Horse Racing questions and answers

[batt33]

Very nice. The camera person was better but still trying to watch and record. Lol. Hard to do both.

Nice easy work. Looks great. Worked him with Blinkers. That's interesting. Probably just getting him used to the new equipment change. You don't see that all that much. But he's the coach for a reason right?

Haha yes better with the camera today!

[batt33]

by army mule..turfway park R2 #2 colonel caliente (12-1) @ 6:25

by army mule Turf paradise race 7 # 4 yourinthearmynow (10-1)
By Liams map turf paradise race 8 #2 Saline River (3-1)

And my horse Turf way park race 4 #2 sweet voyage (6-1)

[JBEX]

by army mule..turfway park R2 #2 colonel caliente (12-1) @ 6:25

[JBEX]

This is all exactly correct from my point of view JBEX. 5 1/2 F. in mid summer as a baby is one thing. 5 1/2 as a 3 yr. old is another. It is a red flag in my eyes . Same with the blinkers as a firster.
It would be great to see a totally different effort next time. I hope that can occur. We'll see.

will keep an eye out

Thank you for that. We do need to see the whole picture. And while all of them cant be stars, the one constant is the efforts that always seem to be there. That is very commendable. You don't see it to the degree all the AM's seem to display it very often.

yes all efforts should be acknowledged..I think this one needs a drop to a level 3 track..consider parx a level 2..penn,charlestown etc ..maybe even presque isle as the AM's seem to run ok on artificial surfaces..interesting to see if that's where he winds up eventually




.

[str]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Straight No Chaser Update
[/COLOR]
Straight No Chaser bounced out of yesterday’s work in great order and remains scheduled to ship tomorrow. Since he will have the next few days off of training, Dan opted to send Straight No Chaser back to the track this morning to jog. Click here to read today's TDN article on our Champion.

https://youtu.be/mRy_EY6amSI

Looks good. Love seeing the Bellboots. Those rubber circles around the front feet. For those that don't know, they are there to protect against the back hoofs overextending and the back toe grabs of the shoes hitting the back bulbs of the front heels and tearing a layer of skin off.
That often happens if the horse is really felling good and full of himself and maybe jumping around somewhat with pent up energy.
It's like tearing a fingernail or skinning your thumb right at the tip of the thumbnail. Hurts like crazy when something touches it for a couple days until it toughens up. Smart move from a smart trainer.

[str]

Caldera had his final work for the Sunland Derby yesterday morning, covering five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Oaklawn Park. He looked to be striding out well, per usual. Your colt will ship to New Mexico on Thursday.
https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754/MP4/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754.mp4

workout below

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/b...9302920754.mp4

Very nice. The camera person was better but still trying to watch and record. Lol. Hard to do both.

Nice easy work. Looks great. Worked him with Blinkers. That's interesting. Probably just getting him used to the new equipment change. You don't see that all that much. But he's the coach for a reason right?

[str]

by army mule..2nd place finish at parx today(1-2 won easy) ..long time runner vs bottom level maiden claimers




.

if I find ones post race that ran poorly will post that also..not just the good results

Thank you for that. We do need to see the whole picture. And while all of them cant be stars, the one constant is the efforts that always seem to be there. That is very commendable. You don't see it to the degree all the AM's seem to display it very often.

[str]

the distance thing I would have never thought of but got me thinking why run a 5.5f race at this stage .. who benefits from the shorter distance ..could understand for a mcl race as horses are settling in to where they belong for a tag but not for msw's ..seems if anything that making it a longer sprint would suit the needs of the horses better..obviously there is a reason and it's wasn't written of nowhere..if I had to render a guess it's probably the type of horses you get at tampa vs gulfstream

even with the 2nd place finish a lot of red flags between the blinkers,distance chosen and ultimately the style in which he ran .. with all the good one's we've followed really wanted to see this one excel but it's not out of the question he won't ..conditioner one of the best and st elias (big time) has part ownership so sure they'll choose the best course for him..the latter was also the owner of army mule during his racing career and maybe still have a piece now

This is all exactly correct from my point of view JBEX. 5 1/2 F. in mid summer as a baby is one thing. 5 1/2 as a 3 yr. old is another. It is a red flag in my eyes . Same with the blinkers as a firster.
It would be great to see a totally different effort next time. I hope that can occur. We'll see.

