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.

Taxing Times Indeed

OK, I'm struggling to get my taxes completed for 2010. If there is an accountant out there that understands how stallions are taxed, please give me a call here at Foot Fall Farm. Calculators and hooves just don't mix well. Thankfully, the deadline this year is April 18th instead of the 15th so I have a few more days. I'm also not sure where I'm going to come up with the money to pay what I appear to owe. According to The Blood-Horse General Sire List for 2010, I earned $1,143,803, and to be honest, I cannot remember ever receiving a dime of this money. (However, when I do get some coin, I usually lose it since I don't have any pockets.) Now, Little Mike is listed as my Chief Earner with $145,350 so I sent him a 1099. Let the kid pay the tax on that amount. Sorry, Mikey. This still leaves me with $1 million in earnings. Once I take the normal deductions for a great-looking stallion, do some cyphering, carry the naught, I have calculated out that I owe about $1,500 in federal taxes.

At the same time, evidently, I have to pay my first quarterly estimate according to the IRS notice that I just received. I've heard they are cracking down on million dollar earners. As I look at The Blood-Horse General Sire List for 2011, I've already earned $445,417 this year!! OK, another 1099 to Little Mike helps, but still another payment of around $500. My total cash need is $2,000! With my first crop here in Indiana just hitting the ground, and they are beautiful, I won't have any potential for stallion awards until late 2013. The IRS is not going to wait that long, and I can't have them garnishing my earnings.

Hmmm....what do I have that I could sell?.......Well, other than being great looking and having a great pedigree, the only other asset that I have is, well, you know. So, how about a few of you call my main man Eddie for a no guarantee contract or two? Help me pay my taxes! I know there are some mares out there that haven't made breeding plans for this season just yet. You know I'd be the perfect stallion as I'm producing winners on any surface and at any distance.

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm going to need more than a couple no guarantee seasons for my tax account as my earnings keep growing. Lydia's Last Step, one of my four year old geldings, led every step of the way today to win the Premiere Stakes at Lone Star Park which had a $50,000 purse. Way to go LLS!! This was his third win in a row with all of them coming at a mile on dirt. In fifteen starts, LLS now has six wins, three places and two shows. In each of the last three races, LLS was in front at every point of the call. Prior to today's race, LLS was claimed for $25,000 by Richard W Penn at Sunland Park. Nice claim Mr. Penn!!

Grade 3 Number 3 For Little Mike!

My main man Eddie got a call this week from Carlo Vaccarezza who is the breeder and part-owner of Little Mike. Mr. V was inquiring about sending a mare my way this season. (I'm hoping for two or three of those speed ball mares from Florida.) With the success of Little Mike, can you blame him?

What more can I say about Mikey? Three starts in Grade 3's at Gulfstream this meet with three wins after his latest wire-to-wire victory in the $100,000 Appleton Stakes at Gulfstream. Once again, an impressive 'catch-me-if-you-can' sub-1:33.00 mile performance. (By the way, Mikey kicked Barbaro's litte brother's butt, again.) In 9 turf starts, Little Mike now has 7 wins and a second with lifetime earnings of over $365,000. Mr. V, can you say Breeders Cup Mile?

While I'm at it, I also have to give some props to one of my five-year old daughters, Spanish Ambassador. On Saturday, March 26th, at Tampa Bay Downs, she took an allowance optional claiming field wire-to-wire in a 7 furlong dirt sprint. She had been knocking on the door of this allowance condition for the last few races, so it was good to see her set the fractions in getting this victory in 1:23.4. She's got 14 in the money finishes in her 26 starts.

Spanish Ambassador has a real Indiana feel to her pedigree. Bred by my main man Eddie, she is out of the mare Do I Make Ya Randi who is by Crown Ambassador. Now, I know there has to be quite a few Crown Ambassador mares out here in Indiana that I would be perfect for. The nick is fantastic with me and Storm Cat-line mares!!! The phone lines are now open!

Get your hypo mating by following this link:
http://www.equineline.com/extendedcontent/tt_content.cfm?StallionRef=6224898&rtype=hypo

Breeding & Babies, Baby!

After breeding a few mares this week, I was a bit tired, if you know what I mean. (Hey, think about what I do during a week in that area, and then compare that to what YOU do each week in that area.) But, my main man Eddie came for a visit today, so I had to perk up a bit. He was checking out some of my babies here at Foot Fall Farm. Now, if you remember from a prior post, I don't have an iPhone yet, but I'm workin' on it. (Little Mike, April 15th, Keeneland, Grade 1, so I'm hopeful!!) So, I don't have a camera available. And, since the other thing that I'm missing is opposable thumbs to snap a few pictures of my kids, I have to rely on the humans to help out.

