Stardom Bound returning from an 8 month layoff in a G1 on a new surface, nice! (Jason Moran)

Ok, four… Pyro and Stardom Bound.

Thanks for the memories, I still love ya!

Pyro - 2008 Risen Star:

Pyro - 2008 Louisana Derby:

Pyro - 2009 Forego:

Stardom Bound - 2008 Del Mar Debutante:

Stardom Bound - 2008 Oak Leaf:

Stardom Bound - 2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies:

Stardom Bound - 2009 Las Virgines:

Stardom Bound - 2009 Santa Anita Oaks:

Posted by dana on Nov 28 2009    
Filed Under: 2009, Stardom Bound, Risen Star, Del Mar, Jason Moran, Fairgrounds, Race Replay, YouTube, Santa Anita, Pyro, Racing

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The boys aren’t the only thing worth paying attention to in May (Team Queen)

Dear 3yo Fillies,

I know it’s tough to get any attention this time year. Your big dance, The Oaks, isn’t anchored to any cohesive racing series and there’s no well promoted grueling prep season… what’s a girl to do? Suck it, pretty much. And seriously, just how much can one obsess over ONE race with a bunch of boys? Jeez.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that you’re all beautiful, fierce, tough and awesome… and I’m looking forward to your big day. While it may seem like I’m busy checking out the guys in the hallway, it’s because that’s what’s “normal” and “expected”. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I even started a spreadsheet!

Seriously though, I really love you with all my heart no matter how much I talk about those stupid boys… don’t forget that, ok?

Rachel Alexandra:
You’ve got it all… class, style, speed and grace. The only thing that could make you more hot is if you had to battle it out for a win. Maybe then your silly jock will have to pay attention and give you a real ride!

Justwhistledixie:
Perhaps if any 3yo filly can give Miss Rachel Alexandra a reason to work, it’s this stunner. She went wide for the first half of the Bonnie Miss and spotted the front running speedster enough distance to make it seem like she might actually run away with it. But Dixie poured it on, coming wide (again) to put the field away, again. She’s won 5 in a row with 4 of them stakes. Call me crazy but I think I could really fall for this one.

Flying Spur:
Flying Spur’s mom has got it going on! With a mom like Lakeway one has to take notice of this young lady. In 1994 Lakeway won the Las Virgenes, SA Oaks, Hollywood Oaks and Mother Goose, placed in the Oaks and Alabama and STILL holds the record for the Las Virgenes and Mother Goose! (Rachel holds that record now) Of course times were different way back then. Back in the pasture I bet Mother Lakeway used to say “we had to race a LOT more than you’ll ever have to, AND we had to put on our own bridles… AND walk ourselves to cool down!”. “Whatever Mom, can’t you see I’m on the phone? Yeah, is this Rachel Alexdadra? I think I saw your jockey talking to Nan. Hello?”.

Gabby’s Golden Gal:
13 lengths? Nice! I mean I know it’s Sunland Park and all but 13 lengths is what you’d expect a top notch contender to win by under those circumstances. You’re trainer isn’t exactly a slouch either. I also hear you’ve looked impressive in the morning. Being prepared is totally hot!

Tweeter:
With a name like Tweeter I’m already crushing. Did she just move here? I think I’ve only seen her once, and she totally won. I like a mystery, especially a mystery with an awesome name!

Be Fair:
To be fair, I’d have to say that I don’t know enough about you to decide if I think you’re a stone fox or just a another pretty face.

Nan:
Sometimes parents want to make you in to something you’re just not, and that’s not your fault! I’m not sure if dirt is really your thing, but hey, I’ve been wrong before. I’ve just been around the block enough to know that I’d rather wait and see before saying yes to a girl like you.

Stardom Bound:
Can it really be considered a break up when your parents take you out of school to go on a fancy vacation? No one can ever replace you, my dreamy beloved, but I’m still here and the dance is still happening. I hope you won’t hold that against me when you get back!

