Weeks 21, 22 and 23 - Top 8 Things that were Positive for the Washington Industry

Miss me? It has been a while since I have posted and people have been asking what is going on with the blog (they don't ask how I am doing) so we will start with a game: Where's Will, yo? (rhymes with Where's Waldo). See if you can spot me in this picture: 

Ah, football season at its finest. Did you notice that we had Tom Cruise with us? 

It is not just football that has been a distraction but I have been busy opening my own firm (hey, I am doing some equine law, tell your friends!), dealing with cat kidney disease, preparing for Keeneland November, flying a few bombing raids on ISIS strongholds, and watching replays in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. Let's look at 8 positive things that have happened to the industry in the last few weeks: 

(1) Washington-bred Winners - Washington-breds went out on a good note winning 48 of 76 races. This was a great year for Washington-breds with the likes of Stryker Phd and Trackattacker. 

(2) Prime Engine - Ok, he is not a Washington-bred but this horse is for real. Won a Maiden Special Weight receiving a 83 Beyer and then came back and put away Trackattacker on his way to an impressive Gottstein win. Not sure we are going to see this horse here again.  Maybe a Breeders' Cup Juvenile start in his sights? 

(3) Vital Signs Stable - What a weekend for the Chinns. They win the Cahill Road Stakes with Daytona Beach who is by Harbor the Gold out of Hit a Star. In addition, they finished 3rd in the Gottstein with the filly Val de Saire versus some very good males.  In addition to being the owners, the Chinns also are the breeders on both of the horses. 

(4) Blueberry Smoothie - Have a huge soft spot for this filly so I was happy to see her go out on a winning note in a 50k Optional Claimer race on Sunday. I wish the best for her as she enters the next phase of her life as a mom. 

(5) Harbor the Gold - Continued his dominance this year. Through today, he leads the list of Sires of Washington-breds by Earnings with a total of $987,811. His closest competitor is Matty G with $361,443. Third place and fourth place go to Private Gold and Cahill Road, respectively. 

(6) Emerald Downs at the Breeders' Cup - Could potentially see both Stopshoppingdebbie and Stryker at the Breeders' Cup. Stryker recently recorded a workout on September 21st. Debbie runs this weekend in the L.A. Woman. 

(7) Pick 5 Carryover - Forever focused on handle, I was happy to see a two-day Pick 5 carryover of $19,079 going into Saturday September 20th. The investors added another $66,409 to the pool on that day. Not only was this positive for the overall handle number, but was good for investors who beat the takeout rate for that day. More on this later as I have an idea that I think could help handle at Emerald Downs. 

(8) Twelfth Fan - Nice to see this well-named horse break her maiden before the season was over. Onward and upward. Twelfth is hard to spell by the way. 

In the coming weeks, we will discuss Breeders' Cup, analyze the WTBOA Sale a little more and look at the ways to increase handle. 

Enjoy your remaining days of sun, just like our cat: 

 

Cobweb has one question for you: Do you like luxury?

And I would be remiss if I did not leave the season with a Logan "in action" shot from Cannon Beach:

Excellent.

Always Love Your Animals and have a great off season, 

Will 

Raspberry Road

And then you go and pick your kid up from his first day of school and all the other kids are faster, know how to color within the lines, and don't eat paste.

Raspberry Road - Request to Emerald Downs

I try to provide fair and unbiased opinion about the Washington thoroughbred industry in everything that I do. I go out of my way to promote other people's stallions and horses in order to see this industry survive. (In fact, I am trying to convince the Governor of Washington to invade and annex Hermiston, Oregon and make it apart of Washington. I can't see Oregon calling our bluff and if they do we will happily give them Walla Walla in exchange).

 But not this post. This is a selfish post. This post is about two things:

(1) Emerald Downs Request - My official request to Emerald Downs that every time a Brewer Thoroughbreds, LLC bred or owned horse is going to the gate that Thunderstruck by AC/DC is played: 

Excellent

and 

(2) Raspberry Road - Raspberry Road is the first horse that I bred to hit the track. He races in the 4th race on Saturday, a Maiden Special Weight race. After years and years of waiting, patience and extensive capital, the Brewer Thoroughbreds, LLC domination is set to begin! In all seriousness, I am very proud to see that he has been entered into a MSW race on Saturday. It means that a very good trainer and owners thinks that he has some talent. 

