Oh, So Close!

Wow! Within minutes of each other my Little Mike was running in the Grade 3 $150,000 Canadian Turf Stakes at Gulfstream and my Ill Conceived was running in the $75,000 Battaglia at Turfway Park. Unfortunately, Little Mike's four race win streak came to an end with a 4th place finish. As usual, Mikey took the lead early and was pushed through six furlongs in 1:09.32 only to fade late. Mikey will get 'em next time. After watching the stretch replay on HRTV, I quickly switch over to TVG to see the Battaglia.

What I see is Ill Conceived, a three-year old PA bred, in the lead around the third turn drifting out! What I saw next is best described by the race chart entry: "Ill Conceived set the pressured pace off of the inside, drifted out further on the backstretch, opened clear after a half, was headed near the five-sixteenth pole, battled on gamely but just missed in a grand effort." After drifting a out, Ill Conceived saw the competition, and battled missing by a nose bob. This was his third stakes placing, and with a little focus, a stakes win isn't too far down the road. Check out the race video at:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/TP/2012/3/3/10/john-battaglia-memorial-s

A couple blog posts ago, I was giving Ill Conceived's owner a hard time about his name. (That was more to make a point about breeding to me than anything else.) Here's the link to that post:
http://indianastallionspanishsteps.blogspot.com/2011/12/ill-conceived-i-think-not.html
I wasnt' going to tell the real story about his name until he won a stakes race. But why wait, huh? Anyway, I'm standing in Florida in 2008 and I hear I have a "date" with an Indiana-bred name Reflect The Queen, owned by Mari George. Reflect The Queen was boarded in Pennsylvania, so I was excited, in more ways than one, to get working on a PA bred. When Reflect The Queen gets to the shed in Florida, she kept telling me that her name was Catsuit and she was born in Kentucky. Ok, so I'm thinking the Florida weather had her giddy or a shot or two of ACE had her telling stories. At some points of the breeding process, I really don't care what the mare's name is, if you know what I mean. So, I complete our "date" and I think nothing of it. Until a few months later.

Evidently, what happened was that I actually did breed a mare named Catsuit as she and Reflect The Queen were accidentally switched at the PA farm. I think Catsuit just wanted a trip to sunny Florida instead of being bred to a PA stallion and switched stalls with Reflect The Queen. Smart girl, plus she got to meet me. Because of this switch, the resulting foal was named Ill Conceived! How's that for a horse racing story? Sometimes you can swerve into success...like breeding to me! Youbetcha!

Long on Turf, Short on Dirt

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've read all of the superlatives that I use when describing my Little Mike. Impressive is today's superlative. The only turf race where Little Mike didn't hit the board was last year's mile and one-eighth Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. Mikey finished sixth only two and half back. That was the only turf race that Little Mike finished worse than second. Was the distance too much for him? In watching today's $150,000 Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes, the announcers on HRTV were skeptical that Little Mike's front-running style made him suited for the nine furlongs. What do they know!

As usual, Little Mike broke quickly and went to the front. After a 24.41 second quarter, and hitting the first half mile in 48.01, Little Mike ran each successive quarter faster! With quarters of 23.70 and 22.80, he ran through a mile in 1:34.51. Little Mike finished up the final eighth in 11.43 to stop the clock in an IMPRESSIVE 1:45.94 for the win! Wow! In 11 turf starts, Little Mike has 9 wins and a second for $485,8000 in earnings. After the win the HRTV announcers commented on the breeding to a "lesser known" stallion, and to a "$2,000 stallion." Excuse me, I'm a $3,000 stallion and worth more than that in the Indiana program! What do they know!

Ok, they know a little bit, like Little Mike's goal for 2012 is the Breeder's Cup Turf Mile at Santa Anita. Yes, impressive. If you didn't see it, you can catch the Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes at http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/GP/2012/1/28/9/florida-sunshine-millions-turf-s


That was the long on turf, now for the short on dirt. Now a three-year old, Ill Conceived, finished 3rd in today's $75,000 Dancing Count Stakes at Laurel Park. After winning an allowance race at a mile on dirt at Penn National in late December, the connections of Ill Conceived decided to cut back to six furlongs in this stakes. At the top of the stretch, Ill Conceived was in tight and had to go six wide. He just missed second by a nose. A great effort for a horse that might be looking for a little more ground to cover. You can see the race at http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/LRL/2012/1/28/8/dancing-count-s

Now, what other stallion in Indiana has stakes performers that are going long on turf and short on dirt? If you're not thinking about breeding a mare to me, then what are you thinking? Long on turf, short on dirt, long on dirt, check my record, my kids can do it all. Isn't that what you need when participating in the Indiana program?

