Horse Racing questions and answers

[batt33]

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/IMG4319_1724962521759/MP4/IMG4319_1724962521759.mp4

Figured you would get a kick out of this STR.... Blinking lights to follow your horse during early morning workouts... I don't remember that haha


Seize the Grey breezed five furlongs in 1:00.20 over the Oklahoma track at Saratoga early yesterday morning. He worked by himself, traveling comfortably through the wire. Your son of Arrogate is scheduled to have two more breezes at the Spa ahead of the G1 Pennsylvania Derby.

[Easy-Rider 66]

sent you message STR. THX

[str]

saw he was aboard her one time before this start also..any idea why he replaced jacinto vasquez those two times ?

I'm pretty sure Jimbo rode her 3 times in total.

I know that Vasquez was on days when Jimbo rode her in the Spinaway. He also rode her in her 1st start and once as a three yr. old. If memory serves, he broke her maiden as the named rider in the 1st start. Can't remember why he rode her once as a 3 year old but those two were the only riders she ever had I'm almost positive.

[str]

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/b...4962521759.mp4


Figured you would get a kick out of this STR.... Blinking lights to follow your horse during early morning workouts... I don't remember that haha


Seize the Grey breezed five furlongs in 1:00.20 over the Oklahoma track at Saratoga early yesterday morning. He worked by himself, traveling comfortably through the wire. Your son of Arrogate is scheduled to have two more breezes at the Spa ahead of the G1 Pennsylvania Derby.

I hated training in the dark. Made me nervous. About 6 years into training, Del Carroll, a trainer that I knew from Md. who was always sitting on his pony on the track watching his horses train, was thrown from his mount in the dark at Keenland one morning about 5:30 AM and he died from his injuries a couple days later. Because it was dark, it took a while to find him on the track. Del was a GREAT man, trainer, you name it. That news iced it for me. I never trained in the dark again. Period.
Del had won the Preakness 10 years earlier in 1972 with Bee Bee Bee.

He had a daughter who was 2 years old when he passed away. About 17 years later, she was attending the U. of Md. and walked up to me one morning and said she had been told I was looking for an exercise rider for the summer. And while I was, I had never seen her before. So I asked who she was and she said her name was Lark Carroll and that she had ridden horses all her life but needed a summer job while attending college. I did not think for a second that she could have been Del's daughter and she did not say it..
So I let her ride the pony around the shed and she looked like she was comfortable enough to allow her to go to the track with one. So we find a real easy horse to gallop and I told her to back up an 1/8th of a mile jogging, turn around and go once around to the wire, pull up, come home the wrong way back to the 1/2 mile pole and show me if you can do that. When she went by me the 1st time I thought, she's probably ok. By the time she went around and went by me the 2nd time, I looked over at another trainer and said something like, where in the hell has she been all my life. She comes home, turns the horse out at the gap, walks off, the horse gets shook up from a set of horses going my and she calmly gets the horse back to perfect within about 3 seconds. She had as good a set of hands as anyone, and she had the perfect seat on a horse. I was blown away. I waited for her to get off the horse, waved her over and told her she has a job with me until she decides to leave. The next day, I was told she was Del Carrol's daughter. It all made perfect sense. I talked to her about that and that I knew her mom Klo who was much much younger than Del and she she said yeah, she knows you also and thought it was cool that she was going to be working for me. Funny thing, I thought it was cooler that she was working for me than she did. As good an exercise rider as I ever had.
She stayed all through college until she moved out of state. She became a veterinarian and still practices I assume.

A long story for galloping in the dark but it reminded me of Del. Great idea with the blinking light on the helmet.

Thanks Batt.

[str]

an army mule 3 yo filly who was claimed in her last start goes in R5 @ saratoga

#1 backstretch rose (5-2) @ 2:46



.

I'll check this out.

Thanks JBEX.

[JBEX]

I'm pretty sure Jimbo rode her 3 times in total.

