Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Emerald Downs Two-Year-Old Analysis and I Become a Horseman.


Pretty exciting when 2-year-old racing starts mainly because I proclaim myself Master of Emerald Downs’ two-year-old racing.

Also, I now officially proclaim myself a horseman or horseperson. You see in the paddock on Sunday, One Horse Will Do Corporation had two horses in a 2-year-old race in post-positions #1 and #6. The owner and trainer were standing with the #1 horse in the paddock, so I stood in for #6 (because I am a nice guy and want people to know how important I am) in the paddock. When Rocco “Sizzla” Bowen came out I gave him the instructions I always give him: “Ride like it is the Barbados Gold Cup.” Rocco then asked me if I was going to leg him up since nobody else was there. In what must have been a real boost of confidence for him, I answered “It is the left leg, right?” (It’s called horsemanship, look it up). Although I was nervous, I didn’t kill one of my favorite jockeys (Ronald Richard is one of my favorites too) and plan on legging up every horse from now on. 

Since I am a horseman now and Rocco and I are the same height I figured I am going to give up blogging and my law license and become a jockey. I am 5’3” I just need to lose about 42 pounds and there are plenty of jockeys who started their career when 40 was staring them in the face, right?

Purpose of this blog is to briefly look at where we are with our two-year-olds at this point. Not that many horses to examine but good to review at this point. This is not a ranking but rather an evaluation based on my review of the replays.

First, let’s look at the colts and geldings and their Beyer Speed Figures so far this year:

Colts/Geldings

(1)  Trackattacker (Beyer 74) – Not just attacking the track, but attacking the track record in his race.  He finished the last 2.5 Furlongs in 27.80. The chasm between his Beyer number and the next highest (49) means he will be the heavy favorite in the first two-year-old Stakes race of the year. A picture of Trackattacker as a baby taken by Terra Lee: 





His sister Nancy Wake won last weekend. If you would like to learn more about the family, please see my blog entry on Eclatante located here:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/06/broodmare-of-week-eclatante-sponsored.html

(2)  Forte Feroce (Beyer 49) – Won last Sunday’s Maiden Special Weight race in 51.78, finishing the last 2.5 Furlongs in 29.45.  This is the first winner for Grasshopper:

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/85710/first-winner-reported-for-grasshopper

(3)  Private Boss (Beyer 47) – By El Dorado Stallion Private Gold, Private Boss improved his Beyer from 25 to 47 in his race on June 8th. Running 4.5 Furlongs in 51.44.  

      (4) Preachinattheforum  (Beyer 34) – Won the first 2-year old race of the year and was the first     winner for Preachinattheforum from his Washington crops. 

 


(5)  Moonee Beach  (Beyer 32) – After watching the replay you can see that this horse made a good strong middle move in the race against Forte Feroce. Clearly a talented horse. This horse severely cut off the third place horse and there was no objection or review at all.

      (6) Search is Over (Beyer 28) – This horse ran a very good race despite the Beyer and the result.   He closed the last 2.5 Furlongs in 28.53, which was the fastest last 2.5 Furlongs in the race. If you review the race, he closes very well on the rail after being last for most of the race. I expect this horse to be a winner as the races stretch out.

     (7) Moby (Beyer 42) – Beyer went down from his career high in his race last Sunday. Finished 9 lengths behind Trackattacker when earning that 42.


Fillies

By my count, there have only been 2 races for 2-year old fillies. One MSW and one $25,000 Maiden Claiming race. Except Fine Red Wine, the fillies listed below came out of the same Maiden Special Weight race last weekend. 

(1)  Seeking the Light (Beyer 57) – Very impressive winner for Blaine Wright. Purchased for $29,000 as a yearling, she has a good future ahead of her based on my review of the replay of the race. Seeking the Light ran the 4.5 Furlongs in 50.88 and the last 2.5 Furlongs in 29.31.

(2)  Dancing with Effie (Beyer 44) – Ran the 4.5 Furlongs in 51.52 and the last 2.5 Furlongs in 29.93. She ran the entire race with Seeking the Light but could not put that horse away. Likely maiden breaker soon.

(3)  Nicole Michelle (Beyer 44) - Ran the 4.5 Furlongs in 51.53 and the last 2.5 Furlongs in 29.52. Daughter of Zensational was always in contention but could gain ground on the winner.

(4)  Andiamo Deb (Beyer 43) – She is a huge filly and has a really nice stride but it took her a while to get into that stride. When she did she finished the last 2.5 Furlongs 28.68 which was impressive. Definitely will benefit from a stretch-out.

(5)  Dancing with Debbie (Beyer 35) – Ran the 4.5 Furlongs in 51.93 and traveled the last 2.5 Furlongs in 30 seconds.

(6) Fine Red Wine (Don’t have access to Beyer) – Ran a very good race on June 8 in a Maiden $25,000 race. Ran the 4.5 Furlongs in 51.96.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will


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