Now that Evening Attire is retired it could be time for Malibu Moonshine (only 7-yrs old though) to enjoy a similar slot as the elder statesman … today (1-22-09) he almost won the 7th race at Aqueduct in a $37k allowance race against 11 other horses.
As Barnfairy posted on another thread - Easy Grades has been retired to Old Friends
We have a couple of new horses this week, too. Summerwind Farm, directly across the road from Old Friends, is graciously hosting the two new boys until we have room for them. The first horse is named Max A Million. …
The second new horse is Easy Grades. He is a 10 year old son of Honor Grades, out of an Easy Goer mare. …
Fantastic!
The little horse that could has done did it again.
10yo Takeover Target adds another big win to his tally, with a win over Apache Cat in the T J SMITH STAKES, G1 1200m (~6f), bringing his earnings to over US$4m. Not bad for a horse that was purchased for less that US$1000 at a sale.
He has busy schedule ahead, he will run again in 2 weeks in the Goodwood Handicap, then ship to Singapore to race in the Krisflyer Intl Sprint in mid May, and from there on to Royal Ascot in England.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;4031272]
The little horse that could has done did it again.
10yo Takeover Target adds another big win to his tally, with a win over Apache Cat in the T J SMITH STAKES, G1 1200m (~6f), bringing his earnings to over US$4m. Not bad for a horse that was purchased for less that US$1000 at a sale.
He has busy schedule ahead, he will run again in 2 weeks in the Goodwood Handicap, then ship to Singapore to race in the Krisflyer Intl Sprint in mid May, and from there on to Royal Ascot in England.[/QUOTE]
Talk about a remarkable return on investment. Wow!
Takeover Target just won the Goodwood Handicap G1.
Next stop Singapore and then onto Ascot for a possible showdown with Overdose.
Probably should have his own thread, this horse is a hero.
We’ll see what happens at Arlington Park on Saturday (June 6) but 9-yr old Silverfoot makes his '09 return to racing most appropriately in the $50,000 The Tin Man Stakes.
Silverfoot didn’t race at all between November 2006 and January 2008, and, quite frankly, the horse looked diminished in his first two post-layoff starts two winters ago at Fair Grounds. But by the time he showed up at Arlington last summer, Silverfoot was back on his game. He won the Stars and Stripes Handicap by two lengths, and was beaten just over two lengths by Archipenko despite racing wide in the G-1 Arlington Million.
“He’s a very cool horse,” said trainer Dallas Stewart, who on Wednesday shipped Silverfoot from Churchill Downs, where the horse has posted five recent turf breezes, to Arlington, where he toured the main track Thursday morning.
Count me in as a BIG fan of Einstein!
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4145760]
We’ll see what happens at Arlington Park on Saturday (June 6) but 9-yr old Silverfoot makes his '09 return to racing most appropriately in the $50,000 The Tin Man Stakes.[/QUOTE]
While at the top of the stretch nobody would’ve thought he was going to do it (he was almost last) the old man came through …Video Replay: Silverfoot won the race 
Also worthy of a shoutout is for Better Talk Now taking a solid 3rd in the Grade 1 $400,000 Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard.
Better Talk Now, trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Jeremy Rose, finished 1 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up in his first race as a 10-year-old. The gelding won the race in 2007.
Friday June 12th will be 8-yr old Commentator’s first statebred (NY) restricted start since 2007. He’ll be in the $65,000 Kashatreya Stakes at Belmont (1-mi distance) which is his first start since a very unusual flop (taking 4th) in the Charles Town Classic, which resulted in a local horse holding the track record prevailing again. A very thin field, but this will be Commentator’s prep race before taking on the G1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga.
In the race is 7-year old Naughty New Yorker, who is $20k shy of hitting the $1M mark in lifetime earings. Interesting further is: that despite Naughty New Yorker and Commentator began their careers one month apart five years ago, they have never met before.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4150663]
While at the top of the stretch nobody would’ve thought he was going to do it (he was almost last) the old man came through …Video Replay: Silverfoot won the race
Also worthy of a shoutout is for Better Talk Now taking a solid 3rd in the Grade 1 $400,000 Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard.[/QUOTE]
Yee-haw! Both were great races. Silverfoot made quite a move! BTN looked fantastic as always.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4158223]
Friday June 12th will be 8-yr old Commentator’s first statebred (NY) restricted start since 2007. He’ll be in the $65,000 Kashatreya Stakes at Belmont (1-mi distance) which is his first start since a very unusual flop (taking 4th) in the Charles Town Classic.[/QUOTE]
The almost old man (!) never was even asked and delivered with a strong win gate to wire taking the victory by at least 4-lengths. On to Saratoga and going for his third ('05 and '08 before) $500k Whitney Stakes (Grade 1) victory on Aug. 8.!
Edited to change his victory today was by eight-lengths
Another fixture on the Jersey tracks is back at 9 with his first start of 2009: Hotstufanthensome races Wed Jun 24th at Monmouth in a $48,000 third-level $75,000 optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
The veteran has a grass record here of 6-5-1 in 15 starts and comes off another successful year in which he earned $94,638. That figure could have been much higher, but for a neck loss in the Grade 3 Oceanport Stakes.