Here's a couple of pics of my foals, and like I said before, long legs and chrome. The first one is "Manny" with his mom, Bond Beauty. Now, Bond Beauty liked me (and her baby) so much, that she demanded another contract to be bred back to me this spring. So, when the mood hits her......well, you know. Can't wait!

Now, you may think that you are seeing double, but the filly pictured below is another one of my kids. Oh, yeah, more long legs and more chrome. Not too bad at all!! So, when are you calling my main man Eddie to book your mare? I'll be ready.

Disappointment To Elation This Week

Last Monday, I posted that breeding season was officially under way. What I didn't tell you is that I was keeping last week open for two special ladies, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. The way I had it figured, until they were actually bred, I still had a shot. Then, we heard that Rachel was bred on Monday to Curlin and Zenyatta was bred to Bernardini on Wednesday. Darn!!

While I understand why Zenyatta just might want to go to Bernardini, with his fancy blue and white halter and being the sire of a couple Grade 1 winners, yada, yada, yada, but what was Rachel thinking going to Curlin? What has Curlin done as a stallion? Curlin isn't the sire of a Grade 1 winner in Puerto Rico, I am! Curlin isn't the sire of a multiple Grade 3 winner in 2011, I am! Curlin doesn't have a yearling sales average of over 14 times his 2011 stud fee, I do! Curlin doesn't have a two-year old sales average of over 27 times his 2011 stud fee, I do! Curlin isn't even the leading sire in Indiana as I will be as of the end of February! What did she see in him? He probably doesn't even have a blog. Ha! But, he now has Rachel on his resume, so I was a bit depressed earlier this week.

Now, the good news, besides my schedule now being open for your mares, is that my foals so far this year are awesome, long-legged and strong with a lot of chrome. There's nothing like seeing them take their first wobbly steps. If you can, come by Foot Fall Farm and ask the nice barn guy Larry or the boss mare Jo Ann to take a look at a few. You'll be impressed, and I know that I sound like a proud father, which I am, but these babies (pun intended) are nice. So, I started feeling a little bit better.

Then, the weekend came with Lydia's Last Step running at Sunland, Rock 'n' Roll Gal at Fairgrounds, and Little Mike in another Grade 3 at Gulfstream. Lydia's Last Step went wire-to-wire at a mile on dirt to take the winner's share of the $32,000 purse for his second win in a row. Yes! Rock 'n' Roll Gal got up for second in her six furlong sprint in her come back race, and then came Little Mike. This kid is amazing. In a field full of graded stakes winners and placers, Mikey led at every call winning the $150,000 Canadian Turf Stakes!! Yo, Mikey! The fractions for this mile turf race were just sick 22.70, 45.42, 1:08.65 and then finished up with a final quarter in 23.72 as the co-high weight!! A mile in 1:32.37, just awesome!

You can check out the race video and how good looking Little Mike is at this NTRA link: http://www.ntra.com/schedule/race/display/NTU1 as well as see what the folks at Blood-Horse have to say about the race at http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/61599/little-mike-sneaks-away-in-canadian-turf?source=rss. The Canadian Turf victory was Little Mike's second Grade 3 of the Gulfstream meet and his sixth win in only 12 starts. His lifetime earnings are now over $300,000. Take that Curlin!

Breeding Season Has Begun!!

With Valentine's Day, for you two-legged types, being last week, love was definitely on everyone's mind. Well, with February 15th being the unofficial start to the 2011 breeding season, love is definitely in the air around here at Foot Fall Farm. 'Cause I love being a stallion! I'm looking forward to a great breeding season, and I hope I can be part of your breeding plans.

Close But No iPhone

With one of my four-year olds, Little Mike, running in yesterday's Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, I was hoping that he would pull off a minor upset so I could get my own iPhone. According to one of my buds here at Foot Fall Farm, Zman (Zavata), if you are the sire of a Grade 1 winner, you get an iPhone. Now, I think everyone knows that Zman is the sire of Grade 1 winner Dakota Phone who won the Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile last year. Of course, being the sire of a Grade 1 winner is a big deal, but Zman is pretty modest about it. We've been barn mates since he arrived here at Foot Fall Farm about a year ago and he has pulled his share of pranks (See my earlier post) but, Zman does have an iPhone. So, how do we dispute that claim?

Anyway, his iPhone has a horse racing app that allows us to watch live races around the country, and even around the world. So, that's how we have been keeping tabs on how our kids are doing. We crowd around his iPhone each day to watch races from our favorite tracks. Like last Sunday, when we watched one of my four-year old sons, Lydia's Last Step, take a field wire-to-wire at Sunland Park in a $32,000 allowance optional claimer at a mile on dirt. LLS is one of my stakes winning sprinters, so seeing him stretch out and win at a mile was fantastic. This win pushed my average earnings index up to 1.54 for 2011 with 7 winners in 29 starters so far. Not too bad so far at all this year.

