Curlin's Beauty

Here is a photo by Timothy Clary for Getty Images, of Curlin in a fabulous win before heading to the breeding shed!

Zenyatta Retired to Lane's End

Click here to see Zenyatta's New Home

I am writing this entry on November 18th and just yesterday, the Moss Family announced that Zenyatta would retire to Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky to begin her career as a broodmare.  She will move in early December.  I am sure she will be pretty surpirsed by the change in her life.  I wonder how long it will take for her to slow down and smell the roses.  They haven't announced who she will breed to at first, but this farm includes the likes of Curlin, War Pass, A.P. Indy and Candy Ride! 

Gorgeaus Rags to Riches!

Namaste.

Breaking News! Filly takes Preakness 2009!

Yesterday was pretty amazing. I spent the morning with my horses and then went to a flea market and purchased a wooden sewing kit, like my Aunt Ruth and mom had. I worked quietly on organizing my crafts and then watched television coverage of the 2009 Rolex (which I had attended in person) and then knitted while watching the coverage of the Preakness Stakes. The Stakes were sponsored by Blackberry and Canon, my two favorite sponsors, if you have to like corporations!! And NBC did a spectacular job covering the event, completly redeeming themselves for their shoddy coverage of the Derby. They covered the horses the entire time. They gave in depth stories about each horse. They live interviewed the jockeys, trainers, owners, grooms. They had really expert coverage with professional bettors and oddsmakers. They went into the jockey room and covered the jockey photo. They took us to the barn, to the paddock, to the saddling area. They walked with each horse from the barn to these other locations. They had coverage from hock level up close and personal. You practically felt like you were in the saddling area!

And what a week we had leading into this event. The filly's original owner made a big deal of saying that he wasn't sorry he hadn't entered his Oaks winning filly in the Derby because the Derby was the showcase venue for the world's best upcoming stallions. Boo. But Jess Jackson, the 79-year-old head of the winery, organized a purchase of the filly, transferred her to Steve Asmussen as head trainer and Scott Blasi, assistant trainer, and sent her to Pimlico in Baltimore! Then, as if that weren't exciting enough, the trainers and owners of Mine that Bird and Pioneerofthenile tried to bar her entry by exploiting a rule. But the owners of Luv Gov, named jokingly after Eliott Spitzer, caught wind of those shenanigans and Marylou Whitney said she would pull her horse, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, if Rachel Alexandra stayed at 15th and couldn't earn the 14th slot. Her husband, John Hendrickson, said, "We think Rachel Alexandra is wonderful. We entered our horse because we thought we had a shot. But if we are the deciding factor on whether or not Rachel Alexandra gets in, then we'll withdraw and wait until the Belmont. We're for sportsmanship and what's best for the game. It is ladies first for us."

So, she made it into the race. And what a race. She had the outside post. She broke clean and quickly was in front and pulled in from her wide place. She was in front from gate to wire with Mine that Bird making good tracks at the very end. She won by a length. It was *amazing* and here's why. First, she won from Post 13, the first time that's ever happened in Preakness history. Second, she was the first filly to win the race in 85 years, since Nellie Morse in 1924 when Calvin Coolidge was president, for goodness' sake! Third, she won from the front the entire race which is incredibly wildly rare for a horse to be able to do -- grabbing and holding onto the front for an entire race! Plus, fourth, she had a jockey who in the first time in history won two jewels of the Triple Crown while riding two different horses! Amazing! It was a great, great race.

Steve Asmussen credited Scott with keeping her in tip top shape. They said when she arrived at Pimlico, "You could tell she was happy going to the racetrack. You just watched her ears. She's very intelligent. She has seen it before." They joked about how soon she'd be visiting Curlin, another living legend they trained and raced. And Scott talked about his love for him and his recent visit to the champion in which Curlin did a dance of happy love, a greeting dance, and threw one of his shoes, "That horse knew me. There is an emotional attachment. That is why we get up early and go to the barns. People in this business love our horses." And when he went to pick up Rachel Alexandra from her trainer, Hal Wiggins, last week, he said, "He's one of my best friends. I know it's tough. I remember when Curlin walked out of our barn."

