-
Comment -
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Sweet Voyage Workout Report
[/COLOR]
Sweet Voyage worked an improved half-mile this morning over the synthetic training track at Santa Anita. She breezed inside of three-time winner and recent Los Al allowance runner-up Glorious Spring. They were clocked in :47.60. This was certainly an encouraging drill, particularly considering it came over a more turf-like surface than the main track.
Comment -
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Tours Del Mar
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey got his first tour of the Del Mar track in the fog this morning. He went out slightly later than originally planned as he slept in a bit—clearly he travels much better than most of us do—and jogged two laps. He’ll gallop tomorrow. Your colt continues to handle everything like a total pro and look good doing it.https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/b...9949878086.mp4
Comment -
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Update
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey had another good morning at Del Mar. See the accompanying video of him getting his ice bath this morning with help from exercise rider Tayja Smith. Icing horses' legs is a totally standard, preventative measure done by most if not all trainers. Click here for more about the methodology from FanDuel's Andie Biancone.
I wasn't going to do this video... but figured you would get a kick out of it STR!
Comment -
Caldera makes his highly anticipated first start this Friday in Churchill’s fifth race, a six-furlong maiden special weight scheduled for 3:14 p.m. ET. Click for past performances.
If you’ll be watching from afar, the race will be available to view on FanDuel TV, your preferred ADW or—if you have a smart TV—we recommend downloading the free Churchill Downs Live app for streaming of races from all Churchill Downs, Inc.-owned tracks.
There is certainly a lot of hype surrounding this unveiling, and for good reason—Caldera has done everything in the mornings to suggest he’s got serious talent. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that you really never know what you’ll get from a first-time starter until they get out there on the track. They often reveal after the fact that they weren’t fit enough, or needed the experience from a mental perspective. Ultimately, what they do first out only tells you so much about what the entirety of their career is going to look like.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is not known for having horses “fully cranked” for their unveilings, and has just a 7% win rate since 2000 with his newcomers. He prefers to race horses into shape and develop them that way. With that being said, Caldera does have a fair bit of foundation from his time on the farm and his training up to the OBS March sale, so we’d consider him a more likely debut winner than the typical Lukas trainee.
We’re extremely excited to get Caldera’s career underway and can’t wait to see what he can do on Friday and beyond.
Best of luck to all, and see below for a closer look at the competition. Click here for past performances.
#1 Texas Tailwind (20-1) - Homebred by champion juvenile Game Winner, who has been a bit quiet with his first crop of runners overall, aside from G1 Del Mar Futurity winner Gaming. His dam had good dirt speed, but her best foal to date was a graded winner routing on the grass. Not impossible, but others seem more likely.
#2 Great Moment (15-1) - Half-brother to his connections’ $1.6-million earner Bango, who took four starts to break his maiden. This barn almost never wins first out, but did have two dirt sprint MSW runner-ups during the Churchill September meet.
#3 Lottery Win (8-1) - Homebred is by Maclean’s Music, whose juvenile debuters win at 15% (compared to 11% for all sires on average). First foal out of an unraced daughter of a GSW French miler. Have to respect trainer Steve Asmussen with this type.
#4 Speed King (12-1) - Worked a solid :10 1/5 at OBS April before fetching $100K. Freshman sire Volatile is winning at 17% with debuting 2-year-olds. Dam was a pretty cheap claimer and her previous foals haven’t fared much better. Conditioner does have a good track record in relevant categories at this fall meet.
#5 Faust (9-2) - Second Asmussen pupil, and this one gets a five-pound weight break with son Erik in the irons. Dam was second on debut in an abbreviated baby race in May. Possessed some speed but was no world beater. Her previous foals haven’t been much.
#7 Kalahari (7-2) - Rallied to be Runner-up on debut over track and trip Sept. 12. That race has produced two subsequent graduates and one runner-up as of this writing, but the pricey winner came back to finish a distant seventh on the stretch-out in the G1 Breeders’ Futurity. Connections are having a big year.
