Happy Ticket was just before my time as a racing fan but when I saw the reaction to the news of her death I thought I’d see what I could find out.

There was only one race available on YouTube but what a race it is. Happy Ticket hooks up with Round Pound in the 2006 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park and the two go head to head the whole way.

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What a game mare! Owner-breeder Stewart Madison had this to say about her:

She was a once-in-a-lifetime horse. Happy Ticket never disappointed. She had what you can’t breed into them. She had the heart. She loved to run. That’s what Andy always said about her, that ‘She likes to do what she does.’ Hopefully she passed that along.

Condolences to her connections.

Posted by dana on Jun 10 2009    
Filed Under: Farewell, 2009, YouTube, Race Replay, Breeding, Racing

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Tale of Ekati discussing his retirement with Funny Cide (Capitol149)

I thought I might take a moment amidst all the excitement and speculation about the Preakness field to thank Tale of Ekati. I had a suspicion that he might be retired after the Carter.

Tale of Ekati was one of those oddly inconsistent horses that had many stumped and no doubt burned a lot of money. Just when everyone (except me) had written him off, he won the Wood. Just when even everyone (except me) thought he couldn’t be competitive cutting back, he won the Jerome. I cashed very nicely both times both and for that, I thank him!

His retirement got a tiny little mention during what has been a crazy news week, so I wanted to make sure he didn’t go unnoticed. He was as versatile as he was inconsistent, and I for one (or is that won?), will miss him. Have a great retirement!

2008 Wood Memorial:

Posted by dana on May 08 2009    
Filed Under: YouTube, Farewell, Tale of Ekati, 2009, Funny Cide, Barclay Tagg, Breeding, Retirement, Race Replay, Racing

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Mine That Bird, pulling away from the stallions (Jamie Newell)

I’m not a big believer in the “racing gods”. However, if there are racing gods, I have to think they had something special in mind for the likes of the Dolphus Morrisons of the game when a gelding who fetched a mere $9,500 at Keeneland’s yearling auction won the Stallion Derby.

To make it even better, one of Mine That Bird’s owners Mark Allen, was quoted on the purchase of their unlikely winner:

We wanted a racehorse, not a stallion.

Take that, Stallion Derby!

Posted by dana on May 03 2009    
Filed Under: :), Geldings, 2009, Mine That Bird, Sweet Revenge, Kentucky Derby, Breeding, Let Horses Race, Derby Trail, Racing

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Rachel Alexandra, thoughtfully not screwing it up for the stallions (Sarah K. Andrew)

Just a few short days ago there was an excellent discussion going on here at GbG regarding the Oaks, the Derby and ultimately the biases that exist here in the good ole U S of A that generally preclude talented fillies from running in open company.

I believe all in attendance were somewhat in agreement that yes, Americans do have their biases about running fillies with colts, but just in case anyone is still in denial that fillies don’t get the chance because of the beliefs of their connections vs. their ability, I offer Exhibit A.

Dolphus Morrison, Rachel Alexandra’s breeder and co-owner, had this to say about running her in the Derby:

I think the Derby is a colts’ race and it’s there to showcase the horses that are the top potential stallions. It’s kind of stupid for some jerk with a filly to screw that up.

I guess this answers the question posed in the aforementioned discussion “Which guy stopped her from entering the Derby?” One Mr. Dolphus Morrison, who politely doesn’t want to “screw it up” for the potential stallions. How thoughtful!

Do you think you’d ever, EVER hear that kind of attitude in Europe if an owner had a filly as talented at Rachel Alexandra? No, you’d see them at the l’Arc collecting their whopping check and smiling for the cameras. Can we please stop pretending that it’s a matter of talent that keeps top notch fillies in restricted company and acknowledge that these types of attitudes exist?

Stay tuned for Oaks card picks either tonight or tomorrow morning and Stallion Kentucky Derby picks probably Saturday morning. But since I have a decent amount of handicapping to do, no doubt I’ll be doing some procrastination posting!

Posted by dana on Apr 30 2009    
Filed Under: Sarah K. Andrew, Kentucky Oaks, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, 3yo, Kentucky Derby, Breeding, Let Horses Race, Grrrr, Derby Trail, Racing

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Papi Chullo in his return at the Big A in November (Ernie Munick)

Google has been indicating to me that people want to know what happened to GbG fav Papi Chullo. I even got an email from a concerned fan over the weekend wondering if I knew anything about what happened to him. Rest assured Papi fans, he seems to be doing well.

Some of you may remember that Papi Chullo made a return in the fall at the Big A in a starter handicap. It was all downhill from there from there as he ended up dropping through the claiming ranks ultimately to be sold to stud. Until now the details were a bit murky but as it turns out Papi landed in Jamaica in Mammee Ridge Farms.

Prior to his retirement there was a valiant effort at Ernie Munick’s Thoroughbred Racing in New York (TRNY) group at Facebook to raise the money to claim him. Ernie posted a shot of Papi and people started chiming in and spontaneously offering to kick in some money to claim him. We figured if every member was willing to donate $32 we could raise the money.

We were well on our way to having the funds raised and member Maggi Moss stepped up and offered to contact the current owner and try to buy him. She didn’t haven’t any luck with the owners but they did agree to sell him to stud, although it was never announced where. His profile on Pedigree Query was only recently updated with the farm location, so the mystery is now over!

As fellow Papi fan Jessica commented to me in an email:

Papi’s in Jamaica? What a life he’s had … Derby contender, claimer, Caribbean stud. Think they’re welcoming visitors?

If you’re planning a Jamaica trip any time in the near future you may want to contact to his new home to arrange for visit!

Here’s a shot of him chillaxin at his new job.

No doubt they’ll be little Papi’s running around here in a few years! Hopefully he’s doing well.

Posted by dana on Apr 19 2009    
Filed Under: Claimer, 2009, Internet, Papi Chullo, Retirement, Breeding

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