Sunday Update

We have been extremely busy this week and unfortunately have neglected the blog so lets get everybody updated on all the news around the barn.

Mercury Rising made his debut at Finger Lakes in the 7th race this afternoon. He broke in the air at the start which is not great anytime but really bad in a 5 1/2 furlong race. Mercury got way behind and was ducking and diving from the dirt being kicked in his face. Elaine Castillo whacked him a few times coming into the stretch and after he got over the shock of getting hit he actually started to run a bit. However the race was so short that by the time he got untracked they were at the wire. He will benefit from the experience and needs a little more ground to be at his best.

Galaxy Lady got her first win in over 3 years yesterday, winning a $4000 claimer at River Downs. Under Joe Johnson, she shot to the front and led every step of the way, easily winning by 11 lengths. It was my first trip to River Downs and found it a nice little track that was kind of a throwback to the days of racing before slot machines. Hopefully they can figure out the mess that is Ohio racing and keep it going.

Aldebutante worked really well on Friday, going in 102.40 in a really sharp effort. She finished up strong and galloped out super and looks to be over her thyroid issue and on pace for her debut on the 14th.

Rampillion and Graphite Halo are scheduled to work tomorrow morning at Churchill Downs. They will go another four furlongs and gallop out and extra eighth. Both fillies are progressing as expected.

Fading Light has been training great but her race that was scheduled for the 5th at AP didn't go and they have brought the race back for the 6th at 1 1/16th on the turf.

Colonel Klink worked six furlongs in 115.40 on the 27th which was his first work since sustaining a minor injury after his last work on August 2nd. He wasn't supposed to go that far but he was so fresh from his little layoff that he began the work too soon and galloped out a little too fast. He will work again on the 2nd and we are leaning toward a start on the turf on September 14th for his 1st start.

Albin has returned to training after a brief illness and is still a possibility for the 14th at AP or Kentucky Downs on the 22nd.

Rain Shower was sold privately as she had fulfilled her mission of winning a race at AP and does not look like she will ever improve enough to consider keeping long term.

Comeback and Carl S are both scheduled to work tomorrow after working well last week.

Appoint continues to train well and will have her first three furlong work tomorrow.

Campaneris is doing really well though I wish she would grow a little taller and have little less of an attitude.

Results from the weekend and some work reports

Makutus made his return to the races a winning one, leading from gate to wire to win the 2nd race at Arlington Park yesterday. Let off as fourth choice at 5-1 despite being the morning line favorite, Makutus broke well and made the lead going down the backstretch, setting fractions of 23, 47.1, 112.1, and 124.1 before finishing up in 136.3 winning by 1 1/4 lengths under Tim Thornton. Makutus shipped back to Louisville last night and arrived in good shape this morning. His next race may be at Keeneland in an allowance race. Chart



E Major and Hackercraft did not fare so well on Friday. Hackercraft showed very little on the drop to the lowest condition in his career, never kicking in and finishing last in a conditioned $5000 claimer. E Major broke very well in her first start on the turf. She settled in a good position, 4th on the rail over the soggy grass course but failed to rally in the stretch and never showed that spark that she displayed in her first race. She may be on her way to a career as a broodmare.



Comeback worked in 38.20 at Churchill this morning. He is still very green and doesn't pay much attention during his breezes. He will work another three furlongs next week. Carl S. worked three furlongs in 37.40 in his first official workout. He has a really big stride and is still developing physically and he will work another three furlongs next week. Normanruth worked a quarter mile in 26.30 and is also very green. He will work another quarter mile before we work him three furlongs in an official work.

Rampillion worked 50.60 out of the gate in company with Graphite Halo this morning at Churchill Downs. She broke alertly and went evenly with the other filly. She will work an easy 5 furlongs next week and looks like she will make the September 20th race at Turfway barring any unforeseen mishap. Graphite Halo broke a step slow, rallied to catch the other filly but would rather race beside her than pass her which is something that we will work to correct.

Sumwonlovesyou's foot continues to improve. We are flushing it with an iodine solution and she is walking normally without any soreness.

