.  Gave the turf a go here last out where she tired a bit pushing the pace against a very good field led by multiple stakes winner Some Say So (who won), a race that is better than the running line suggests.  Mom, Machorina, was a multiple turf winner at Canterbury and finished 4th in this very race in 2010.

Smart N Wicked (Jose L Silva/Velazquez) – First try over the turf after a winning effort – close to the pace – last out here in a $12,500 optional claiming race. She was stakes placed at 2 at Zia Park and she’ll also be stretching out for the first time.

If there is one thing we should have learned from Lilly’s last out is that we can never say never.

First, the issues:

• Obviously this is quite a step up.  For several in here though, we’re ALL making the same jump up in class.
• Again, like several others, we’re stretching out after sprinting.
• We’re a front runner, again, like many in here.

The above issues aren’t a secret, they’re obvious.  However, we don’t know how the others will handle the jump in class, the stretch out or how the pace will develop.

It would seem that it will be very hard to win this thing gate to wire given the amount of early speed, but how will some of the other speedsters handle the turf?  The turf course has been relatively kind of front runners and with little rain yesterday and none forecasted for today, speed may still carry.  Will we try and steal this on the front end? I don’t know, but I think it will be hard to get in front and control the pace with the amount of pace pressure that should be there.

Can Lil perhaps rate a little? We have no idea.  Her dirt PPs were so bad it is hard to tell if she can rate or not.  It could be risky to try it in this spot in case it’s not in her wheelhouse.

Stretching out may be an issue for her, sure, but she should be able to carry her speed further on this turf course.  Given more time, Nevada could have trained her differently to prep for the distance changed, but we didn’t have than.  That said, she came out the last race wonderfully.  She was not emptied out in that start and hopefully has gas still in the tank.

Alsonso knows Lil.  He’ll play the cards he’s going to be dealt at the break and we’ll see where it takes us.  The intangibles are on our side: she’s tough, she’s aggressive and she has heart – all things that can’t be trained.

It’s a unique situation we’re in here, so enjoy the day, the build up and the experience.  We may not get here again!

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!

Below is the detailed analysis of our race from the Daily Racing Form as well as some of their selectors’ choices. Don’t strain your eyes too much – we’re not in there.  But then, we weren’t two weeks ago either, were we?

I did forget to mention in the last post that the admission policy will be same as last week: ALL Clubbers name will be at Will Call. Same procedure: get your temp taken at the front door (masked up), go over to the ticket window to your left and pick up your ticket.  Your admission is good for the track level during racing.  

ASK BAILEY has tried nothing but the turf in her career so bonus points for that. She is bred to love routing and we think a flat mile is her best distance. She gets a ton of pace to chase. She will have the back of the pack to herself and that sure sounds like a relaxing place. Her late kick should be powerful and best. U

RBAN FAIRYTALE goes from maidens to stakes and maybe that helps her price just a tad. She did cost a cool 250 grand. She got a 71 Beyer on the turf at Keeneland as a 2YO so we know she can do better now. Work tab is quite good. Best of all is that she wants to pass runners and gets a fast pace to work with.

SMART N WICKED is by a 3% debut turf sire. Her dam went 9-5-2-0 on the grass and earned 89K (won turf debut). Lone grass sib is 3-0-1-1 (earned 2K). Maybe this filly is the speed of the speed.

DEFEND THE ROSE is by a 14% debut turf sire. Her dam went 4-0-0-1 on the green and earned 4K. Lone grass sib is 2-0-1-1 and earned 9K.

DELIA O’HARA is by a 9% debut turf sire. Her dam never tried the grass. Lone grass sib is 5-0-0-1 (earned $4,718).

We’re down to only a few days left until the first stakes start in Club history!  To recap, Lilfeatheredindian is entered in the $50,000 Northbound Pride Oaks Wednesday night.  The race is the 3rd, on the turf, and we’ll broke from post 4 for the mile race.  Alonso Quinonez rides.

Some operational matters before we get to Nevada’s video.

Satellite is recovering from his win and working toward his next start.  Furzy has been retired from racing.  She was donated to Doc Bowman’s Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption (https://bowmanthoroughbredadoption.com/) and they already had a new owner lined up for her for her second career either as an eventing horse of hunter/jumper.  She’s healthy and young and should have a great second career.

At our next start (after the stake, that day is going to be a little crazy for us), I will have the win photos for folks who want them.  I had serval dozen printed and will hand out to all that want them.  If I run out, I’ll order some more.  From that point forward I will have them at all our starts, knowing that folks can’t make it our for every race

We still have no access to the paddock for the Club.  There are just too many of us in too small a space.  I will be outside the fence by our number 4 before the race.  I don’t know much before the race – it depends on how quickly we can get out of Rochester – but we’ll make the race.