Anyway, with Little Mike entered into a Grade 1, I'm thinking that today might just be my day to earn an iPhone too. True to his front running style, Little Mike set the early pace in the mile and one-eighth turf test through the first quarter of :23.2 and half in 47.4. With a fairly moderate pace, Goody (Goods) started a low chant "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone" then Special K (Kela) joined in. When Little Mike responded to a challenge at the top of the stretch while maintaining the lead, Killer (Killenuale), B Road (Bittel Road) and Zman joined in so every stallion in the barn was chanting "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone" at the top of their lungs. Little Mike had covered the mile in 1:34 flat!! Down the stretch Little Mike dug in gamely, but the closers were coming with their runs. Even though Little Mike covered the last eighth in 12.4 he faded to sixth just two and half lengths from the eventual winner and just two noses out of fourth.

While I didn't earn my iPhone yesterday, I'm as proud as I can be with Little Mike. He showed he belonged in Grade 1 company, and I can't wait to see his next race. I'm hoping for a Grade 1 at a mile someplace. I guess we will see. Now, if you have an iPhone, or any other phone for that matter, isn't it time you call my main man Eddie to book your mare to me for 2011? His number is 317-658-9021 and make sure you text him a picture of your mare, so I can check her out ;-)

OMG! They Got Me!

Being a Florida boy, the frigid cold weather still gets my full attention. Yesterday was no exception, so a couple of my buds here at Foot Fall Farm, Zman (Zavata) and Killer (Killenaule), decided to take advantage of my focus on staying warm. They had me convinced that I had been sold to a North Pole breeding farm for $1000 at the ITOBA Stallion Auction!!! They even called down to the sale on a speaker phone (where they got a cell phone, I have no idea) and simply asked what Lot #68, Spanish Steps went for and the answer was $1000. Then, they asked if the purchaser was a guy with the nickname "Santa Claus" and the answer was YES!!! OMG!!!

I'm thinking that based upon my knowledge of geography that the North Pole just might be a whole heckuva lot colder than Indiana, if that is even possible. I'm also thinking that I only sold for $1000! I was a $280,000 yearling for crying out loud. C'mon! Needless to say, I was a little bit nervous about the situation, even though I've heard about this Santa Claus guy and people seem to really like him. I was also concerned that the North Pole breeding program wasn't as lucrative as here in Indiana. What do they have up there anyway? Reindeer.

Well, when the boss mare, Jo Ann, came into the barn and heard these guys, she told Zman and Killer to knock it off. At that point, those two just started rolling in their stalls laughing. They were laughing so hard, they were crying. Because I was thinking more about the cold, I had forgotten that Saturday was the ITOBA Stallion SEASON Auction. So, I didn't sell for $1000, but a breeding to me sold for $1000, and the guy that is lovingly nicknamed Santa Claus is Don Dearth. Oh, yes, those two got me good, but pay backs are a "you know what."

Once I was let in on their little joke, and the laughing stopped, I started to get excited. (Not stallion excited though, if you know what I mean.) Another season sold means another mare will be booked to me and with Don involved you know it's going to be an Arromanches mare. (Please be a gray, please be a gray!) I love those In Reality line (gray) mares. I'm looking forward to meeting her!

Graded Stakes, Baby!!

I am one happy and proud stallion! Today, Little Mike made his graded stakes debut a winnng one by taking the Grade III(T) $100,000 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream. In a field of 11 that included 5 horses that have been in Grade I races, Mikey took them wire-to-wire finishing the mile and 1/16th in 1:40.52!!! What a great effort. Even my other stallion buddies here at Foot Fall Farm were impressed giving me hoof bumps and hoof fives all afternoon. Little Mike's win should give me bragging rights around here for a while.

You can check out the article, which includes a picture so you can see how handsome Mikey is, on bloodhorse.com at http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/60679/little-mike-12-1-hangs-on-in-ft-lauderdale.

This was Little Mike's sixth start on turf with five wins and one second in a listed stakes. The $60,000 from the win puts Mikey over $200,000 in lifetime earnings. Little Mike is out of the Wavering Monarch mare Hay Jude (Hay Jude, that name always cracks me up.) and is an A+ nick according to TrueNicks. Can't wait to see what's next for Little Mike.

Hay (get it? instead of Hey), if you haven't already, make sure you get your reservation in for the ITOBA Awards Banquet on January 22, 2011. This should be quite the soiree with the Stallion Season Auction kicking things off that afternoon where, of course, you can bid on a season to me. I'm hip #68 of the 80 seasons for sale and my season does sell with a right of return for breeding in 2012 if no live foal is produced from the 2011 breeding. T-minus 36 days and counting until the breeding season starts. Yes!