Kickin n Screamin is doing fine and looks like she is on target for the 11th. Rene Douglas has been booked to ride her in that race.

Mercury Rising worked four furlongs in 49 seconds which is good for him. We are trying to get him up to the Finger Lakes this week for a race next weekend.

Aldebutante came out of her work in good order and will remain on her normal training schedule.

Colonel Klink is back in full training after a minor injury knocked him to the sidelines for a week.

Makutus returns

Makutus has been entered in the 2nd race on Sunday at Arlington Park. The race is a one turn mile on the polytrack for three year olds and older horses in the maiden special weight condition. Makutus drew post three with Tim Thornton riding and were installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite.

Rain Shower 4th

Rain Shower was 4th today in the 6th at Arlington today. She broke a step slow and trailed through glacial fractions in 9th place before putting a mild rail rally to be 4th, beaten about 3 lengths. It wasnt a bad race but it gets frustrating having so many turf closers and so many races without any pace. Chart

Fading Light worked well this morning at Churchill Downs getting four furlongs in 49.20. We changed her shoes around and it seems to have helped her. She is being pointed to an allowance race at Arlington on September 5th.

Makutus blew out extremely fast this morning going 3 furlongs in 34 and being credited for his gallop out time of 46.40 as his official time. The race he was entered for at Arlington did not fill for Saturday and was brought back for Sunday's card which may be good for us as it gives him one more day to recover from such a fast work.

Todays works

Rampillion and Graphite Halo worked 4 furlongs this morning at Churchill Downs, covering the distance in 50.80. The work got a little messed up when a out of control horse from Dale Romans split our fillies going to the pole to start the work and Rampillion wound up about 5 lengths ahead of Graphite Halo. Cherie who was aboard Graphite made the best of the situation by tucking in behind the other filly and getting her used to getting dirt thrown in her face which she didn't seem to care for very much. Rampillion basically was on her own and did well though Ryan said she was pretty tired after galloping out.

Comeback had his first official work going in 39.60 for three furlongs while in company with a unraced two year old of Bob Holthus. They did fine, he changed his leads and galloped out nicely. He was on the inside during the work and had no problems with a horse outside of him. Comeback will go a bit quicker for three furlongs next week.

Carl S. and Normanruth 'two minute licked' from the half mile pole together in their first work other than galloping. Both were fine though Carl S. towers over Rampillion who had to work to keep up with him.

Albin 3rd in debut

Albin overcame a tough post and a wide trip to run a solid third in his first start today in Arlington's 5th race. Hampered by post 11 and a fairly short run to the turn, Albin broke alertly and put jockey Tim Thornton is a tough position going into the first turn. Forced to ease him back in the turn to avoid being fanned 10 wide, Albin lost some valuable positioning while still being fairly wide in that first turn. He settled nicely behind horses while in seventh down the backstretch. Thornton angled him out going into the turn where he showed a nice turn of foot while three wide , moving into second turning for home with the eventual winner lurking right behind him. He was a little late in switching leads in the stretch which may have cost him a bit of momentum but he ran through the wire and finished up third behind the two favorites. We were hoping for a nice safe trip in his debut and we got that despite the wide trip. Albin should benefit from the experience and get a fitness boost going into his next race which is looking like the same race on the 14th of September at Arlington. This was the first 2 year old start for owner Bob Gary's group of yearlings that he bought last fall and hopefully it is a sign of things to come. Chart of todays race here

E Major and Hackercraft have been entered at Arlington Park for Friday's twilight card. Hackercraft has been entered in the 6th race which is a $5000 nw3 claimer going 1 1/8th on the polytrack with apprentice Inez Karlsson and has been installed at 7-2 on the morning line. E Major is in the 10th race which is a maiden special weight on the turf going about 5 furlongs on the turf. Tim Thornton will ride and E Major drew post position number 3 out of 12 and will run with blinkers on. She is listed at 10-1 on the morning line.

