Tell me about a horse...

[my miss storm cat]

... you follow. Not a great one... not one of the world beaters but a local or a claimer, a hard knocker, one who doesn't always win... one you bet superstitiously or root for anyway or just one that you like for some random reason.

Here is one of mine...

His name is Bamboo Dance and he's become something of a celebrity in HK racing. Eight years old, he's had 36 starts. At his lowest, Bamboo Dance had a rating of 18 which made him, sorry to say, a cellar dweller. I mean that is low... comically and tragically low. When the year began he only had one win and that was back in 2013 but then the unexpected happened.

He won.

Not only did he win... he won again, and again, and again. From May to December he won every (6) start and is now rated 63. HUGE jump.

Cool horse, cool story... not sure how much credit Joao Moreira deserves here but with a notoriously whip-shy old guy I'd say a good deal.

So he is my special guy this year and here's his last race (Dec. 19th)...

http://racing.hkjc.com/racing/video/...no=04&lang=eng

Anyone have one they want to share (before Freddie makes fun of me as usual?) I hope so!

[senator L]

Big Business

Ch. g. 7 FTMMAY 2010 $115k
Sire : Eddington (Unbridled) $3,500
Dam: Spanish Guitar (Birdonthewire)

Life: 37 11 -10 - 5 $776,480 105
2015 4 0 - 0 - 0 $13,050 98
2014 10 3 - 5 - 1 $389,500 104
AQU 4 1 - 2 - 0 $91,000 103

Started following him a couple years ago...I was watching him race
and thought this horse is enjoying himself, he really seemed to like racing. Also thought his breeding
was a bit funky. Love his race record 37 11-10-5
He runs tomorrow at the Big A R8
I expect nothing but his best

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by senator L

Big Business

Ch. g. 7 FTMMAY 2010 $115k
Sire : Eddington (Unbridled) $3,500
Dam: Spanish Guitar (Birdonthewire)

Life: 37 11 -10 - 5 $776,480 105
2015 4 0 - 0 - 0 $13,050 98
2014 10 3 - 5 - 1 $389,500 104
AQU 4 1 - 2 - 0 $91,000 103

Started following him a couple years ago...I was watching him race
and thought this horse is enjoying himself, he really seemed to like racing. Also thought his breeding
was a bit funky. Love his race record 37 11-10-5
He runs tomorrow at the Big A R8
I expect nothing but his best

Awesome. Thanks for telling me about him (I loved Eddington). Hope he wins for you tomorrow.

[Rileyoriley]

A Little Bit Sassy. Love her name & she always tries. Toy Cannon too. Try to follow him. He was up at Finger Lakes. Trainer is now at Tampa. Hoping he'll show up there.

[Easy Goer Otis]

Her name is Whiskey Rose. She has won only once. In her 2yo MSW debut. A scintillating performance. Circled the field 5-wide in 1:11 in July 2013. This brought owner/trainer Nick Caruso a $125k offer that as a young trainer, he had to take.

But when it came time for the vetting, Whiskey Rose could barely walk out of her stall. She was wobbly and lame. Of course, the sale was nullified immediately and she was scanned and examined. They found a nerve issue in the spine area and recommended euthanasia.

But Nick loved that filly and paid for an expensive surgery and nursed her slowly back to health. So much so, that the same vet was amazed to inform Nick that she looks like she may be able to race again.

Two years later, she made it back to the track this summer. She lost a few races at PID and is now at Turfway racing with $5k claimers, still looking for that second win after 6 attempts. But every time she runs, it's a victory for Whiskey Rose and for Nick.

Cheers,

Otis

[my miss storm cat]

Loved reading these, Otis and Deb-o-deb!