ZOMG, I can’t believe it. ZENYATTA is going to be there!!! No offense girls but older = hotter (you’ll see soon enough). Keep your eyes on her if you wanna learn a thing to two, she’s the most wicked coolest EVER. Yay!

Posted by dana on Apr 26 2009    
Filed Under: Stardom Bound, Rachel Alexandra, Derby/Oaks Dating, Zenyatta, Kentucky Oaks, Derby Trail, 3yo, Racing

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Churchill in the morning (Katford)

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Steve Davidowitz? He was the first handicapper I ever read and his commentary, found at DRF+ or Trackmaster, never disappoints. In his monthly installment at Trackmaster he breaks down the facts about the contenders and generally points out that there’s still plenty to keep an eye on before any meaningful Derby rankings happen. I have to agree with this. While I continue to be super flattered to be included in the PDI, my “rankings” are really more like a watch list than anything else. If I can even pick just one horse this year, it won’t be until very close to May 2nd, if not ON May 2nd.

And speaking of reasons why one shouldn’t make any decisions just yet, DRF’s clocker-in-chief Mike Welsch is on the ground at Churchill and filing daily somewhat lo-fi “Blair Witch”-esque (lol… good one Kevin!) video reports on the morning works. While I’d like to see a variety of interpretations, I’ll take what I can get. Kennedy has a nice wish list of what he’d like to see out of the contenders that you might want to keep in mind as you check-in with the Blair Witch reports.

In a rare diversion away from the Derby for a moment, Welsch mentions Rachel Alexandra’s gallop as if a space ship landed and out walked the perfect embodiment of horse prepping for a big a race. Ok, maybe I’m a little bitter because my dreamy beloved is not the 3yo filly of the moment (I actually think giving her some time off is the right thing to do!) or perhaps it’s that a filly has to be a super freak to get any media play at this time of the year.

Hello, how are the other fillies prepping? There are other fillies in the race, aren’t there? I gave Churchill’s official tweeter a little razzing today (although I think it’s just a RSS feed) about this daily report that mentions all the fillies that galloped but only gives details on Rachel Alexandra, it’s a paltry trickle of information compared to what’s out there for the boys. How about a little detail about ALL of the fillies, not just the favorite? Grrrrr.

In other news GbG was recently honored by Case the Race as #9 of of the top 10 independent blogs for the Derby! This is somewhat shocking news because I’ve barely mentioned the Derby, although they did make that caveat… however, I don’t equate frequency with rigor, just frequency. If anyone did manage to make it all the way down to #9 in search of some Derby content, I can recommend the following:

Railbird, for kick ass historical data. LATG for continued and appropriate snarking at the Times (I totally agree), That’s Amore, who’s managed to finally catch a bit of the Derby fever and the already mentioned Kennedy who continually adds rigor to frequency when it comes to the Derby! All of this and more should help you make sense of what do with those Kentucky Derby odds… have fun!

Posted by dana on Apr 22 2009    
Filed Under: 2009, Hype, Stardom Bound, Twitter, Rachel Alexandra, Kentucky Oaks, Churchill Downs, Derby Trail, Kentucky Derby, 3yo, Steve Davidowitz, Racing

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Giant Moon winning the Excelsior, my day only got worse from here (Sarah K. Andrew)

My day started down hill rather quickly as Giant Moon took me out of the Pick 4. It got worse as my dreamy beloved threw a clunker in the Ashland. I only had $2 across the board on Boleyn at 62-1 but I was profoundly bummed to see Stardom Bound turn in such a lackluster performance. Why does Keeneland kill the things I love? (Think Pyro, my last year’s dreamy beloved… who’s reportedly galloping at Keeneland these days, go figure.)

Also a bummer that my pick of the day, Kodiak Kowboy, got hammered down to 8-5, so I took a wagering pass. This was just one several bad wagering decisions made in the flurry of back to back races on different channels with no chance to watch the parade, or in the case of Hawthorne, only showing Musket Man in the parade. Seriously, what’s the point of that? At least I got to see the races! Then again, perhaps not wagering on them would have been a good thing. Comparing this year’s Wood to last year’s, perhaps I’m more like my dreamy beloved than I want to let on!

