Thursday, January 8, 2015

Marva Jean (2000 - 2015)


I am extremely sad to report Marva Jean died last Saturday in a paddock accident. She died three weeks before she was due to give birth to a Harbor the Gold. I have spent the last week 80% extremely sad for her and 20% in self-pity for the bottomless bad luck I seem to incur with horses (I admit that the 20% is extremely selfish on my part).

Except for my wife and a close friend, I have been unable to talk about her passing. It is simply too sad for me and I am an extremely private person when it comes to family and matters of the heart. (To my friends who sent texts, I am sorry. Not until this afternoon have I been able to deal with the loss).  Also, I wanted to keep her passing to myself in hopes that the reality I was living wasn't true.

Putting these words on the screen today has been difficult (If anyone out there is thinking to himself or herself “This guy is too emotional about his horses” you can elect to stop reading. I refuse to live in a world where I don’t care about them.). However, I thought I would write something, not for condolences, but it wouldn't be fair if she was just another statistic or something that people glance over. She deserves to be remembered for what she was: a champion. I also was hoping that writing about her would be somewhat therapeutic for me (so far, it is not working). I also don’t want to explain what happened to her over and over again to my thoroughbred industry friends when they read a blip about her death in passing.  I am hoping to get the grief of those conversations out of the way now.  Finally, and most importantly, it is my hope that after reading this people will continue to realize that the lives of these animals are fleeting and that maybe we will all cherish and love our horses more tomorrow than we did today (and maybe some carrots).

I can write the basic stats that everyone writes about horses when they die: Stakes wins, money earned, etc., but she was much more than just a racehorse or a broodmare to me. Simply put, she exemplified what I love about these animals and the athletic feats they perform. She outran her pedigree and showed heart in all of her endeavors. She was an excellent mother and the first broodmare that I owned.


She was also kind. In the last month I was looking for a broodmare in Kentucky and California to complement Marva. Part of the search criteria included looking for a mare who was as kind as Marva so they could live out there retirement years together in a paddock at my future farm. For now, I am suspending that search.

When I started buying horses it was requested that I not become emotionally attached to these animals. For the last five days, they have been correct. Despite the grief, I can’t abide by that request. This industry simply doesn’t mean that much to me if I cannot love these horses. I may grieve numerous times before my days are over but I would rather my animals be loved than for me to get an emotional free pass about their death.  

I take solace in the fact that I was part of the quality of life she received.  Very few horses get that type of treatment.  I thank the Griffin Place family for providing her with a home and care in the last years of her life. They cared and fed her every day. 

Marva, you were a champion and so much more than an agricultural commodity. As much as it hurts, I plan to carry on with your daughter in hopes that there is good news at the end of this shit sandwich. Hopefully, she will be as good of a mom as you. Some sunny day.


With an Extremely Heavy Heart,


Will

Friday, January 2, 2015

Another Useless Hypothetical Eclipse Award Ballot

Since I already broke my New Year's Resolution to "be less awesome", let's do another time-honored tradition of early January: giving out awards for performance. Better yet, let's hypothetically give out these awards under the assumption someone actually cared about my opinion or that I had a ballot.  

However, there are some outrageous votes for these awards so why can't I have my say? Case in point: In 2011 someone voted for Drosselmeyer for Turf Male. He raced on the turf once in 2011, finishing 7th in the Sword Dancer. Another laugher was Court Vision for Horse of the Year. Ok.

Here is a list of who I think should win and who will likely win. 

2yo Filly

Who Will Win: Take Charge Brandi

Who Should Win: Lady Eli

Lady Eli is by far the best and most talented two-year old I saw racing this year. She got a good trip in the Juvenile Fillies Turf but her turn of foot was amazing and she was massively impressive in her wins. However, she will be penalized in voting because: (1) She is a turf horse, (2) Take Charge Brandi is trained by D. Wayne Lukas and (3) Take Charge Brandi won her last three races, all since November 1st, so she is fresh in the voters' minds. There is no question in my mind of who the most talented and best horse two-year-old filly was. I just think most people will see Take Charge Brandi as having a better campaign. Depends on how you look at things. 

Watch and dream: 


Lady Eli is the horse I am most excited to see in 2015. 

2yo Colt 

Who Will Win: American Pharaoh 

Who Should Win: American Pharaoh

Only other possibility is Texas Red but he lost the head-to-head in the Frontrunner. Pharaoh won two Grade Is. Done. 