This sort of reporting made me happy. I'm glad the filly got a chance and did well. I'm glad that NBC did such great coverage and had an *amazing* woman interviewer who was *everywhere*, including on a track pony conducting the interviews on horseback. I'm glad that everyone had such positive things to say about the beauty, intelligence, majesty, and emotional connections of horses.

This year has been a great year for racing. Rags to Riches, the 2007 Belmont-winning filly, foaled her first Giant's Causeway filly, and Rachel Alexandra breezed out with power to win the Preakness!!! Go, Grrrls!!!

Breaking News! Eclipse Awards 2008 Announced!

Yesterday, the 2008 Eclipse Awards were announced and Violet's darling, Curlin, earned Horse of the Year for a second consecutive year, the first horse to do so since Cigar won a second Eclipse during 1995-1996. Curlin also earned Champion Older Male, and his trainer, Steve Asmussen earned Champion trainer. Curlin has now retired to stud for a first year fee of $75,000 at Lane's End in Versailles, but hasn't figured out his new job. Here's what his dad, Jess Jackson, had to say, "Curlin still wants to run. He's running around the ice-hardened floor of his Lane's End paddock, and when he goes into the stable, he gets depressed. He doesn't know what he's up for. I think he's going to be very pleased." Here's a photo of him at his new home taken just this year by Terence Dulay.

Big Brown earned Champion 3 year-old Male and a nod for Horse of the Year and Zenyatta, the undefeated filly who took the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic, was also a nominee for Horse of the Year!

Proud Spell earned Champion 3 year-old filly, and Midshipmanand Stardom Bound earned Champion 2 year-old male and filly respectively. My sweet Indian Blessing earned Champion female sprinter and Adena Springs yet again won Outstanding Breeder. These are just a few of the results for an intense year of racing!

Breaking News! Renny's Weight and Other Equines!

All right, so soon, September 3rd, Renny will have to have his first dewormer. So, Monica at Westview Veterinary called me recently to talk about setting up an appointment for Fall shots. She conferred with Dr. Z about baby's weight and he told me the secret formula to figure out his weight for medicine dosages. Get a tailor's measuring tape, measure his heart girth, substract 25, and divide by .07. So, this morning, I go out to the stable to weigh my little guy. I have a tailor's tape AND a regular horse weight tape because I want to take two measurements with two devices. I was impressed. I got within 5 lbs using both measures.

Baby Renny weighs somewhere between 287 and 292 pounds. My baby is a big boy! And a naughty one. This morning, he gave Derek a hassle about being turned out, he sneezed snot all over himself, he danced around like a ballerina while I was trying to measure him, and he generally just showed impatience about everything EXCEPT the carrot treats that I brought him. Grandma is cool when she has treats, but she's become a drag when she expects baby to behave! Can you believe that my little man who was just a scrap of flesh and bone a few scant weeks ago in May is now a 292 porker! Way to go!

In other news, Better than Honour is going to go on the block at the Fall Fasig-Tipton sale! Hill 'n Dale is dispersing their stock and reorganizing their business and because they are in a double partnership, they felt that selling their stock was the only fair way to handle a division of assets. Unbelievable. She is expected to earn between 12 and 15 million, as she is the producer of back-to-back Belmont winners, the first filly to win the Belmont in 105 years, and a current G1 stakes winner, Casino Drive. She's not surprisingly a Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. Sure wish I had spare change. I would put on my best southern belle hat, my kid gloves, and go to that sale to buy that perfect girl!

Also, in other news, the trainer for Big Brown dissed Curlin the other day, saying his horse BB was much better because he could win the Derby, win the Haskell, win on turf, and had never been beaten by a filly. So, today the owners of Curlin put up good money for a charitable cause (for child care for Belmont Park workers) to get Big Brown to enter the Woodward Stakes on August 30th for a showdown between the big boys. I think this would be good because it would answer once and for all which of the two would make a good sire for Violet's first baby! ;)

Rags Receives Praise at Belmont

Here's our girl, receiving praise on her big day of winning the Belmont. She sure made her family very happy! And she sure taught that fabulous Curlin a trick or two about how to tough it out and be a regal champion! These photos are by Terence Dulay and Cindy Pierson Dulay.

