Glad to report that our Fair Grounds string of horses has settled in very well in New Orleans. Sadly, Edge of Reality’s racing career came to an end when he sustained a fairly major suspensory injury at Fair Grounds on November 23rd. The Elkstone Group had the most wonderful 6-years with this horse who thoroughly deserves his retirement. He will enjoy a year of retirement with no saddle on his back and then hopefully will be sound enough to take great pleasure in a second career. If not, he will return to Stuart’s farm in Maryland and spend his days grazing on the countryside. There had to have been a reason why he didn’t fire in the race, and he was noticeably lame by the time he got back to the barn. He’s a lucky horse that the injury could have been worse and we wish him well. He’s been a warhorse winning multiple, multiple stakes and nearly $700,000 in purse earnings. He deserves a very long and happy retirement eating as much grass and mints as he can.
Cooptado ran another very good third in a competitive Allowance race on the turf going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds on November 25th. It was a bit too short for him, but it set’s him up nicely for some marathon races in the coming weeks. There’s a chance we might try this horse on the dirt on the 16th of December in a Stakes depending on how the nominations and entries look for it. He has been doing most of his running on turf, but he is 4-for-6 on the dirt. We may roll the dice and test him on the surface. Either way, he and Roman Approval will both point towards a 1 ½ mile Stakes at Sam Houston on the turf for $200,000, Grade 3.
Miss Devine had to miss her intended start, however she is fine and back working and will point towards a Maiden race at the Fair Grounds in December as well. Ninety One Assault got an extremely wide trip in his first start after drawing 13 of 13 on November 30th. This horse is always liable to encounter trip issues from that draw. Joe Bravo did as good of a job as he could have and he was 5-wide into the first turn. He then made such a huge move with Joe that he got himself even wider into the second turn. He was 6-wide and then got run down late in the lane after having hit the front. This is a horse that could easily win under those conditions with a better draw next time out.
On a winning front, I am extremely pleased for new clients Imagine Thoroughbreds and their gelding Keppel Bay. Marne Fauber and Heidi Cecil usually consign and buy horses, but are now venturing out into the racing ranks a little bit more. Their winner on December 3rd is a son of Liaison and came to me with limited expectations – his dirt works had been average and he needed to take a big step up for his debut on the turf. Needless to say, I think we were all very surprised that he actually won first time out, but Mark did an excellent job at making sure he was fit and ready to go two turns. Keppel Bay got up under a Colby Hernandez ride to win in the last stride. Thrilled for his connections and for our barn; it’s always nice to start the meet on a good foot, especially after having a frustrating fall season where horses had run well but hadn’t won.
Special mention to La Moneda for taking on an extremely tough 2 Other Than Allowance at Aqueduct (November 29th) and doing it in the cleanest of trips. She dropped out of a slow pace – which is exactly what she should have done – and ended up running second. She’ll head down to Florida now to spend the winter with Brendan Walsh.
The New York scene is quieting down, but I’m delighted to have Schivarelli back in my barn. For those that don’t know much about him, he is a horse that I have a lot of history with. When I worked for Eddie Kenneally, Schivarelli was a turning three-year-old in my barn who was best at one turn and went on to finish fourth in the Wood Memorial in 2014. It was an unbelievably good fourth for a horse that probably doesn’t want to go that far. Schiv, as he is affectionately known by the Kenneally’s and anyone that’s ever had anything to do with him, was claimed by me for $50,000 on November 18th after having tried to claim him a handful of times, and won very impressively in that race. He won’t be offered again for a tag and will train towards a Stakes at Laurel around the end of December going 6-furlongs. The old boy looks phenomenal and is training well.
Maggie and I had a wonderful time celebrating Grace’s first birthday. Obviously coming from an equestrian family there was little doubt that horses would be involved somehow, but I don’t think even I envisioned her getting a pony this early. Snickers joined the ever growing band of Morley horses a few weeks ago, she’s 8-hands, 3 years old and was rescued from a kill pen while in foal (which her previous owners did not realize). After she gave birth to Cannoli and it was time to wean her foal, Snickers joined our family and now has a new best friend in Grace, who absolutely adores her and loves to ride her bareback. She is a very welcome addition to the family.
Howard and Tammy, Great Granny and cousin Caitlyn drove up to celebrate Grace’s birthday and we had a very fun and amusing first birthday surrounded by family.
