Prediction: Racing Heaven in 2011

Nineteen racers. That is the most we've ever fielded and it has us giddy with anticipation for Heavenly season in 2011.

That many racers assures us of several entries every week; even with the relatively light schedule we plan for our horses. We anticipate scheduling approximately 8-10 races for our veterans, 10-12 races for the 3yo and 4yo racers. and not more than 6 starts for the 2yo's.

Some of the horses to keep an eye on in 2011 are:

• Altamente Reactivo - Could be a factor in low grade routes.
• Union Jack - Will compete at 14+ furlongs exclusively.
• Confederation - Three straight wins at 11f to end 2010.
• Stowaway - Can he finally be the breakout sprinter we hoped for?
• Big Slick - Mature and looking very polished.
• Deadly Force - We anticipate major improvement.
• Domino - Has the heritage.
• Tombstone - Rock-solid ability and lungs.
• Shatterstar - Big hopes for this fellow.

We cut off our racing season early in 2010, making an early 2011 appearance possible for virtually all of our horses. Our only racers in December 2010 were Altamente Reactivo and Majestic Song. Everyone else is in tip-top shape, well-rested, and ready to go immediately at the start of the new season. The 2yo's will be withheld until June or July as previously planned.

The racing season is just around the corner and we're predicting Heaven on Earth here at Otsego Farms.

2yo Preview - Domino

The filly Domino is a product of War Machine x Sharp Cat and is our second foal by the immortal Triple Crown winner. The energetic chestnut filly stands at 15.3 hands, exactly the same size as her sire.

She prefers all surfaces, hard, soft, wet, or dry, as long as they are dirt. And, even though both parents had good to excellent stamina, Domino has a strong preference for sprints.

Our trainers say Domino looks ready to race, but she will be held in training until making her professional debut in May or June 2011. It goes without saying of course, that this War Machine product has imaginations soaring here at Otsego Farms.

Domino (2009), 15.3 hand chestnut filly
By War Machine out of Sharp Cat by Storm Cat

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will have an average performance peak, at least two racing seasons.
This horse prefers hard dirt.
This horse prefers soft dirt.
This horse prefers mud.
This horse is ok on hard turf.
This horse is ok on soft turf.
This horse is very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.
This horse has average ratability.
This horse appears to be a sprinter.

2yo Preview - Tombstone

By Vampirical out of Shadowcat by The Wicked North, the silent and stoic Tombstone is the embodiment of his name. This chestnut colt has gained great popularity among the trainers and riders at Otsego Farms for his unflappable demeanor.

Early maturity and surface flexibility highlight this colts strong points. Eight furlongs was his dam's limit, but Tombstone has obviously inherited his sire's lungs since he prefers and thrives on a lot of distance.

We anticipate his debut to be in the summer of 2011.

Tombstone (2009), 16 hand chestnut colt
By Vampirical out of Shadowcat by The Wicked North

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will have an average performance peak, at least two racing seasons.
This horse is good on hard dirt.
This horse prefers soft dirt.
This horse is ok in mud.
This horse is good on hard turf.
This horse is good on soft turf.
This horse is of average soundness.
This horse has average ratability.
This horse likes a lot of distance.

Triple Crown Legend's availability to become scarcer still.

Five years after becoming the only Photo-Finish horse to win the American Triple Crown, interest in War Machine as a stud is as keen as ever.

Commanding an initial stud fee of $300,000 and with no shortage of suitors, the decision was nevertheless made to limit pairings to approximately five per season. This decision has been questioned ever since, by other stables and, if the truth be told, even by the connections at Otsego Farms.

The idea was to create a hot commodity through the basic laws of supply and demand. That actually worked fairly well. But there was a fly in the ointment; fewer offspring means fewer chances for success. While sires such as Memcay, Smart Money, and A Bus are churning out 15 foals per season, they are literally tripling there chances of success as a producer of quality racers.

Unbelievably, War Machine has actually endured some criticism as a stud because he has failed thus far to sire a superstar. Harsh standards indeed considering only seven of his offspring have hit the track up to this point.

In truth, his first batch did include a very successful debut. FDL's Garson de Garcia (War Machine x Madame de Francais) collected five wins in his 2yo season, including the Gr1 Racing Post Trophy.

Next breeding season, which is fully booked, War Machine will sire just six foals. Afterwards he will be pulled from general stud service to concentrate on producing champion foals strictly for Otsego Farms. He will still be available to other stables occasionally, in extremely limited fashion and to very select mares, on a quid pro quo basis.

2yo Preview - Sabretooth

The smallish brown colt Sabretooth is aptly named. His tenacious personality is well-known and respected among the stable hands at Otsego Farms. With names such as Predator, Monsoon, Magnificat, and Storm Cat in his lineage, it was probably inevitable that this fellow would be a hellion.

