Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Long time between updates, 2014 update

Hello again to all our followers. Its been a long time, almost a year, since this blog was last updated and while we wish we had inspiring and good info to pass long, that just isn't the case.

Our racing stock took a major hit last year when horses like Albin and Gondorf were retired, Fifth of April being claimed from us, and Fashion Slave eventually being sold to race at a lesser circuit.

Recently, we had the terrible news that one of our newly turned 3 year olds, Sweet Jane, has to be retired with a stifle injury. It is something that with surgery, she potentially would come back from, but we feel its best that she moves on to a different career. Considering how young she is, she will make someone very happy for many years to come. Fortunately and unfortunately, we have had alot of success with placing our horses in great 2nd home after their racing careers are over.

Slip Kid has reached the racetrack and is currently bedded down at the Fairgrounds with Richie Scherer. Throughout the past year, the reviews were mixed in terms of Slip Kid's potential, but the recent gelding has helped him out and our trainer was pleasantly surprised about his size and scope when he arrived late last week. He is in full training now and we will try and use his Illinois breeding to our advantage. Assuming all goes well and he trains forwardly, a start at the end of March or early April at Hawthorne Race Course will be in the cards.

Our two horses at Rea's, the Yes Its True Colt and Desert Party filly, which are now newly turned 2 year olds, have continued to grow and mature. With the early retirement of Sweet Jane, there is talk about potentially breaking both horses earlier then expected but we will see how Slip Kid is performing before taking on the extra expense.

Here is hoping that we have a successful year with Slip Kid and progress forward with our two 2 year olds.

Monday, February 11, 2013

The New Year begins

The new year has began and we are hoping it is gonna be full of progress, winners, and profits!

Fifth of April has started back training after a short break. She has been sent to the James McMullen barn for a couple months while Richie Scherer FINALLY gets to go back to his home in Louisiana. She is schedule to breeze a couple more times and be entered in a Illinois bred NW1 race the first week of March at Hawthorne. She will stay to one turn this year after last year's two turn experiment didn't go that well. We are hopeful that she will show the same grit and tenacious attitude she showed as a two year old and that will have us running in some of the bigger races for Illinois breds.

The Cactus Ridge yearling has gotten his name. Slip Kid, which is a song by The Who, has been sent to Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, LA to start his training as a 2 year old. The people at Rea's have told us that he is a very willing individual and we are hoping to bring him into full training May 1st.

Albin has started his comeback to the races as he was also sent to Clear Creek Stud. His stomach was bothering him a little bit when he first got there but no news has been good news and he will get some miles on him there while progressing to go back to Richie in the middle of March.

Barbara Rea has continued to be impressed with how much Fashion Slave has grown into her body and become a decent looking 3 year old. There is still no idea of what to expect out of her as a racehorse but the decision to let her grow as a 2 year old (considering her early breaking, her breeding, and recommendation of Reas) has done her a world of good and hopefully we see that on the racetrack. She is also at Clear Creek to begin training and will go to Richie the middle of March.

Sweet Jane, the newly named Yes its True filly, also went on the van ride to Louisiana and she will be turned out till end of this month to continue to grow. She will then start her early training.

Gondorf has been turned out for a couple months now as we still contemplate what to do with him. The hope and goal is start off the year right with some of the other horses (April, Albin) and maybe bring him to Arlington for June and July and see what we have. Its really a risk versus reward situation right now as we have no idea if he will hold to training.

Top Royelle is due around the middle of March and we are hoping for a nice big baby. Her sire, Into Mischief, has thrown some really fast runners from his first crop, and last year he only bred to 40 mares total. That puts us in a very good situation assuming the foaling process goes well.

Both yearlings (Yes Its True colt and Desert Party filly) continue to grow at Rea's and they are eagerly awaiting spring, so they can be turned out on a consistent basis.

Monday, December 17, 2012

End of the year Review

We are at the part of the year where people tend to reflect on the past and see what they can do better in the future, in both life and in business. Plain and simple, 2012 was a testing year for Bob Gary Racing. There was a few rays of sunshine though.

