Spring is almost here!

The Final 4, opening day of baseball, Keeneland!

If you answered, things that start this week you are correct! We are only pointing one horse to Keeneland this Spring, Colonel Klink, but he is training particularly well and I am looking forward to him competing against what figures to be a solid field of runners on April 9th. He is going to work on Thursday and will be shipping up to run early next week.

Redboard King worked well last week, going 5 furlongs in 102.40 at the Classic Mile. He shipped this morning to Philadelphia Park and is scheduled to work on Thursday or Friday over the surface there.

Albin is doing fine while we are awaiting the release of the Arlington Park condition book to determine a plan of action for him.

Target Practice had 8 days off after his poor showing in Maryland. We will look for a softer spot for him later in April.

Big Shake has been diagnosed with a non-displaced chip in his ankle which will require surgery to remove. While this is disappointing we were able to correctly diagnose the injury before it could do much damage to the joint. We are expecting a full recovery for him.

Appoint has been entered for Saturdays 9th race at Tampa Bay Downs. We aren't expecting big things from this race as it is her first off of an extended break and is well short of her best distance. It should set her up well for the Indiana racing season.

Graphite Halo has been training forwardly while pointing for her comeback race on the 23rd of April at Atlantic City racecourse.

Rolled Up may try the turf again at Atlantic City as well. There is a NJ bred race for him on the 19th of April.

Gondorf has had no issues with his feet lately and is training on a regular schedule.

Hippocrates Jones will work on the turf on Thursday. He went nicely last Tuesday, going 51 for a half mile. We will go another half mile this week, perhaps in company with Graphite Halo.

Mizz Liza is being turned out daily in the sand round pen and is enjoying life. She will start being ridden next week.

Rochelle Rochelle has been training well as we pick up the pace with her. She is still missing some hair on her legs but the rest of her coat has grown in fine.

Cool Clue had an easy work this past Sunday and scoped 95% clean afterwards. There are several options for him in the near future.

Normandruth came back yesterday from his brief freshening at a local farm. He will head to AP to run this summer on the polytrack.

Ships Cabin and Kickin n Screamin are both recovering from their lung infections.


This is a hectic time of the year as we move horses, people and equipment to various destinations throughout the country. However it is also the time of the year when the variety of races and tracks picks up and we aren't stuck running for low purses at quirky tracks. I am looking forward to having a good late Spring and Summer season!

Weekly update

Albin ran really well in his first non-maiden start on Thursday at Tampa. After being a little rank in the early stages, jockey Junior Alvarado got him settled in behind the leaders down the backside. Albin moved to the lead entering the stretch and was all out trying to hold off Corredor Dela Isla, eventually settling for second, losing by a neck. That same horse had beaten Albin by 3 last summer at Arlington.
Chart of Albin's race

Target Practice ran terrible yesterday in the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel. He looked great and was on his toes in the paddock prior to the race. Target Practice broke alertly was was sitting a nice trip second a length off the early leader. However heading into the turn he came under pressure and did not respond, "stopping abruptly" according to the official chart. A scope afterwards revealed that he has a pretty signifigant lung infection.

Rochelle Rochelle has advanced in her training and she is now galloping at a little quicker pace as she recovers from a nasty skin condition. She will breeze next week and we are pointing for a start early at Arlington.

Appoint worked her first 5/8ths off the layoff on Tuesday in 103.20 at the Classic Mile. She is advancing towards her first start since her third place finish in the Hoosier Breeders Sophmore Stakes last October.

Colonel Klink continues to train well as he readies for an April 9th start at Keeneland. He worked an easy 50.10 this past Tuesday and will work 5 furlongs this week.

Cool Clue is looking for a spot that fits. There are some interesting races on the grass at Atlantic City next month for him but we need to find a bridge race for that. I am not conviced he is a grass horse but I would love to try him on it to see how he handles it. If he runs well on the grass it opens up a lot of options for him.

Gondorf had some work done on his feet this weekend and will be getting a few easy days before resuming regular training.

Graphite Halo had a nice work on Thursday going 51.30 over a soggy turf course at the Classic Mile. She is now being pointed to an race on April 23 at Atlantic City. That race is a starter allowance for fillies that have started for less than $12500 and not won two races going 1 mile and 40 yards on the turf.

Hippocrates Jones went an easy half mile in 51.20 on the dirt at the Classic Mile. He will work Tuesday on the grass going another half mile.

Missus Mayflower is still battling a sore shin.

Mizz Liza had her scan this week which revealed signifigant healing in her leg. She has been getting turned out in the sand round pen as the first step on her recovery.

