A Lull

I Am Woman did not get entered at Balmoral this weekend. Fizzy Pop wasn't entered into the $32,000 claiming race over the turf tomorrow at Tampa Bay Downs. Miss Belle Express is still weeks away from starting so now we enter a bit of a lull.

I'll need to speak to Bernell tomorrow morning to see why we didn't enter Fizzy Pop in tomorrow's race. I hate missing opportunities with a sharp horse. I know he doesn't want to burn him out at Tampa with Canterbury coming up in May, but as a Florida bred, Fiz is eligible for added money down there that he's not eligible for up here. Sure, I love watching his run live, but I also like the opportunity to give our partners the most bang for their buck. There was some talk that the racing secretary was going to write back another $25,000 claiming race and perhaps we're waiting on that. I'll know more in the morning.

One of the tough things in placing a horse is the timing of the races that are written. Tomorrow would have been probably been a bit soon (20-days) after the last start, but the next distance over the turf is April 4 (about 35-days). Given the purse structure, it's a sad reality that if we can keep Fiz healthy and sharp he needs to race once a month in order to try and pay the bills and catch up with the four months he was laid off. Since he had a first out Beyer of 80 in February, there is the possibility that he may be able to step up bit in class, but unless he can be competitive in the mid-level stakes (Claiming Crown, The John Bullit) our only option is to try and have him ready every three to four weeks.

It was probably time for I Am Woman to take a week off. She has raced four straight weeks and reeled off three wins and a third. It's hard to complain about that type of month. She was also able to lower her times from 2:00 flat to a head behind a 1:56.2 winner during that time as well, so she's moving up the right way and a week off wouldn't be the worst thing in the world right now either. There are also filly and mare races for Wednesday evening and there is the possibility that she may be pointed for one of those as well giving her a few extra days of rest.

One way to fill the lull this weekend will be to pay the bills. I have been traveling for a few weeks so I'll need to sit down and pay the horse bills. I'm still waiting on one vet bill to close out the 1st quarter of Miss Belle Express, but I don't want to keep the partners waiting, so if the bill doesn't come this weekend the financials will go out with a caveat. She hasn't started out the way we had hoped with her tying up issues and then her shin soreness, but both have hopefully been treated successfully and is now on the path to stardom. Well, at least the path to her first start!