Learning after her last race to never say never, should we win we are going to have to play the winners’ circle by ear and get the track’s help and guidance.  Much has changed in just the last few days (http://www.mwpaddockreport.com/canterbury-cancels-training-saturday-issues-statement-adds-safety-measures) and, as the Racing Club, we have an obligation to model the correct protocols.  That said, please don’t forget your masks and wear them properly!

Now, without further ado, here is Nevada with the latest on Lilly.

Furzy ended the winning streak at 2 today with a really lackluster effort over the main track at Canterbury tonight.  While admittedly she was in up against the boys, she showed very little after the break, including virtually cantering around the racetrack with very little effort.

We’ll see how she comes back from the race but if there are no excuses it’s time to find her a new job or a softer place to run.

Furzy was supposed to be the better of the two fillies when we got them but have certainly gone in opposite directions.  Most disappointing is that Furzy works so well in the mornings but has not been able to transition those efforts to the afternoons.

Now there is no pressure to keep a winning streak alive as we head into the big race next week with Lil!

It’s a new Club milestone – our first stakes race.

We took a chance that there wouldn’t be as much travel as usual between Covid and purse reductions that whoever remained Lil’ could be competitive.  The LAST thing we want to do is enter just to run.

Attached is the overnight sheet as well as the stakes nominations with all the past performances of the nominees.  Once you cross out who’s out, I think we are competitive as long as Lil’ can get the mile distance.  She does that and things will get very exciting.

More information as we get closer to next Wednesday.  This week is going to last about a month…

Stakes overnights

Northbound-Pride-Final

We are in the enviable position of trying to figure out how to win three races in a row!  As I’ve mentioned, this isn’t exactly the spot we wanted to be in, mucking it up with the boys, but not getting the low level maiden race for girls to go, we had to run here.

Given this field, things aren’t as bad as you’d think.  All but two in here are three year olds and one of the older horses is a 5-year old first time starter.

Let’s go through the field.

Youwonderwhyidrink (Bolinger/Chirinos) – Iowa bred has been toiling in Nebraska.  Looks like an off the pace type.

Blacks Ferry Road (Hornsby/Felix) – Pair of relatively flat efforts since moving here from Arkansas.  Will be cutting back this race from a mile last out.

Shehe (Rarick/Lindsay) – Five year old first time starter would indicate that there has been some issues in the past.  Relatively steady work pattern since arriving here.

FURZY (LITFIN/HARR)

Rockthepulpit (Raven/Arietta) – Looks to be the lone speed in the race and has a top poilot on board.   Solid efforts at Will Rogers and first try here was a third.  New barn is 18% off the claim with a large flat bet profit with that angle.

Rahaal (Villafranco/Loveberry) – Top outfit is cutting back in distance.  Local efforts were just okay after a couple of solid efforts in Oklahoma.  Should want to sit just off the pace and should definitely improve on the cutback in distance.  If Rockthepulpit is pressured, he could be the one to pick up the pieces.

Dazzling Reunion (L Litfin/Butler) – Tried higher on the turf in his local debut where he pressed the speed but faltered.  Cuts back from a mile and should have a better effort and be in the mix longer.

Hard to know what to make of this race for us.  She really didn’t show us enough to get a feel for her in her last.  We do know that she fired from the gate beautifully and was aggressive in the start.  We also know that turn came up on her quicker than she expected and hard time navigating it so quickly.  Once she blew the turn and got bumped around she just gave up.

She gets more of a sweeping turn on the dirt as well as have more time to be prepared for it going six furlongs.  With apprentice rider Kelsey Harr we get a five pound weight allowance (apprentices traditionally get a weight allowance to get started in order to encourage trainers to use them).  As a 3-year old we’re allowed another five pounds (as the other threes are). And then as a filly against males we get another five pounds.  So we are running 10 pounds lighter than most and 15 lighter than a couple.

She’s been working very well and everyone who has ridden her thinks she has some talent.  If she can pull it all together, we should have a good run.  With a little luck, it could be even better!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Here is the surprising (and hopefully accurate!) outlook from Scott Ehlers at the DRF (though it appears he missed that she’s a filly):

FURZY was off slow in his debut so there is your excuse. Maybe he wasn’t ready for two turns in his second start. Then he came here and tried the same but on the grass but did little. Now he gets back to a dirt sprint and gets a weight break all while dropping in class. The Litfin barn has been hot of late. ROCKTHEPULPIT has solid figs and good speed. New barn is 18% off the claim. There isn’t much pace in this race so this gelding could be long gone on the front end. RAHAAL has some solid tries at Oaklawn. His last two locally were just even efforts. Maybe this colt doesn’t like two turns? SHEHE is by a 12% debut sire. His dam was un-raced and this is her first foal. This gelding is a 5YO.

Other DRF analysis: