If It Looks Too Good to Be True - It Probably Is

We’ve been looking to claim now for going on two months.  So far we’ve been out-shaken three times and had one of our targets scratched out of a race.  From time to time we come up with targets that look too good to be true and, of course, they are.  For example, take the horse below, Basilone.  Basilone was a 5-year old son of Giant’s Causeway out of the Alydar mare Twenty Eight Carat.

Basilone was purchased out of the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale for $220,000 and came back and was sold in the 2010 OBS Open 2 Year Old sale for $425,000.  Obviously big things would be expected of this young colt.  We found him heading into an $8,000 Maiden Claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs today.  Our heads were turned and more research was necessary. 

Looked up the colt’s lifetime works and, as you can see below, a disturbing pattern emerged.

Track    Date  Distance Course      TrkCnd                 Time                     Effort    Gate Rank/Num in Rank

PMM 03/22/13 5F           Dirt         Fast                       01:02.03              Breezing              7/12

PMM 02/23/13 4F           Dirt         Fast                       :48.55                   Breezing G           12/56

PMM 02/17/13 5F           Dirt         Fast                       01:02.33              Breezing              39/45

PMM 02/10/13 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :50.03                   Breezing              20/39

PMM 02/02/13 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.62                   Breezing              37/76

PMM 01/14/13 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :50.57                   Breezing              32/42

PMM 01/07/13 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.44                   Breezing              26/44

PMM 12/31/12 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.63                   Breezing              34/81

PMM 12/12/12 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.88                   Breezing              5/16

PMM 12/05/12 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.82                   Breezing              6/11

PMM 11/28/12 3F            Dirt        Fast                       :36.66                   Breezing              1/8

SAR 07/02/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :49.08                   Breezing              6/66

SAR 06/26/12 5F               Dirt training Fast               01:01.44              Breezing              1/3

SAR 06/20/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :49.34                   Breezing              1/18

SAR 06/14/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :48.88                   Breezing G           1/30

SAR 06/07/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :48.03                   Breezing              1/36

SAR 06/01/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :49.44                   Breezing              13/41

SAR 05/26/12 4F               Dirt training Fast               :49.66                   Breezing              14/54

SAR 05/20/12 3F               Dirt training Fast               :37.06                   Breezing              4/39

SAR 05/12/12 3F               Dirt training Fast               :37.40                   Breezing              5/31

PMM 04/17/11 5F            Dirt        Fast                       01:02.90              Breezing              7/8

PMM 04/10/11 4F            Dirt        Fast                      :50.90                   Breezing              20/27

PMM 04/03/11 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :50.05                   Breezing              26/36

PMM 03/27/11 4F            Dirt        Fast                       :49.00                   Breezing              15/60

PMM 03/20/11 3F            Dirt        Fast                       :37.00                   Breezing              6/18

As a 3-year old, Basilone worked five times at Palm Meadows – not once impressively.  Then the youngster disappears for a year and emerges at Saratoga as a 4-year old and works nine times over the Spa’s training track including four bullet works in a row, one from the gate – but not a single start. 

Then after his July 2^nd work (not a bullet but a more pedestrian :49.08 for four furlongs) Basilone is gone again until November 28 and proceeds to work steadily another eleven times but nowhere near the top of his class like he was at Saratoga.  But he is finally set to debut as a five year old maiden.

The setting for this nearly half million dollar horse’s unveiling was Gulfstream Park’s winter meet, the meet of champions – where Kentucky Derby contenders are born.  But Basilone didn’t debut in a high level maiden race, but rather a $12,500 Maiden Claiming race.  His connections were saying: if you want our $425,000 horse, you can have him for $12,500.  He ran a credible 2^nd at 3-1, but I have to wonder for the roughly $3,000 odd they won in the race, couldn’t he have covered a few mares as a gorgeous unraced son of Giant’s Causeway in Nebraska, Washington, Massachusetts or some other less than major league racing circuit and try and prove himself as a stallion and make more money?  Any possibility for a stud is gone once you prove he can’t run even if, given his frequent long absences from training makes it appear, he was too often injured to be successful.

Instead of calling it quits, he heads up to Tampa Bay Downs and drops to the very bottom maiden claiming rung there, $8,000.  Given the above, while he was interesting to look at, there was no way on God’s green Earth I was even going to think about dropping a slip for him.