As you can see by inspecting his AR, he looks like he might be a little finicky about the racing surface. We don't anticipate this to be a big problem however. Additionally, in spite of his snarly attitude, he actually obeys his jockey quite well on the track. Also on the plus side is his excellent health and the fact that he is maturing quickly.

Even though his sire Predator was primarily a 6-8 furlong competitor and dam Monsoon never raced past 8.5 furlongs, Sabretooth prefers long distance races. We'll determine exactly how far he'll stretch by what we observe on the racetrack.


Sabretooth (2009), 15.2 hand brown colt
By Predator out of Monsoon by Storm Cat

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will have an average performance peak, at least two racing seasons.
This horse is good on hard dirt.
This horse is ok on soft dirt.
This horse dislikes mud.
This horse is ok on hard turf.
This horse is good on soft turf.
This horse is very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.
This horse obeys its jockey and is flexible in its pacing.
This horse likes a lot of distance.

2011 Foal Sneak Peek

Our highly anticipated 2011 crop of foals arrived today.

Four foals total...two colts, two fillies. Three distance runners and one classic.

Appears to be our best batch ever.

Crossbones (2011), 15.2 hand bay colt
By Nightwing out of In Spirit by Bellbuster

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will enjoy a very long peak performance time, perhaps its entire racing career.
This horse is good on hard dirt.
This horse is ok on soft dirt.
This horse is poor in mud.
This horse prefers hard turf.
This horse is ok on soft turf.
This horse is very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.
This horse has a mind of its own and likes to run at its own pace.
This horse looks like it can run at classic distances.

Nebula (2011), 15.2 hand dark brown filly
By Dubai Gold out of Nova by Housebuster

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will have a very short peak time, perhaps only a single racing season.
This horse prefers hard dirt.
This horse is good on soft dirt.
This horse is good in mud.
This horse is ok on hard turf.
This horse is ok on soft turf.
This horse is of average soundness.
This horse has average ratability.
This horse likes a lot of distance.

House of M (2011), 15.2 hand chestnut filly
By War Machine out of Classical Music by Black Tie Affair

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).
This horse will have an average performance peak, at least two racing seasons.
This horse prefers hard dirt.
This horse prefers soft dirt.
This horse is good in mud.
This horse is ok on hard turf.
This horse is poor on soft turf.
This horse is of average soundness.
This horse has average ratability.
This horse likes a lot of distance.

War Hammer (2011), 17 hand light gray colt
By War Machine out of Shattered Record by Black Shatter

This horse will mature at the average rate (3-4).
This horse will have a very short peak time, perhaps only a single racing season.
This horse prefers hard dirt.
This horse dislikes soft dirt.
This horse is good in mud.
This horse is good on hard turf.
This horse is good on soft turf.
This horse is very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.
This horse has average ratability.
This horse likes a lot of distance.

Domination: ETA 2012

War Machine x Nova = Ultron

This is, without question, the most dynamic pairing that Otsego Farms has produced thus far.

The legendary Triple Crown winner, who has two Kentucky Derby winners in his lineage, and the warp-speed, sprinting mare produced this big brown colt in 2010 and tongues at Otsego Farms have been wagging ever since.

Stable owner Jim Webber commented, "It's too soon to tell for sure, but we think he may be a sprinter. He's a big, strong fella and if he has the front-running tendency that both of his parents exhibited, he'll be a handful."

Watch for this phenom to hit the track in June 2012, and make sure you hang onto your hat when he goes by.

Union Jack - A Professional Racehorse

Through 2010 Union Jack has a racing record of 39-15-7-7. Excellent be sure. However, if you look a little more carefully at his record, you'll see that it is even more impressive....

He has finished out of the money just three times in those 39 starts. In the 10 races that he was off the board, he finished 4th and picked up a check seven times, and all of them were Grade One events.

He had 4th place finishes in the following races:

1. Breeders Cup Juvenile
2. Caulfield Cup
3. Hong Kong Cup
4. Whittingham Handicap
5. Diamond Stakes
6. Juddmonte International
7. Adelaide Cup

His average PSR in those seven races was 100.

The only three races in which he has failed to earn a check were:

1. A 11 furlong allowance on dirt in his debut.
2. The 2008 Kentucky Derby, when he finished 7th in a stiff 19-horse field which included Perfect Bell, Isca's Revenge, Case Closed, Princess Royale, and Fly So High.
3. And, in the only turf race when Union Jack has not secured a check, he had a 5th place finish in the 12-furlong Sunset Handicap during his 4yo season.

He'll race sparingly as a 6yo in 2011, probably a 6-8 race schedule of 14-16 furlong turf races.

After the 2011 racing season he'll be available for non-Otsego stables as a stud for one season only. There will be 8 non-Otsego spots available for this single season at stud. Although it is very presumptuous to bring this up so far in advance, anyone who wishes may now reserve a spot for this single season of available stud service. The fee will be $50,000 and I must insist upon turf mares who have had success at 10-16 furlongs. Foxie and Ettore have both expressed interest and they will have reserved spots if they are still interested