Redboard King is training great. He went 5 furlongs in 103.10 on Wednesday finishing very well after a slow first quarter.

Ships Cabin has been out of form lately and his coat has gone bad. We will let him get healthy before looking to run him again.

Rolled Up ran an even 5th in his return to the races last week at Philly. There are some interesting New Jersey bred races for him at the upcoming Atlantic City meeting.

Big Shake is doing fine and will start again at Tampa before going north.

Slumber Smarty, Hemissesu, Angry Dragon and noname are all training fine.

Midway through March

The Winter that never ends struck again this week as torrential rains wreaked havoc with racing and training schedules from New York to Miami. I suppose the positive that you can takeaway from these storms was they are now rain storms rather than blizzards. We wound up missing several days of training in both locations which isn't exactly a tragedy, however it does make efforts to get returning horses back to the races that much more difficult. I also wish that Target Practice hadn't missed so many days since his last race heading into next weekend's stakes but I suppose most everyone else in the region is dealing with similar issues.

Target Practice is scheduled to work Monday as his final preparation for next Saturday's Private Terms stakes at Laurel. The rain has turned the Philadelphia surface into a sea of mud but we are going to try to get the work in tomorrow or at the latest on Tuesday. Kendrick Carmouche who is currently the leading jockey at Philly has taken the call on Target Practice.

Colonel Klink came out of his tune up at Tampa is good shape and is training very well for his next race which is April 9th at Keeneland going 7 furlongs on the polytrack. While hoping to win what figures to be a very competitive race, it should set him up well for the Arlington Park racing season.

Gondorf has started galloping again as he recovers from reoccurring foot trouble. The plan is still a comeback race in May at Arlington Park.

Albin looks to make it two in a row when he heads post ward in the 6th race Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs. He finally broke through last out to break his maiden after many close calls and has trained really sharp since. Diego Rodriguez who was aboard for the winning ride won't be able to make it as he has commitments in California but Arlington Park's leading rider Junior Alvarado will be a good replacement rider.

Richwood Silver ran terrible last Monday and was claimed out of the race. It is always a little bittersweet when you lose a horse that you have had so long but she has been in poor form since November and honestly probably needs a long vacation.

Big Shake ran a much improved race last week when he was 4th in a maiden 50000 race at Tampa Bay on the turf. He was unlucky to draw an outside post which led to him being wide throughout yet he ran strong through the stretch, only losing by just over 2 lengths,

Normandruth ran a dull race last week at Philadelphia and was found to have bled after being scoped post race. We are going to turn him out for a couple weeks and point him to the summer meet at Arlington where he can run on the polytrack surface that he seems to prefer.

Rochelle Rochelle is training fine though her coat has not recovered quite as quickly as I had hoped. The filly that beat her two races back, Awesome Vow, ran fifth in the Florida Oaks yesterday, only losing by 3 lengths.

Graphite Halo worked well over a heavy track on Thursday, going 51.80 as the rains began to pick up. She came out of the work in good shape and we are looking to get her another turf work next Thursday going four furlongs. She has filled out over the Winter and is training forwardly. I don't know if we are going to get a start in her at Tampa because that depends on what charms the next condition book holds. Certainly I would like to have a race under her belt before heading North but we may be at the mercy of the Tampa Bay racing office, which is unsettling to say the least.

Hippocrates Jones finally had his first work since being pinfired on Thursday also just beating the worst of the storm, going an easy three furlongs in 38.80. He came out of the work in good shape and we are going to try to work him back on Tuesday on the turf, weather permitting naturally.

Cool Clue has been hampered by the spotty training schedule at Philly and sustained a minor leg injury which led to us passing on a couple of potential spots. He should be fine and we will find a spot for him in a week or so.

Kickin n Screamin is scheduled to work tomorrow morning and be entered for a race next Sunday at Philadelphia.

Ships Cabin has been a disappointment since his victory on New Years Day. We will continue to search for winnable races for him.

Appoint has trained well despite being in raging heat this week. We have to make sure to keep her away from Gondorf so we don't wind up with another foal next spring. She also worked this past Thursday going four furlongs in 49.20.

Redboard King has been training in draw reins to make him use his hind quarters more effectively. He worked well out of the gate last Monday going a half mile in 50.

Angry Dragon has some skin irritation on her legs and we gave her 10 days of just turn out time. She is going back to the track tomorrow.

Hemissesu and Slumber Smarty have been going to the main track and have done very well.

Mizz Liza is going to have her leg scanned tomorrow and if all is well she will start to be turned out in the sand round pen.

Missus Mayflower's shins have been bugging her and we have backed off her trining till they aren't.