He raced well in the forward group for a while, 5^th within 3 lengths of the lead at the second call of the seven furlong race and jockey Daniel Coa started winding him up for the stretch drive when the unthinkable – though maybe not wholly unpredictable – happened: a leg snapped and Basilone hurtled forward on three legs, throwing his rider over his head onto the dirt and nearly flipping on him.  Coas escaped serious injury and was able to ride later on the card.  Tampa Bay Downs leading jockey, Daniel Centeno, aboard Duppyzapper was unseated while trying to avoid the fallen horse and was more shaken up and sent to the hospital where he was checked and released according to the Daily Racing Form (video of the race accompanies the DRF article).

Maybe it was a bad step.  Maybe it was a chronic problem.  I don’t know what the issue was that lead to Basilone breaking down and being euthanized but the perception is horrible and, as a partner noted, is “why racing gets a bad name.”

Just scanning the workouts shows there was a history here of an animal with a problem.  If I could afford a $425,000 purchase, I’m pretty sure if he couldn’t race by 4 I wouldn’t keep pushing on – especially with a history of problems and steadily declining works.  And I certainly would not enter him for an $8,000 fire sale price tag as a 5-year old maiden.  I can say that with confidence since our group retired our $10,000 claim with an ankle issue that she could have raced on for one more season at $5,000 but would have been good for nothing at all when her career was over.  The group chose to retire her while she could still be a trail horse or possibly even a low level performance horse and I couldn’t be prouder of our blue collar team for doing right by our mare.  I wish I could have seen the same for poor Basilone.

A Win, a Potential Loss and a Tie

Three months ago we had two race horses: one an open mid-level claimer and one a promising two-year old (aren’t they all?).  Now we have win but no promising two-year old, a potential broodmare whose racing career is all but over, but a relatively profitable bank account and folks ready to go racing.

Photo Credit: Jenepher Puniska

Last First.

E Sveikata (Even the Score – My Philly) was a homebred by Gabe and Jenepher Puniska (Hess on the breeding forms) that we bought 40% of in March.  She was training at Eisaman Equine and doing well.  In June she went to the racetrack to the barn of Kathleen O’Connell where she took her training to the next level.  We were all patient and careful with her as she made the adjustment from the farm to the track.  We call her ‘Kat’ while the barn called her ‘Eva’ short for Eva the Diva because of her regal prep work at Eisaman.

Kat’s first start, in a $32,000 maiden claiming race, was on September 28^th, nearly six months after paying out with no possibility of return.  We, of course, wanted to win, but our hope was to hit the board.  She finished 4^th.  She came back just fine, though, and was entered back on October 19^th, same level, same distance (5.5 furlongs). 

For race number 2, the track came up sloppy and she drew the rail – two things you really don’t want to see for a young horse.  She also had developed a minor urinary tract infection that didn’t impede her training, but did need treatment.  By race time she was testing fine and we decided to let her rip and see what she could do in the slop and pinned inside – she’d have to do eventually.  She broke a step slowly and also had to be steadied behind horses entering the turn but was still able to finish second.  Things were looking up!

Race three was last week, November 8.  She went a furlong further, which we thought was more to her liking.  It was going to be our last race on the dirt before we moved her to the turf.  We stayed at the same level and she broke alertly and, while wide the entire trip, proved to be much the best.  So much so that someone anted up $32,000 for her and claimed her away from us.  All that time, energy and money and she was gone.  It was truly a bittersweet moment.  After the expenses are tallied up, the group would have earned between 15 – 18% off of our initial outlay.  One thing you learn over time in this business, making money is hard and when you do, be thankful.  But we won’t know what Kat will become.  Her development will be different under a new trainer and regimen.  We’ll continue to chart her progress and wish her and her new connections the best of luck going forward.

On to Tabby Lane. 

Everyone that reads this knows Tabby.  Tabby’s career is spotty, but overall you can never complain with a horse that can start 40 times and win at a 25% clip.  She won as high as a first level allowance/optional claiming as well as several starter allowances.  She may race one more season or she may become a broodmare.