Rags takes a Bath!

Here are photos of the beautiful Rags to Riches, having a bath and just feeling good. I hope that she's enjoying her new job as a broodmare, and I hope she gets in foal with Giant's Causeway this year. Maybe some day she can have a baby with Curlin, the young stud she spanked in the Belmont Stakes!

Curlin and Rags to Riches Belmont post parade

Here they are, Curlin and Rags on their way to the post-parade festivities before the Belmont. Now remember, though Curlin is a Preakness, Breeders Cup, and Dubai World Cup-winning superstar, on that lovely day at Belmont Park, Rags showed him an extra special lesson on the power of a champion filly heart! She's being bred to Giant's Causeway this year, but I hope some day she and Curlin produce a baby! He's coming home soon to "take stock" of what's left to win and what his career should be. His ownership is still up for question. What a lousy deal not to have an uncontested set of parents/owners!

Breaking News! Curlin and Sugar Swirl's Big Weekend!

Here are photos of Curlin, winning the $6 million Dubai World Cup yesterday, taken by AFP. And here's a picture of Sugar Swirl taken by Bob Coglianese for the Thoroughbred Times. Both these wonderful horses has a very big weekend.

Curlin has been in Dubai for several weeks, preparing for this big race, which he won, according to the Daily Racing Form as a "Romp by Record Margin!" His jockey said that the stretch unfolded "in a blur." He won by 7 3/4 lengths, which is the largest in the 13 year history of this race. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, had his wife, three boys, and parents there to witness this major achievement. And he is excited to be training this number one horse in the world, as well as to have Pyro in his stable, aimed at the Kentucky Derby!

Curlin didn't even have froth on himself at the post parade and was cool as a suave American cucumber! Robby Albarado said of the race, "I couldn't even get him tired during this. I knew when I was going to ask him. As soon as he got into the stretch, straightened out, and switched leads, that's when I let him go." And when you watch the race, with him among 11 other horses, you can see that moment easily. He is wide on the track, he is moving calmly, and then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, he is running his own private race, just gliding past the other horses -- he seems to be superimposed at another speed over a slow field of horses which included Jalil by the way! In fact, it was fun to hear the announcer, during that race, because when Curlin won, he said into the desert air, "And for the Red, White and Blue corner, it's a victory by TKO!" That was cool!

Curlin flys home to Keeneland on April 6th!

Sugar Swirl ran at Gulfstream Park, in the G2 $170,000 Shirley Jones Handicap. In this victory by 5 1/2 lengths, she won the entire sweep in the sprint series for fillies and mares at Gulfstream, and posted her 4th victory in a row! She carried the highest weight at 124 pounds, which makes the achievement even more impressive. She's going to be headed to the Breeders' Cup Sprint for Fillies and Mares.

Her jockey, Jorge Castellano, said, "She was on her toes today. She broke well and settled behind the leaders. The three horses went to the lead and they looked like they wanted to kill each other. I had a lot of horse turning for home, so I swung out alongside of them to get out of their way because they went so fast early that sooner or later, I knew they would come back to me. I rode her with a lot of patience and a lot of confidence!"

What a good day for these fine horses -- safe travels to them as they continue their adventures this year!

Muddy Curlin!

Here's our muddy good boy, winning his Breeders Cup race. It's a good thing he doesn't mind dirt thrown into this face. What a good strong boy. I hope he wins the Dubai World Cup later this month and that he returns home, back to the states, as soon as possible! I don't like him over there *at all*.

NTRA "Moment of the Year" 2007!

Okay, so get this, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association picked Rags to Riches' stunning historic macho victory over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes as the 2007 "Moment of the Year!"

I want to emphasize this point. Our girl, Rags, breaks from the gate, stumbles practically to her knees, drags her athletic self up and pounds out a victory over Curlin to be the first filly in 105 years to win the Belmont and gets the "Moment of the Year."

So, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. How can she hammer out and beat old Curlin, the Preakness Stakes winner, and HE gets the Eclipse Horse of the Year Award? He deserves that Eclipse. But in my heart, he shares the honor with his lovely red sister!