I know that Vasquez was on days when Jimbo rode her in the Spinaway. He also rode her in her 1st start and once as a three yr. old. If memory serves, he broke her maiden as the named rider in the 1st start. Can't remember why he rode her once as a 3 year old but those two were the only riders she ever had I'm almost positive.

rode her in starts 3 (astoria) and 5 (spinaway)..jacinto was suspended for the latter and not sure about the other



.

[batt33]

I hated training in the dark. Made me nervous. About 6 years into training, Del Carroll, a trainer that I knew from Md. who was always sitting on his pony on the track watching his horses train, was thrown from his mount in the dark at Keenland one morning about 5:30 AM and he died from his injuries a couple days later. Because it was dark, it took a while to find him on the track. Del was a GREAT man, trainer, you name it. That news iced it for me. I never trained in the dark again. Period.
Del had won the Preakness 10 years earlier in 1972 with Bee Bee Bee.

He had a daughter who was 2 years old when he passed away. About 17 years later, she was attending the U. of Md. and walked up to me one morning and said she had been told I was looking for an exercise rider for the summer. And while I was, I had never seen her before. So I asked who she was and she said her name was Lark Carroll and that she had ridden horses all her life but needed a summer job while attending college. I did think for a second that she could have been Del's daughter and she did not say it..
So I let her ride the pony around the shed and she looked like she was comfortable enough to allow her to go to the track with one. So we find a real easy horse to gallop and I told her to back up an 1/8th of a mile jogging, turn around and go once around to the wire, pull up, come home the wrong way back to the 1/2 mile pole and show me if you can do that. When she went by me the 1st time I thought, she's probably ok. By the time she went around and went by me the 2nd time, I looked over at another trainer and said something like, where in the hell has she been all my life. She comes home, turns the horse out at the gap, walks off, the horse gets shook up from a set of horses going my and she calmly gets the horse back to perfect within about 3 seconds. She had as good a set of hands as anyone, and she had the perfect seat on a horse. I was blown away. I waited for her to get off the horse, waved her over and told her she has a job with me until she decides to leave. The next day, I was told she was Del Carrol's daughter. It all made perfect sense. I talked to her about that and that I knew her mom Klo who was much much younger than Del and she she said yeah, she knows you also and thought it was cool that she was going to be working for me. Funny thing, I thought it was cooler that she was working for me than she did. As good an exercise rider as I ever had.
She stayed all through college until she moved out of state. She became a veterinarian and still practices I assume.

A long story for galloping in the dark but it reminded me of Del. Great idea with the blinking light on the helmet.

Thanks Batt.

Wow .... so sad to hear about Del Carrol.... But That's an awesome story on how his daughter was part of your team! Thanks for sharing!

[batt33]

One of my other horses is running today Race 2 at Saratoga #9 " Real Savvy" Heavy favorite in debut"as most MRH are" didn't run a lick...Trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joel Rosario both provided their feedback following the race. Both reported he was very professional before race, behaved with pony and broke well. The key will be determining if it was simply too much for him on debut to go a route of ground or if the surface was the issue. As Christopher mentions, that is something we will come to find out in his training out of this work.
Despite his outside post, your son of Authentic broke well and was able to get tactical position while three wide down the backstretch but failed to do much running after that. Heading into the turn, Real Savvy began under heavy pressure from Joel Rosario in order to keep him involved and was unable to do so.

And as a trainer you have to be optimistic so here is the quote going into todays race:

Real Savvy attempts to turn things around on Friday as he tries the turf for the first time in career start number two. Post time is 1:07 p.m. ET. Top turf rider Flavien Prat will be in the irons, which never hurts. Your son of Authentic was able to work and gallop over the turf training track, giving the Clement barn the confidence to make this change.
As we have reported from the get-go, the Clement barn has always been high on Real Savvy, and still believes he is much better than what he showed on debut. We need to treat this race almost as if it is his debut given he did not do much running that day over the dirt. The one interesting thing about this field is that no runner has competed going two turns on the turf yet, so it will be something new for all the runners.

