Angel Cordero -- jockey and exercise rider

Angel Cordero was in the press a few weeks ago because he is an exercise rider and jockey's agent. He's been advising Calvin Borel about mounts, and encouraged him to take Street Sense in the Derby. It was interesting to read up on him, as I hadn't heard about him in awhile. He was born in 1942 in Santurce, Puero Rico and immigrated to the States in 1962. He won 2 Eclipse Awards, and led in wins in 1968 and was among the top money-earning jockeys in 1976, 1982, and 1985. He is only one of 4 jockeys who have won the Kentucky Derby 3 times, which he won on Cannonade, Bold Forbes, and Spend A Buck. He has won jewels in the Triple Crown 6 times. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1988, and he was a big time favorite at Saratoga! When he retired, with well over 7,000 rides, he had a 18.3% win rate. In 1992, he was injured in a horse race, and came back briefly in 1995. Of his recovery process, he said that he felt better, more fit, more well, riding than not, so he had to talk his doctor into giving the green light. But now, he exercise rides and that's enough! One of his more famous quotes is, "If a horse has four legs, and I'm riding it, I think I can win!" You can read more about him at the following links:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/jockey.asp?ID=177

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Cordero_Jr.

Nobiz like Shobiz wins the Wood Memorial!

The Derby contenders are starting to sort themselves out. This past Saturday, Nobiz like Shobiz won the $750,000 Wood Memorial by half a length and became the odds-on-favorite. Street Sense is currently the number 2 favorite. Cornelio Valasquez is his jockey and Barclay Tagg is his trainer. Tagg says that he's a great horse, but that sometimes he can be dumb and goofy. He has won 4 out of his 6 starts, and for the Wood Memorial wore blinkers for the first time and had his ears stuffed with cotton. Of this win, Tagg said that his main job is to keep Nobiz healthy for Derby day and that "These horses have to win these races themselves. I never get overly confident about anything. So many things can happen in a race." Now, here's the cool thing -- he is highly, closely related to my sweet Violet and Hailee. Of the many relatives they share, they include the following: Princequillo, Count Fleet, Blue Larkspur, Gay Crusader, Discovery, Teddy, Nasrullah, Hail to Reason, Sir Gallahad, Man 'o War, Hyperion, Tuder Minstrel, Sweep, Bull Dog, Bimelech, Black Helen, Case Ace, Better Self, Bull Lea, Eight Thirty, Broomstick, War Admiral, and Bubbling Over. You can read more about Nobiz at the following links (and also at the Kentucky Derby link!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Memorial_Stakes

or

http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=20881

or

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0728237120070407?feedType=RSS

Cobalt Blue and the 2007 Run for the Roses!

This year marks the first Kentucky Derby in which I owned a thoroughbred! I remember watching the 1973 Derby when beautiful, sweet Secretariat was getting ready to race into history. Little did I know that one day, I would join his family through Hailee and Violet. Anyway, here's a photo of Cobalt Blue, one of the colts among 20 who is a contender for the roses! He was bought by Merv Griffin for $325,000. His trainer said, "He's a gorgeaus colt. That's the most Merv Griffin ever paid for a horse. He's probably the most beautiful colt I ever bought, and we got him on the only bid we made. He's perfectly put together and very correct. He would have gone for a lot more, but he's by Golden Missile, who's not in vogue." When he was 2, he raced twice and won once, and now that he's three he's raced twice and won both times. He has earned $207,000 so far. What's amazing to me is that he has an even lower DI than Violet which means that Violet should be faster than him over shorter distances -- she could beat him in the Derby!!! After he won the San Felipe, his trainer said, "He looks great and ate up like a tiger. He's so big and strong, he was just dragging the hot walker back to the test barn." Cobalt Blue is heavily related to Hailee and Violet. He shares many lines, including the following: La Troienne, Baby League, Bimelech, Nearco, Princequillo, Discovery, Nasrullah, Eight Thirty, Friar Rock, Man 'O War, Ultimus, Commando, Rock Sand, Black Toney, Hyperion, Gainborough, Bull Dog, Bull Lea, Better Self, Whisk Broom, Count Fleet, Gay Crusader, Gay Laura, Domino, Busher, War Admiral, Bubbling Over, Equipoise, and Blue Larkspur. I think that Cobalt Blue has a really interesting, diverse pedigree, and he is even directly related to Secretariat, but I'm not sure he's my favored pick to win the Derby yet. I am just talking about him to mention that this year, you can be sure I'll watch the Derby to see my girls' relatives compete! And it will be very exciting and gratifying to trace how my girls are related to these great, noble, obedient, but spirited champion athletes! You can read more about this year's contenders for the roses at the following link:
http://www.horse-races.net/library/links-derby.htm

Churchill Downs and me

I've never actually been inside Churchill Downs, but I've travelled by it several times. Once my parents and I went to the parking lot to see the Twin Spires. And several times, on various drives south or north, I've driven by this historical place. When I was with my parents, we wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby museum, but it was closed. Some day, I look forward to visiting here in person, so that I can learn more about my girls' winning family.

http://www.churchilldowns.com

http://www.derbymuseum.org/

Kentucky Derby and Oaks 2007

Here are links to the official Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks 2007:

http://www.kentuckyoaks.com/2007/

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2007/

Man 'O War and My Girls!