Little Mike Wins! (Again)

After 263 days on the shelf, my Little Mike returned to the turf at Gulfstream today in an allowance optional $100,000 claimer at a mile. True to his running style, he led every step of the way against a field that included four stakes winners, two of which were graded stakes winners and included Grade 1 winner, Telling. This win was Mikey's 8th win in his last 10 starts with now just under $400,000 in lifetime earnings.

This was a great effort after his lay-off, and a great prep for the upcoming graded stakes schedule at Gulfstream. Way to go, Mikey!! Good luck in 2012!!

Here's the article on Little Mike's return to the races. His jock, Joe Bravo, had some nice things to say about him: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/66700/little-mike-wins-by-nose-in-gulfstream-return
If you'd like to check out the video of the race, you can through our good friends at Blood-Horse.com at http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/GP/2011/12/22/7/race-7.

Ill Conceived? I Think Not!

We've all seen crazy thoroughbred names that just make us scratch our heads. My favorite of all-time is Hoof Hearted. (Say it fast four times and you'll know why its my favorite.) My least favorite name is actually one my kids, a two-year old colt name Ill Conceived. Ill Conceived? Really? From time to time, I get asked about names for my kids, but no one asked me about this one.

Of course, we know that Ill Conceived was not ill conceived because I'm no slouch and his racing career is off to a nice start. In five starts as a two-year old he has one win, two seconds, and a third. On Saturday, Ill Conceived finished third in the $75,000 Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx Racing at 7 furlongs on dirt becoming my sixth stakes-placed horse for the year. He's won over $50,000 so far in his career. He should actually be named Smartly Conceived or Intelligentily Conceived. OK, that last one is too many letters, but you get my point.

Here's why. Ill Conceived is out of the Sir Cat mare Catsuit. Sir Cat is, of course, by all-time great Storm Cat. This particular 'nick', me over a Storm Cat line mare really works. This is an A+ nick according to the folks at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants and has produced graded-stakes winners Buddha (G1), Magnificent Song (G1), Half Ours (G2), Noonmark (G3), and Neversaidiwassweet (G3). If you look at a few of my recent winners, you'll see this nick in action with Ifoundmy Mojo out of a Crown Ambassador mare and Spanish Comedy out of a Tabasco Cat mare.

Now I know there are quite a few Crown Ambassador mares and other Storm Cat line mares running around in Indiana that need to come see me. So make sure you touch base with my main man Eddie or Gale Bess at Lake Shore Farms to book a season to me. Naming rights will be optional. (Just kidding.)

By the way, how much is it to change a name with The Jockey Club? Ill Conceived, too funny. I think not!

Open House Update

With just having moved to Lake Shore Farms, I've been seeing some strange new things. There's been a lot of construction going on, barns being built, stalls being put up, and automatic waterers being put into some the paddocks. Now, that's not the strange part. The strange part is seeing these men who are building the barns. I've got a picture below. These guys arrive and leave in a small, what looks like, a school bus, they wear funny hats and clothes, and most of them have a beards, but only under their chins. When they talk, I hear stranges names like Graber, Schwartz, and Neuenschwander. These are really good builders, but I've never seen anyone like this before. I had to sneak taking pictures of them because it seemed they were afraid of my camera. I'm a horse and I know not to be afraid of a camera. Ha!

Also, having just moved, I wasn't sure about how many people would show up to see me yesterday. There were about 40 to 50 people at the My Open House. OK, maybe not "My Open House" per se, but everyone did come by to check me out. Quite a few people grabbed my main man Eddie and signed some papers. Many times I could overhear them talking about the mares I am going to get to meet in 2012.

However, the big talk that I overheard was about the breed development committee making recommendations to make the stakes program longer. Evidently, the two-year old stakes, the Indiana Futurity and the Miss Indiana, are going to be moved from six furlongs to a mile. Plus, the three-year old sprint stakes, the Snack and the Ellen's Lucky Star (I'd really like to meet her), are being moved to a mile too. What people were saying is that these longer stakes races at the younger ages would be perfect for my kids. I agree. Just check out what one of my two-year old fillies did in the $100,000 Brave Raj Stakes at a mile and 70 yards. A route of ground at two and three, no problem.

More Things Change, More They Stay The Same

So true, so true. The more things change, the more they stay the same. What hasn't changed? My kids can run. Check out the list of my top winners of the last few months at the bottom of this post. It doesn't matter where they run, over what surface, or at what distance. This makes me the perfect stallion for the Indiana restricted program.

What is changing? With the retirement of Larry & Jo Ann Ernst at Foot Fall Farm, I've moved to Lake Shore Farms in Scottburg, Indiana for the 2012 breeding season. While I'm going to miss the boss mare and that nice barn guy Larry, I'm looking forward to my time at Lake Shore. Come check me out at their open house on December 3rd.

