Summer vacation?

Grass to cut. Kids home from school. Nice weather for running. I could give you a million reasons why I haven't been writing this summer.

I'm sure that everyone who got into the habit of checking the site periodically has given up after seeing nothing new for 3 weeks.

I'll try to get back on track. I may not have time to post every other day over the summer, but I'll be posting at least twice a week.

Later this weekend, I may have an offer available for a broodmare and a racer soon to turn stud. I'll not have room for either horse next season, so they will be offered for sale. Stay tuned.

Race Results for Weeks 33-34

No wins this week, but three out of four racers hit the board, so we're content.

Doomsday extended his streak of top 3 finishes to 7 with a 3rd place in the Star Kingdom Stakes. He broke fairly well and stayed in the third position throughout the race. Felix of France from Chiknsmack took the honors.

Newcomer Seven Memory also finished 3rd in his race, the 7.5 furlong Phar Lap Stakes. He slipped up a bit in the final half furlong, so perhaps we'll shorten him up in his next race. The Majestic from Caledonia was the winner.

Only thirteen days of rest and some improbable globe-hopping didn't stop Port Pirie's A Bus from setting a world record en route to an easy win in the Juddmonte International Stakes. Union Jack finished 2nd by a wide margin over Taj Mahal from Akuma no Heya. Union Jack has a season record of 7-1-4-1 and may slide down permanently to Gr2 and Gr 3 races. Our attempts to avoid the top-tiered horses have consistently failed at the Gr1 races, leading to much frustration.

Just as he began to make his move, Big Easy ran into some traffic and couldn't respond in time to finish in the top three. He finished 4th in the Salvator Mile, making it just the 5th time in 42 career races that he has failed to hit the board. Fantasy Flight from Under the Weeping Moon used a tremendous kick in the last 2 furlongs to grab the victory.

So...things change, allright?

Just days after mentioning that I was probably through with horse transactions for the year, Otsego Farms pulled the trigger on two more deals.

Lady Katherine, our 3yo black filly, has been sold to Woodbury Stables. LK has solid tools and the potential for a long career. Even more exciting is her potential as a future broodmare. We were actually very attached to Lady Katherine and eventually planned on keeping her as a 3rd broodmare along with Nova and Shattered Record.

However, when we noticed that Seven Memory, a speedy black colt by Memcay out of Deja Vu was available, provisions had to be made immediately and Lady Katherine was the horse that didn't fit into my immediate short-term plans

While I'm sorry to see LK go, we are thrilled to have acquired Seven Memory from Moose Hollow. His parentage alone is exciting, and while we know that does not guarantee success, it's hard to fathom an offspring from those two champions not being a good racer.

Seven's current record is a solid 6-1-2-1. He has raced three times this season with a record of 3-1-2-0 and has posted speed scores of 108, 95, and 69.

An exciting day here at Otsego Farms. This will probably be the last transaction we're involved with this season.

That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before?

Race Results for Weeks 31-32

I took a couple chances that did not work out this week. In hindsight, I wish I had just stuck to the strategy that has paid off so well up to this point.

King of the Sea has performed very well this season, so in spite of my resolve to enter him in lower graded and pursed races this year, I splurged and entered him in the Gr1 Whitney Handicap. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite up to that level of competition today, finishing 5th. Braveheart, the courageous router from FDL was the winner with Olmo Dorato's Beamington finishing second. Superstar Lazy Loper from Bonai, coming back on short rest finished a disappointing 6th.

Candle of Life also stepped up a notch to the Gr2 Jim Dandy Stakes and was actually in the running until a horrendous fade in the last furlong dropped him back to 10th. Personally Majestic from Stonewall Stables took the honors with the win. It will be back to Gr3 and Gr4 races at 8 furlongs for CoL in the future.

In her last race for Otsego Farms, Lady Katherine finished 5th in the Honorable Miss Stakes. We don't normally enter younger horses in the variable age races, but we expected a softish field in this race with it's modest $75,000 purse. LK was the only 3yo in the field and didn't look as strong as the competition. The speedy Ab-Daledigaeth from Bally Doyle was the winner in record time.

Nova, after running primarily at 6-7 furlongs since she was a 2yo, has won her last 2 races at 8.5 furlongs. Our trainers have said all along that 8.5f was her best distance, but after fading regularly as a younger horse, we gravitated towards the shorter races. Now fully mature and at peak strength, it appears that she'll run as a miler for the rest of the season. This weekend, she won the Chula Vista Handicap in track record time. Hell Hath No Fury from Snowbank finished 2nd.

For the week then, a record of 4-1-0-0.