#8 Putting Eagle (12-1) - Third of three Volatile colts in the race, and this one cost $295K off a very sharp :9 4/5 work in March. Grandson of G1SW sprinter Mistical Plan didn’t show as much debut speed as one might’ve expected, and ultimately checked in sixth. Trainer’s best known for success with claimers vs. developing young horses. Not sure what to make of this one.
#9 Canisius (12-1) - By Fierceness’s sire City of Light out of 19-year-old Miss Isella, a two-time graded stakes winner around two turns under the Twin Spires. She’s never been able to pass her talent on to one of her foes, and the likelihood of that happening at her advanced age is diminished. He’ll probably need more ground to be at his best, too.
#10 Poppa Echo (12-1) - Crossed the wire a distant second to top Breeders’ Cup juvenile contender East Avenue in their respective debuts at Ellis in August, but was demoted to fifth that day for interference. Faded after showing brief speed here Sept. 19. Tough read.
#11 Mubarez (3-1) - Son of Authentic, whose progeny thus far have shown a preference for a bit more distance than this. Unraced dam is responsible for this guy’s year-older 3/4-brother Discreet Mischief (Into Mischief), who was second with a big 93 Beyer Speed Figure in his unveiling in February before airing by 8 1/4 at Keeneland second out. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if he came out running.
#12 Galantini (30-1) - Did absolutely nothing at first asking in the same race Kalahari Dreams exits. Connections keep the faith, but impossible to do from an outsider’s perspective.
[/COLOR]
Wish I could get close to 8-1 lolComment -
#8 putting eagle (12-1) would be who I would play without knowing anything about calderaComment -
if caldera wins his debut they'll probably be pointing for the ky jockey club stakes (a g2 @ 8.5f also @ churchill) which is exactly 4 weeks after..if things go well ; winning debut and a win or very good effort in the stakes, like that he'll have 2 races over the surface which needs no explanation as to why it matters
.Comment -
my general opinion of the field ,excluding caldera, is it's below avg for this type of race at churchill ..good you have bc all the way outside and just to your right obviously a very legit horse off his debut ..caldera drew a nice middle post
I was referring more to betting value vs who was a threat and obviously the two ml favorites are ..everything considered I feel this could have been much more unfavorable spot then it turned out to be
a good effort short of a win would be fine imo although it's a big difference heading to a stakes next out vs trying to break your maiden again..I like the path of a good 2yo experience at churchill for a horse that has a shot to be heading for the derby next year ..hopefully it's a fast or at least a good track on fridayComment -
All good there.[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Straight No Chaser Breeze Report
[/COLOR]
Straight No Chaser turned in a strong final work at Santa Anita this morning ahead of next Saturday's G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint. Your son of Speightster breezed under his usual exercise rider and assistant trainer Juan Landeros. They were clocked in a sharp :47.20 (2/55). As you'll hear from trainer Dan Blacker, the work was exactly what he was looking for and all systems are go for next week.
Straight No Chaser will ship to Del Mar tomorrow and the official Breeders' Cup draw will take place tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. local time.
https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/2_1730049365653/MP4/2_1730049365653.mp4Comment -
Yep. When they dig and smell like that I knew he was going to lay down and roll. Then he didn't and I said whaat? Then he took a 1/2 turn around and he did. The hot walker knows is stuff as well. He knew exactly what the horse wanted and held the shank exactly like he should have.[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Tours Del Mar
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey got his first tour of the Del Mar track in the fog this morning. He went out slightly later than originally planned as he slept in a bit—clearly he travels much better than most of us do—and jogged two laps. He’ll gallop tomorrow. Your colt continues to handle everything like a total pro and look good doing it.https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/b...9949878086.mp4
Man it is fun to watch good help work.Comment -
Oh man. Did that about a thousand times or more. That's awesome.[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Update
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey had another good morning at Del Mar. See the accompanying video of him getting his ice bath this morning with help from exercise rider Tayja Smith. Icing horses' legs is a totally standard, preventative measure done by most if not all trainers. Click here for more about the methodology from FanDuel's Andie Biancone.