It’s doubtful she could make it as a broodmare in Kentucky, New York or California, but she may do well here in Minnesota.  With the right stallion she could possibly throw some nice offspring.  Of course breeding is a bit of a crapshoot and any number of things can go wrong.  There are some folks in the group that probably won’t want to go that route and some that do, depending upon the costs involved.  Realistically, breeding is paying out for 3 years with no possible hope of a return until then.  Even then, we’ll probably need to breed to race in order to prove her out before we can breed to sell.

There are options.  She may come back and race one more season.  We may sell her as a broodmare prospect – I’m certainly not opposed to that.  I’m not even opposed to selling part of her as a broodmare prospect and retaining a small share just to be a part of the process and learn about it from the inside from those that know this end of the business.  It’s nice to have options while she, for now, rests and recreates out on the farm.

The business marches on, of course, and folks are ready to get started once Tampa gets rolling to claim a horse and get back in the game for another season.  The purses at Canterbury should escalate nicely and will provide us with a better potential return than was ever possible before – at least in my tenure up here.  There are remnants of the Tabby Lane group – depending, of course, what happens to her career – the remnants of the E Sveikata group as well as the foundation for the next group that was already in place.  It could be a very active winter for us!

For now, though, it’s time to close up the book on Kat, decide what to do with Tabby and flesh out the 2013 claiming group.  Business marches on indeed.

Finding a Race...Or at Least Looking

I’m a bit irritated and, ultimately, it’s my own fault.

Tabby Lane was sidelined a few weeks after she turned an ankle a bit in her last race.  Some R&R and she’s feeling pretty good about life and ready to race again, I just needed to find her a spot.  The problem is that the spots I’d like to go in simply don’t exist.

Ideally I’d like to see her in a $10,000 or $12,500 claiming race.  Those levels appear to be right in her wheelhouse and, while no guarantees, she stands a fair chance at winning.  $16,000 would be a bit more problematical as you’re never sure what you’re getting: real $16,000 horses, $12,000 moving up or a bunch of $25,000 horses dropping in.  As you can imagine, each race can shape up much differently depending upon the entrants.  We won’t get the chance to find out though.

The game plan was to try Tabby at $16,000 and see just how well the old (6 years – no old, but old enough after racing 39 times in 4 years) mare was doing.  If she could handle it, then great, that would work out well as there was another shot at it the last weekend of the meet.  That race didn’t fill, however.  Not even close.  Then our choices became a $7500 claiming race going her preferred distance or a $7500 starter allowance (not up for sale) but only going 6 furlongs .  I opted for the latter.  I lost.

Lest anyone think I’m ripping on Canterbury or the racing secretary for this, I’m not.  You have to write races that will fill with horses.  The last time a straight $16,000 claiming race was written only Tabby and 2 others entered.  This Saturday, six of the eight races are for horses worth $5,000 or less.  The smallest field is eight while one has 10 and a couple of have nine.  I don’t begrudge them writing those races – they fill.  That’s the point of writing the races!  I get that.  However it also means that I need to possibly reevaluate my strategy moving forward.

Claiming around $10,000 and coming up here and racing has resulted in 10 wins over three years with earnings of over $100,000.  Unless the new purse structure attracts better stables and horses then that strategy – at least as racing at Canterbury goes – makes no sense.  It could mean I need to go cheap or go elsewhere.

It could very well be that the lower classes of horses are staying here until the end of the meet because they can’t run for more elsewhere.  That makes sense.  I need to keep an eye on the winter and see what the spring is going to bring before deciding on what to do for the 2013 season.  It’s hard to read the tea leaves and make the right call, but as Tom Hanks once said in A League of Their Own, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”

Cooperation Could Boost Minnesota Racing Purses

It looks as if sitting down together actually does get something positive accomplished. Minnesota’s racetracks did not get racino legislation passed this legislative session, but unlike past years when this was all that could be said at the end of the session, both the tracks and Tribes could be walking away with something.

The State Senate passed a bill last night that was amended to include the “Minnesota Horseracing Purse Enhancement Act”.  The particulars of the bill are:

·         An increase in the maximum number of gaming/poker tables the racetrack’s card club can operate from 50 to 80.

·         The maximum bet at each table has increased from $60 to $100;

·         The cardrooms can now offer “house banked games” whereby players play against the house rather than paying a small commission and then play against each other;

·         Removes the limitation on the number of poker tournaments that can be conducted;

·         Allow Native American casinos in Minnesota to simulcast horse racing.

