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I’m bored to death in film class (already know dis shtuff) and am overtired… PERFECT TIME FOR A HEAR THE GHOST APPRECIATION POST!

• Dad is Ghostzapper, who is one fast po-nay
• Grandpops is Awesome Again, who I love pretty obviously [clicky]. THAT MAKES HIM RELATED TO GAME ON DUDE AND AWESOME FEATHER!
• He’s a gelding. NEVER RETIRE NEVERRRR
• Time for Hollendorfer to win the Derby. I still kind of die thinking about Blind Luck retiring  prematurely.
• Nobody is REALLY talking about him yet. I like unpopular things.
• He’s like a male look-alike version of Contested (related, weirdly enough) who I picked to win a couple of races too:

• He was a cute hunk of a baby:

• He’s chestnut, which is the very best color
• Nakatani owes me money after losing on Nehro.

Kentucky Derby pick updates: my honorable mention Elnaawi broke his maiden impressively at Aqueduct on Saturday and Apex has returned to breezing. Waiting on that next dirt start for Fredericksburg! Oh and Purple Egg whenever he wants to come back…

GREAT NEWS GUYS! I can ship prizes out of my campus mail center instead of having to go to the post office. That means no more dealing with that royal carrier douchebag “Roland”, who is always condescending to me whenever I go in there. I miss my post office back home.

Feels unbelievable but in a good way: Kentucky Derby runner and Illinois Derby (III) winner Done Talking is doing very very well breezing up to his comeback. He hasn’t been heard from since his 5th place in the Long Branch Stakes.

When I saw that the Thoroughbred Times’ photo archives were for sale at auction, I immediately thought of someone on Tumblr buying them and then uploading them for oodles of notes. Too bad none of you peasants have the money.

Big Drama’s daughter is winning so far in the “Best First Foal” imaginary contest in my head.

That annoying moment when… someone pats themselves on the back for their extraordinary vision that such-and-such a colt trained by Todd Pletcher that won last year at Saratoga was going to win again. Yeah, because that sort of thinking requires a lot of scrutinizing since that never happens! You’re almost as bad as the people who pick the morning line favorite to win every single dang time. /rant #thisisnooneontumblr

2003 Travers winner Ten Most Wanted died just months after being sold to Panama. At first I wondered what was to blame, and then I wondered if they bought a product protection plan.

Turfway Park has the right idea. FREE CAKE!

Swell news for Creative Cause fans as he gathers an excellent first year book including Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell, the beautiful G1 winner No Such Word, Mazel Tov (dam of G1 winner Summer Soiree), and Believe You Can’s mom El Fasto.

Shall I move her up the “to watch” list? Applauding changes hands to Michael Matz, which I am obviously overjoyed about, but have questions: why the trainer change from Al Stall who is also very capable and then does Matz have any experience working with good sprinters?

Two half sisters to Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty (who sold for $4.2 million) were sold at Keeneland January for $27,000 and $17,000 respectively: one by Ghostzapper the other by Lookin at Lucky. ARE YOU ALL MAD? Another half sister by Scat Daddy RNA’d at $95,000.

Other notables at Keeneland January that surprised me: Teeth of the Dog ($20,000), Yara (RNA’d at $170,000), Battle Hardened ($80,000), Lily the Pink ($60,000), Yam ($3,500 [a really nice Nureyev broodmare out of a Secretariat graded winner, in foal to Midshipman]), Mad Flatter (RNA’d for $24,000), and a full sister to Tiznow named Tizsweet ($42,000). Who the f—k is at these sales not buying the excellent stock but dumping the mortgage on Street Sense yearlings? (Ok, I admit the top-selling filly was adorable)

Am I really a year older than Joe Talamo? I feel really unaccomplished now.

I still have a little while to think about it, but looks like I have a similar decision to make again this year for the Sunshine Millions: Ron the Greek or Mucho Macho Man? I went with Ron the Greek last year with a win ticket.