The other change for 2012 is my stud fee going to $3,000 up from $2,000. With four stakes winners of six stakes races (three graded stakes), all in open company, my kids can perform at a very high level. While my main man Eddie is always willing to make a deal for high quality mares, an increase for my services just made sense. Give him a call to book your mares for 2012.

Here's a list of my top performers since late July:

November 14th - Three-year old gelding, Ifoundmy Mojo, out of Do I Make Ya Randi (Crown Ambassador), wins a $27,840 optional claimer at six and a half at Zia Park.

November 4th - Five-year old mare, Spanish Comedy, out of Kitty Comedy (Tabasco Cat), wins a non-winners of one allowance at six and a half at Hawthorne.

October 4th - Three-year old gelding, Joe DeNucci, out of Lemon Ice (Sovereign Dancer), wins a $19,500 maiden special weight at one mile at Suffolk Downs.

September 25th - Three-year old colt, Onesteptogo, out of Codetogo (Lost Code), wins a $31,350 non-winners of one allowance at five furlongs at Calder.

September 17th - Conway Two Step wins a stakes by taking the $100,000 Brave Raj Stakes at a mile at Calder!! This two-year old is going places! Conway Two Step was my fourth stakes winner on the year to lead all Indiana stallions.

September 13th - Two-year old filly, Slim Shady's Lady, out of Always Devilish (Devil His Due), wins a $35,000 maiden special weight at five and a half furlongs at Hoosier Park.

August 27th - Two-year old filly, Conway Two Step, out of Nancy's Glitter (Gliterman), wins a $40,000 maiden special weight at six furlongs at Calder.

August 18th - Four-year old gelding, Lydia's Last Step, out of Justin's Lydia (L'enjoleur), wins a $31,500 optional claimer at a mile on dirt at Remington Park.

August 15th - Two-year old colt, Ill Conceived, out of Catsuit (Sir Cat), wins a $39,000 maiden special weight at five furlongs at Penn National.

I'm Tired But I Didn't Run 1 1/4 Miles

It's late July, and I'm still trying to recover from the 2011 breeding season after breeding 32 mares. (Some of those mares actually came back multiple times!!) I've been taking the summer off, working on my tan, rolling in the grass, you know, horse stuff. Yeah, I'm still pretty tired.

However, it's not the kinda tired from running a mile and a quarter in a Grade 1. That's what one of my four-year old son's did today, El Suri (out of Victoria's Wedding by Summer Squall). El Suri finished 3rd today at Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico in the Grade 1 Clasico Jose Celso Barbosa S. According to Zman (Zavata), that name actually translates to English to Jose Celso's Classic Barber Shop. What a joker. Hello, I know Spanish!

What was even more interesting was that also competing in this Grade 1 was two of my other son's; five-year old Gato Paso (out of Darn That Cat by Darn That Alarm) who finished 4th and three-year old Spanish Ridge (out of D's Secret Code by Lost Code) who finished 8th. These three have really made me proud. In fact, in one of the stakes prep races for this Grade 1 back in June, these three swept the top three positions with Spanish Ridge winning, El Suri second, and Gato Paso 3rd. The date of this Spanish Step sweep, June 19, 2011 which was Father's Day! What a present that was!!!

Anyway, my blog is going to take a few months off. Check back in the fall to see more from your favorite stallion, and the only Indiana stallion with his own blog.

Until then, check out one of my goofy 2011 sons pretending that he is the horse on the Breeder's Cup Trophies:

My kids are talented off the track too!

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Father's Day can be a big day for a stallion. Actually, it SHOULD be a big day for a stallion. Think about it. I have a lot of kids out there, and just getting through the phone calls, emails, and cards takes some time. According to the Jockey Club numbers, I have 175 registered foals in my four racing crops and that number doesn't include my yearlings and the 2011 foals in my first Indiana crop.

I'm proud of my kids. Here's how they are stacking up so far. Out the 175 registered foals in my four racing crops, 103 have made it to the track. That's 59% which is a great number especially when you take into consideration that only 1 of my 33 two-year olds has started so far in 2011. Of the 103 starters, 54 are winners. (They're all winners in my book!) My 103 starters have earned over $2.8 million with an average per starter of $27,323. Not too shabby at all.

The sales averages are pretty impressive too, especially the two-year olds. So far in 2011 I've had three two-year olds sell at major sales. Their sales average is $27,167 with a median of $27,000. This week I've got four going through the sales ring at the Ocala including an Indiana-bred, Hip 159, a full brother to Rock 'N Roll Gal, one of my fillies that set a track record at Indiana Downs.

So, I'll give you an update later this week. Until then, remember breeding season is not over. I'm tired, sometimes I have three 'dates' in one day, but I'm still ready to meet your mares.