Because of the EHV-1 outbreak at Hawthorne, we have been in 'jail' cause the whole track is quarantined and unable to leave. Our trainer, Richie Scherer, is generally at the Fairgrounds the first week of November, and we can only imagine the frustration that he is feeling. Supposedly we will be able to leave December 28th, but alot of tracks are putting heavy restrictions on Illinois horses because of how serious EHV-1 is.

Because of the quarantine, we have continued to train Fifth of April and got lucky for another race in 2012. She has been one of the bright spots of this year with her breaking her maiden, becoming stakes placed, and two decent runs after that. This is somewhat of a test considering she really isn't bred to go two turns but our trainer thought it would be a good idea to test it out now and see what happens. We are a longshot but not without hope as 4 of the horses in the race have never even raced on fast dirt.

Her mom, Top Royelle, has relocated to Dr McCrosky's farm in Waterloo, IL to give birth to her Into Mischief foal. Into Mischief has been as hot as a stallion could be recently, so much so to receive a 33% increase in his stud fee.

Gondorf is in a holding pattern while we weigh the risks of putting him back into training. With him turning 6, you have to ask the tough questions in regards to his ability. Turf horses tend to race longer then dirt horses and tend to go until they are 8-9 years old. He is sound right now.

Albin is another that is still recuperating on the farm. He is probably another 45 days away from being able to get put back into training. His rehab has gone great, and his prognosis to race again is 100%, but with him turning 7 and his good, not great, form, the question remains if he will race or go on to his next line of work.

Our Cactus Ridge yearling (becomes a 2 year old in 15 days) is being turned out for 30 days to refresh before his next step in training starts January 1st. He was a great student when being broke, and his pedigree leans towards being early as a 2 year old. Goals with him are to put 90 days into him at Clear Creek Stud, and then him to go Richie April 1st.

Wundelia's first foal, the Yes Its True filly, has been a little bit of a project while breaking her. She has been willing and a beautiful mover, but has been a little bit of a chicken. We are in the fortunate situation where we do not have to rush our yearlings or 2 year olds and let them progress how they feel comfortable. She is a big, leggy, growthy thing that still hasn't filled into her body at all. We'll let her tell us when she is ready.

Around this time last year, we were going through the same situation with Fashion Slave as we are now with the Yes Its True filly. We made the decision to let Fashion Slave grow into her body and gain the balance and athleticism to be a race horse and it couldn't have worked out any better. Its being reported that she has become a beautiful mover, and giving her the time to grow has done her alot of good. She is ready to go onto her next step of becoming a race horse January 1st.

Happy Birthday to all our horses within the BGR family. Here is to a happy and healthy 2013 to everyone.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

End of year rapidly approaching

Generally in horse racing the Breeders Cup signals the end of the year which causes us to reflect back on the year that we have had. As in every situation, there are positives and negatives and the roller coaster continues.

Gondorf continues to progress down at Rea's and he is tentatively being scheduled to come back into the fold January 1st. We are still not 100% sure if he make it back, but we are willing to give our trainer, Richie Scherer, a chance to see and evaluate our options with him.

Mr Mojo Risin has gone to the Second Stride organization, which is a non profit organization that adapts horses out to people that have the ability to take care of horses in their 2nd career. Mojo was just an unfortunate situation considering the promise that he had. These things happen in racing every day. We did what was right for him and he will now be able to start his 2nd career as a trail horse for someone who will love him dearly.

Fifth of April has ran back to back 2nds, in the stake at Fairmount by a nose, and at Hawthorne in a nw1 allowance race. She is being pointed towards the Hawthorne 2 year old filly stake, the Showtime Deb, on November 10th. We finished 2nd to what will be the probable favorite last time, and we will be getting weight (6lbs) going into this race. We are also hoping for a fast track as I feel the winner of her last race was aided by the sealed muddy racetrack and while we probably weren't hampered, we weren't helped either. After her race next week, she will go on break for 60 days down in New Orleans and come back into the fold February 1st

Our other 2 year old, Fashion Slave (Johar out of Bob's Bean), has been turned out for most of the summer and fall and she will begin her training for her 3 year old debut. She is tentatively scheduled to go to New Orleans on the same van as Gondorf.