I’m pretty sure I am Samuel Riddle reincarnated sometimes. UGH! WESTERN RIFF-RAFF COULD NEVER BEAT MY EASTERN PONIES! BAH! I don’t think this intentionally, but I have noticed that most of the horses I like and follow are based on the east coast.

Tweet o’ the Week

And give serious props to Awesome Again? I was thinking about this stuff the other day and figured I just had to write it down before some big-wig elsewhere borrowed my thought process and acted upon it.

I’ve had a soft spot for Adena Springs since I started really following modern horse racing. My visit to Calder spotted me several Adena-sired horses, and I can’t help but respect the people who not only bought for big money, but continued racing my favorite juvie from 2010, Awesome Feather. Adena Springs is a pretty good-sized breeding and racing operation with a little bit of their own rehoming program to boot, standing names like Macho Uno, Einstein, Ghostzapper, and the truly awesome Awesome Again.

This gorgeous bay stallion really doesn’t get the credit he deserves in the era of Bernardini spam, A.P. Indy orgies, and Empire Maker circlejerks (sorry for the graphic choice of words, but really, it fits). Rewinding back to the glory days when he still raced, he won 9 of 12 races with a top Equibase speed rating of 123. He broke his maiden by 6 lengths on his second try at a distance-digging 1 1/16 miles. He won the Queen’s Plate, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and the Whitney by daylight. His Classic win was especially memorable, as Awesome came flying from the back of the pack to stay undefeated in 1998 over a top field that included Silver Charm, Victory Gallop, and Skip Away. His racing career ended with a back injury while running fifth in the Super Derby (then a G1 stake).

A lot of excellent racehorses turn out to be not-so-awesome sires, but in this case, it’s where Awesome Again really started humming. After winning in excess of $4.3 million at the races, Awesome Again would spur a legacy of millionaires, G1 winners, and Breeders’ Cup winners, thereby becoming one of those rare, excellent horses that produced even better than himself. In his first crop born in 2000, he caught fire immediately with the impeccably fast Ghostzapper, who won sprints as in the Vosburgh (I) before taking the Breeders’ Cup Classic (I) in record time (which still stands!). Hotstufandthensome, Round Pond, Spun Sugar, Awesome Action [CAN], Eishin Newton, Wilko, Awesome Gem, Ginger Punch, and Game On Dude are easy adds to the “most awesome” Awesomes list.

In more recent seasons, unfortunately, the number of big money winners by Awesome Again took a decline with many progeny never even having a start at the track. Rooted at a good $50k per season price, Awesome was little match for the wave of new popular blood (i.e. Unbridled’s Song) that begat fast, precocious talent. Even top broodmares were not spitting out bona fide racers with Awesome Again (see Finder’s Fee [an Acorn Stakes (I) winning daughter of Storm Cat] who has two Awesome Again foals earning less than $100k combined).

However, the future remains bright for Awesome Again as both he and his finest son Ghostzapper are having a breakthrough year with stakes winners and top performers. Fast Falcon looked game enough to win a paltry edition of the Travers (I) and was a close runner-up in the Dwyer (II), but most notably, it is the son Paynter who has shown some of the most promise in a year bloated with excellent sophomores. While he did not start until he was 3 and was slow to progress, Paynter nearly upset the Belmont Stakes (I) in front-running fashion and then capped off a tremendous Haskell (I) to become the early Travers favorite. In a sense, it’s paramount that Paynter survives his current bout of illness to continue to buoy the stud career of his sire. Between Paynter and multi-G1 winner Game On Dude— who looks to be a key favorite in avenging his close Breeders’ Cup Classic loss— 2012 could mean the revival of Awesome Again as a relevant sire should his progeny collect his 5th Breeders’ Cup win in November, an historic 2nd Classic winner by a Classic winner.

Here’s to an awesome fall, Dude.

The I’ll Have Another diehards were rewarded yesterday if they decided to bet on Know More— another Reddam/O’Neill colt named after cookies— who won in great closing fashion in his debut. It was the sort of performance that encouraged one of two thoughts: he got lucky from Scherer Magic’s bottle-up, and or, he’s a special horse. I’ll reserve my thoughts for now. I did not bet that race, but if I did, I would have gone after Miss Empire ($13.40 show). By the looks of the program, every horse in the field had issues, so as with most two-year-old races, no one was safe from racing luck.

