Barbaro Updates: 372
updates are now here.
Update 2392: A couple of updates from Penny at timwoolleyracing.com:
Update 34: Tim just rang with a little more of an update. Red Aspen will be shipping back to us this afternoon after being on the owner's farm recovering from an eye injury. It will be awesome to have her terrorizing people in the barn again.. He has also decided against running Who's Happy tonight at Penn National. Now that we can see just who made it into the race, it has come up too tough for her first time on the turf. We will have other opportunities to run her in easier company. She is a young filly and we want her to be around for a long time.
Later
Update 33: Just another Thursday morning at Double Trouble. When I walked into the barn this morning it was like a beehive. Little worker bees going every direction trying to get riders out of the barn on horses. Everything was buzzing. Who's Happy was being walked and was behaving like a lady. Quick Quest was trying to bite the groom as she got him ready for Tim to ride. He loves to torture his groom! Mass Romantic was standing like a statue while being tacked up. I went in and checked her bridle and talked to her for a few minutes before sending her on her way. Real Lace was happy to see me coming with another scoop of grain. She dug right into her feed tub. Luke was already out enjoying the sun in the porta pad and Gator Nation was calmly eating out of his hay net. Grandma was asleep as I walked past so I left her alone. All is well and hopefully Tim will call in a more detailed report about the training later.
Update 2391: Fans of Barbaro helped celebrate Dr. Richardson's birthday thanks to Kennett Florist: Dr. Richardson's Bday Celebration.
Update 2390: A great opportunity for local FOBs to get together, from John Hennegan:
Calling all FOB!!!
THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY will be screening at the Newark (DE) Film Festival
beginning next Thursday 9/6 to Sunday 9/9. It will screen five times. Please
check the link below for more info ....
http://www.newarkfilm.com/pages/schedule.html
Come out and support the film!
Regards,
The Hennegan Brothers
www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com
www.myspace.com/henneganbrothers
Update 2389: Racing in New South Wales (Australia) has been shut down for at least three months. Racing in Victoria (Melbourne Cup is the first tuesday of November) has not yet been impacted: Racing Suspended for Three Months Because of EI.
More on our opening day at Presque Isle Downs: Fat Purses, Shippers Galore as New Racetrack Debuts, excerpt:
The first race, appropriately named the Inaugural Stakes, carries a purse of $100,000. The stakes, for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs, lured a field of 10. The fillies have shipped to northwestern Pennsylvania from their training bases in Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Interestingly, one of the Inaugural entrants, Coy Coyote, has been in training with Michael Dickinson at his Tapeta Farm in Maryland. Dickinson's Tapeta Footings synthetic surface will debut for racing purposes at Presque Isle, and is currently being installed at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California.
Update 2388: A great article on the Tapeta track, which will see its first race here at Presque Isle Downs on Saturday: New surface is right on track, excerpt:
The premise is the same. Make an all-weather track that is safer for the horses. None of the surfaces is more than 2 years old, but the statistics are quite clear. These surfaces are far safer than the traditional dirt surface. Breakdowns are down dramatically. Barbaro's 2006 injury in the Preakness really brought the topic into sharp focus.
"Barbaro speeded up the process, definitely," Dickinson said.
Wakefield agreed.
"A lot of people in racing knew the problems we were having," she said. "That brought it to the general public."
Update 2387: Another morning's work on the backside at Presque Isle Downs. I am starting to get the hang of my routine, but I guess like any new job it takes a little time. So today, here is how it went.
6:00 am: arrive at the barn, begin mucking stalls, all seven mucked today (I had been doing six but also did the pony's stall this morning which the assistant had been doing).
7:30 am: rode three horses, these three were the ones that worked on monday, I had not ridden them before. Each just jogged one turn the wrong way. I went back and forth to the track with the pony, the trainer was with us who came in for the day. The track looks to be getting a little busier, and it was gate day today so a few were schooling in the gate. There were also a few onlookers and a photographer taking pictures.
8:30 am: begin walking horses, cooling out the last one I rode, and then cooling out the two workers that a couple of jocks came in to breeze (Madrigal and Hampshire were the jocks).
10:00 am: grooming six horses, which this morning included applying poultice to the legs of the two workers.
11:30 am: finished for the morning. have to come back this afternoon to feed at 4 pm.
The times are not entirely accurate, and there are other jobs to be done during those times like raking the shedrow, but its a close proximation of my morning.
All in all, a good morning's work.
Update 2386: Todd Pletcher, who is not having a good Saratoga by his lofty standards, says that Rags to Riches is 50 - 50 to make the Ruffian at Belmont: Next race uncertain for Rags to Riches, excerpt:
"I would say it's 50-50," Pletcher said when asked about the Ruffian. "If there's any doubt I have obviously a good option seven days later."
Santa Anita will open for training on September 4 with its new synthetic track: Cushion Track Ready for Training at Santa Anita.
A nice summary of the status of the entries for the first day at Presque Isle Downs: Rich meet begins with a stakes.
Hiya, FsOB! Wow, am I first today? I am concerned about our beautiful filly, Ms. Rags to Riches. I had hoped that she could run in "the Ruffian", but safety should come first. I wonder if all her test results are back? Please let this be the day that Cavel is closed by the Federal Appellate Court! Wishing each of you a productive day. Peace, RMH
Posted by: Robyn Hoffmann at August 30, 2007 11:08 AM