Fizzy Pop (Slew Gin Fizz - Pop Pop BB Gun - Red Ryder) was to be entered to run Wednesday afternoon back on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs for a $25,000 tag. In fact, the title of this blog was originally "Fizzy Starts and Missy Gets Closer". Unfortunately that isn't going to happen. Fizzy's race was not written for Wednesday. Apparently as the meet winds down many of the middle class horses ($20,000 - $50,000) are bailing and whoever is left can't get a race. That puts us in a tough spot. We gave him five months for a little R&R which, by all accounts, went very, very well. He's come back in great shape, ran a strong second against a ringer in his first back and seemed poised to step up in his second start back. Now that momentum is getting flushed as race after race doesn't write. Additionally, we're not recouping any of the money that we put out resting him. Our options become running him over his head or running him lower than his value. I hate protecting a horse against a claim, but if Fiz could step up like he showed he may, he becomes a viable entry of the Claiming Crown. It's quite the dilemma and no fun at all. Now that we're almost six weeks past his last start it's just like coming back from a layoff again. There's no blame, but a whole lot of frustration.
On the other hand, while Miss Belle Express (Mocha Express - Tonya Belle - Best of Both) missed her scheduled work this weekend with some weather issues in Tampa, she is moving forward. It was decided that she had enough to learn without throwing a sloppy track on top of that. She's been galloping and is getting readier by the day. Finally it appears that there may be a maiden race setting up for her in a couple of weeks so her work schedule is going to be modified to get her ready to race. We'll see a work out for her on Tuesday this week; another early next week and then a blow out a few days before her start. While still a few weeks away - and anything can happen when you're talking about high strung equine athletes - it's exciting to have a goal in mind; a start to shoot at.
From a business standpoint for her group, it's good to have her getting close to race. She's been burning cash for a while now and she'll finally get the opportunity to start paying some of that back. It's good business-wise, but it's also good for the morale of the partners. It's frustrating when you pay for a horse and she's just a newsletter or an update. Watching her on TVG or, better yet, in person is what it's all about. Trying to get that picture for the wall and some respite from the maintenance fees for a while is what makes this fun. It's going to be exciting to get all the partners involved in racing rather than prepping!
We're still looking for a few more if you're interested!!
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