As far as Derby prospects go, while I wouldn’t have bet him at 6 1/2 furlongs, I do like the sounds of Moreno, an Eric Guillot trainee ridden by Victor Espinoza. He is a chestnut son of Ghostzapper, who you all may know by now is on fire as a sire with multiple stakes winners popping up the past few months and known for throwing plenty of speed. I’d rather have speed on top than on the bottom, and Moreno’s dam has great distance influence. Danceinthesunlight is an unraced daughter of Belmont winner/prolific champion sire A.P. Indy and is out of the Mr. Prospector daughter Dancethruthedawn, an earner of more than $1 million.

Eric Guillot has trained winners like Champagne d’Oro, and looks to have more left in the tank for owner Southern Equine, LLC— who also have Better Than Honour’s newest two-year-old to hit the track, Better Not Cry by Street Cry [IRE].

It should also be noted that the head honcho at Southern Equine is Michael Moreno… hmm, think he might believe his horse Moreno could follow the trend of Kendall Hansen’s Hansen?

I’m not much for all these fantastic race mares going to the king of the Darley harem, Bernardini, and now that Barbara Banke has announced official as the 2012 selection for Rachel Alexandra, I’m even more all in a huff. A little while ago, I posted personal selections for Zenyatta’s 2012 mate, so why leave out one of racing’s most beloved other gals, even when it’s entirely meaningless! Again, the goal here is to find good matches less than Bernardini’s ridiculous $150,000 reverse-dowry.

• Discreet Cat - A bit of a stretch here since he’s been throwing lots of sprinters in his first crop, but Discreet Cat is quickly becoming a go-to sire for me when picking really nice winners on the weekend. Don’t count him out for siring potential classic horses— his son is Out of Bounds, the Sham Stakes winner and conqueror of Secret Circle. - 2012 fee: $12,500
• Street Sense - Quickly becoming a serious Triple Crown siring threat with so many good young’uns competing in the preps, this Derby winner’s by Street Cry and out of a Dixieland Band mare. I love the drive seen already in Miss Netta, Motor City, and Castaway to name just a few of his most promising progeny, and I think his stock is going to keep going up as they grow up. - 2012 fee: $40,000
• Arch - Why doesn’t this guy have more coming to him after Blame, Hymn Book, and Archarcharch? Nothing but classic pedigree backs the wonderful Arch, who is by Kris S. and out of a Danzig daughter. Seriously the most underrated sire in all of Kentucky right about now. - 2012 fee: $30,000
• Quality Road - I realize I’ve picked a lot of new blood already on this list, but I’ve got this sense of compassion for the fate of Quality Road’s stud career that makes me want to jot him down. Nothing but classic appearances dot his record, and his first foals are among the best I’ve seen so far this year. He was a talent his entire career and has one of the best conformations among the lot. - 2012 fee: $35,000
• Ghostzapper - Rachel and Ghost exhibited very similar styles over their careers, achieving some of their finest wins through aggressively powerful, front-running performances. He hasn’t had the most glorified stud career thus far despite his credentials, but the odds go way up when he’s matched just right. - 2012 fee: $20,000

Honorable mentions go to Big Brown, Perfect Soul [IRE], Bluegrass Cat, and Distorted Humor. Obviously, if we’re leaning more towards a Triple Crown candidate than focusing on Rachel’s potential to mother a future speedster like I really believe she could, the rankings and honorable mentions might jumble a bit.

You could almost hear the sweeping, courageous notes of the Rocky theme resonating from under Uncle Mo’s eager feet. Last year, he was the talk of the Breeders’ Cup and not much had changed though the tune certainly had: he was no longer an unbeatable champ, but one rising from the ashes. Did he have what it takes to K-O a Woodward winner, an Australian Horse of the Year, and two Belmont winners?