Smart Strike's Big Year!

Smart Strike, a Canadian stallion out of Mr. Prospector and Classy 'N Sweet by Smarten is a retired 1992 stallion who really had quite a big year in 2007! Two of his children, Curlin and English Channel, really made him proud. Curlin won two Eclipse Awards for 3-year-old male and then Horse of the Year! English Channel won Eclipse Turf Male! And on September 30th, Smart Strike's three kids, C, EC, and Fabulous Strike all proved G1 winners at Belmont. So, with progeny earnings in 2007 alone of $9,122,430, he became #1 General Sire in North America for 2007.

He is the first stallion to produce Champion Turf and Champion Dirt kids in the same year, since the inception of the Eclipse Awards in 1971.

And, of course, his stud fee increased for 2008! His fee in 2007 -- $75,000. His fee in 2008 -- $150,000! Way to go, boy! Well done! More carrots for you, sweet thing!

In his own racing career, he won 6 of 8 starts, but took a thrashing from Cigar in his last start. He then was preparing for the Breeders' Cup, but suffered a fracture and retired early. My girls are related to this good boy through Nasrullah, Count Fleet, Turn-To, Princequillo, and Discovery among others!

The photo is from his stallion page. You can learn more about him at the following links:
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/stallion-directory/stallion.aspx?stallion_no=1365869
or
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/breeding-news/2007/October/15/Smart-Strike-joins-six-figure-stud-fee-club.aspx
or
http://www.ntra.com/blog.aspx?blogid=9&year=2008&month=1&day=23
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Strike

Breaking News! Curlin Wins 4 Year-Old Debut!

What a good boy! Yesterday Curlin won the $175,000 Jaguar Cup at the Nad al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai. And he won easily. In fact, his trainer and rider felt he was a little rank, full of himself, in the race. Ready to romp! He got pulled off the rail by Albarado because he was being such a bull and then at the end just surged ahead easily, happily, smoothly to win with grade in a breeze. No pushing, no jockeying, just romping! He won by 2 1/4 lengths over the other 5 horses all of whom carried significantly less weight than our American champion!

These AP photos by Tracy Brand capture some of the excitement. Notice that in every photo, Curlin's ears are forward. He's not working hard. He's just having fun, ears pricked and at complete dominating ease. I'm not sure based on those photos that he even knows he's in a race! No wonder the AP reporting said he had a "perfect trip."

His jockey, Robby Albarado, says, "It is a real honor to be associated with him and he has shown why tonight. I took him wide to settle him as he was a bit keen and from then I was never concerned."

So, far our big American sweetheart has a 10:7-1-2 record and has earned $5,247,800. He came in third at the Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness, got beat by my girl Rags to Riches in the Belmont, and won the Jockey Gold Cup and Breeders Cup Classic. He is prepped and ready to roll for the March 29th, $6 million Dubai World Cup

Breaking News! Curlin Gets Set in Dubai!

Okay, I'm not happy about Curlin being in Dubai, but what can you do. Maybe he can be a messenger for world peace as well the Eclipse Horse of the Year and 2007 Breeders Cup Classic Winner!

He arrived on February 17th and began training on February 20th. He's getting ready for the March 29th, Dubai World Cup, but his first race as a four year-old will be tomorrow at Nad Al Sheba racecourse in the $175,000 handicap race, the Jaguar Cup.

He is with his assistant trainer, Steve Biasi. In this photo, you see Curlin with his regular exercise rider, Carmen Rosas, and with Mr. Biasi leading on Poncho. He'll be ridden by his regular jockey, Robby Albarado. And he'll be carrying 132 pounts, 15 more pounds than his other 5 competitors. The distance is set at 1 1/4 miles, just like the Dubai World Cup.

