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?