If you had asked me, I would have said “No way,” followed shortly by a hopeful glance over my shoulder. After watching the “Tiznow Wins It For America” special on TVG, it truly sunk in that the Classic field this year was the weakest it has been in quite some time. No three-year-old period had been able to nab more than one G1 win, and the supposed best three-year-old Stay Thirsty rolled over like a kitten in the face of Flat Out and Drosselmeyer. To say a glorified miler like Uncle Mo could be king of the Thoroughbreds seemed fantastical. Fantastical, but possible; after all, didn’t Ghostzapper do it just five years ago? Mo was vulnerable all right, but the field was full of holes he might be able to slip through.

Now that he had a legit chance, it was down to handicapping the nooks and crannies. The classic distance is always a tough race to gauge, but when all is said and done, my decision must boil down to one thing: guts. The horse who is able to eyeball another horse in a moment of weakness and turn on another gear is the winner. I knew So You Think [NZ], Havre de Grace, and Game On Dude were established in the art of hearts, and tasting potential for an upset, made my choice accordingly:

I was able to pick the trifecta in last year’s Classic (Blame - Zenyatta - Fly Down), but the pickings were slim and shaky. Learning from last year’s Zenyatta heartbreak, I knew better than to be too emotionally invested in one particular horse to win, and honestly, I’d be happy to see any one of those human interest stories prevail. Going into the race, I had no idea if So You Think was going to be good on dirt or not, but he was plainly the best all-around. Havre de Grace has serious street cred this whole year despite a weakness extending beyond 9 furlongs while Headache was thrown in there due to being a no-pressure underdog and skilled gradual closer.

With the gates thrown open, Uncle Mo went to the throat of Game On Dude, the expected pace-setter, right away as expected. The game looked good right away: he was in his usual position just a nod off the pace— which was steady— and Johnny V had him half-cocked heading around the turn for home. The guts test came into question: both figuratively, and as we found out later on, literally. Uncle Mo nudged past Game On Dude, who like he had in the Hollywood Gold Cup against Twirling Candy, pushed him back as he rolled back into the lead. Mo let go of his lead like he had in the Wood Memorial— still galloping, but not eating up ground as the strong-armed passed him like cars on the highway.

Mo would finish next to his stablemate Stay Thirsty, 10th out of 12 horses beating only Thirsty and Headache, who suffered an odd trip when made to go up front too early. The horse he had so soundly beaten in his first start of the year, Rattlesnake Bridge, had ironically passed him by in his final start. Something was clearly amiss and the lab results showed Mo’s awkward, torpedo body could not handle the stresses of running. The enzymes that plagued him earlier in the year were back, forcing the promising three-year-old to call it quits.

While his doubters and naysayers questioned his classic potential, we’ll never know for sure how deep Uncle Mo could dig in. Perhaps he’ll become another Johannesburg and be a success at stud when he ships to Ashford Stud. For now, we wait and watch the new juvenile stars grow into sophomores.

I will admit: I am no more than an amateur at best when it comes to handicapping, but I do have a set of “rules,” and one of them is to never underestimate a Michael Matz horse. Matz trainee Union Rags (Dixie Union x Tempo, by Gone West) conquered the slop and the rain at Saratoga to win the Saratoga Special Stakes over the favorite Stat TO WIN BY 7 1/4 LENGTHS. I AM SO HAPPY TO BE RIGHT!

Jockey Javier Castellano worked him earlier and was impressed, “When I showed up and worked the horse in the morning it was unbelievable. I’ve never worked a horse like that, and I’ve been fortunate to ride horses like Ghostzapper and Bernardini… this horse is unbelievable and special.”

Perhaps after this I should write a post on my handicapping rules… just for you all to giggle at.

Looks like I have a new favorite juvenile (my other current favorite is Creative Cause) to watch, at least in the slop, for now. He’s won over one of the best jockeys in the world, has a phenomenal trainer, and he’s gorgeous to boot. I hope to see this awesome colt take the Champagne later this fall!