“What with the wet weather and all, there hasn’t been a spot for him before this,” trainer Ben Perkins Jr. said. “He’s a neat old horse, really easy on himself and us. I don’t know if he’ll ever get back to stakes races, but I know he tries every time he runs.”
Trained by Norman Pointer for most his career, Hotstufanthensome was claimed last year for $62,500 by Terri Pompay, who campaigned him through the Monmouth meet. Transferred to the Perkins barn last fall, Hotstufanthensome won the John Henry Stakes at the Meadowlands before closing out the season with an eighth-place finish in an overnight stakes at Aqueduct.
“Jersey” Joe Bravo [who actually is a resident of Florida] will ride which is an added bonus if racing in that State
Midnight Secret
Barnfairy,
Last year I was returning a horse to the barn after a race that Midnight Secret had hit the board (may have won, don’t remember). We were walking behind MS and a groom and I was becoming more and more steamed that the groom was constantly and unwittingly shanking on the grand old fellow. MS was walking to the test barn with the grace and aplomb of a true gentleman and his idiot groom was delivering blows every few steps. The groom is a notorious drunk and meany, and I finally called out “why don’t you shank him a bit harder nimrod”. He didn’t hear me…or didn’t care…but it broke my heart that he was in the midst of ANYONE who would treat him with such a lack of respect.
Indiscrimanate shanking is one of my biggest peeves. Horses “misbehave”, get shanked, react (in pain), throw their heads, get shanked again. Makes me nuts.
He does have his own thread, but it deserves a mention in here too, 12yo Carraciola won the Queen Alexandra Stakes (listed, 2m5f) at Royal Ascot on Sat. He did it carrying top weight of 133lbs too. Here’s a replay.
He does have his own thread, but it deserves a mention in here too, 12yo Carraciola won the Queen Alexandra Stakes (listed, 2m5f) at Royal Ascot on Sat. He did it carrying top weight of 133lbs too. Here’s a replay.
Victory on the turf today!! He took it by about 3/4 of a lengths but it was a fairly confident run.
Older - but not exactly battle tested. In fact I’m sure when he got to the gate he was thinking “what the hell am I doing back here again?” 
DRF 6-29-09 “Would you believe a win off a six-year layoff?”
Trainer Dean Pederson is going to inspire a new Daily Racing Form statistical category for trainers - first start in 2,000-plus days. Pederson sent Military Mandate out for a victory in an $8,000 claimer at Stockton last Thursday, the 8-year-old’s first start since the summer of 2003.
Military Mandate (PPs) won his debut as a 2-year-old on June 18, 2003, at Hollywood Park. He ran third in the Graduation Stakes and the Grade 2 Best Pal at Del Mar later that summer, but was injured after the Best Pal and didn’t run again until last week.
“I really don’t know the story, but he got hurt as a 2-year-old,” Pederson said.
Military Mandate was reluctant to enter the starting gate, but once in, he broke sharply and went to the lead under Francisco Duran. He spurted to a three-length lead after turning for home and cruised to victory 53 days short of six years since his last start.
Another horse who has ticked off a box for his “bucket list”?
#13 race at DelMar
#723 win at the Stockton Fair
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;4031272]
The little horse that could has done did it again.
10yo Takeover Target adds another big win to his tally, with a win over Apache Cat in the T J SMITH STAKES, G1 1200m (~6f), bringing his earnings to over US$4m. Not bad for a horse that was purchased for less that US$1000 at a sale.
He has busy schedule ahead, he will run again in 2 weeks in the Goodwood Handicap, then ship to Singapore to race in the Krisflyer Intl Sprint in mid May, and from there on to Royal Ascot in England.[/QUOTE]
Well this news sucks, really sucks.
Takeover Target broken his canon bone in the July Cup at Newmarket today. He is undergoing emergency surgery.
Hang in there old boy.
TAKEOVER TARGET’S future is in the balance after he cracked a cannon bone in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Friday.
The veteran Australian sprint star, whose rags to riches story has captured the hearts of racing fans all over the world, is undergoing surgery on Friday evening at the Newmarket Veterinary Hospital. His trainer Joe Janiak, who was a taxi driver at the time he bought the broken downand unraced Takeover Target for just AUS $1,400, was too distressed to talk. So too was jockey Jay Ford.
Takeover Target, whose 21 wins include the 2006 King’s Stand Stakes and seven at Group 1 level, finished a respectable seventh behind Fleeting Spirit, and it was only later that the injury, which is to his near hind, emerged.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;4227408]
Well this news sucks, really sucks. Takeover Target broken his canon bone in the July Cup at Newmarket today. He is undergoing emergency surgery. Hang in there old boy.[/QUOTE]
Sad indeed although the news appears to be as positive as it could be in light of the circumstances.
“Thankfully, it’s all good news,” Janiak told the Racing Post . "Takeover Target cracked a cannon bone but he’s had five screws inserted and will be box-rested at the hospital for a couple of months.