It is estimated that approximate $2.5 million dollars would be earned for the purse account from these changes.  Another upside is that racing fans outside the metropolitan areas of Minneapolis-St. Paul will finally be able to wager on racing without traveling up to six hours to get to the racetrack.  Minnesota law does not permit residents to wager on-line so in the past if you have not been able to get to the track, you weren’t able to place a bet.  Now there may be up to 18 off track betting locations throughout the state including a potentially lucrative location in downtown Duluth.

The legislation still has to pass the House and be signed by the governor with the House scheduled to take action on Monday.  There are also some logistical hurdles that need to be addressed as well: where will 30 extra tables be installed and the details of simulcasting signals and wager, to name a couple.  Additionally, while horsemen will be anxious for the purse enhancements to be effective as soon as possible, it will be hard to award any purse increases without the revenue flowing particularly in the wake of the state shutdown last season that cost the track millions of dollars in revenue and, by extension, dollars flowing to the 2012 purse account.

This isn’t the best that the tracks could have hoped for but there are several positives: something is always better than nothing.  And talking is always better than fighting.  If the casinos and racetracks could find a way to work together to their mutual benefit both industries win instead of just the lawyers and lobbyists.  A lot can be said for sitting down and talking and I hope that this isn’t a lesson lost on the politicians in St. Paul – and in Washington, D.C. (though you know it is).

In the end, assuming about a 40% rise in daily purses when the money is fully vested, if you will, horsemen could be looking at purses on par with – if not slightly ahead of – Tampa Bay Downs.  It makes racing at Canterbury a very attractive option again and gives the industry a reason for hope.  Crowd levels have risen over the past several seasons, setting average daily attendance records year over year: Minnesotans obviously love their racing. Now it has a new life. The slide has stopped and hopefully a reversal can begin.  Fans across the state will have access to the product now, many for the first time within a short drive from their homes.  There are open channels of communication between once bitter rivals that hopefully can lead to bigger and better things.

Now let’s get this passed, implemented and get on with racing!

Missed It By That Much

The race was run over the main track at 7 furlongs and, as I mentioned in the preview post Friday, I was a bit afraid that was too short for Tabby Lane.  I was also afraid that the layoff may have taken the edge off her so at least I was dead wrong about that part. Kudos to the Rhone barn for keeping her sharp.

Tabby broke last and laid off most of the field, which isn’t terribly unusual for her.  The early fractions set by Black Magic Moon were more than reasonable at :22.1 and :44.3 and I was optimistic that the pace was one we could close into.  What I didn’t account for was the mid race move made by Holy Bling.

JJ Garcia took Holy Bling, just before the half mile mark, and shook her loose and she went running.  She opened up five and then seven lengths on the field and tried to ride that all the way home.  In the meantime, Dean Butler had Tabby on the move through the turn and at the top of the stretch she had moved to 6^th but was fanned very wide.  She changed her leads and continued to close hard down the lane, kept company by Learn the Lingo.  Tabby’s rally fell 1½ lengths short of the top spot but prevailed for second by an increasing head.  According to the Trakus system at Tampa, Tabby ran 33 feet further than the winner and came home with the fastest last quarter time of the field.

There was no question that at a mile Tabby had this race but after 59 days of waiting we had to go with a race that was close to what she wanted and this was it.  We’ve already made the decision to ship north from Florida this coming week.  The only chance we have for a race at Tampa would be on closing day, the same $16,000 claiming race over the grass that had us on the "Also Eligible" list last week and I’m not waiting around to see if we make it in.  Besides, that’s only two weeks away.  At least if we get to Canterbury she can train over the surface, get settled in and perhaps run down at Prairie Meadows waiting for a race here.  Up north we have options; at Tampa we have only hope.  I prefer the options.

Tabby came back from the race in really good shape – “better than when we went over” said her trainer, Bernell Rhone, on Sunday morning.  You can’t ask for any more than that.  See you soon, Canterbury!

Tabby Takes on Seven at Seven

After nearly 60-days Tabby Lane is back in a race.  We were looking for a $16,000 claiming race or, near the end of the wait, even another $12,500 race just so she can get racing again.  There is nothing more frustrating than having a fit horse that’s just reeled off two wins in a row get stuck waiting for a race to fill.

