It’s Friday again…it looks like writing every day has become writing once a week. That’s OK, better than not writing at all. Here’s a quick update before jetting off for another Ski Friday. Cold and blustery today. Last week, it wound up with a trip to the emergency room as Miles attempted the thrill of victory over a jump and wound up in the agony of defeat.
Of course, when you’re 14, a little air and a lot of blood has cache.
Miles’ buddy, Ian, was “brought down” in the melee.
Their text thread afterward.
Miles: “Did I get air on the jump or not really?“
Ian: “U got a solid like 2 feet. But u went far.”
Two feet and went far…not bad on the tally of ski heroism.
Stable Tour Excerpt of the Day
From the Bill Mott Stable Tour, Saratoga, 2022.
Art Collector: Bruce Lunsford’s homebred 5-year-old pulled another double, taking the Alydar here and the Charles Town Classic just like last year. The son of Bernardini wired seven rivals in the Grade 2 $1 million Charles Town Classic Aug. 26. Mott opened the stall screen and took a long look at the $2.3 million earner. “Oh, you don’t want me coming up to you, taking up your space, that’s your space. ‘Don’t get in my space and don’t put your hand up there.’ You probably heard plenty from Erma (Scott) about him yesterday. He’s a little warrior himself. He’s a little tough guy. Looks like he’s handled his races OK. Could go for the Lukas Classic or the Fayette.”
From the Bill Mott Stable Tour, Saratoga, 2021.
Art Collector. Owned and bred by Bruce Lunsford, the Blue Grass winner joined Mott’s string after finishing sixth in the Kelly’s Landing for Kentucky-based Tommy Drury. The 4-yearold won the Alydar here and the Charles Town Classic in three weeks. “Ate everything, goes back to the track tomorrow, only had three days of walking, looks like it didn’t hurt him. We’ll jog him a few days, freshen him up. If he’s OK, we’ll nominate to the Woodward. He came in good shape, the guy who had him is a good guy. All in all, he came in a fresh horse, he had one race which probably didn’t suit him, got off a little bad, it was basically a 7-furlong workout for him. When he came to us, he was ready for that next step. We had him, what, five weeks, six weeks at the most, before we ran him. It was a good spot here, restricted stake. Good spot down there. He’s got tactical speed, the race at Charles Town suited him, he’s good at 9 furlongs, he’s got speed and he’s good at the distance and he was good enough to beat the champ from the year before (Sleepy Eyes Todd). That horse ran good, he left there running and was on the fence. We’ll look at the Woodward, see where that takes us. He’d need to bounce back and be doing good for us to run him in there. Different kind of race. I guess it will come loaded up.”
By the Numbers
1000: Horses retired by Take The Lead since its launch nearly 10 years ago. On New Year’s Eve, Fight On Lucy became the milestone marker for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association’s retirement program. Rick Violette would be proud.
3: Wins in a row for Certainly Red after winning the Dick Hunt ‘Wigmore’ Handicap Chase at at Wincanton Thursday. Awesome to see jockey Marc Goldstein and trainer Lydia Richards thriving with a horse who’s leapt from 105 over hurdles to 135 (and climbing) over fences.
1: Celebratory leg kick by Jean-Michel Bazire after guiding Hooker Berry to win the Group 1 Prix d’Amerique at Vincennes last weekend. The 6-year-old increased his earnings to well over one million Euros with the win.
Name of the Day
Kinks. Bahrain. Fifth Race. The 7-year-old is by Sixties Icon.
Bet of the Day
Golden Gate. Fourth Race. 5:19. Veteran jockey Frank Alvarado inches ever closer to 4,000 career wins. We’re counting on El Joy to help him on the quest.
