Country Star and My Girls!

Country Star is a Feb. 7, 2005 filly born in beautiful Paris, Kentucky at Stonerside Stable to Empire Maker out of Rings a Chime by Metfield. She has an impressive pedigree, including a little taste of Citation!

Her trainer is Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, and she's been nominated for consideration for the Kentucky Derby this spring! She'll also likely have a chance to opt for the Oaks instead!

Her current record is a slim, but impressive 3: 2-1-0.

She won the Alcibiades Stakes and then set a flaming track record at Hollywood Park at the Hollywood Starlet Stakes. I haven't recieved very many workout notices or race results for her this spring, so I am hoping that she is training well, getting to be a big strong fast girl, and that she has a good year.

Breaking News! Big Saturday at the Races!

Yesterday was a BIG day of racing as part of the Derby and Oaks preps! Here is just a little sample of the tasty races that were run yesterday. The Fairgrounds in New Orleans had major race cards! Pyro wove his way through traffic and proved that he is a steely top contender for the Derby by winning the $600,000 Louisiana Derby.
Proud Spell finally beat Indian Blessing in her third attempt at the task by winning the $400,000 Louisiana Oaks. Indian Blessing led most of the way and fought to go even faster with her jockey, but Proud Spell tucked herself neatly behind IB and then went wide and around to get past her at the end. Indian Blessing's trainer said that they are both fabulous girls, but that the better girl won on that day! Wasn't that a nice thing to say!

Circular Quay just beat Grasshopper in the $500,000 Louisiana Handicap, which is especially nice because last year CQ won the Louisiana Derby as part of his Derby preparations. He has good fortune in New Orleans.

In other places around the states, Visionaire ran through pea soup heavy fog to win the $250,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, and Ariege won the $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks.

It's looking like Pyro, War Pass, El Gato Malo, Denis of Cork and Colonel John are going to be Derby favorites, though I am putting my heart on Pyro and El Gato Malo. And among the girls, well, it's anyone's guess who will be the lady of the day between Indian Blessing, Proud Spell, and Country Star!

These are AP photos taken by Bill Haber right after Pyro's win in the LA Derby! Doesn't his jockey, Shaun Bridgmohan, look happy!

Derby and Oaks Preparations!

Yesterday was a really nifty day. I went to Ann Arbor for my yearly cardiac checkup, went home and voted in the Ohio primaries, slogged around in the icy snow, had dinner with a friend and watched the Academy Award winning film No Country for Old Men AND I received a slew of HorseWatch emails alerting me to activity by some of my favorite fillies and colts! They were all being registered as formal contenders for the $2 million Kentucky Derby and the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks -- their names were pouring in El Gato Malo, Pyro, War Pass, Cool Coal Man, Proud Spell, Indian Blessing, Golden Dawn, Country Star and others!

So, here is my first official Derby and Oaks 2008 postings for you! In this photo, you see one of the colts, El Gato Malo by El Corredor and One Bad Cat by Mountain Cat (out of Storm Cat). This photo was taken when he was a young boy by his syndication owners West Point Thoroughbreds. The other photo is of my sweet little unbeaten Eclipse two-year-old filly Indian Blessing by Indian Charlie and Shameful by Flying Chevron. The photo was taken by the talented Terence Dulay last year at the Breeders Cup, the site of IB's bigger wins!

This weekend is filled with important trial races, including the Louisiana Derby and Oaks. In the Lousiana Oaks, Proud Spell will try for the third time to beat Indian Blessing -- they have finished 1/2 their past two times together. It's going to be a big day of racing.

Anyway, if you want to start tracking your Derby and Oaks contenders and picking your favorites then please go to the official homepage links below:
http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2008/
and
http://www.kentuckyoaks.com/2008/

Breaking News! 448 Nominated to Triple Crown 2008!

Triple Crown Productions announced this past Saturday that 448 horses were nominated by the January 19th deadline for the races associated with the Triple Crown! The fee was $600 for the nomination, and horses can still nominate, but the fee jumps to $6,000! Among the 448 are Pyro and War Pass. Only 2 fillies are nominated, Country Star and Mushka. Country Star (photo by Benoit) won the Hollywood Starlet and Alcibiades Stakes in 2007 and Mushka (photo by Vanessa Ng) won the Demoiselle Stakes (shown in these photos). They are both daughters of the 2003 Belmont Stakes winner, Empire Maker.

Distorted Humor is the stud with the most kids nominated with 13, and Tale of a Cat and Mineshaft have the second-most nominated offspring with 11 each! Todd Pletcher leads the trainers with 31 nominees, Zito comes in second with 19!

Only 2 fillies out of 448 nominees! Makes you really see why Rags is a powerful kind of girl!






http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/2/3/1737770/2008_derby_noms.pdf