So, this marks the first time that an American horse trained in Dubai for a major race, so I am sure they are very happy. Asmussen wants Curlin ready for the particular strains and newnesses of Dubai. Curlin lives in a barn all by himself in a quarantined area and he's close to a mosque, so he hears the morning prayers regularly (which must be nice). The sights, sounds, smells, everything is new to him. Even the breaking gates are much smaller than in the United States, and they expect him to stand in the paddocks an hour well before the race so people can see him, and he's got to walk very very close to the grandstands under big lights. So, that'll be a big experience for him too! He trains pretty much in solitude, unlike his life at the Fair Grounds, where not only is there lots of equine traffic, but there's always an odd chance that a horse will break free and run right at you (like what happened to Pyro at the Fair Grounds last week on February 18th).

His assistant trainer, Mr. Biasi, says, "Everybody thinks it's a big vacation, but it's the same hours. I get to the barn at 3:30am. We get there in the morning, I tie him to the wall just like at Fair Grounds, wash his poultice off, get a cup of coffee, and sit and wait to train him. I've kept him on the same schedule so he knows when things are going to happen. He gets his breakfast at 4am, gets his lunch the same time every day."

And really, whether you are the Eclipse Horse of the Year or you are Violet in Ohio, what more could you really want -- knowing exactly when and where the next meal is coming from!

Breaking News! Curlin Heads Out to Rock the World!

Here's a picture of Curlin with an airplane. I hope he's used to travel. He's on his way to Dubai to get ready for the $6 million Dubai World Cup.

He's been staying at the Fairgrounds with his trainer, Steve Asmussen, for his winter workouts. He's just been blazing and powerful and strong in his breezes. He breezed once with the great Pyro and yesterday, on Mardi Gras morning, he got up super early at shortly after 6:30am for a breeze workout that the Daily Racing Form labelled "breathtaking" and that he "finished powerfully."

His trainer said, "I guess that's why they gave him the gold trophy."

He'll have one more breezing workout next week Tuesday before he boards another plane on Friday the 15th to fly to Dubai. He'll make his spring debut at the Nad Al Sheba $175,000 race which is the same length (1 1/4 mile) as the Dubai World Cup he's preparing for. His regular jockey, Robby Albarado, will fly to Dubai to ride him.

Good luck, sweet Curlin. It sure seems like your dad, Jess Jackson, enjoys you! I hope that all those other several hundred phen-fen owners appreciate you too. God Bless.

Breaking News! Eclipse Awards Announced yesterday!

Yesterday in Beverly Hills, they celebrated the Eclipse Awards. Curlin was the big winner, being voted the 3-year-old male of the year AND the Horse of the Year! I am happy to report that Street Sense and Rags to Riches were also finalists for the Horse of the Year!

Here are the winners by categories:

1. 2 year-old-male, War Pass
2. 2-year-old filly, Indian Blessing
3. 3-year-old male, Curlin
4. 3-year-old filly, Rags to Riches (yay!)
5. Older male, Lawyer Ron
6. Older female, Ginger Punch
7. Female Sprinter, Maryfield
8. Male sprinter, Midnight Lute
9. Male turf, English Channel
10. Female turf, Lahudood
11. Steeplechase, Good Night Shirt
12. Breeder, Adena Springs
13. Jockey, Garret Gomez
14. Trainer, Todd Pletcher (Rags' trainer)

Pletcher won his 4th Trainer Eclipse award in a row this year! I want to remind you that Curlin's custody is contested. Jess Jackson (Curlin's 77 year-old dad) recently purchased 80% of Curlin from buying out George Bolton and Satish Sanan, but the other 20% is owned by Midnight Cry Stable with the lawyers Shirley Cunningham, Jr. and William Gallion who cheated the 418 people who sued them for their winnings from the phen-phen case. A judge says that all of those 418 people get to share in the winnings and breeding profits from Curlin. Poor guy. Tough world.

Anyway, Jess Jackson wants to race Curlin in his fourth year rather than send him to the breeding shed right away. In a New York Times article yesterday, Jackson explained his decision to race Curlin this year and aim him toward the Dubai World Cup, "Racing needs heroes. It's a sad thing to see so many great horses going to stud for financial reasons when the sport needs that competition to elevate it and market it." But he admitted to not just being selfless, by saying, "It's the joy I get from racing him. I'm a sportsman and have been one all my life. At this age 77, I can't throw a football anymore. I get a vicarious thrill from enjoying one of the most beautiful animals in the world." What a good guy! Sure hope it works out for Curlin.