I wasn't going to do this video... but figured you would get a kick out of it STR!
I had an ice machine I rented as that was the Dutrow way . That and the shopvac reversed and blowing air into cold water so as to be a whirlpool.
Thanks Batt. Heart squeezes when I see that stuff from waaaay back in the day.Comment -
I couldn't be happier with the post positions the Seize the grey(6) and Straight no chaser drew(8) !Comment -
When I was a groom Dutrow had a horse named Hardboot. I did not rub him but he was near the tack room so everybody saw him all the time. Dickie had these big rubber boots that used to allow horses to step into them. They covered from the feet up to the knees. No ice in them, but cold water and attached to a blower to create a whirlpool effect. Hardboot would stand at the front of the stall in those boots and hang his head out just like STG was doing and when people walked by we would all talk to him. We would say " Boots in the boots". Well, he loved it and every time you would say it, he would shake his head waaay up and down like he was saying yes. So cool to see.[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Update
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey had another good morning at Del Mar. See the accompanying video of him getting his ice bath this morning with help from exercise rider Tayja Smith. Icing horses' legs is a totally standard, preventative measure done by most if not all trainers. Click here for more about the methodology from FanDuel's Andie Biancone.
I wasn't going to do this video... but figured you would get a kick out of it STR!
That's the kind of stuff I start remembering when you post that picture. That's what I mean about heart squeezes. Things you would not remember without seeing them but as soon as I see whirlpool or tub like that my minds eye pulls up Lucky Lord standing in them when I rubbed him, a few others that I rubbed but good ole Hardboot with the "Boots in the boots".
If any of you are ever at the races and Tony, Rick or Chip walk by, say loud enough for them to hear, "Boots in the boots". I guarantee you they will stop immediately and look around for who said that. Lol. If you do, tell them STR said hello.Comment -
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Morning Report
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey had another good morning at Del Mar. He handled himself like a class act per usual while schooling in the paddock, and looked powerful on the track afterwards during his open gallop. Enjoy the accompanying clips.
Now Ive seen horses walked over to the paddock between or before races by the groom but not before a morning stretch!
Comment -
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Straight No Chaser Morning Report
Straight No Chaser had a great first morning at Del Mar. Trainer Dan Blacker ponied him himself for his jog and said your speedster was full of energy and perfect. He later schooled in the paddock, and handled all that well too.
He will gallop tomorrow at 6:30 and then paddock school again at 10:00. On Thursday, he will paddock school during Race 2.
[/COLOR]
24
Comment -
A lot of places will not give yon access. Bowie did and I did that just a handful of times there. Could not do it at Pimlico or Laurel. Delaware did but it was so pleasant in that wide open paddock, I never saw the need.[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Morning Report
[/COLOR]
Seize the Grey had another good morning at Del Mar. He handled himself like a class act per usual while schooling in the paddock, and looked powerful on the track afterwards during his open gallop. Enjoy the accompanying clips.
Now Ive seen horses walked over to the paddock between or before races by the groom but not before a morning stretch!
Not many people did that if the opportunity was there. Kind of rare but that trainer is.Comment -
liam's map in R6 @ cd
#1 liam the brave (6-1 ml)
@ 3:26
not a pick ..neutral opinion on him
.Comment -
very expensive (about what deterministic cost) 2yo 2nd time starter by liam's map going at dmr thursday ..banged around after start in his debut and finished far behind although only 2 lengths behind at the 1/4 mark
R6
#3 smartier (20-1)
more like a stakes than a maiden race imo..if he beats this field with such little experience he's really good and certainly lots expected of him down the roadComment