Two year old number 1

Albin is running today in the 5th race at Arlington Park which is a maiden special weight on the turf going one mile. He is the first of our two year olds to make it to the races this year and we are hoping for a good run from him. He is coming out of post 11 which isn't great and has underrated turf jock Tim Thornton on board. Albin has never missed any training since he went into serious training in March and has shown increased interest lately which we hope translates to a good race today.

Rain Shower has been entered for Wednesdays card at Arlington. She is post position number 3 in a 9 horse field of $35000 filly claimers on the turf going 1 1/16th. Thornton will also ride her as Rene Douglas is serving a one week suspension and is off all mounts next week. She looks like she is very competitive with this group providing she gets a decent trip.

Makutus worked in 51.40 yesterday at Churchill which was a little slower than I wanted and we will probably blow him out on Wednesday in preparation for his comeback race on Saturday at Arlington.

E Major worked 47.60 yesterday at Arlington in her final move before her turf sprint debut on Friday at Arlington.

Ship's Cabin worked from the gate in blinkers yesterday morning at Arlington going 35.40 for 3 furlongs. He came out fast and straight and hopefully he is going to get over his in race antics with the blinkers on.

Mercury Rising was measured this morning by Cherie and has been found to have grown from 15.1 hands when he arrived in April to 16 hands. Hopefully his lack of enthusiasm for training has been due to this growing spurt as opposed to any lack of ability. His half brother won a NYB stakes race last week at Saratoga and was a late developer so hopefully Mercury is following those same lines.

Fading Light is pointing to a race September 5th at Arlington Park going 1 1/8th on the turf. She has been training very well since her last race.

Aldebutante has not been feeling so great the last few days and will not make her debut at Saratoga next weekend. She has had some stomach problems and has been a little lethargic which is not her. She has not had a temperature or developed a full blown sickness but pushing her while she is acting a little down is a bad idea.

Campaneris has been training well after having a respiratory issue and Comeback has been doing very well despite going through a growth spurt which can make horses look a little uncoordinated.

Graphite Halo and Rampillion are both doing fine and progressing nicely. Sumwonlovesyou is being treated with aggressive antibiotics to fight the foot infection that she has developed. Richwood Silver is doing great and looks really good. Carl S. is coming around and Cool Clue has started to be turned out as well as going on the Aqua Pacer. Basketwoman's leg injury is healing really well and she has started undergoing Aqua Pacer treatments. Bob's Bean and Bubble Berry are going into the second phase of their off track training, ponying with Hank on the track at BEC. They may make starts at Kentucky Downs in September.

Wednesday's news

Galaxy Lady is in today's 3rd race at Arlington Park a $5000 NW3L race going 6 furlongs. She will break from post 5 in a field of 8 runners with Brandon Meier aboard. She has never raced on the polytrack surface so we will see how she likes it today.

Aldebutante worked really well this morning at Churchill Downs. she broke off a few lengths behind Mercury Rising going to the 5 furlong pole, caught him after a 1/4 mile, stayed next to him for another eighth then drew away to finish her work in 101.80 and galloped out very well getting the 6 furlongs in 114.20. Her next work will be a blowout before she debuts at Saratoga on the 24th. Mercury simply isn't in her class and tried but could not keep up with her in the stretch. He is leaving for the Finger Lakes later this week and should run before the month is out.


Makutus is doing well and will work on Saturday morning which will be his final tuneup before his return at Arlington Park on August 23rd going 1 mile on the polytrack.

Rampillion and Graphite Halo worked four furlongs this morning at Churchill Downs. This was both horses first work further than three furlongs and it went fine. Graphite Halo started behind Rampillion by about a length and stayed there till deep in the stretch where she moved alongside of the other filly and they finished together. Graphite Halo galloped out very strong and was bouncing on the way home. Rampillion got a bit tired and did not gallop out as far or fast as the other filly. Both fillies have been very good in the gate and don't need a lot more work there. Rampillion should be ready sometime in September most likely at Turfway Park while Graphite Halo may also be ready about the same time but will start at Belmont in NYB races.