[batt33]

and their take on the rest of the field

Best of luck! Here’s a closer look at the competition:#1 Scythian (3/1): The lone filly in the field. This one should love the added ground, but the surface change is a bit interesting considering there was a seven-furlong dirt option which will be run as Race 9. Her Hall of Fame trainer chose to put in here for a reason.
#2 Iron Max (7/2): Ran out of real estate on debut and was able to handle the change in surface in start number two, appreciating the added ground. He has a big chance.
#3 Sounds Like a Plan (8/1): First timer by Twirling Candy looks very live. Final two drills have to catch your eye from a time standpoint. Drew on the also-eligible list in the sprint version of this race this past Saturday. While he may need this race, do not dismiss this one.
#4 Mossad (10/1): Looks to be working well at Keeneland leading up to this debut. Dam was a pure sprinter, so interesting they chose to route this one first time out.
#5 Shoot the Waves (15/1): Adds blinkers after not doing much running on debut. This barn is very capable of reversing the form quickly, so it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see this one improve.
#6 Richard Ave (5/1): Draw a line through his two dirt races and he’s worth another look. Have a feeling he will be bet down from his morning line. Win contender.
#7 Powered by Coal (20/1): Plenty of turf pedigree on the bottom side of this one’s pedigree and has worked over the turf on multiple occasions. His siblings are 9-for-49 in turf routes so to start this one here makes some sense.
#8 Shakitforthebird (12/1): Showed speed in his debut, but faded late. He was well supported that day going off as the post-time favorite, so the word was out. Another one who was entered in the sprint version of this race last Sunday, but drew on the also-eligible list. They clearly wanted to get him on the turf, but wonder if two turns is really what this one wants.
#10 Man of Mischief (6/1): Has been the runner-up in his two prior starts, most recently finishing behind MyRacehorse runner Manhattan Twist. He now makes a surface switch and stretches out in distance hoping that will do the trick. Sire Instagrand has yet to have a winner on turf from 10 opportunities and this one’s siblings have made a total of 34 starts which all came on dirt.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Hey, batt. Mentioned in another post that I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with STR @ Laurel. Two things:

1) The level of respect this guy has. I can't count how many people came up to say "Hi" to him.
2) STR has enough stories to fill a book.

[batt33]

Hey, batt. Mentioned in another post that I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with STR @ Laurel. Two things:

1) The level of respect this guy has. I can't count how many people came up to say "Hi" to him.
2) STR has enough stories to fill a book.

I remember reading that post!
I can believe that for sure! Just the way he tells a story and the people he has interacted with.... pretty cool that you got to meet him in person and that he is on the message board!

On another note Real Savvy ran a heck of a race to run second! thought he might have had it at the top of the stretch.

[JBEX]

I'll check this out.

Thanks JBEX.

post time and just noticed there are two army mules ..with 4 scratches they are 3-5 and 9-5 respectively lol other is #5 pam pam..BR is ls favorite

[JBEX]

army mule exacta ..probably about $4.50 for a deuce lol

[JBEX]

army mule exacta ..probably about $4.50 for a deuce lol

wow other AM missed 2nd by a nose ..really thought he just got it

[Madison]

One of my other horses is running today Race 2 at Saratoga #9 " Real Savvy" Heavy favorite in debut"as most MRH are" didn't run a lick...Trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joel Rosario both provided their feedback following the race. Both reported he was very professional before race, behaved with pony and broke well. The key will be determining if it was simply too much for him on debut to go a route of ground or if the surface was the issue. As Christopher mentions, that is something we will come to find out in his training out of this work.
Despite his outside post, your son of Authentic broke well and was able to get tactical position while three wide down the backstretch but failed to do much running after that. Heading into the turn, Real Savvy began under heavy pressure from Joel Rosario in order to keep him involved and was unable to do so.