Albin is taking his next steps in rehab as he will finally get to be turned out in a paddock after suffering a leg injury. Its possible he will begin training for a 7 year old campaign around February.

The babies have started to be broken and one is doing great and the other will need more time. Our Cactus Ridge colt (by Top Royelle and half brother to Fifth of April) has taken to the breaking process well and is basically almost ready to go to the next level. Her compadre, the Yes Its True filly (first foal out of Wundelia) is gonna need more time to mature a little as she has been skittish, yet willing which is a good sign. We think the colt will go be on the same van as Gondorf down to New Orleans on January 1st, and the filly will probably need an additional 30-60 days before training begins.

With Wundelia barren this year, she will stay at Reas' for the winter and we are hoping to be able to breed her to the super fast new stallion, The Factor. Top Royelle will leave towards the end of November for her Illinois foaling farm, where she will have her Into Mischief foal. We are undecied on her mating for 2013.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Streak of Sunshine peaking through

I wish I was able to say that things have turned around since the last blog posting in early July. I think something we have learned is that when you think it as bad as it could get, it can get worse. Yet there is still that one ray of sunshine peaking through with hope

Rochelle Rochelle went to Penn National to be able to take advantage of their great purse structure against meager competition on the lower levels. These races are generally the saving grace for a racing secretary cause they always fill. We should have known considering BGR's luck that she would only get one opportunity to run at the 4k level. She also has gone off form. A deal has been worked out with our trainer Chuck Simon and she is under his ownership now. She is getting a layoff and will come back in the late fall.

Gondorf has made his way back to Kentucky after what was a painstaking process. Reports are that he looks good and he will be getting a full evaluation the first week of September in regards to his potential of racing again.

Prospect Knight was entered in what was actually his last race carrying the BGR colors. We put him in a spot where we knew there was a strong likelihood he would get claimed and we hoped he would have won the race consideration it was the lowest level he had raced. He dead heated for 3rd and had 4 claims on him. He was a horse that we did very well with, but by our admission we had probably run him a couple too many times and at the time he was a tired horse. He came back about 45 days later to run 4th at Remington Park in the same type of race and we still feel it was the right move cause he was going to need an extended break this fall.

Albin is currently in Kentucky rehabbing from his last race were he didn't come out of it well. He will get monthly checkups and we will decided at the start of the year what to do in regards to his racing career.

Now onto the GOOD news! Fifth of April made her debut for BGR the day after Million Day (August 19th) and it was a flashy winning debut. I think we will admit that we are completely shocked by this and I think Richie and even the jockey (Jesse Lantz), who had been on her for every work, were also. It is an unreal feeling that your first homebred, a horse that you have raised from conception to racetrack, makes it to the races let alone wins first out against open company. Her Illinois bred status is very beneficial to us and while we are trying to stay even keel in regards to her potential, we can't help but get excited. Richie has recommended that we invade Fairmount Park on September 18th for an Illinois bred 2 year old Filly stakes race on what is their Illinois Stakes Day. We will absolutely nominate, enter, and feel we could have a decent shot in it if she handles the dirt.

Mr Mojo Risin will be getting a full evaluation this week to get the OK to go back into training. It would be great if we were able to get him back to Hawthorne on October 1st and back to the races.

Things are also starting to pick up at Rea's where all of our bloodstock is currently located. Wundelia and her foal arrived towards the start of August from Canada. Both of the 2012 foals (Yes its True / Wundelia and Desert Party / Top Royelle) have been weaned and the process went great. Top Royelle is pregnant to Into Mischief, who had a flashy debut winner yesterday at Del Mar in almost track record time. Pair that with Fifth of April (Top Royelle's first foal) debut win and all their values have been enhanced. Fashion Slave will be going back into training soon as she continues to grow. Our Yes Its True yearling filly and Cactus Ridge colt will begin the breaking process October 1st.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Trucking along

I wish I was able to say the roller coaster has stopped, but unfortunately it has continued.

Rochelle Rochelle has run three times since the last update. She ran well 2 starts back to get narrowly beat in a dated 4k claimer at Penn National. She was entered the other day but because of the heat, the racing secretary has had plenty of races to use and hers was not one of them. She is being pointed to a dated 5k claimer on July 18th.