Raspberry Road's first steps

Chilling with Marva Jean  

To me, it is like proudly watching your kid go off to his first day of school (not that I would know). 

He is against a salty group of first timers including two horses from Pegasus and a Doris Harwood first time starter by Harbor the Gold, so the race came up tough. My thoughts have always been that Raspberry Road will get better with age (just like Marva and Bellamy Road). Would be very happy with a top 3 finish in this race and to show a glimpse of talent that will bring him back next year. Also excited to see that one of my favorite jockeys, Ronald Richard, is on board. 

I am more nervous for this race than any other race I have been involved in, even of horses that I have raced myself. You see, my goal from the very beginning has been to breed quality (not quantity) horses to sell and, hopefully, race in Washington. To improve the breed and show the world that Washington is still here. This is the start of that goal. I wish the very best to the Spooners and am glad he is in their and Dan Markle's capable hands. 

There is also something special about putting new life on the earth and watching it grow (are these paternal instincts coming out in Will Brewer that have been dormant for decades? Never!)

I always thought that once you sold the horses that you bred that maybe you would lose that connection with them. I now know this is not the case. I have been going back and feeding him carrots all year at the barn. I couldn't be more excited than if I was a 100% owner of this horse. 

Growing up 

And being a kid

 Raspberry Road with Sarah

My favorite picture of him

At the sale 

Oh the imagery!!!!

Always Love Your Animals and Go Raspberry Road!, 

Will 

Broodmares of the Week - Sponsored by Brewer Concrete Demolition LLC

By far the biggest complaint I get about my blog, besides complete lack of mastery of the english language, is that the ladies would like to see more pictures of me with power tools. Your wish is granted. I take complaints very seriously, which is why I decided to do some jackhammering of concrete from the backyard to make way for my cat racetrack (first race in the condition book is for 4 year old and up female feral calico cats, but it requires 7 entries to go)

                                                           (Photos by Disenchanted Wife)

Please note how well I do matching fence colors. It's called wanting to be at the track rather than staining.

Washington Cup Day was last Sunday and the good news is that I don't have to do very much work to account for every single broodmare that won a Washington Cup Stakes Race last weekend. Why, you ask? Because I have written Broodmares of the Week for all of these horses already with the exception of Chu and You's dam, Bronze Charmer. I am prophetic.

(1) Chinook Pass Stakes - Won by Noosito, who is by Harbor the Gold out of the prolific Basket Weave mare, Julia Rose. She needs no introduction. The mile was ran in 1:35.13. Noosito is a full to Noosa Beach and Music of My Soul. Noosito is still a colt so you have imagine that he might have a future career in the Northwest.

(2) Dennis Dodge Stakes - Won, predictably, by Trackattacker who ran 6 Furlongs in 1:09.27 geared down. Would be interesting to see what the numbers for this horse came back at. Here is the link to my article on Eclatante, Trackattacker's dam. Again, a very good Harbor the Gold:

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

(3) Pegasus Stakes - Won by Madame Pele who got to avoid the Northwest Farms contingent this time. I wrote extensively about the dam, Striking Scholar, earlier this year because she is also the dam of Longacres Mile winner Stryker Phd:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/06/broodmare-of-week-striking-scholar.html

(4) Northwest Farms Stakes - As a side note, the dishonorary steward for this race was Darrin Paul who got a rousing ovation from the crowd when his presence was announced.

Won by Seattles Best Copy. By Demon Warlock out of the Supremo mare, Premo Copy. Wrote about Soft Copy, Premo Copy's dam earlier this year. Seattles Best Copy ran the 6 Furlongs in 1:10.18:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/07/broodmare-of-week-soft-copy-sponsored_24.html

It was nice to see Fine Red Wine get second. Dancing with Effie, unfortunately, got out of the gate poorly which took away her one true weapon: speed.