The golden ticket was finally punched for tomorrow (Saturday) in a $5,000 starter allowance going 7 furlongs over the main track.  I would have liked to have had a bit more distance but at this point beggars cannot be choosers.  We certainly would not have gone below 7 furlongs.  Tabby is just not equipped to sprint and the setter of the morning line at Tampa Bay Downs apparently feels the same way – or at least feels that she needs more than 7 furlongs.  Maybe he’s right, maybe not.  Over the distance Tabby has a win, a second and two thirds over six career starts.  Not bad.  And in that winning effort she was only a point off her career best Beyer speed figure.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Here is the field for the 10^th race at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday.

Learn the Lingo (Hyland/Allen) – Second choice has had a couple of subpar efforts since reeling off two in a row to close out 2011 at $10,000 claiming.  Was void of early speed in those efforts which is contrary to her better performances in her PPs where she was on or near the lead.

Bobbiesqueen (Navarro/Serpa) – Morning line favorite at a meager 8-5, this front runner came back from a short break at Calder at the of the year and made her first two efforts at Tampa winning ones in a conditioned $5,000 claimer and a non-winner of one allowance – both in convincing fashion.  Emboldened, she traveled to Gulfstream for an optional claiming starter and, although she set the fractions, wilted late against the tougher competition but managed to hang on to take the show spot.  She is a well-deserved favorite if she repeats her Tampa form and is left alone on the front end.

Markswayornoway (Camillo/Gonzalez) – Winner of a conditioned $5,000 claiming race last out, this one looks like she may be in a bit over her head in with the top of these, though hopefully she can push Bobbiesqueen early.

TABBY LANE

Black Magic Moon (Vacca/Vargas) – Her last race in 2011 was a doozy, smoking a field of low level claimers at Suffolk by over 10 lengths.  After that race she was laid off until last month where she was pushed up to her former class levels ($16,000 - $20,000) and simply wasn’t competitive.  Butler was on board for both her local efforts but will be on Tabby Lane today.

Standing Appeal (Camillo/Clemente) – Another Juan Camillo trainee, she also has been toiling at the lower rungs at Tampa following up a win at $5,000 with a ho-hum third at $8,000 last out.

Harlan’s Pepper (Nagle/Spieth) – A winner two back in a non-winners of 3 $8,000 claiming race, she graduated into a straight $8,000 claiming race where she was a respectable 3^rd after having some trouble early.  She has some good tactical speed and it should be interesting to see what Spieth does should Bobbiesqueen takes the engine all alone.

Holy Bling (Passley/Garcia) – She’s hit the board in her last five starts, winning three of them.  She’s a solid sprinter who has done well stretching to 7 furlongs.  She was unable to hold up against the likes of $12,500 fillies and mares last out when it counted and she faces several in here that are of at least that quality, including Tabby, though is rated a bit ahead in the morning line at 4-1.

As you may have been able to guess, I’m a bit miffed at the morning line.  And I'm miffed for absolutely no valid reason.  Objectively there are probably four horses that can win this race: Bobbiesqueen, Tabby Lane, Learn the Lingo and Holy Bling and the obvious choice of those four is Bobbiesqueen, the morning line favorite.  The reality is that the morning line doesn’t matter a hoot.  We’ve all heard it before, “The races aren’t run on paper.”  My guess is that while Tabby is valued for her ability at Tampa and her recent winning streak, a seven furlong race is viewed more like a sprint and it’s no secret that Tabby needs a bit more room to unwind and get rolling.  Pick us 4^th if you will, but there is a way that these 7 furlongs could work to her advantage. You know, I think a shrink would say that I'm acting like someone is picking on my kid...

Bobbiesqueen is a frontrunner.  Last race she set fractions at Tampa of :23.1 and :46.4 while cruising to victory at 6 ½ furlongs. Holy Bling, on the far outside, set fractions of :22.4 and :45.4 when she won at six furlongs last out.  Standing Appeal, Markswayornoway and even Black Magic Moon and Learn the Lingo (in her better efforts) all prefer the front end.  Markswayornoway even pushed along Holy Bling last time they faced each other before fading.  Markswayornoway is a considerable distance from Holy Bling in the starting gate but is settled in right between Bobbiesqueen and Tabby Lane.  The three hard chargers could leave the rail open early for Tabby to save some ground while letting the speed move out.