[batt33]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Straight No Chaser Update
[/COLOR]
Straight No Chaser bounced out of yesterday’s work in great order and remains scheduled to ship tomorrow. Since he will have the next few days off of training, Dan opted to send Straight No Chaser back to the track this morning to jog. Click here to read today's TDN article on our Champion.

https://youtu.be/mRy_EY6amSI

[batt33]

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754/MP4/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754.mp4

[batt33]

Caldera had his final work for the Sunland Derby yesterday morning, covering five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Oaklawn Park. He looked to be striding out well, per usual. Your colt will ship to New Mexico on Thursday.
https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754/MP4/CalderaOP20250210hq_1739302920754.mp4

workout below

[batt33]

if I find ones post race that ran poorly will post that also..not just the good results

No worries JBEX Wasn't even on my radar.

[JBEX]

by army mule..2nd place finish at parx today(1-2 won easy) ..long time runner vs bottom level maiden claimers




.

if I find ones post race that ran poorly will post that also..not just the good results

[JBEX]

by army mule..2nd place finish at parx today(1-2 won easy) ..long time runner vs bottom level maiden claimers




.

[JBEX]

I just saw the race from Sunday. I hated the 5 1/2 distance going in because it rarely allows the horse to breath, learn, and kick on in rhythm. It's just a send fest which teaches the horse more bad things than good. And in this case, that is exactly what I saw.

I also hated the blinkers ON as a firster. That is worrisome. Why? Because more often than not when you see this, the trainer is nervous that the horse has not shown enough as compared to it's potential as thought of by the owners and everyone involved. When Batt's firster ran with them on, the trainer did so because of a problem going around the turn. As soon as the trainer could, which was the 2nd race , they came off. A real smart move IMO.
This Army Mule on Sunday was rushed off his feet, sent around the turn and all the way home. The horse must have thought the cops were coming or something. So now, you go into the 2nd race and all the horse will try and do is run off. Most likely, every effort will be made to settle the horse while training and that can work but it also can fail.
Sometimes expectations can get in the way of what is best for the horse. I hope that is not the case but it could be. Being out of a "The Factor" mare might also be a problem with the lead switching which did not happen, or lack of relax and breathing which also did not happen. I don't know at all. But from that effort, and the way the horse did not seem to handle it , I find it worrisome. Hope I'm wrong but that race could have been more harm than good. It was not a good look at all IMO.

Hopefully we see a different version of this horse next out. And I do agree with JBEX on the quality of a typical Tampa Bay maiden race as compared to Gulfstream. That could have been an indication from the trainer as well that the trainer is concerned as to the ability of this expensive horse?
Lots of questions. We will see soon enough I guess.

the distance thing I would have never thought of but got me thinking why run a 5.5f race at this stage .. who benefits from the shorter distance ..could understand for a mcl race as horses are settling in to where they belong for a tag but not for msw's ..seems if anything that making it a longer sprint would suit the needs of the horses better..obviously there is a reason and it's wasn't written of nowhere..if I had to render a guess it's probably the type of horses you get at tampa vs gulfstream

even with the 2nd place finish a lot of red flags between the blinkers,distance chosen and ultimately the style in which he ran .. with all the good one's we've followed really wanted to see this one excel but it's not out of the question he won't ..conditioner one of the best and st elias (big time) has part ownership so sure they'll choose the best course for him..the latter was also the owner of army mule during his racing career and maybe still have a piece now

[str]

by army mule ..sunday @ tampa R6 #7 over the mark (5-2) @ 3:15..the most expensive AM sold at auction in 2023 @ $600k ..look forward to seeing this guy run..may even make him part of a 3 leg super bowl parlay (add 2 others) ..will post it if I do

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I just saw the race from Sunday. I hated the 5 1/2 distance going in because it rarely allows the horse to breath, learn, and kick on in rhythm. It's just a send fest which teaches the horse more bad things than good. And in this case, that is exactly what I saw.