3yo Filly 

Who Will Win: Untapable

Who Should Win: Untapable

If anybody votes for any other horse in this category they should be stripped of their vote for all eternity. They should be ridiculedand forced to eat at Arby's for the rest of their life. I am sure that Drosselmeyer will receive a vote in this category even though he is a seven-year-old male. 

3yo Colt 

Who Will Win: California Chrome

Who Should Win: Bayern

This is where the chorus of boos will start. Don't care. Unfortunately, California Chrome will win this award and I can't argue with people who will vote for him. However, he is not as good as Bayern or Shared Belief. Bayern won 2 to 1 in head-to-head races. He won he B.C. Classic and had memorable races in the Woody Stephens and Haskell. Don't care what your view of the B.C. Classic and stewards' decision was. Shared Belief is overlooked in this category even though I believe he is the best horse in training. 

Older Female 

Who Will Win: Close Hatches

Who Should Win: Close Hatches

She was less than stellar at the end of the year but there is no other competition and she was very very good during the middle of the year. Deserving winner. 

Older Male 

Who Will Win: Palace Malice

Who Should Win: Palace Malice

Who else would you vote for in this category? He didn't race the last part of the year but won the Met Mile and the New Orleans Handicap. The only other option is Goldencents who ended his career in smashing fashion in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, but he is seen as a Sprinter/Miler rather than the tradition older horse. 

**Note: I didn't include Main Sequence. My thought is that this category should be changed to Older Dirt Male to make voting easier. Main Sequence was clearly the best older horse in the country last year but most people will vote for him in the turf category rather than the older male category. This has caused confusion the last few years as Wise Dan has won this category along with HOY and Turf Male.

Turf Male 

Who Will Win: Main Sequence

Who Should Win: Main Sequence

Slam dunk. Championship 



Turf Female 

Who Will Win: Dayatthespa

Who Should Win: Dayatthespa

She won the B.C. If Stephanie's Kitten would have won the B.C. she would have been the deserving winner.

Male Sprinter 

Who Will Win: Work All Week

Who Should Win: Not Sure

Can you give an Eclipse Award to a horse that lost the Addison Cammack handicap? 

Your other options are Private Zone and Goldencents. Both of who I believe are better horses than Work All Week at 6 to 7 Furlongs. Problem is that Private Zone's big win was the Cigar Mile but that was not a sprint. He won the Grade 1 Vosburgh and then finished 3rd in the B.C. Sprint. Goldencents did not win a G1 under a mile this year (He won the Pat O'Brien, a Grade 2 at 7 Furlongs). I guess you could consider Palace, but he is light on the resume. 

Female Sprinter 

Who Will Win:  Judy The Beauty

Who Should Win: Judy the Beauty 

Slam dunk. 

Owner 

Who Will Win: Ramsey 

Who Should Win: Ramsey

I will not be on the ballot this year even though I have 10% in No Claim Will Do. Despite being overlooked in this category, I would give my vote to Ramsey for winning a massive amount of money at a high level. 

Breeder  

Who Will Win:  Ramsey 

Who Should Win:  Ramsey 

Incredible faith in Kitten's Joy continues to award Ramsey. Faith in a stallion works...sometimes. We don't hear of the non-success stories. 

Trainer 

Who Will Win: Art Sherman

Who Should Win: Chad Brown

Art Sherman, Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert could be the finalists. Sherman may win based on one horse. I really think Chad Brown has been exceptional this year with the campaigns of Lady Eli, Dayatthespa, and Bobby's Kitten -- all won Breeders Cup races. He really should win this. 

Jockey 

Who Will Win: Castellano 

Who Should Win: Castellano

He has been the best jockey for the last two years. 

Horse of the Year 

Who Will Win: California Chrome 

Who Should Win: (1) Main Sequence, (2) Bayern, (3) Shared Belief (4) California Chrome 

I am not going to debate this because there is nothing I can do about California Chrome winning this award. I disagree and I could go into the reasons, but what is the point? I would vote for Main Sequence, but very timidly. He was undefeated winning four Grade 1s and beating horses that placed in the Arc in the Breeders Cup Turf. I am timid because his campaign lasted from July to November, he did not beat the strongest fields in the non-BC races. Bayern had a campaign that lasted from January to November. Problem with Bayern is that he boated pretty badly in the Preakness and the Travers. I would not blame anyone for voting for him. Shared Belief is the overlooked horse. He lost one race in which he had trouble. Other than that he was perfect. The problem is that he raced exclusively against older horses except for the troubled BC Classic race and the Malibu will not be looked at (ridiculous) because it came so late in the year. When all is said and done you can't blame people who just watch the Triple Crown to vote for California Chrome. 

Always Love Your Animals

Will