[Revidere]

I'm going to give you 2 horses. When Bold Forbes got me hooked back in 76, my father offered to take me out to the track. The date was Sunday, July 25, 1976 (not that i remember what I ate for lunch today). The stake that day was the second running of the Tom Fool a 7 panels. Since Bold Forbes, I had followed Cordero and saw that he was riding El Pitirre a son of Gallant Romeo for Laz Barrera in the Tom Fool vs. Honorable Miss. I remember him running pretty well against Forego in the Nassau County (2nd) and latched on to him. He broke on top, started to fade back to last and my dad gave me the "el Puzza" look (He stinks in italian). Turning for home, he re-gathered and won the race. My $7.60 felt like a million bucks and I had another horse who I would follow. Laz raced him against Forego, Hatchet Man, Intrpid Hero, Honest Pleasure and he always tried. He was more successful in grade III or high allowance races, but he always tried. In the summer of '77 we went down to Monmouth and Laz shipped a few down and was there schooling some in the paddock. I saw this chestnut with a huge blaze and asked if that was El Pitirre. Laz looked at me and said "How did you guess that?". I said I'd recognize him anywhere. He brought me back to the barn and introduced me to Life's Hope, Excepto, Blue Times and I got to hot walk El Pitirre. He was such a gentleman (Both Laz and El Pitirre). He loved to lean on you when you walked him. Laz said he just wanted to make sure you were close to him. In the early 90's after I had drifted away from the game a bit, I reached out to the Bloodhorse and they told me where to find him. I re-united with El Pitirre at a farm in Louisiana. Bananas Foster and thoroughbreds! My wife and I went down to his farm not far from the Fairgrounds. He moved slower and was a bit stiffer but he still loved peppermints and still leaned into you when he walked alongside.

Here he is in the spring of 1994.



My "other" other horse is Jones Time Machine. She made a trek east when Ted Sabarese started buying accomplished runners and started a true racing team, with minimal focus on breeding. Purchased from D.Wayne Lukas, she ran a good second to Dance Number in the '82 Dark Mirage at Aqueduct, giving ground late. It was her early splits in California which caught my eye. 42 4/5 for a half was routine. Freakish speed. She stopped in a lot of her races but she was small and fast. Oh, and she was a Utah bred! I also liked her silks, as they were similar to mine. So when she showed up weekly (it seemed) on the Racing from Aqueduct show I was hooked again. After a call to trainer John Parisella, I received an invite to the barn at Belmont and got to meet her and her mates. He gave me a stable shirt and JTM hat. If you're a NY racing fan these names should roll off the page... Cheap Seats, Chieftan's Command, Fray Star, Am Capable. Subsequent purchases included stakes winners Simply Majestic, Fight Over, General Practitioner. In a reversal of the Jones Time Machine transaction, Lukas purchased the talented mare Pine Tree Lane from Sabarese in 1986. She ended up at River Edge farm in California and recently passed away. Her daughter from Mr. Prospector, Blue Jean Baby won the 1987 Colleen and Sorority at Monmouth in style just like her mom. ON THE ENGINE.

Jones Time Machine @ Aqueduct-1983





Thanks for reading. It was fun to rekindle these memories at the New Year.

[my miss storm cat]

Great read, Revidere... thank you for posting!

[South Beach Luv]

Great stories!

My username is a mare. I first saw her at Arlington and had to do a double take as she looks a lot like our mare both with her blaze, color, and small stature. We followed her career until she quit racing. She won 2 races and finished 2nd in a division of the Hatoof Stakes.
Right around that first time seeing her I heard Steve go off on his Dunkirk rant on ATR and wanted to come on DT to say I enjoyed it. I had to register, we had just seen her so I chose her name as my username.

This is her at Arlington:



Then had somebody (maybe a DT'er I forget) get pics of her at Delaware Park:



Our mare





South Beach Luv is now a broodmare. She's owned by James B. & Charlie A. Hancock and has had at least one baby. My wife is friends with the son on FB but I don't think she's talked to him in awhile. Anxiously waiting for him/her to get to the track.

[my miss storm cat]

Thanks, South Beach Luv!

[Sightseek]

Lideris.


He's BIG and gray and when he is in a good mood, he will nicker to you softly for cookies. He was sold after the BC and I hope he finds a good home in retirement some day. He is a whole horse unfortunately.

[Rileyoriley]

Originally Posted by Rileyoriley

A Little Bit Sassy. Love her name & she always tries. Toy Cannon too. Try to follow him. He was up at Finger Lakes. Trainer is now at Tampa. Hoping he'll show up there.

YAY SASSY!!