And as a trainer you have to be optimistic so here is the quote going into todays race:

Real Savvy attempts to turn things around on Friday as he tries the turf for the first time in career start number two. Post time is 1:07 p.m. ET. Top turf rider Flavien Prat will be in the irons, which never hurts. Your son of Authentic was able to work and gallop over the turf training track, giving the Clement barn the confidence to make this change.
As we have reported from the get-go, the Clement barn has always been high on Real Savvy, and still believes he is much better than what he showed on debut. We need to treat this race almost as if it is his debut given he did not do much running that day over the dirt. The one interesting thing about this field is that no runner has competed going two turns on the turf yet, so it will be something new for all the runners.

What is the thought process going D->T on 2nd start??

[JBEX]

kentucky downs

R8 saturday

dk horse nashville derby @ 1 5/16

$3.1M purse @ 5:16


couple of interesting things happening str

#8 carsons run (9-2)

beat deterministic in saratoga derby

#10 nomos (20-1)

the uncle mo/tapit combo who just missed in the kent stakes at delaware going 1 3/8 miles..you probably remember that race in early July


also

#3 navy seal (20-1)

think a great sleeper with the euro class pedigree, jock and trainer..obviously the layout of track also..he's that ml imo because he's not exiting a stakes


europeans in the race are 2nd or 3rd string imo ..excellent betting race

[batt33]

What is the thought process going D->T on 2nd start??

I digress to STR to answer this!
but I will give it a shot..... for Real Savvy... originally his maiden race was scheduled for the turf and he was an AE albeit for MTO.
maybe the powers that be were hoping for scratches to get in..... and then with the reduced field they decided to get a race into him...( which he failed miserably) .
from a bloodstock point(and STR help me!) horses racing on dirt or turf and sprint or long have certain characteristics in the conformation that make them more ( for lack of a better term "likely" to win on that surface or distance... or at least that is the thought process.

I remember being at the horse sales and for right or wrong my cousin would point out horses and see" looks like a bulldog" powerfully built upfront... going to be a sprinter... however I don't remember the rest of the "analogies" lol

[JBEX]

I digress to STR to answer this!
but I will give it a shot..... for Real Savvy... originally his maiden race was scheduled for the turf and he was an AE albeit for MTO.
maybe the powers that be were hoping for scratches to get in..... and then with the reduced field they decided to get a race into him...( which he failed miserably) .
from a bloodstock point(and STR help me!) horses racing on dirt or turf and sprint or long have certain characteristics in the conformation that make them more ( for lack of a better term "likely" to win on that surface or distance... or at least that is the thought process.

I remember being at the horse sales and for right or wrong my cousin would point out horses and see" looks like a bulldog" powerfully built upfront... going to be a sprinter... however I don't remember the rest of the "analogies" lol

it is unusual to enter him as a MTO in his debut and then just miss (run big) in start 2 on the turf..probably just wanted him to get some experience if it happened to be taken off..didn't watch but obviously a big effort

[batt33]

well just F.....itcky F&*#...... F...
not a fun day for me...... bad race at Saratoga 6th race and now I got this text on one of my horses.......
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Visceral Update
[/COLOR]
Unfortunately, we have a heartbreaking update on Visceral.
As of yesterday, the colt appeared on the improve and on the mend, but last night he would not bear weight on his left hind leg while clearly quite uncomfortable. He would still only touch his toe to the ground this morning, and it was subsequently determined that the infection (staph) had returned with a vengeance, this time moving into the ankle joint.
Dr. Potenza said she really believed the colt was going to make it, but with the recurrence of the infection, the only course of action was to put him down. He fought valiantly, but it just wasn’t fair to the horse to put him through any more discomfort when it did not appear he was going to make it through this.
We’re devastated by this as we’re sure you all are. Visceral was a beautiful, talented horse who clearly had a lot of heart considering how hard he fought to survive.
We’ll be back with more at a later time. Our deepest sympathies to all.

[batt33]

[batt33]

[JBEX]

worst kind of news batt .. very sorry!

[batt33]

Thanks JBX ,just sucks.... this game has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.....