I also hated the blinkers ON as a firster. That is worrisome. Why? Because more often than not when you see this, the trainer is nervous that the horse has not shown enough as compared to it's potential as thought of by the owners and everyone involved. When Batt's firster ran with them on, the trainer did so because of a problem going around the turn. As soon as the trainer could, which was the 2nd race , they came off. A real smart move IMO.
This Army Mule on Sunday was rushed off his feet, sent around the turn and all the way home. The horse must have thought the cops were coming or something. So now, you go into the 2nd race and all the horse will try and do is run off. Most likely, every effort will be made to settle the horse while training and that can work but it also can fail.
Sometimes expectations can get in the way of what is best for the horse. I hope that is not the case but it could be. Being out of a "The Factor" mare might also be a problem with the lead switching which did not happen, or lack of relax and breathing which also did not happen. I don't know at all. But from that effort, and the way the horse did not seem to handle it , I find it worrisome. Hope I'm wrong but that race could have been more harm than good. It was not a good look at all IMO.

Hopefully we see a different version of this horse next out. And I do agree with JBEX on the quality of a typical Tampa Bay maiden race as compared to Gulfstream. That could have been an indication from the trainer as well that the trainer is concerned as to the ability of this expensive horse?
Lots of questions. We will see soon enough I guess.

[str]

last 2 times and it's +360..agree with your logic on why change but seems like a trap to me lol

Yep. The old Trap trick, and I fell for it. Lol.

[str]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Caldera Sunland Derby Entry Update
[/COLOR]
Caldera is officially entered for next Sunday’s G3 Sunland Derby. He’ll break from the outside post, #9, with jockey Rafael Bejarano back in the irons. Post time is 4:17 p.m. MT with the Derby going as race 9 on the card.
We expected this to be a relatively easy spot compared to the other Kentucky Derby preps under consideration for Caldera, and while we’ll still have to take on some legit competition, this definitely appears to be a great opportunity to try stakes company and hopefully pick up some Derby points.
The morning-line favorite is Bob Baffert trainee Getaway Car, a speedy winner of the G3 Best Pal S. last August who was most recently second in the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity with an 82 Beyer.
Wesley Ward-trained Touchy looks to stretch out for the first time, having most recently finished second in the Turfway Preview S. with a 77 Beyer.
McKinzie Street makes his first start off a trainer change. On the board in a trio of SoCal stakes last year including the G1 Del Mar Futurity and G1 American Pharaoh S., he most recently faded to fifth in the G2 San Vicente S. over seven panels after dueling early.

It's a big step. But now is the time to try if you are going to.

GL Batt.

[str]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Nakoma Gate Schooling
[/COLOR]
Nakoma got some work done toward earning her gate card today. Next they will spring the doors with the button and allow her to properly jump from the gate. Gate crews put in a lot of time with youngsters to ensure they learn the gate safely. She went on to put in a strong gallop after leaving the gate this morning, and we’d definitely expect her to post an official, published breeze this coming week.https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/b...9126532184.mp4

Think I have said this before but one of the things I knew absolutely NOTHING about when I started training was the gate. It was never in my job description. The guys on the gate crew taught me everything. They were so darn good. The heads of those crews showed me things I had never noticed before. And they really appreciated me because I was showing them that I felt it was really important. Back in the day, trainers for the most part, did not pay much attention to that. Today, they do.
Cool old memories when the camera gets over to the gate.

Thanks Batt. Love that stuff. Heart squeeze.

[str]

Yeah, I am not a parlay guy. It's one play at a time for me. But I do have a question about them with the Super Bowl.

If, you liked Phila at -105-100 wouldn't you play a parlay with that and Purple Gatorade? I know. Lololol.

But they have apparently had that color for both playoff wins and as superstitious as sports guys can be, doesn't it make sense to at least play some on purple at + 360 ? I would have to think the Phila. would not want to change anything from those last 2 wins so it seems reasonable that a Phila. bettor might go in that direction for at least a little so as to gain at least a little value.
Like I said, I don't play them but if I did I think that makes at least some sense. But... how sick you would you be to sweat out a win and have the color be different . Guess that's why I don't play them.

And that is why I don’t bet parlay’s.
I would have been sick.
Im not saying you can’t win parlay’s.
Im just saying I can’t. Lol.