(5) Comcast Sportsnet Stakes - Won by the You and I filly Chu and You. Out of the Volponi mare, Bronze Charmer, Chu and You controlled the pace and was able to put away Mylast Sweet Pea. Bronze Charmer was purchased by Halvorson Bloodstock in November 2005 for $22,000.

(6) Muckleshoot Tribal Classic - K-Swag brings it home with his homebred Mike Man's Gold. By Liberty Gold out of Chedoodle, Mike Man's Gold got some good competition to run against at Del Mar and came back for this nice victory. My story on Chedoodle and K-Swag is here:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/05/washington-broodmare-of-week-chedoodle.html

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Washington Cup Day Picks

It is Washington Cup Day. A day to celebrate the greatness that is Washington. And I have got some great longshot picks for you tomorrow: Trackattacker and Noosito. You may only get a 5% return on your investment but that is just as good of a return as Ferndale Municipal Bond and less risky because you never know when Canada will invade. So here are my unbelievably chalk eating picks for the day:

Race 2 - #4 Preachinatsagoi - Remember from my earlier post, always bet Preachinatthebar first timers at Emerald. My place pick is #6 Silver Ovation who has some experience over these.

Race 3 - #1 Fisher Creek - This is my favorite handicapping angle: always bet on the horse off a 4 year layoff. My deep affection for Kris Kross makes me pick #3 Hip Hop City for second.

Race 4 - #2 Noosito - Do you have a better alternative? He is still a colt so you have to wonder if they are thinking stallion down the road being a full to Music of My Soul and Noosa Beach. I am going to pick #1 Hoody for second because I don't want people to think I am the marketing arm of Bar C (So I leave off Trick or Retreat).

Race 5 - #1 Trackattacker - Ok, I am the marketing arm for Bar C. Any better ideas? Second, I will pick #5 because the Search is Over was a Survivor song. Great video.

The lead singer of Survivor died this week. RIP.

Race 6 - Hold on, there are no Harbor the Golds to pick? What to do? I will go with #2 Madame Pele because, despite the layoff, she has been working up a storm and there is nobody named Debbie, Smoothie or Window in this race. My second pick is #4 Stephanie Plum. I have tons of respect for the #1 Castinette Dancer, but it seems like she is not the same horse she used to be. I studied the form on #5 She's Top for a while and gave tons of credit to the Prineville and Tilamook races but couldn't see her hitting the board.

Race 7 - Going with #6 Dancing with Effie for the minor upset. I think she is getting better at the right time. Also, have a soft spot for #5 Fine Red Wine (and also just wine) so I will pick her for second.

Race 8 - Have to pick #7 Chu and You who has a decisive pace advantage in this race. #4 Mylast Sweet Pea for second. The best thing for G-Mitch to do is to ride this race like the Kent Handicap and put pressure on Chu and You. If he does that, I say Sweat Pea may pass Chu and You deep in the stretch. Basic and chalky. Soft spots for Chrissy's Wedding and Sunpenny.

Race 9 - Going outside the box a little with #5 Dare me Devil. Should be able to close on a duel between Mike Man's Gold and I Keep Saying. Mike stays on for second.

Race 10 - #7 No Claim Will Do wins by 20 and is sold to Godolphin for $40 million and is subsequently ungelded. He becomes the most legendary sire since Northern Dancer.

Race 11- #7 Agoodlawyer Willdo. If you want a great lawyer, equine or otherwise, consider the Law Offices of William Brewer, PLLC.

Over/under on Harbor The Gold stakes wins tomorrow is 2.5. I am going with over.

See everyone tomorrow.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Ten Positive Things for the Washington Industry - Week 18 and 19 - Momma Lynch!

Before we begin, let's recognize that the Seahawks season is about to begin. I have been a season ticket holder for 11 years now and am looking forward to the game.  More importantly, let's recognize the contribution that Marshawn Lynch's mom has made to the Seahawks. Most importantly, let's recognize the importance of having a Winners' Circle photo with Momma Lynch and Joseph DiPietro:

We got this picture after buddy Darrin Paul won a race with his filly.

I have no idea what I am doing in this picture. Maybe this is an Enumclaw gang sign I am throwing up. Respect.

