JC / Railbird

Racing Archive

Anticipating

There’s one juvenile I’m looking forward to seeing at Saratoga above all the other well-bred babies who will debut between Friday and Labor Day and that’s Rachel’s Valentina, the second foal of Rachel Alexandra. The 2-year-old filly by Bernardini is in Todd Pletcher’s Oklahoma barn, and she’s been working steadily since late May. David Grening reports that the trainer says she’s “about two works away from running” (DRF+):

“She acts like a filly with quality that you would certainly expect to improve with distance,” Pletcher said. “When you get a horse like that, it’s exciting to get one with that type of pedigree. It goes without saying that everyone has high hopes. They still have to do it. We’ve been very pleased with the way she’s performed since coming in.”

Watch for stablemate Anna House in race six on opening day — the first-time starter breezed four furlongs from the gate with Rachel’s Valentina on July 11. Valentina posted a bullet :47.04, Anna House :47.05.

Rachel Alexandra’s first foal, Jess’s Dream, is also at Saratoga. The 3-year-old Curlin colt’s path to a first start hasn’t been smooth:

[Trainer Kiaran] McLaughlin said Jess’s Dream has suffered from “little issues” such as respiratory problems caused by allergies. “Really weird stuff but he’s doing well,” he said.

7/26/15 Update: Rachel’s Valentina worked again from the gate, going four furlongs in :48.55 with stablemate Preppy. “I thought she worked very well. She’s not super quick away from the gate but she makes up for it once she gets going,” Pletcher told the NYRA press office. “We’ll see how she comes out of it and look through the condition book and try and figure something out.”

Posted in Racing on July 23, 2015 / Tagged Buzz Babies, Jess's Dream, Rachel Alexandra, Rachel's Valentina, Saratoga

Crammed

Jeff Scott is another questioning the “Big Day” trend:

So-called “mini-Breeders’ Cups” are a growing trend, but are they always a good thing? With the Saratoga meet extending over 40 days, does it make sense to cram nearly half the Grade 1s (6 of 15) into a three-hour period on a single one of those days? At a time when attendance has been in steady decline, wouldn’t it be better to keep the major attractions more evenly distributed, to give people — especially close followers of the sport — more of a reason to come to the track all seven weekends of the meet, not just four or five of them?

Posted in Racing on July 21, 2015 / Tagged Big Days, Graded Stakes, NYRA, Saratoga

Emotional Distress

Call the Chromies the Grumpies:

… many of them were not happy [California Chrome] spent most of this year overseas. I have read, heard or been contacted about everything from wanting to know if it is possible to sue majority owner Perry Martin for animal abuse since he had the horse leave the country, to people thinking no one in England has ever cared for a champion racehorse before and that is why Chrome’s season has ended in injury.

The short answer to all of this is: “No. Just no. Please stop.”

My goodness, sue? I’ll cop to doubts about the Royal Ascot plan for Chrome because I worried he wasn’t a top-notch turf runner who could keep up with his likely competition. But I also understood majority owner Perry Martin’s desire to show off his very good horse, and I like to think that I’ve grown more empathetic to the push-pull owners feel when they have a horse like Chrome — the impulse to be conservative and keep a horse doing what you know they’re capable of, versus the sporting urge to go anywhere in the world they can take you. Sometimes you follow the second and it just doesn’t work out.

If there’s anyone who can feel glum about Chrome’s 2015 campaign, other than trainer Art Sherman, it’s the people who make up DAP Racing, which is a partnership that has very publicly broken down in recent months. Steve Andersen reported on Wednesday that Taylor Made bought out Steve and Carolyn Coburn’s minority interest in California Chrome (DRF+). The colt will recuperate from his minor injury at Taylor Made’s Kentucky farm.

Posted in Racing on July 16, 2015 / Tagged California Chrome, DAP Racing, Taylor Made