Man 'O War is the #1 race horse of the 20th century. Stories about him are legendary. He is buried at the Kentucky Horse Park. One story says that he passed away of heartbreak within a month of his groom's Will Harbut's death. And why not, since Mr. Harbut really understood his Man 'O War. Mr. Harbut once said, "That's Manny Wah. When he wants to git up, he gits up. When he wants to lie down, he lies down." Man 'O War raced 21 times, winning 20 of them. He only lost to Upset on a non-gate start. He was being turned to face the line-up and the bell went off. He had his back to the track when the other horses ran. He won the Preakness and Belmont, but never had a chance to win the Triple Crown because his owner, Mr. Samuel Riddle, didn't like Kentucky and didn't think 2 year olds should run so early in the season. He changed his mind, by the time he was racing Man 'o War's baby, War Admiral. And notice that War Admiral is a Triple Crown Winner! Man 'O War beat Sir Barton, a Triple Crown winner, in a match race -- the first complete filmed horse race on historical record.

My girls are related to Man 'O War, of course. Violet is related through 7 lines! She has War Admiral crosses three times, and then Man 'O War's children Furlough, Sunset Gin, Frilette, and War Glory. Hailee is related twice through Top Deck. She has Man 'O War's children Frilette and Taps in her family tree, each occurring twice. So, Violet and Hailee share Frilette.

You can learn more about Man 'O War at the following links:

http://www.angelfire.com/stars/acer/manowar.html

or

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/manowar.html

or listen to his funeral at:

http://www.claibornefarm.com/media/

Count Fleet -- Triple Crown Winner and Violet's Direct Relation!

Violet is a direct relation of Reigh Count, Count Fleet, and Fleet's baby, One Count. You have no idea how cool that is. Reigh Count is a Kentucky Derby Winner. Count Fleet was the 1943 Triple Crown Winner, 1943 Horse of the Year, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and voted #5 of the Top 100 Race Horses of the 20th century by Blood Horse magazine. He earned $250,300, which is $2.6 million in 2002 dollars. He was so good at age 2 that the Jockey Club assigned him a handicap of 132 points, the largest ever imposed by that organization. He had 26 starts, 16 wins, 4 seconds, and 1 third. He was born March 24, 1940 and passed at the distinguished age of 33 on December 3, 1973. His owner, Hertz of the Hertz rental car company had a stable employee named Sam Ramsen who said of Count Fleet, "When that leggy brown colt wants to run, he can just about fly." And his jockey, Johnny Longden, once said about entering the Belmont, "Going into the race, I thought he'd have to fall down to get beat, and even then I thought he could get up and win. He was that good." But Longden admitted that the fast, high energy colt wasn't easy, he also said, "If he didn't have racing room, he'd go to the outside or just climb over horses. If you were in close quarters with him, you were in trouble."

His son, One Count, also Violet's direct relation, shared 1952 Horse of the Year honors with the famous 2-year-old star, Native Dancer. Among the races he won, One Count won the Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup! No wonder when Violet puts her nose down and does a buckaroo crow hop and takes off, she just looks like high speed royalty! You can read more about Count Fleet and One Count on my friendly links at Thoroughbred Blood Lines! Violet has at least 4 lines from Count Fleet, and each is impressive. In two lines she's bred through One Count, in another she's bred through Count Fleet and a a Bull Lea filly, and the last is where Count Fleet and War Admiral are the sires of One Count and Wee Nip who produced Three Fingers! Awesome how much Count Fleet she has!

Read more about Count Fleet:
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/countfleet.html
Video footage of Count Fleet's Triple Crown wins!
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=51

Bimelech -- Hailee and Violet's Shared Relative

Hailee and Violet share a relative in Bimelech who is a thoroughbred with an outstanding pedigree and track record. He had 15 starts, 11 wins, 2 seconds, and 1 third. He was declared the U.S. Champion racing colt in both his 2nd and 3rd year. And he was inducted into the Thoroughbred National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame. The Blood Horse magazine declared him among the Top 100 Racing Horses of the 20th century!

During his career, he won the Saratoga Special, Hopeful Stakes, Pimlico, the Blue Grass, The Derby Trial, the Preakness and Belmont. He sired 30 stakes winners, including siring the stake winner Better Self who is a direct relative in Violet's family.

He fell short of the Triple Crown because he was second in the Kentucky Derby. Some say that he might have had the Triple Crown had he been given a rest from racing. When he broke from the gate on Derby Day, it was his 3rd race in only 8 days! His jockey took the blame and said that he accidently rode him very wide off the rail. In the Preakness, Bimelech beat the horse who edged him out of a Triple Crown in the Kentucky Derby. Not surprisingly, he was called "the iron horse!" You can read more about Bimelech at:

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/bimelech.html

Hailee's sister, Violet

Violet's official name with the Jockey Club is "Velvet Tenderness." She is related to 7 Kentucky Derby Winners and 2 Triple Crown Winners. And she's related to Princequillo, the horse who passes the "big heart" gene to his children. He delivered the "big heart" gene to Secretariat's dam, Somethingroyal!!!