Fading Light worked very well under Diego Rodriguez covering her four furlongs in 48.60 while under quite a bit of restraint. This was the first work for her since her comeback race and she did it very nicely. Arlington's next condition book will be coming out soon and we will be looking for a spot there. E Major has been training great in recent days while equipped with blinkers which she will wear for the first time in her next start on the 22nd of August at AP on the grass.


Appoint continues to train well as does Richwood Silver. Basketwoman is going to start light training on the aqua pacer at BEC this week while Bob's Bean and Bubble Berry are going to start a more aggressive training program after they both had a nice break and some light training.

Cool Clue is close to his return to regular training and Italiano Operetta and Jacques Sparrow are heading in the opposite direction, soon moving to BEC for some additional rest.

Monday Update

Albin worked very well out of the gate on Saturday morning, getting 5 furlongs in 101 and being approved by the starter to make his debut next Sunday on the grass at Arlington Park. Ship's Cabin also worked Saturday morning under jockey Tim Thornton, going a half mile in 48.40 while wearing some new equipment. We put a modified extention blinker on him along with rubber figure eight and a stronger bit. This seemed to help as he stayed on the rail throughout the entire work, never showing any desire to get out until he was pulling up. E Major worked this morning with jockey E.T. Baird aboard. She went in 49.20 for the four furlongs and galloped out really well. E.T. thought she was traveling well and TC thought that a few changes we have made with her shoes have helped her. She is still pointing to a maiden grass sprint for her next start on the 22nd.

Some good works at CD today

Makutus and Aldebutante worked well in company this morning at Churchill Downs. The track as usual was very slow and deep despite the temperatures early in the morning being quite reasonable. The pair broke off on even terms going past the 5/8ths pole with Cherie on Aldebutante and Kenny Wirth on Makutus, who can often be tough to handle. They stayed together throughout the work and hit the wire moving at a brisk pace. Makutus galloped out stronger than the filly but he has been working longer and further than she has and is a talented if unlucky three year old. Aldebutante was visibly winded after the work and has tucked up (lost weight) from the heat and from the fact that she has grown taller over the last six weeks. Makutus is being pointed to a one mile maiden special weight race on the 23rd at Arlington Park while Aldebutante is shooting for the following day's races at Saratoga.

Rampillion and Graphite Halo worked out of the gate together in 39.60. They broke very well and worked together around the turn which is the way Churchill's gate is situated. Both broke sharp enough to get their gate cards and we can move ahead with getting them fit and ready for the races. Rampillion is being pointed towards Turfway Park or Kentucky Downs while Graphite Halo is looking at Belmont's fall meet for her debut.

Comeback continues to do well, galloping kindly while he is still physically developing. He is growing tall and looks a lot like his dam who was a very talented filly who had some soundness issues.

Colonel Klink is rapidly recovering from his minor injury and will probably return to the track this weekend. Albin is galloping 1 3/4 miles every day and never seems to get tired. The maiden race on the 17th on the Arlington turf continues to be his main objective. Richwood Silver is training well as she returns from a brief freshening. Cool Clue is doing great at Bluegrass Equine Center and will return to the track in about two weeks.

Bob's Bean and Bubble Berry are also doing well at BEC and are looking at races at Kentucky Downs when they return to the races. It will be interesting to see how Bob's Bean takes to the turf and Bubble Berry has already run fairly well on the grass. Basketwoman's leg is looking better and Sugarland Star is spending a lot of time outside in the paddocks at BEC.

Ship's Cabin is going to work on Saturday morning at Arlington, hopefully when the track is clear of Arlington Million runners. He will be equipped with some new gear including an extention blinker and a special bit.

Rain Shower is pointing to a spot for $35000 on August 20th going 1 mile on the turf. hopefully we can keep Rene Douglas in that spot. We are still waiting on races to materialize for both Kickin n Screamin and Fading Light. Galaxy Lady is going to be entered for a race at Arlington for Wednesday the 13th going 6 furlongs at the NW3 $5000 level.

