Racing roster for 2012

The 2011 racing season has been deemed a success.

We've had strong results from veteran racers such as Confederation, Stowaway, and Big Slick (pictured at left); exciting performances from up-and-comers like A View to a Kill, Mister Fantastic, and Rogue; and encouraging moments from youngsters such as Shatterstar, Sabretooth, and Tombstone.

With these horses forming the vanguard of our 2012 racing string and throwing in the likes of Eminem, Immortal, and Domino, and it's easy to see how we can be optimistic about our prospects for 2012.


With the exception of Confederation, all of the above-mentioned racers will be back in 2012. Joining them will be the following 2yo's:

Huntress (Big Easy x Shadowcat) - Classic distance multi-surface filly.
Starfire (Nightwing x Shattered Record) - Full sister to Shatterstar will run around 8 furlongs on all surfaces.
Katana (Sovereign Sword x Go Dancing) - Turf sprinting filly.
Ultron (War Machine x Nova) - Dirt sprinting colt who is pictured at left.

Additionally, we'll attempt to secure a couple veteran racers at the year-end auction to round out our roster for 2012.

2012 Stable Makeover Continues....

Veteran racers True Ensign and Confederation (shown above) have both been sold in stall management transactions. True Ensign was sold back to Eureka Racing Stables and Confederation was shipped to Godolphin17.

Otsego Farms had planned on selling True Ensign back to Eureka at the conclusion of this season all along, but the sale of Confederation was a bit of a surprise. He has been running very well and was definitely in the mix for 2012.

When asked about Confederation, Otsego Farms owner Jim Webber responded, "I have nothing but respect and admiration for that horse. In fact, he is one of my favorites. It was a business decision, pure and simple." With five or six incoming foals and their eye on a couple horses in the annual auction, Otsego Farms was in the unenviable position of having to make room.

Webber continued, "I thought about keeping Confederation and selling Stowaway instead, but after several heated discussions with my training staff, we concluded that Stowaway had a little more gas in the tank and was a better option for racing as a 6yo. Time will tell if it was the right decision."

These sales come on the heels of a transaction involving 3yo sprinter Deadly Force, who was sold to Sunshine Stables a couple of weeks ago.

A View to a Kill finishes strong 2nd in lucrative Japan Cup

Otsego Farms' 3yo stayer A View to a Kill (Bally Doyle; War Machine x Dancing Delaware), earned $1,250,000 by finishing second in the 12 furlong Japan Cup this weekend.

The entries included phenom Heat Seeker from FDL Lodge, Faldo from Olmo Dorato, Retribution from Spartan Racing Stables, and Chiknsmack's Silver Poetry. The field could have been much tougher, but many other champion caliber horses skipped this event to attend various Breeders Cup races.

Killer cruised along mid-pack until the final 2 furlongs, when he moved into second and stayed there, watching the 2/1 favorite Heat Seeker run away from the pack and win by almost 10 lengths. Faldo finished third, and the veteran Retribution came in fourth.

Otsego Farms owner Jim Webber was calm at the finish line, simply raising a fist as Killer crossed the finish line in 2nd. "We had hoped for a win, but realized that beating Heat Seeker was gonna be unbelievably difficult. We'll get him next year", Webber said as he marched off towards the winners circle to congratulate the FDL connections.

A View to a Kill will take the remainder of the year off, bypassing the Hong Kong races.

Dynamic Damsel Duo notch first victories

Rogue (pictured above) and Domino, our 3yo and 2yo chestnut fillies out of War Machine, both recently brought home their first wins.

Rogue, who has been showing much better form in the second half of her 3yo season, won the 8.5 furlong Boiling Springs Handicap on turf. She now has a record of 14-1-4-2 and has not finished worse than second in her last four races.

In her fifth career race, Domino won the KS Thoroughbred Assn Futurity Fillies at 5.5 furlongs on dirt. The track was sloppy, but Domino had no trouble, winning easily by over 4 lengths.

Both fillies will race again next season, joining 4yo colt A View to a Kill and 2yo colt Ultron in a four-headed monster of War Machine offspring sporting the Otsego blue and gold.

Nightwing quartet making waves

Four Nightwing (pictured above) colts are making a name for themselves this season, and in the process, making a name for their sire as well.

Daredevil (3yo - Bonai), Gournay (3yo - Yeguada Lore Toki), Goodbye COV (3yo - History's Own), and Shatterstar (2yo - Otsego Farms), have a combined 2011 record of 33-15-9-2.

Daredevil has had a monumental season, with a legitimate chance at HOY honors, but the other three colts have shown talent as well with 7 victories between them in 23 total starts.

Congratulations to these fine colts and their owners. We hope for continued success.

Two lessons learned, stable life goes on....

I've re-learned some lessons in the past couple weeks....

1) Do not discuss plans on horse sales and acquisitions with anyone but your most trusted allies.

I recently made the mistake of relating my plans regarding a horse that was available via auction, to a fellow PF participant. He relayed that info to another stable and a plot to thwart my acquisition was born. The whole tasteless affair has been resolved, but my reputation has been unforgivably besmirched on the forum. I'll remember this episode well and my future dealings with these two stables will be very limited.

2) Never give up too early on a well-bred horse with a nice AR.

Even though she is by my beloved War Machine, and half-sister to Union Jack, the 3yo filly Rogue had been a bit of a disappointment. She had not won a race in 13 starts and had put up acceptable but unremarkable PSR's. I grew restless and decided to sell her.

I had the common sense at least, to set a high reserve of $500,000. It was not met ($250,000 was the high bid) and Rogue stayed at Otsego Farms. She responded by winning her next race with a 97 PSR and pocketing $120,000. My confidence in Rogue has been restored, and while she may not be a superstar, she will be a solid entry in the underpopulated F&M races next year.

Also, Mister Fantastic, a slowly maturing horse, has started to come of age. Due to my impatience, I have debated selling him for the past season and a half. Having raced just 6 times by the start of his 4yo season, he was fresh and finally seemed ready to compete. MF has finished 2,2,2,1 in his last four races and is obviously gaining confidence in his own abilities.

I bred him and I'm very glad that I waited for him to mature rather than shipping him out after 4-5 mediocre outings.

Upward and onward!