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.