Gondorf has almost fully recuperated at the training center near Toronto. He will go into full training starting August 1st and hopefully be ready to go early to mid September.

Prospect Knight caught a horrible track in his last race at Prairie Meadows. It was beyond sloppy but circumstances warranted us running. He had handled an off track before but this track was really bad. He came back to try polytrack going 9 furlongs and simply didn't fire. He is entered for Friday in the 8th race at Prairie Meadows as the morning line favorite.

Albin has gotten really unlucky the last couple races as he has continued to hold his form. We have figured alot out about him in that he hates Hawthorne's turf course, and he now wants to be a one run deep closer. He ran 4th on June 10th in an allowance race in a race where he was probably a little too far back during the race. He made up a ton of ground in the stretch to only be beat 2 lengths. In his last race, he just couldn't run them down after getting a decent pace only getting beat about 1.5 lengths. His next race is undetermined at this time, but there is a couple options towards the end of July.

Fifth of April has done well in her training and she continues to progress. She has worked out of the gate once and still is learning on a daily basis. There is hope for her to debut sometime in early to mid August.

Mr Mojo Risin has started to get his looks back after getting over his aliments. He is currently at Rea's Quarter Horses who has a majority of the bloodstock and will continue to recuperate down there. There is no timetable on his return.

Rea's is also the current home of Fashion Slave (Johar 2 year old), the Cactus Ridge yearling colt, Yes Its True yearling filly, Top Royelle and her Desert Party filly. They are all doing well and continuing their path on becoming race horses.

Wundelia and her Yes Its True colt are currently in Ontario and we are hoping to get them back to Kentucky towards the end of July.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Wave of emotions

Every aspect of horse racing, by nature, is a roller coaster. Since our last update, we can absolutely attest to that being the case. We have had 3 wins out of our last four starts, yet uncertainty continues as we have lost two of our stable stars to injuries.

Rochelle Rochelle won in her return at Parx Racing in a dated claiming race. She had a minor setback that she was over quickly and she has been entered as a main track only option on Wednesday May 16th at Penn National. Its a hard race to handicap but we are hoping for her to run well.

Mr Mojo Risin has been taken out of training as he had a severe bout of what is called a colon torsion, which is extremely painful. Our trainer, Richie Scherer, caught it early and we were able to operate and save him from more pain, but his surgery had complications and he is most likely out till the Fairgrounds meet begins. It couldn't have been worse timing considering how Mojo was training and the prospects of him having a good Arlington meet.

Prospect Knight came back on short rest to win an allowance optional claimer at Prairie Meadows two weeks ago. He got an absolutely perfect trip and great ride from John Jacinto and he showed that he is continue to mature and become a better racehorse. He is being targeted to run back at Prairie Meadows in either the same spot (not available to be claimed though) or a minor stakes race there the same weekend.

Gondorf has also been taken out of training as he just can't get going on the right direction. Second guessing is part of this business and we have begun to wonder if going to Gulfstream with him was the right call. No timetable has been set yet as we continue to learn about what we are dealing with.

Albin continued a streak of first starter of the Arlington meet winning this weekend as he won an open claimer on the turf pretty impressively. While he beat the 2nd place horse by only a half length, it was 6 lengths back to 3rd. You continue to learn about your horses on a start by start basis and we have learned that Albin absolutely hates Hawthorne's turf course (tighter turns and less focus on maintenance). He came out of the race in good order and his next spot is yet to be determined.

While Mr Mojo Risin departed for Kentucky today, Fifth of April (Dehere/Top Royelle) came back on the same van and she will begin training towards her debut (hopefully) this summer at Arlington. We have to admit that we have eagerly been awaiting her arrival as she will be our first homebred to reach the track, and at this point, you don't really know what type of horse she is gonna be.

Fashion Slave (Johar/Bob's Bean) continues to mature and nothing but good reports on the Cactus Ridge colt and Yes Its True filly yearlings.

Top Royelle has been bred back to Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday) and she is being pointed towards selling in the Keeneland November Breeding sale. Wundelia has been bred to Court Vision.