A Very Disappointing Second

If it's possible to be bitterly disappointed in finishing second in a race, last night was it.

I Am Woman broke from the 1 hole at Balmoral last night and settled into third. As the race developed down the backside, only bad things were happening. She was in tight with a dead pacer on her outside, keeping her from going once over. She was in danger of getting shuffled back a couple of times and once had to back off on the far turn when she came up too fast on the horse in front of her. She fell back a few spots, lost momentum and had to get re-revved.

As they turned for home, Brandon Simpson had a choice to make: stay on the rail or tip out and try to roll around the field. Simpson tilted out, longshot Go Get Satin drifted out and Claudie took advantage right up the rail. Now she had to contend with a fading Go Get Satin right where Simpson thought he'd be. Wider she went to get around. She had pace, but she had to wait to get around Go Get Satin because Free Parking Behind wasn't moving much at all. Another momentum killer. By the time she was clear, there was no catching the winner and I Am Woman stayed in the money in every race in 2009. It's hard to be upset over the filly - how many times can you have your momentum killed and still get up for second, never mind actually winning?

She's paying the bills, but there really isn't a whole lot of possibility for her to recoup the investment running for $3000 purses. It's time to either poop or get off the pot as my mother used to say. Push her up here at Balmoral or move her to Pennsylvania where she is eligible for Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. Worst case scenario she drops back into claiming company. At Pocono she can run for a $7000 tag and a $6,000 purse. At $10,000 CL she's running for $8500. Here at Balmoral she's running for half of that. The economics are plain. It's time to move up or move on. We'll find out the next few days what the answer will be.