Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Glory of the Morning

There is no better place to be in the post dawn hours than at a racetrack on the backstretch watching the workouts. This morning before I headed into work, I detoured 36 miles each way to go by Canterbury Park and watch some morning works. It had been a while (about 10 days) since I got my fix of straw, hay and horse and after receiving an e-mail from David Miller, managing partner of Star of North Racing - Somerset Sam and Somerset Wish - that Sammy would be breezing 3 furlongs in preparation for racing this weekend, I knew that the Fates had come to call. I set the alarm for 4:45 AM and went to bed hoping for the weather to hold off just a few more hours.

When I woke up this morning there was no sun but there was no rain either and I hopped out of bed, showered, changed and was out the door by 5:15 trying to give myself plenty of time before Sam's scheduled 6:15 work. The clouds threatened, but held off long enough for us to see Sammy work his 3 furlongs in :36 (5/15). The best part about the work was that Sammy was into it the entire way. Not something that he has shown recently. He seems to be getting the feel of what it means to be a racehorse which is pretty exciting for everyone in the group. Of course, anyone can be a hero in the morning and the afternoons on the racetrack are what matter, but it was nice to see him finish his work strong. He has a long way to go since backing up badly in his last outing, but maybe we've turned a corner?

As a bonus, Somerset Wish galloped a bit today and as we watched her go, it's apparent that her mind is on business and she knows what she needs to do. She has that extra year of maturity on her that her little brother does not. It seems like each outing with her she ends up meeting one buzz-saw or another or gets knocked around or something. She has all the heart, grit and determination in the world. I am hopeful that next out she'll be the one to finally catch the break and tally one in the win column.

Bernell and I were able to touch base on Fizzy as well and it looks like he'll be going the allowance route in a week or so. We'll keep him on the turf and hope that this rain gets by us and the weather pattern changes a little bit and we can stay dry for next weekend. Fizzy's won on the dirt before, but he really seems to be coming into his own on the turf and we'd like to keep him there as long as the opportunities present themselves. Fizzy has been galloping nicely and remains in fine fettle. He'll probably breeze early next week in preparation for the next start. All the partners are excited and are looking forward to getting back on the track after the last win and seeing what we have as Fiz moves up the ladder.

All in all a very productive morning - but does it really get any better than dawn on the backstretch?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ted, thanks agin for the posts as I check often for updates and enjoy your take on things at the track.

Hope to see you this weekend and best of luck in Fizzy's next race unless of course Parisian Friend is in the same race but that would be fun ;-)

Anonymous said...

If only I lived a bit closer to Del Mar or Santa Anita, I would love to stop by and watch the workouts while enjoying my morning coffee.

I'm looking forward to Fizzy's next race. I hope he stays long and on the turf. Let's make it two in a row for the stable!

Anonymous said...

Boy I sure do enjoy that time of day Ted. I guess it's one of those things in life like oysters-either you love it or you hate it. But it doesn't have to be Saratoga-any old track will do. Must say you paint a vivid picture. Keep it up.

PEM