Monday Holiday Update

We were lucky enough to sneak some works in this past weekend though this coming week looks bleak.
The track at Westampton was deep and the track at Penn was pretty normal. The Westampton works may not have reached equibase yet

Bourbon County went well, clocking a half mile in 49.30 breezing under a tight hold. He was a little winded afterwards but considering how deep the track was that's to be expected. We will do some more gate work with him this week and perhaps breeze from the gate next weekend.

Frosty Merry Eri and Tango Master went in company in 51.60. They are good work partners and we will go in company again next week. We will also get some gate work in for both of them this week.

Oklahoma Den went five furlongs in 103 finishing up well and also blowing pretty hard afterwards. He is perhaps a work or two away from being ready to run.

Pleasantly Miranda went in 39.60 in her second work back off of the layoff. She is a long striding type and did not appreciate the ground at all. April at Atlantic City is probably the goal for her right now.

Pennypennypenny went in 36.40 at Penn which was a little quicker than we were hoping for. She is really fast but needs to learn to listen to the rider a little better.

Frosty Whirl went a good five furlongs in 101.80 at Penn on Friday which was 4th fastest of 16 to work at the distance. He is also a work or two away from being ready to run.

Lyford went in 104 the same day and needs to start picking it up or he is going to wind up over jumps sooner than later.

Ski Bum is making his debut in Thursdays 7th race at Penn National.

Malibu Murmur has been entered in the Nellie Morse Stakes at Laurel on Saturday afternoon. She drew on the also eligible list as the race overfilled and we may not run even if we draw in.

Small Town Talk is going to record his 1st work later this week since running 4th in the Fall High weight Handicap at Aqueduct on Thanksgiving day.

Mid-Winter Blues

Winter has officially settled in throughout the Northeastern part of the country. Winter weather of course wreaks havoc with training schedules as planning beyond 24 hours often becomes a futile battle. This week in particular has been rough as we have had periods of rain, snow, sleet, sun, a warming trend and soon to be freezing temperatures. One little secret of training thoroughbreds is understanding that our training plans aren't always 100% perfect and an extra day off or easy day of training every now and then is probably beneficial. That being said we have a number of horses that are tearing down the barn right now as they are overdue to breeze and I am just not willing to do too much speed work over sloppy or uneven surfaces. We have the benefit of having jogging machines at Westampton where the horses can get some exercise in when the track is just not kosher like this morning and Penn National does a pretty good job with its surface but training in the Winter in the Northeast is a challenge.

Made to Love Her caught a really top class filly last Saturday at Laurel in Bold Affair who won the What a Summer stakes by almost 5 lengths after holding up the start of the race, balking at the gate for five minutes. Made to Love Her raced along the inside chasing fast fractions, got untracked too late and finished 6th, though only beaten a few lengths for 2nd and galloping out strong after the wire. We will be looking to stretch her out in her next start which may come in allowance company sometime in February.

Lyle's Angel has picked up the pace in her training and her appetite as well. Despite being a fairly normal sized filly, she requires an enormous amount of feed and hay and never leaves an oat behind. Looking forward to getting her back to the races.

Small Town Talk has been training well and is ready to have his first work since he returned to full training after a brief freshening. Hopefully the weather will allow us to sneak in an easy work this weekend. 

                                                      Small Town Talk at Westampton

Frosty Whirl worked an easy 1/2 mile last week and hopefully will get to work tomorrow or Saturday. We are going to probably going to stretch him out to 5 furlongs for this next breeze.

Oklahoma Den is really thriving in the mornings and is one that I am semi-desperate to work this weekend as he is overdue to do something and has been letting us know it. 

Ski Bum and Lyford have been training partners and worked from the gate last week. We are going to perhaps get them to breeze in company this weekend. Ski Bum is ready to run and Lyford isn't too far behind.

Tango Master has trained nicely and we have started to do some gate work with him. He is also scheduled to breeze this weekend.

Frosty Merry Eri is doing fine and is also overdue to work this weekend. She will be moving to the racetrack soon as she is ready to get her gate card.

Bourbon County also is in need of a strong work. He has been training very well and a mid-February first start for him has been targeted.

All Peace N Quiet is recovering nicely from her leg injury and is due to be re-xrayed soon.

Midas Terms is also on the mend and has exceeded all expectations thus far and is not that far away from a return to the racetrack.

