Buckley is a town whose claim to fame is being a suburb of Bonney Lake and Wilkeson. A town of such importance, they named it after the Northern Pacific Railway District Superintendent J.M. Buckley. Wow, what an endorsement (clearly, I am not running for mayor (or mare) of Buckley any time soon.)
On the City of Buckley website it states that: "Our collective diversity allows us to maintain and improve the quality of life that so many individuals come to Buckley to enjoy." Certainly diversity is what I think of when I think about Buckley.
Every year in late June Buckleyians pretend to be entertained/entertaining by having the Buckley Log Show. Yes, a show about logs. The competitions are Olympicesque including the following:
- Obstacle Pole Bucking (I finished 3rd in this event last year)
- Hot Saw Limited
- Its more famous brother: Hot Saw Unlimited (because why would ever want to limit Hot Saw?)
- The Axe Throw and;
- The Horizontal Block Chop
As Emerald Downs has mascot Ed the horse, so does the Buckley Log Show: TIMBRR the Clown. You can see pictures of TIMBRR here: http://www.buckleylogshow.com/timbrr_the_clown. In his defense, TIMBRR is the least frightening clown ever.
You see, I am frightened of clowns. Really frightened. I was forced to watch the Stephen King Mini-Series It in 1991. Not a good idea. I didn't sleep for a week thinking about Pennywise and his clown face. A Creative Commons picture:
The three-year-old colt division this year is probably the most competitive division so let's get the hard rankings out of the way now. Horses change so much from two to three that I am sure this list will be completely different by the end of August but I plan on giving it a go:
(1) Prime Engine - (Northern Afleet - Gravy Train's Song). Won his two races at Emerald by a combined 15 and 3/4 lengths. Went to Delta Downs where he was beat by Ocho Ocho Ocho. There is a historical saying that: "Once you go Hollendorfer, you never go back." (It is a saying because I just said it and it's historical because I wrote it a sentence ago.) But maybe not. Obviously, this horse will do one of three things: (1) go down south back to Hollendorfer; (2) stay at Emerald Downs the entire season; or (3) start once or twice at Emerald for a race or two and then go back down south. He is working out at Pegasus, so I expect that the answer is going to be (3), but that is just a guess. I don't know. If he does stay up here we are likely to see this horse in the open Allowance race for 3-year-olds on April 25th, if it fills. His recent works:
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 4/2/2015 | All Weather Training | 5F | 1:01.80 | Breezing | 1/4 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/26/2015 | All Weather Training | 5F | 1:02.00 | Breezing | 1/2 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/18/2015 | All Weather Training | 4F | 49.00 | Breezing | 1/7 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/11/2015 | All Weather Training | 3F | 38.80 | Breezing | 3/3 |
(2) Trackattacker - (Harbor the Gold - Eclatante) One of the best Juvenile Sprinters we've seen at Emerald Downs. Question is what to do with the Gottstein? Throw it out? I say you have to give him another chance, especially at sprint distances, and I think that shorter races early on in the season will be his strength. Likely to see this horse in the open Allowance race for three-year-olds on April 25th, if it fills. Works:
| Emerald Downs | 4/6/2015 | Dirt | 5F | 58.40 | Handily | 1/21 |
| Emerald Downs | 3/29/2015 | Dirt | 5F | 1:01.00 | Breezing | 10/19 |
| Emerald Downs | 3/22/2015 | Dirt | 4F | 49.00 | Breezing | 7/23 |
| Emerald Downs | 3/15/2015 | Dirt | 4F | 51.00 | Breezing | 6/11 |
| Emerald Downs | 3/6/2015 | Dirt | 3F | 40.00 | Breezing | 26/28 |
| Emerald Downs | 2/26/2015 | Dirt | 3F | 38.00 | Breezing | 5/6 |
(3) Awesome Indian - (Indian Charlie - Clear in the West). Won his only race last year--a MSW versus a very good O.B. Harbor. Has had a few short works since coming back to Emerald. Talented. It should be noted for fairness purposes that the Blogger owns an interest in this horse.
(4) O B Harbor - (Harbor the Gold - Flying Memo) Owned by Oregon-bred and mom-jeans lover Jody Peetz. Very good looking horse who came back from a 2nd place finish against Awesome Indian to win a MSW race decisively against Legion of Boom. I have a soft spot for this guy. Cool horse.
(5) Daytona Beach - (Harbor the Gold - Hit a Star). I am big fan of Vital Signs Stable and they have both a good three-year-old colt and filly (the filly we will get to later this week). Winner of last year's Cahill Road Stakes and a MSW, he will be a horse to contend with in the sprints early on. Two bullet workouts in a row shows a readiness to win right off the bat. Likely to see this horse in the open Allowance race for three-year-olds on April 25th if it fills.
(6) Private Boss (Private Gold - Irene's Bonus Baby) - Purchased for $2,300 at the WTBOA Sale and has now placed in four stakes races. Ran second in the Gottstein and from a mare that keeps producing good ones. Already has four 5 Furlong workouts.
(7) Legion of Boom (Harbor the Gold - Bahati) - The 2013 WTBOA Sales Topper is in training at Pegasus. Two second place finishes to the aforementioned O.B. Harbor and to Old Fashioned Grit is nothing to be ashamed of. I expect that he will break his maiden early on in the season and climb the ladder. The works:
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 4/1/2015 | All Weather Training | 5F | 1:03.00 | Breezing from the gate | 1/1 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/25/2015 | All Weather Training | 6F | 1:15.00 | Breezing | 1/2 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/18/2015 | All Weather Training | 5F | 1:02.10 | Breezing | 1/4 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/11/2015 | All Weather Training | 5F | 1:02.90 | Breezing | 2/4 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 3/5/2015 | All Weather Training | 4F | 50.00 | Breezing | 1/3 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 2/26/2015 | All Weather Training | 4F | 52.00 | Breezing | 2/4 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 2/19/2015 | All Weather Training | 4F | 51.99 | Breezing | 2/2 |
| Pegasus Thoroughbred Training Center | 2/13/2015 | All Weather Training | 3F | 37.80 | Breezing | 2/4 |
(8) Christmas Caballo (Papa Clem - Light of a Star) - He has only finished third in a MSW (against Trackattacker) but I think this horse has tons of talent and I expect him to go places. Closed really nicely against the group he faced in the MSW but Trackattacker was getting away from everyone that day.
(9) Old Fashioned Grit (Old Fashioned - Scootin' Girl) - Beat Legion of Boom in a MSW and then ran fifth in the Gottstein. Personally, I really like this horse and think he will run well going forward.
(10) Moby (Harbor the Gold - Last Thoughts) - Placed in three stakes races last year so you have to like his consistency. Two 5 Furlong works signals he will run early this year.
There are several other horses to look out for this year. Specifically, five three-year-old colts who have yet to start that could make some noise this year: Thetrailerguy, T.K. Knockout, Blame It On Royce, Fooled Again and He's a Charmer.
The early Maiden Optional Claiming and Allowance races should be extremely competitive. The most interesting division of all this year.
Always Love Your Animals,
Will
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