Nobiz Like Shobiz will stand at Darby Dan in 2009 (Sarah K Andrew)

Earlier this week I noticed two items over at Bloodhorse in the breeding section. GbG horse of interest War Emblem seems to be making progress in his “recovery”!

You may remember that there was a time when he wasn’t covering any mares even though he was fully functional, so to speak. He was prescribed what the article calls “intensive therapy” including relocation, changes in breeding shed handling and hormone supplements… and guess what, it’s working!

Although, apparently he’s still choosy:

“Now about 70% are OK for him, but the other 30% remain very difficult,” Dr. Nobuo Tsunoda said. “And if he hates a type of mare, he attacks them.”

Some of War Emblem’s peculiarities have included a dislike for large mares and an attraction to chestnuts over females of other colors, said Shadai spokesperson Mariko Yoshida.

He’s already covered 30 mares this year and 20 are in foal to him. Keep up the good work War Emblem!

Another GbG fav, Nobiz Like Shobiz, has finally been placed at Darby Dan where he’ll stand for 2009. No fee has been set.

Moving on now to money… there are two interesting posts from fellow TBA-ers today around the economics of the game. Cangamble has a thoughtful post on Take Out with an great comment thread and Steve Zorn has an in-depth and eye opening post on the economics of ownership. Both are great reads.

And last but not least, did you know that Belmont has a chicken hawk? No, not that little bird who followed Foghorn Leghorn around or an old man who likes young boys… a red tailed hawk! Jason captured a couple of shots of Belmont’s own bird of prey this weekend… guard your hot dogs and perhaps small children!

Posted by dana on Jul 16 2008    
Filed Under: War Emblem, TBA, 2008, Industry, Sarah K. Andrew, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Breeding, Gambling, Belmont, Racing

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Share This

6 Comments »

Lava Man returns to form in the Charles Whittingham at Hollywood Park (qtfeather2000)

Looking beyond the triple crown for a moment, I was happy to see Lava Man’s performance in the Whittingham… he’s back!

I think the turf suits him and he responded well to his new jock, Tyler Baze as they set an aggressive pace and held on gamely as Artiste Royal and Monzante came on strong to win and place. Now THAT was a race!

Sorry about the quality, this was the only clip on YouTube. You can also watch it here at NTRA. I really like both Artiste Royal and Monzante and it looked to me like Monzante would have liked even more distance than the 1 1/4 mile Whittingham. Well done to all!

News has also surfaced that our old friend and member of the “almost but not quite Triple Crown club”, War Emblem is actually covering mares again!

You may remember that he had basically been refusing to cover mares for several years which fueled (silly) speculation that he might be gay or at least in my estimation bored.

When it became apparent that he has some talent as a sire there was a renewed interest in renewing his interest. Apparently at least part of the problem was that he’s just picky. I’m picky too, but then again it doesn’t impact how I perform my job!

His therapy program, which commenced in early spring, consists of a combination of changes in housing and management to naturally build maturity and breeding confidence, changes in breeding-shed handling techniques to maximize response, and carefully managed hormone supplementation as needed to boost libido to reduce his mare choosiness while his confidence builds.

Hmmmm, Spanish fly perhaps? Dr. Sue McDonnell, a specialist in stallion behavior and breeding management at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center summed it up perfectly…

I sure don’t know how horses think about these matters, but observations of his behavior indicate that War Emblem appears to be quite enthused about his new direction.

Well then, welcome back to both Lava Man and War Emblem!

Posted by dana on Jun 08 2008    
Filed Under: YouTube, Turf, Where Are They Now?, :), Geldings, War Emblem, Come Back, Hollywood Park, Fans, Breeding, Lava Man, Triple Crown, Race Replay, Racing

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Share This

2 Comments »

War Emblem in his stall at Shadai (Deena in Tokyo).

Could this be proof that being on stud duty is actually boring for some of these horses? I hope he comes back to the US in good order and finds a home that’s a bit more engaging for him.

[Bloodhorse]

Posted by dana on Jul 08 2007    
Filed Under: Where Are They Now?, War Emblem, Greed, 2007, Let Horses Race, Retirement, Breeding

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Share This

No Comments »