On the bright side, the Derby is shaping up to have one fine field! I Want Revenge, who’s now on Twitter along with Joe Talamo, moves up to my “like like” list. Freisan Fire, Quality Road and I Want Revenge will be top 3 over at PDI but I’m not sure how I’ll rank them at this point as I’m not favoring one over the other. Swifty is sticking with Freisan Fire because of Larry Jones. I can make a case for each of them and find at least one knock for each of them. And it’s not like the Derby is tomorrow so things can change. At this point my top three won’t really imply that I like any of them more than the others.

Imperial Council, also on now on Twitter, and my dreamy beloved (I’ll still always love you!) will be moving on to the Broken Up With list. I’m bad at break-ups so I’m trying to stay upbeat and looking for Rachel Alexandra and Just Jenda to turn in nice performances today. I need to rebound with someone hot! And there’s always this week’s Pool Party / Buycott to cheer myself up with… who doesn’t love a Pick 3 Pool Party at Tampa Bay Downs?

Update: run, don’t walk over Ernie Munick’s to watch his stellar video recap of Wood Day at the Big A. It’s right up there with I Want Revenge’s fleet of foot.

Posted by dana on Apr 05 2009    
Filed Under: Joe Talamo, Just Jenda, Friesan Fire, Twitter, Quality Road, I Want Revenge, Rachel Alexandra, Stardom Bound, 2009, Pick 4, Derby Trail, Sarah K. Andrew, Pyro, Keeneland, Aqueduct, Racing

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Channing Hill at Santa Anita (yausser)

Since I was smart enough to DVR the Florida Derby this week I have now have added a screen capture of the DRF Formulator ad showing two women with the text overlay “for every skill level”, you know, in case you didn’t believe me or thought I might be exaggerating (who, me?).

I’m finding it a touch odd that folks have waited until now to make the many & valid points being raised re: the new British automatic berth. All of these issues were apparent when it was announced, right? As a friend pointed out, “no one complained last week when it knocked Beethoven off the list”. Indeed.

Reminder, the first HANA Pool Party is tomorrow, WRD R6. Check out the HANA blog for free PPs and more. I’ll be playing a $1 exacta box of 1,2,3,6,10,11 with a couple of bucks of on 2 & 6 to win.

After this weekend Quality Road has moved on to my “like like” list, and how! Over at PDI I rated him #2 behind Freisan Fire but in all reality I can’t make a strong case of why one should be over the other so I’m just leaving Freisan Fire in #1 for now. I’m not really buying the LA Derby as non-legit path to winning the Derby. Sure the numbers are daunting but that didn’t stop Street Sense from proving the numbers wrong about Juvenile winners.

Guess I really oughta come up with a new poll now that it’s official that IEAH bought 50% of I Want Revenge. Way to go, those who voted for “Buy Another Derby Prospect”, perhaps you should apply to work at IEAH!

And speaking of that poll, as much as I’d love to see Stardom Bound in the Derby, the more I see the depth in the 3yo filly division the more I want them all to run in the Oaks against each other. Rachel Alexandra vs. Stardom Bound could be the rivalry of the year. And when War Echo comes back later in the year, look out! Check out this eyewitness account of Stardom Bound working at Keeneland.

It should also be noted that several fillies ran with colts this weekend on dirt and they didn’t break down! Please people, let’s move on from fear-based assumption that fillies and colts don’t mix. Just ask Indian Blessing, who picked a very nice check for solid effort against her male colleagues!

Posted by dana on Mar 30 2009    
Filed Under: Stardom Bound, 2009, Indian Blessing, Iavarone, Quality Road, I Want Revenge, Rachel Alexandra, Kentucky Oaks, Channing Hill, Kentucky Derby, Derby Trail, You Can Help, 3yo, Santa Anita, Exacta, Racing

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