Saturday Was A Great Day

Thanks to everyone who came down to Foot Fall Farm to see me yesterday at the stallion open house. The other stallions and I enjoyed being the center of attention. While the weather wasn't the greatest, the people sure were. I was able to strut my stuff and get a few contracts signed for 2011. I'm looking forward to "meeting with" the mares you've submitted. Shelley Winter, the writer for Midwest Thoroughbred Magazine, not to be confused with the actress, Shelley Winters with an 's', won the drawing for a free season to me. Maybe she will decide to do a feature story on yours truly as well.

If she did interview me, I'd have to talk some about how well Little Mike is doing. He won again on Saturday, this time in an allowance at Calder at 7 and 1/2 on turf. With all of the fanfare at the stallion open house, I didn't see the race until later when I logged into my race replays account. The nice barn guy Larry lets me use his lap top. For those of you who have a similar account, you need to see race 10 from Saturday's card. If you can't see a replay, all you really need to know is that track announcer Bobby Neuman used the word "Wow!" to describe the impressive performance.

The race chart says that Little Mike "was checked when trapped in behind a wall of horses" which is an understatement. This was definitely a "Wow!" performance for Little Mike's fourth win in nine starts with earnings now of $150,000. Way to go Mikey!

I almost had two winners at Calder as one of my fillies Hannah's Princess ran on the same card. She had similar traffic troubles in race 8 and was able to overcome them and manage a third in an allowance optional claimer. Good effort, get 'em next time Hannah!

Come See Me On December 11th

The Foot Fall Farm Stallion Open House is set for this Saturday, December 11th at the Palmyra, Indiana. Check out their website for directions: http://www.footfallfarm.com/directions.htm.

If you are going to breed to an Indiana stallion make sure you come see me and all my buds: Zman (Zavata), Goody (Goods), Killer (Killenaule), Maybe (Mr. Mabee) and my newest bud Kela. (We're still working on a nickname for him. His name is so short, it's tough. If you have any suggestions please post a comment.) I've also heard that nice barn guy Larry talking about the possibility of another stallion, a grade 3 winner, being part of our line-up. I guess you will have to come and find out for sure.

Anyway, I'm looking good, my buds are looking good, and the forecast is for a warm up to the low 40's. The low 40's, huh? That sounds like a great number for my forecast of the number of mares I will be breeding to in 2011.  Yeah, the low 40's is my goal. My main man Eddie will be available on Saturday to talk contracts. I'm looking forward to seeing you, and you really need to come see me. My boys and girls run anywhere, on any surface, at any distance. Just what you need.

Little Mike Update

After three straight allowance wins, Little Mike (out of a Wavering Monarch mare) finished 2nd in yesterday's $60,000 Monarch's Maze Stakes at Aqueduct. Mikey becomes my third stakes performer of the year joining Raise the Bridle (out of a Gulch mare) and The Flying Whizzer (out of a Forest Wildcat mare). This second place pushes Little Mike's earnings to over $125,000. Good effort Mikey, I'm proud of you!

Two Allowance Wins This Week

Before I get into talking about how well a couple of my kids are doing on the track, I have to give a big birthday shout out to my main man Eddie Martin. He turns 53 today, or at least that is what he is telling people. Have a great day!

For a couple of my kids it has been a really great week. Back on Sunday, one of my three-year olds, a gelding (I shiver every time I think about the gelding process. Yikes.) by the name of Lydia's Last Step won an allowance race at Zia Park. LLS covered the six furlongs on dirt in 1:10.65. A Texas-bred, he is rounding back into the form that saw him win the $60,000 Governor's Cup at Zia last year at six and finish second in two other stakes one at Sam Houston, the $50,000 Groovy, and the $100,000 Rile Allison Futurity at Sunland.

Then yesterday, one of my three-year old fillies, Hannah's Princess, (I remember her mom very well!) took command in the stretch in a non-winners of two allowance at a mile and 1/16th on turf at Calder to win by 2 and 3/4 in a real race horse time of 1:41.86! Hannah is a Florida bred and the breeder is my main man Eddie. With this particular cross, Hannah is 3 x 4 to Mr. Prospector, my great grandfather. The Mr. P line through my grandfather Fappiano seems to be the stamina branch of the Mr. P line. With Mr. P's son Woodman being Hannah's damsire, I wouldn't be too concerned with brining Mr. P line mares to come see me this coming breeding season. The cross seems to work pretty well and injects more speed into the pedigree.

I've said this before, and I'm not bragging, but my kids run and win all over the country on a variety of surfaces. This week was a great example, long on turf, short on dirt. I am ver-sa-Tile, baby! And, the week is not quite over as Little Mike makes his stakes debut in the Monarch's Maze on Sunday at Aqueduct which is one mile on turf. He's the morning line favorite. Go Mikey!