[str]

Thanks JBX ,just sucks.... this game has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.....

JBEX said it right Batt. It is the worst kind of news.

I'm so sorry.

[batt33]

JBEX said it right Batt. It is the worst kind of news.

I'm so sorry.

Thanks STR... you know it as well as I do.... the horses " each with their own personalities and quirks" are part of the barn family..... from the hot walker, groom, excersie rider, trainer and owner(s)... they each have a piece of our heart.... from the bottom level claimer to the best in the barn, They are missed each and every day....
Even though I never got to put a hand on this one..... it still sucks..... the Naysers of the business..... just don't get it....... but ... in reality they never get it about anything......

[batt33]

Hey STR don't forget about football contest....Chucky/Ian

[str]

Hey STR don't forget about football contest....Chucky/Ian

Busy week. I am now in.

Thanks Batt !

[str]

post time and just noticed there are two army mules ..with 4 scratches they are 3-5 and 9-5 respectively lol other is #5 pam pam..BR is ls favorite

wow other AM missed 2nd by a nose ..really thought he just got it

Army Mule was a great find JBEX. One of the 1st horses we followed I think.

Now at stud, he is the definition of a sire that throws gutsy, hard trying horses. I really admire that in a stud.

Good stuff JBEX.

[str]

What is the thought process going D->T on 2nd start??

It can be several things Madison.

His breeding can take you there, but the way he is put together physically as well has how he carries himself galloping can also have you lean that way. Sounds like the barn has always liked what they have seen so it becomes more of a let's find what he is comfortable doing process. It sounds like they found it on the turf.
C. Clement , as good a trainer as he is, might be even better on turf. He is really a gifted horseman.

[str]

Thanks STR... you know it as well as I do.... the horses " each with their own personalities and quirks" are part of the barn family..... from the hot walker, groom, excersie rider, trainer and owner(s)... they each have a piece of our heart.... from the bottom level claimer to the best in the barn, They are missed each and every day....
Even though I never got to put a hand on this one..... it still sucks..... the Naysers of the business..... just don't get it....... but ... in reality they never get it about anything......

Darn right it is hard Batt. As hard as it gets in the game. Getting beat a nose and things we go through seem to matter at the time but when something like this happens, it all comes full circle and really puts things into perspective. It's things like this that as hard as they are to swallow, allow you to appreciate every horse that you see out there running. Every trainer, owner, jockey or worker that makes the game go. We compete hard against one another but when something happens like this, we are all one, and in support of each other.
I do not know the first thing about fighting fires, but I can only imagine the bond that you have with everyone that works with you especially during tough times. You all come together . There is no division amongst your group I am sure. You are all one. Same kind of thing at the backstretch when something like this happens. You help the next one in line and work as one.
I remember telling Chucky that at the track, I could be really pissed off at another trainer and we could be battling in the claim box and avoiding talking to each other at times, but on the way home from Pimlico, one of us is stuck on I-95 with a flat tire and the other one pulls over to give them a hand and make sure they are alright. We have all been there before.

That's what horse racing does when you are a part of it. I've never met you but I feel it Batt. Hang in there and lean on your other horses, owners you might know, anyone that understands as the pain will subside but you will never forget.
One of my favorite songs is Humble and Kind. Tim McGraw. Don't listen to it now. But down the road a little. Kind of puts everything into perspective, at least for me.
All the best Batt. And a nice race yesterday on the turf.

[str]

kentucky downs

R8 saturday

dk horse nashville derby @ 1 5/16

$3.1M purse @ 5:16


couple of interesting things happening str

#8 carsons run (9-2)

beat deterministic in saratoga derby

#10 nomos (20-1)

the uncle mo/tapit combo who just missed in the kent stakes at delaware going 1 3/8 miles..you probably remember that race in early July


also

#3 navy seal (20-1)

think a great sleeper with the euro class pedigree, jock and trainer..obviously the layout of track also..he's that ml imo because he's not exiting a stakes


europeans in the race are 2nd or 3rd string imo ..excellent betting race

This race is soooo competitive! I don't think I dismissed any horse going through it the 1st time.

