Boooooooooo, sorry to hear that 
That would have been a very good cross for eventing (of course, when it was done taking the racing world by storm :winkgrin: )
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It is a darn shame this mare in particular is now 23, because she had the potential to produce one hell of an eventer. She was a good race broodmare (for everyone else but me), but I still think she missed her calling.
Since we’ve been back in the land of UL riders, I’ve had people contacting me out of the blue about her at first sight. Everyone wants to ride her or breed her, not realizing she’s old, lame, barren, and not all there upstairs. She’s a bitty thing with a kind of straight shoulder and some questionable pasterns, but when she chooses to engage her phenomenal hind end, she drops jaws.
ETA: Thanks for the kind words, too. My manners kinda slipped up there. 
What I am a bit surprised about is the success of Scat Daddy’s this year. He wasn’t known as a turf sire was he (for the short time he was a sire)?
I’m still confused over saddle cloth number vs stall number vs load order
Again, another good day of racing! I am still hoping the Queen gets a winner. Tomorrow with Dartmouth is supposed to be her best chance.
Oh yes he was. His “biggest” horses thus far have been turf milers, which is part of the reason for his huge international success. Then you have horses like Daddy Long Legs, Daddy Nose Best, Frac Daddy, etc. whose success on the turf translated over to the dirt well enough to qualify them for the big three year old classics. Talk about a dream sire.
I still can’t believe we lost him.
Saddle cloth number and draw are two separate things in European racing.
Cloth number is determined by a) weight, the highest weight is no.1 and b) if any horses carry the same weight, or all horses in the field have same weight, then they are listed in alphabetical order, low number to high.
Gate position is determined by draw and doesn’t correspond to cloth number.
Stall/gate numbers start with no.1 being closest to the inside rail, irregardless of lefthanded or righthanded track. Up until 2011, no.1 was always the first horse on the left hand side (when looking from behind the stalls/gate), no matter whether the track was left or right handed. So a low draw or high draw depended on what direction you were running in. It was changed in 2011 to bring things into line with the rest of the world.
Texarkana, thanks. I don’t always follow a stallion’s progeny record so didn’t realize Scat Daddy was so big in the turf milers (and certainly explains why he’s been kicking some booty the last few days). I as well am sad that we lost him so soon.
Drvmb1ggl3, thanks. I figured saddle cloth and PP draw were different, this is the first time I’ve seen how saddle cloth is determined. I saw that PPs are in order, inside to out but seems like load order is random and maybe a bit based on the more difficult horses loading first? Not always splitting the field into 2 or 3 and then load inside-to-outside in the smaller group. Seems like UK also uses more of the “blankets” over the hindquarters and blinds when loading than we do here.
What I do miss in Europe and Australia racing that we do here is the colored saddle cloth based on number; i.e., red is always 1, etc. Since I’m not always up on silks, the colored cloth makes it easier for me to track whose in first 
I see Bill Mott has a runner a tomorrow, Long on Value in the Diamond Jubilee. His first ever runner at the Royal meeting. How cool is that.
Will be interesting to see him in top hat and tails, Bill that is, not Long on Value.
IMHO Bullet Train has a fabulous pedigree for sport.
And if anyone is looking for a nice mare with Sadlers Wells as her grandaddy on top and Relko on the bottom, call me. She has NEGATIVE CD. (Sorry. I had to cap that because it’s so unusual).
She wasn’t a great racehorse in the US however.
Very handsome!
I hope NBC will take a tip from this ITV/NBCSN presentation of Royal Ascot when planning its Triple Crown coverage next year. This week we have had attention paid to the ladies’ hats – all very tasteful and becoming; likewise the playing of the national anthem; the general classiness of the presentation. I hope NBC can do more of this next year and less of the non-horsey celebs and the over-the-top (in both senses) hats.
I do prefer our way of covering the post parade, though, and discussing all the starters, not just a select few.
But I wish we’d switch to turf so the jockeys and horses could come home in their original colors and not covered in mud.
Is it my imagination or do a lot of those horses seem to be built a little different that horses over here?
Here’s something interesting that would never happen here at a big meet/festival/track.
A horse named Thomas Hobson ran in the Ascot Stakes, a 2.4 mile race on June 20th, which he won. He ran again in a 2m, 5 1/2 f race today, the Queen Alexandra Stakes, and finished second. Might not be Group stakes, but still the horse must be made of iron.
He started off as a hurdle horse.
Not that unusual for horses to run in both the Ascot Stakes on the Tues and the Queen Alexandra on the last day. Several horses have pulled off that double, the most recent being Simeneon in 2012. Baddam did it in 2006. Carraciola and Cover Up both came very close to pulling off the double in the last decade or so.
Now, what is unusual is to see US Army Ranger, runner-up in the Derby at Epsom last year, running in this race. Shows you how far his star has fallen.
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From a ratings perspective it appears the NBSC coverage was well received. (Not to say that TVG’s simulcast of ITV’s feed over the last few years wasn’t appreciated - just smaller household reach)
Not only did Wesley Ward continue his remarkable record at the meeting, where he had two winners, but viewers across the Atlantic also embraced the unique mixture of pageantry and top class sport, with more than 2.4 million tuning in to watch the royal procession on the opening day.
In total, broadcaster NBC aired 22 hours of event coverage, fronted by former Channel 4 presenter Nick Luck and also incorporating elements of ITV’s production, with full viewing figures to follow later this week.
Since they largely lifted the ITV production (with just some customized US audience interviews, e.g with Johnny V) the costs should’ve been “lower” and it remained better on point. I don’t mind the sidebar of mixed cocktails and even some fashion but luckily we were spared a parade of American 3rd tier actors and Top Chef contestant castoffs explaining which horse they may have wagered on.
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Great Haskins article on Ascot on The Blood Horse.
http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2017/06/24/to-royal-ascot-and-the-stayers-thanks-for-the-memories.aspx
Glimmerglass, spot on that we weren’t subjected to some of the drivel that NBC* broadcasts for our big races.
I actually kind of enjoyed some of the “fashion” in going to the shops and seeing the hats, ladies and gents, and dress/fashion. At least the Royal Enclosure fashion has to be somewhat tasteful
I also tune in to watch the Royal Procession and see, every day, what color and matching hat The Queen is wearing (where is that blush? ). Every morning (for me, not for her), I wondered if this will be The Queen’s last She is 91 and her husband/consort is 96 :eek: It sounds like her grandchildren will carry on the Royal Family tradition but wonder if any of the Royals will be behind Royal Ascot as The Queen has been.
For me, some of the iTV coverage I could (and did) go without…