Appoint is really starting to turn the corner physically as she is looking more and more like a racehorse every day. Campaneris is still coughing and has had respitory issues for over 10 days. The heat hasnt not helped in her recovery. Carl S. is doing well as he plays catch up after some minor set backs. E Major is training fine as she prepares for her turf debut. Mercury Rising worked a 1/2 mile in 52 after his company never appeared. Normanruth and Moonlight Flite are both training well as they comeback from relatively minor injuries.

I will be in Chicago this weekend for the Arlington Million and to see Ship's Cabin work. Both may be equally exciting!

Monday Update

Ships Cabin forget to turn yesterday at Arlington in the 5th. After breaking very poorly his first start, he broke very well yesterday and went to the lead. However he bolted in the first turn and had to be pulled up. We cant find anything wrong with him physically and are going to have to use some equipment like an extension blinker and/or run out bit, to get him under control.

Hacker Craft did not fare so well either in his race on Saturday. He simply does not race as well at the mile distance and needs more ground. He may get both that and class relief in his next start.


Albin and Colonel Klink both worked Saturday morning at Arlington. Albin went 6 furlongs in 119 in a stamina building work in preparation for his debut on the turf on August 17th. Colonel Klink went a 1/2 mile in 49.20 but overextended a bit and will miss the race on Million Day. The injury is not serious but the race is coming up too quick for him to make it.

Comeback is doing well and will have his first official workout on Thursday, weather permitting. Carl S. and Campaneris have both recovered sufficiently from their respiratory illness to return to the track after having a few days off.

Rampillion and Graphite Halo broke well from the gate this morning and will work from the gate on Thursday. Graphite Halo is developing very nicely after a few false starts earlier in the spring and Rampillion is also coming along well.

Mercury Rising galloped aggressively this morning which I hope is a good sign moving forward since he has been lacking in aggressiveness. Maybe the light bulb in his head is finally turning on.

Normanruth continues to plug along though his mind may be a bit ahead of his body at this point. Appoint is really turning the corner according to Cherie. Though she is still carrying excess weight, she is starting to shape up and is moving forward in her training.

Aldebutante has made multiple visits to the gate and she is settling down nicely there. There is a thin line between doing too much with her and not enough because she is such a high energy filly. She will work later this week, going 5 furlongs.

Makutus is training well though I would like to see him carry a bit more weight, which has always been an issue with him. There is a race on the 22nd at Arlington Park that may be a good spot for his return.

E Major worked a slow 4 furlongs in 52 today though she finished strong and galloped out well in 104. She is on course to make her turf sprint debut in a few weeks.

Works and races

Aldebutante and Mercury Rising worked four furlongs from the gate this morning at Churchill Downs. They both broke well and stayed together until just past the 1/4 pole when Cherie asked Aldebutante to pick it up and she accelerated away from the colt and finished up the work in 50. Mercury Rising wound up going in 51.2 and simply isnt in the same class as the filly. She will work 5 furlongs next week possibly in company with Makutus and though she wont make the Saratoga race on the 10th it wont be too much longer until she is ready. Mercury will also have a 5 furlong work next week.

Rampillion and Graphite Halo worked together in 39 for 3 furlongs. They stayed together and finished up well and despite the time being a little slow, the work was something that we can build on. They will go a little quicker next week and then stretch out to 4 furlongs after that.

Makutus worked a quick 5 furlongs in 59.60 under jockey Diego Rodriguez. He went very well while in hand and seems like he is really getting close to his return to the races. Makutus is a talented horse who has never really shown what he can do in the afternoons.

Hacker Craft has been entered for Saturday at Arlington Park. He is in the 6th race which is a $10000 nw3 LT race going 1 mile out of the chute. He is listed at 8-1 on the morning line which is strange considering he has been 2nd and 3rd in the same class. PP's

Ship's Cabin has been entered in a maiden $25000 race on the grass on Sunday's Arlington card. He will be stretching out to 1 1/8th in his second start after breaking slow 1st time out and will be adding Lsix second time out. He is listed at 12-1 on the morning line. PP's