Get this! Curlin was in New Orleans on Friday, having a 5 furlong workout at the Fairgrounds! The race track that I visited and betted at, and the race track where they hold Jazzfest! And the race track where sweet Black Gold is buried!

Breaking News! 2007 Eclipse Awards Announced!

On January 4th, the nominations for this year's Eclipse Awards were announced by the presenting organizations. The Eclipse Awards are named after the 18th century racehorse and foundation sire who was undefeated in 18 starts and left a breeding legacy of 344 race winners, including 3 Epsom Derby winners. This year, the Eclipse Awards, which honor the horses, owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys of the thoroughbred racing industry and also gives special awards honoring great contributions will be held on Monday, January 21st at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California.

Here are a taste of a few of the nominees for special categories:
1) 2 year-old male: Kodiak Kowboy, Pyro, War Pass
2) 2 year-old filly: Country Star, Indian Blessing, Proud Spellb
3) 3 year-old male: Curlin, Hard Spun, Street Sense
4) 3 year-old filly: Octave, Panty Raid, Rags to Riches

They do not release the nominations for Horse of the Year until the event itself!

This year, the Kentucky Horse Park is receiving a special Eclipse Award for their outstanding contributions to the racing industry. John Nicholson, executive director of the KHP, said, "We are exhilarated to be honored with the special Eclipse Award. This is the culmination of enormous efforts by many people over the past three decades who played a central role in the celebration of that special bond between man and the horse."

The Kentucky Horse Park opened in 1978 and served as the home of John Henry, that many award-winning, 2X Horse of the Year winning racehorse who lived their for 23 years before just passing away in late 2007 at the grand old age of 32. The leading officer for the Eclipse Awards cited the relationship between JH and the KHP when he announced why they deserved this special prestigious recognition: "John Henry's indomitable will and spirit symbolized the love and dedication that the Kentucky Horse Park has given to the thoroughbored industry over the years. On behalf of the presenting organizations of the Eclipse Awards, we are proud to bestow this most deserving honor to the men and women of the Kentucky Horse Park."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Award_for_Horse_of_the_Year
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Award

Breaking News! A Waterlogged Breeder's Cup!

These photos are from Getty Photos who took some tremendous photos of this year's Breeder's Cup! They had a great two-day lineup of races, and a $5 million purse for the Breeder's Classic, which had Street Sense, Curlin, Hard Spun, George Washington, and Lawyer Ron, among others. Curlin won by 4 1/2 lengths in a completely wet, sloppy track. He raced strong, sound, true, and fast. He raced with ease.

This is the horse who makes me sort of sad because he has fighting parents. One set of his parents are from the famous Kendall-Jackson winery, another set of parents are literally in jail, awaiting sentencing for not paying their clients after the Phen-fen fiasco, and another set of parents are fighting with the first about his future. They are at odds about whether he should continue racing or whether he should head to the breeding shed! Whatever his next days unfold, I hope he has health and happiness and glory and joy and lots and lots of petting and praise and comfort.

Breaking News! Breeders' Classic Lineup Set!

This year's Breeders' Cup races will run over the course of two days and will involve 11 races, over 141 of the very best horses, $23 million in prize money, and chances to compete for the coveted Eclipse Horse of the Year Award!

They say that this year's Classic Cup is the deepest, best, most competitive ever. The eight horses registered include the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners, the best older horse in the country, a European champion, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, and two improved 3-year-olds who might be the current best in the country!

In the picture, you see the undefeated Indian Blessing who will run in the start race of Day 2, the Juvenile Fillies. The horses you can expect to see that fabulous weekend include Curlin, Street Sense, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Cry and Catch Me, War Pass, Nashoba's Key, Dylan Thomas (winner of this year's Arc de Triomphe), Hard Spun (Derby runner up), Lawyer Ron (best older horse), Any Given Saturday, George Washington, and Awesome Gem. They expect 45,000 people to attend the October 27th card of races! The Belmont winner, Rags, won't be able to attend because of her hairline fracture. Hopefully, she has been healing well over these past weeks.
http://www.breederscup.com/