Great betting race for sure. Nice prices everywhere. Well deserved for anyone that can properly sift through it and pick a winning ticket.

[JBEX]

last one lol..if you're busy I understand..thanks for your feedback above on dk derby ..this one a little more relateable

wanted your opinion on a couple of bombs in the spinaway..mainly interested if you like my angles but feel free to give a full opinion or pick another

#3 reliable source (20-1)

broke his maiden start two here after running 2nd on a sloppy track at churchill going 4.5f..what I like about his last start is he ran extremely fast early battling on front but most importantly did it at 6.5f rather than 5.5 or 6f ..think the combo of fast early,only half furlong shorter than today and run over this track is a good one at big odds


#5 slang (15-1)

ambulanced off last start in the schuylerville on 7/11.. special show of confidence trying this ?
like the win at churchill last start and bet well in her debut 2 starts back..sloppy track in the latter and didn't run bad..caramouche always good in sprints

[str]

last one lol..if you're busy I understand..thanks for your feedback above on dk derby ..this one a little more relateable

wanted your opinion on a couple of bombs in the spinaway..mainly interested if you like my angles but feel free to give a full opinion or pick another

#3 reliable source (20-1)

broke his maiden start two here after running 2nd on a sloppy track at churchill going 4.5f..what I like about his last start is he ran extremely fast early battling on front but most importantly did it at 6.5f rather than 5.5 or 6f ..think the combo of fast early,only half furlong shorter than today and run over this track is a good one at big odds


#5 slang (15-1)

ambulanced off last start in the schuylerville on 7/11.. special show of confidence trying this ?
like the win at churchill last start and bet well in her debut 2 starts back..sloppy track in the latter and didn't run bad..caramouche always good in sprints

#3 Reliable Source: Was very fast early on. In a race with so much potential and up and coming horses, the one thing that this horse will need to address today is tightening up that 7 4/5ths last 1/16th. That is crawling home. But, to be fair, she actually drew off from the others doing that so I do cut that some slack. But I don't see that as able to occur today.
The talent each year is amazing in these races and it continues today. What a great race.

#5 Slang: You can eliminate everything about that last race. Had to be a scary moment but in todays world, so much better to be overly cautious than not. If anything with the horse had been off, she would not be in here. If you see the works, he worked her 17 days after the event and have been steady since. The acid test was two works back, right on time, so just draw a line through that last race. We don't know what happened but she is fine and was shortly after the race. Probably all for safety reasons but she was uninjured it looks like.

Winning would be incredible so it seems, and she will be long odds. That win 2 races back was pretty solid so I do not think she is impossible in here. There is a lot of potential talent though, as you know. Really cool race to watch.
And yeah, Carmouche never saw a sprint he did not want to be near the front of. Real good speed rider, no doubt.

Anytime you can lose 14 out of 15 and show a profit, it's a good feeling. If you are not sold on anyone in particular, what the heck. She will probably have added value with that vanned off thing but I wouldn't even consider it.

[Madison]

I digress to STR to answer this!
but I will give it a shot..... for Real Savvy... originally his maiden race was scheduled for the turf and he was an AE albeit for MTO.
maybe the powers that be were hoping for scratches to get in..... and then with the reduced field they decided to get a race into him...( which he failed miserably) .
from a bloodstock point(and STR help me!) horses racing on dirt or turf and sprint or long have certain characteristics in the conformation that make them more ( for lack of a better term "likely" to win on that surface or distance... or at least that is the thought process.

I remember being at the horse sales and for right or wrong my cousin would point out horses and see" looks like a bulldog" powerfully built upfront... going to be a sprinter... however I don't remember the rest of the "analogies" lol

Appreciated. The women Accacia, etc always amaze me, "Well his hind quarters look like a sprinter" etc.

[Madison]

worst kind of news batt .. very sorry!

Same !!