Coax Liberty is another that has had her training hampered by wet racetracks. While we are cautious in our approach to training her in general, the muddy tracks have been a real hindrance.

Mustang Island, Outta Jail and Southern Access have maintained status quo.

Rochelle Rochelle has been retired from racing and we are actively seeking a new home and 2nd career for her.

Malibu Murmur has trained well since her win a few weeks back. We are weighing a few options for her including allowance races or a potential shot at getting some black type.

Pennypennypenny and Pleasantly Miranda are both doing well and are awaiting a good track over which they can safely breeze. 

Angry Dragon and Red Baroness have been booked to leading freshman sire Frost Giant for the upcoming breeding season. 

                                            Angry Dragon in the paddock at Monmouth Park

Quick Note

Charlessimonracing.com is back online and fully updated.

2013? So far so good

We are off to a fast start in 2013 as both of our runners have been easy winners in career best fashion. Last night at Penn National, Malibu Murmur overcame a flat footed start which caused her to be much further off of the pace than usual to score an impressive allowance race victory. On Thursday night Southern Access ran away from maidens in her first try around two turns registering her first victory by over 8 lengths. While I don't expect to remain undefeated the entire year hopefully these results forebode a great year for Charles Simon Racing and our owners.

Small Town Talk returned to racetrack training last week after a short break following his 4th place finish in the Fall High Weight at Aqueduct. He didn't seem to lose too much fitness and we are shooting for a mid to late February return to the races for him. While he didn't run poorly in the sprint we are most likely going to go back to two turn races for him.

Lyle's Angel is back in full training and is doing great. She is showing no ill effects from surgery and is scheduled to begin galloping this week. A return to the races in March is what we are shooting for.

Made to Love Her ran really well when coming in 3rd in the Willa on the Move stakes at Laurel on December 15th. That was her 1st race back off of a 8 month layoff and her first foray against older fillies and mares. She has trained well since and is scheduled to return to Laurel on Saturday to race in the 6 furlong $125000 What a Summer stakes. Josean Ramriez who rode Malibu Murmur in her win last night will ride Made to Love Her.

Mustang Island is in light training and will be given some time off for the winter. We are pointing him to come back to the races on the turf at Atlantic City.

All Peace N Quiet is getting some R & R at Gum Tree farm and is doing well after being injured while breaking her maiden a few weeks back.

Tango Master had his 3rd published work on Saturday at Westampton going in 51.10 under Angel Castillo, Jr. He finished up well and will work another 1/2 this coming week.

Bourbon County went in 49 flat at Westampton on Saturday. He did it the right way, was under no pressure from the rider and came out of it in good order. He will work another 1/2 on Friday or Saturday.

Ski Bum is ready for his debut but the maiden race scheduled at Penn didn't fill. We will search for an extra race for his 1st start.

Rochelle Rochelle was entered to run last week but the races were cancelled due to poor weather conditions. We are looking to run her in a 4000 nw 6 months race going two turns soon.

Coax Liberty has done well though her training has been hampered by the weather more than most of the others as she doesn't train on off tracks.

Frostys Whirl dumped his rider on the way to the racetrack on Saturday before posting a 50 workout. He has trained nicely on the track despite his often boorish behavior off
of it. We are thinking that he will be ready to roll in February.

Frosty Merry Eri is far better mannered than our other Frost Giant 3 year old. She also worked on Saturday getting 1/2 mile in 51.2 at Westampton. We are going to do some gate work with her this week and she will work one more 1/2 mile next weekend.

Latent Charm underwent surgery to remove a chip from her knee a few weeks back at NJ Equine Clinic. The operation went well and she should recover fully and be back to the races late spring/early summer.

Midas Terms is going to resume jogging later this week.

Oklahoma Den worked in 50.30 on Saturday at Westampton. This was his second good work in a row and we will look to stretch his works out a bit before finding a spot to run him.

Pennypennypenny missed a little time over the holidays due to minor sickness. She is back on track and will pop out of the starting gate on Wednesday.

Outta Jail still hasn't been able to get her surgical procedure completed due to some unrelated health issues. We are hoping to get this done this week as she is feeling much better.

Pleasantly Miranda had her first recorded work since the late Summer yesterday going 3 furlongs in 39 seconds. She moved well, looked good afterwards and will continue on a steady work schedule.

Angry Dragon and Red Baroness were both retired last fall and will be bred to NY based stallion Frost Giant this spring.