It is a 7 furlong race so Tabby can’t sit too far back and still expect to make a run, but there is no one I trust more in the irons judging the pace of the race than Dean Butler.  His last ride on Tabby was picture perfect and as of late (he was last month's Jockey of the Month at Tampa) he has been simply fabulous.

My concerns are twofold: the unintended layoff taking the edge of her sharpness and Bobbiesqueen going wire to wire.  If both of those concerns are mitigated, Tabby Lane will be right there at the end.

We Got in...Sort Of

We finally got into a race.  Sort of.  Actually, we’ll be scratching out of it I’m nearly 100% sure.  We made the list of a $16,000 claiming race over the turf as an “Also Eligible” and since we’re third on the list and forecast doesn’t call for any rain, it appears very unlikely that we’ll be racing on Sunday.

Tabby Lane is 12-1 in the morning line and that’s probably very fair against this group.  I’m not going to break down the entire race like I usually do considering the unlikelihood that we’re actually going to get into the race but I will give you my thoughts on how it appears to shape up.

The morning line favorite is the mare in the one hole, Butterdish.  Butterdish took on some tough horses in a turf handicap at Tampa last out and had her head handed to her, however when she has run at $16,000 she has won and won convincingly – at this distance, surface and course.

Morningside Heights is another mare that has experienced success at the $16,000 claiming ranks and has had issues trying to step up into tougher company.  She’s 2 – 4 this year with her wins at $16,000 and her losses against allowance fields.

Monstrip is right where she belongs in this type of field and Adreamfordarlene is dropping way down from $32,000 claiming.

The top four in this race are tough and there are a few others that have notched wins at this level as well.  Where Tabby fits is anyone’s guess and I’ll go ahead and take one!

Tabby is coming off two successive wins at $8,000 and $12,500 and was really sharp exiting that last race.  I say “was” because it’s now been six weeks since the last race and the gap is now starting to look more like an extended layoff as opposed to her traditional 3 – 4 week break between races.  She may not be as fit as sharp as she was in early April.

Her best Beyer last year was a 72 and that was accomplished over the Canterbury turf.  In her three turf races her speed figures were 68, 54 and 72 with the 54 being earned in a race where she was checked hard.  By way of comparison, her dirt win at Canterbury in the same summer was rated a 58.  She may be a better turf runner than dirt.  She’s tried the turf 8 times, scoring twice and finishing in the money twice more earning $19,598 which is why we wanted to give her the opportunity over the grass as she makes her way up the class ladder.

There is some early speed in the race and possibly enough of it to ensure an honest pace on the front end.  The question mark is whether or not Tabby Lane can run with the late running favorites when the cavalry charge begins after the turn for home.

In the very likely event that she doesn’t get into the race tomorrow I’ve started pondering our next step.  If we can’t find a race in this last book at Tampa that looks promising – and I’m not betting that we won’t be on the AE list again in a $16,000 turf race – we may need to move.  The downside of that is where do we move?  The Canterbury book has zip for her until maybe June 2 and even then at a level that I may not be comfortable with.  The Prairie Meadows experience went horribly awry two years ago but at least there I can run her at a level that may be a bit below her actual class but have the increased purse money to make it worth taking a chance.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings and then decide from there.

My Kingdom for a Race

We wait and wait.  Since the aborted attempt to purchase Tabby Lane we have waited for a race.  The end of a meet is always dicey as far as what races will fill and what race won’t as barns head to their next stop.  Right now at Tampa Bay Downs the races that won’t are $16,000 claiming races on the dirt.  We tried to get in on a turf affair but since we hadn’t run at the $16,000 level for a while we figured we wouldn’t qualify.  We took a stab with the rationale that if the race didn’t fill then we would perhaps get in to round out the field.  She had just won at $12,500, it was the next logical level up and it wasn’t like we were overreaching.

Nice try. We entered and didn’t even make it to the Also Eligible list!  There are a lot of mid-level turf horses still at Tampa apparently!

In theory we could ship her later in the month when the Canterbury backside opens, but there are no races in the first condition book for her until MAYBE June 2 and even then, if she makes a good showing at $16,000 we’re certainly not going to enter her back at $12,500.  After checking the extras for next Friday (entries drawn tomorrow), there is still nothing there at all for her.  So we sit and wait on a sharp, healthy horse with nowhere to run.