(1) Washington-bred Wins the Mile - Best news for the Washington industry is when a Washington-bred wins the Longacres Mile. Stryker PhD ran a tremendous race to win. Congrats to Sharon and Larry Ross on what a fine job training they have done this year. Congrats to the Hours and congrats to the breeder Char Clark. Also, a congrats to the Hansens who now own the mare.

Local owner Dr. Rodney Orr's Boyett ran a great second.

(2) WTBOA Sale - Average, Median and Gross were all up at the sale which is good for our industry and getting races filled. Sales topper was a Washington-bred by Tribal Rule out of the Slewdledo mare Bella Campana.

(3) Spooner Blueberries - Ok, I don't like fruit. This is hard for people to believe since I am a vegetarian. But if the vegetable does not include cheese and bread, I don't like it. However, I tasted a blueberry grown by the Spooners at the Markle barn a month back and my life was changed. Best damn (or dam, depending on your horse industry relation) fruit I have ever tasted. Then I was informed that they have a fruit stand near my house in Seattle. Score:

And of course everything is better in syrup and pancakes:

At this point you may be asking yourself, how is the positive for the Washington industry? Well, you see, me eating fruit may extend my life a few years and I am, arguably, good for the thoroughbred industry....I think. Seriously, taste these blueberries.

(4) Northwest Triumvirate - Stopshoppingdebbie, Goin to the Window, and, my girl, (Spooners) Blueberry Smoothie finished 1, 2 and 3 in the Emerald Distaff. An amazing feat for the trainer and owner to continually finish in the top 3 in the majority of the Stakes races. A few amateur photographs from the Winners' Circle:

Best of luck down south girl. Represent us well.

(5) Herculette - This was a great Maiden Special Weight race. By Indian Charlie out of a Seattle Slew mare, Herculette was purchased for $230,000 at the Keeneland January, she looked like it by winning a Maiden Special Weight by 8 and 3/4 lengths. This is a filly with an unbelievable potential.

(6) Hall of Fame Dinner - Raise your hand if you have ever been mistaken by an ex-President's brother of being a Hall of Fame jockey? I noticed nobody raised their hand but me. At the Hall of Fame dinner Roger Clinton, Bill Clinton's younger brother, mistook me for a Hall of Fame jockey. He was attending the dinner because his good friend Ricky Frazier was being inducted to the Hall of Fame (he certainly got my vote). I was standing in line to get my beverage of choice when I noticed the person behind me looked very familiar. After I made my order of Bourb.......Kool-Aid (my mom reads this) I slid to the right. The person behind me moved up to the bar to make his order. As he was waiting for his drink he turned to me and congratulated me on my Hall of Fame career and how I put my life on the line everyday (which is actually true, paper cuts from contract and legal briefs hurt like hell). About 10 seconds into the conversation I realized it was Roger Clinton. Because I read his brother's autobiography I was able to ask him questions about Hot Springs, Arkansas and time he spent at Oaklawn Park with his mother. Who am I to tell Roger Clinton he has mistaken me for someone else? The conversation ended after about three minutes.

A few minutes later, Roger found out who I was (I am somebody, right?) came over and apologized for mistakening me for somebody else. We both had a good laugh and I told him no worries. Frankly, when you are my height and hang out at the track, you get mistaken for a jockey all the time.

(7) Longacres Mile Draw - This was the first year that I went to the Longacres Mile draw and I have to admit it was a fun event to attend. The room was packed and the draw was fun to be a part of:

(8) Rocco Bowen - On Monday Rocco Bowen went down with an injury. The good news is that the Sizzla only seems to suffering from severe bruising rather than having broken anything (I got this from sources close to Rocco). Get well soon Rocco, we want to see you down south the first weekend in November.

(9) August 24, 2014 Maiden Special Weight - Great MSW race on August 24th, Old Fashioned Grit squeezed out a win against the very promising Legion of Boom. Good win for the Spooners and it won't be too long before Legion of Boom gets his first win and their first interception.

(10) Washington-breds won 30 of the 52 races ran in the last two weeks. In your face New Hampshire.

Always Love Your Animals and Go Hawks,

Will Brewer