Messages

   I found this article on my Yahoo News page today.
     http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sd-sp-del-mar-horse-death-20180810-story.html#
   The incident was bad enough in itself (a horse killed and a rider out for months with serious injury), but Assael's tone-deaf decision to appeal his suspension has apparently pushed it into national news coverage.
   Irish Spring's owner is outraged. IMHO, the young rider is giving the impression that all his apologies are meaningless.
   But....trainers are still giving him mounts; five yesterday, IIRC.   
   

   It doesn't look the same, but it's great to have it back up. Losing ANY racing site is a big loss for us fans.
   And I'm going to try to continue my participation here. This site should also be appreciated.   

   Where did you read that, Stark? Could you provide a link? Thanks.
   If it's true, I'm not happy to hear that. While he may have a legal right to appeal that suspension, it kind of makes all his apologies to the riders he injured and the trainer of the horse he killed ring hollow.
   The judge's ruling will probably let him ride for most of the prestigious Del Mar meet.   

[Hollendorfer Causes Stir As He Nominates Unique Bella To Pacific Classic; Plans Not Solid Yet]

     Hollendorfer Causes Stir As He Nominates Unique Bella To Pacific Classic; Plans Not Solid Yet
      Of the eight names on nomination forms for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic secured by the Del Mar racing office as of Thursday morning there was one guaranteed to create a stir in fans and horsemen alike.
     That name: Unique Bella, the Eclipse Award-winning 4-year-old filly trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, owned by Don Alberto Stable and earner of more than $1.2 million from nine wins in 12 career starts, most recently a half-length score in the Grade 1 $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes here on July 29.
     "We're nominating and we'll take a look at the other nominations," Hollendorfer said Thursday morning. Asked for a percentage estimate on the possibility of Unique Bella, Hollendorfer said: "Not at this time."
     Read more: https://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/hollendorfer-causes-stir-as-he-nominates-unique-bella-to-pacific-classic-plans-not-solid-yet/

   I'm fairly sure that she won't end up running, unless there are a bunch of scratches from the present list of nominations. I love the big grey filly, but IMHO she might have a hard time beating some of the other nominees, like Accelerate, Catalina Cruiser or Pavel.

   Good questions. What do you do with a sound horse who is too competitive to be a trail horse or stable pony? And who gets really unhappy being turned out in a field and too cranky to be a pet?   
   Would he be a candidate for turn-out with a batch of weanlings or yearlings? Racing around with a bunch of fast, energetic youngsters might drain that run-fast energy a bit.   

   Thanks for that tiny glimmer of hope.

   I was surprised and not happy to read that Masochistic is back in light training. The eight-year-old was retired last March, and I figured the gelding would be enjoying a well-earned retirement.
   Then I read the article...turns out Masochistic had a different opinion about the whole 'retirement' thing.

     Grade 1 winner Masochistic, the gelding who was at the center of multiple controversies during his five seasons of racing and was retired in March, has returned to light training at Del Mar for a simple reason.
     He can't stand being turned out and, when they tried to make him a trail horse—look out.
     "He's gained a ton of weight. He's like a pony right now," said new trainer Kristin Mulhall, who has cared for Masochistic since his retirement. "When you get on his back, it's a different story. He does not enjoy just being turned out. He does not enjoy being a pet. He did not enjoy not doing anything, basically. He's not going to be a trail horse unless you plan on match racing."
     So with limited options for his post-racing career because of his attitude, owner Will Shamlian and Mulhall sent Masochistic back to the racetrack. First they attempted to make him a stable pony, but he wasn't having that, either.
     "He just wants to go," Mulhall said. "And I've worked with a lot of off-track Thoroughbreds, and I've never experienced one quite like him."
     Read more: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/228960/grade-1-winner-masochistic-back-in-light-training

   I am really sorry to see that the TBC site appears to be completely down. Even if we couldn't post for the last couple of weeks, we could still read all the existing posts.
   There's a lot of information there, and wonderful photos of foals, mares, stallions and retirees. I'd hate to think that all that is lost.   
   I went through that when TVG shut their Forum down. The TVG History section was a veritable encyclopedia of horse racing history and pedigrees, with tremendously-knowledgeable contributors like Mudmont. I know we had about three days warning to make copies of posts and messages, but it was painful when the site was erased.
     sigh.

   Doing a Search on Bloodhorse found these:
     https://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/stallions/170506/long-river
     https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/223995/holy-boss-to-enter-stud-at-anchor-hope-in-maryland
     https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/223929/growth-leads-maryland-breeders-to-part-ways
   
   It looks like Long River will be joining Holy Boss, Imagining and Bourbon Courage at Anchor Hope, while Merryman's former partners will continue to stand Street Magician and Despite the Odds under the Heritage Stallions banner. Nice to see that Maryland has a healthy breeding program.
     

   It seems like their 2015 crop got quite a few musician names, like Mendelssohn and Rostropovich.

   Hard to guess why the Union Rags colt was dropped in for $20,000. Maybe he didn't get claimed because potential owners were also wondering 'Why are they dropping him in this low? What's wrong with this horse?'
   If he wasn't claimed, that allowed Gary Stute and his owner to get a win AND slip him past this claiming condition. I believe the colt will now be able to run in allowance conditions for a while (the amount of time varies from state to state, I think).

   Kurt Hoover on TVG just announced that the stewards have given Assael Espinoza a ten-racing-day suspension for careless riding.
   It's a strong penalty, but it can't make up for the fact that his actions killed a horse. I can only hope that this spill haunts him...and makes him a safer, better rider.

[Long River]

    Long River, the durable eight-year-old son of A.P. Indy and Distaff winner Round Pond, has been retired to stand in Maryland.
      https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/228830/long-river-to-stand-at-anchor-hope
    I hope this nice horse is well-supported. He had talent, apparently sound over a long career, and has a really good pedigree.

[Bodemeister Shuttling for the First Time to Argentina]

Bodemeister Shuttling for the First Time to Argentina
WinStar's son of Empire Maker will stand for two seasons at Haras la Pasión.
   WinStar Farm's grade 1 winner and prominent third-crop sire Bodemeister  is shuttling to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time this year as part of a two-year deal with Haras La Pasión, near Solis, west of Buenos Aires.
   The 9-year-old son of Empire Maker has already arrived at Haras La Pasión and has become the first sire of a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner to stand in Argentina.
   Read more: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/228819/bodemeister-shuttling-for-the-first-time-to-argentina

   South American breeding farms have scored some impressive stallions lately. Besides Bodemeister, California Chrome has shuttled to Chile, Spendthrift's Hit It a Bomb has shuttled to Argentina, and Smarty Jones has been quite popular in Uruguay.

   It's been over a week, and it doesn't look like there is any progress over on the TBC site (or as Curtis called it, "The Mothership").
   That's unfortunate, but I'm glad we have TRF to continue our conversations about racing.