Otsego to lean heavily on veteran racers

Fourteen racers aged 4yo and older will compete for Otsego Farms in 2017.  

When questioned on this, owner Jim Webber stated, "Oh, it's a record for this stable, no doubt about that.  I can't be positive without checking the records, but I'm pretty sure I've never had more than 7 or 8 at this age racing at the same time."

The stable patriarch is 8yo Shatterstar, who seems to be getting better and better with age.  He fashioned a record of  9-5-2-2 last season and already has broken the Otsego Farms record with 52 career starts.

The triumvirate of 6yo's, Refractor, Methy Bus, and Crossbones are all still producing at high levels.  Refractor will retire after the 2017 season, but in all likelihood the others will continue on as 7yo's in 2018.

The rest of the veteran racing crew consists of:

• 5yo Alphabet, who was recently acquired from Foxies Lodge.
• 5yo Mocha Milkshake, an extremely late maturing type.
• 4yo Acquarella, a steal of an auction pickup.
• 4yo Astrapios, stayer who should make some waves this season.
• 4yo Boudica, has tools to produce positive results.
• 4yo Charlemagne, needs to find winners circle soon.
• 4yo Crackerjack, has real talent at Classic distances.
• 4yo Jack the Ripper, only out-of-money once in 12 career starts.
• 4yo Liam, $500 purchase who may be deadly at pet distance.
• 4yo Xtra Gold, sprinter who will always be in contention.

You never know what you're gonna get with an 8yo, so Shatterstar is a bit of a question mark.  Boudica and Charlemagne are both iffy talent-wise.  Other than those three, I have confidence that all of the others will produce excellent results.

Crazy experiment yields acceptable results

I mentioned previously that I experimented a bit with my Union Jack foals this year.

In the past, I have tried to match him strength to strength, matching him with turf/distance mares such as Ace Of Grace, In Spirit, and Arctic Fox.  This year, willing to go against my conventional wisdom, I bred him just twice and both mares were dirt milers; Nova and Nova's daughter Nebula.

Nova had most of her success at 6F, but she had the chops for a couple more furlongs.  She just fell into that sprinter category and things were going pretty well so she stayed there.  She did crank off a few 100+ PSR's at the end of her career at distances of 8.5F and 9F.  And she was fast! 

Nebula, while not nearly as talented as her mother, was a consistent earner and also could handle 8F, even though she ran mostly in sprints.

Neither one of these mares ever ran on turf.  Why then would I even consider matching then with a distance horse who ran on dirt only once in 46 career starts?

Ummm.  I don't know.

In my defense, Union Jack was actually rated as Good, OK, Good on dirt surfaces.  So, I figured that even if the dirt gene did raise it's head, it shouldn't blow the foals out of the water.  And... if I got Union Jack's stamina or an average of sire and dam, I had at least a 54% chance of getting a Classic or longer foal.

Here's what I got:

Jackanova (2017), 15.3 hand dark brown filly

By Union Jack out of Nova by Housebuster

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 is good on soft dirt.

This horse is good in mud.

This horse prefers hard turf.

This horse is ok on soft turf.

This horse is of average soundness.

This horse obeys its jockey and is flexible in its pacing.

This horse stalks the pace.

This horse accelerates like a bullet!

This horse has average speed out of the gate.

This horse has good speed. Could set records.

This horse likes a lot of distance.

Three Rings (2017), 17 hand dark brown filly

By Union Jack out of Nebula by Dubai Gold

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 dislikes hard dirt.

This horse is poor on soft dirt.

This horse is good in mud.

This horse prefers hard turf.

This horse is poor 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 is a front runner.

This horse has good acceleration.

This horse is a slow starter out of the gate.

This horse has average speed.

This horse looks like it can run at classic distances.

Guardians of the dream world, I would like to see my future...

I'm not one to roll my 2yo's out early.  If they're not sprinters or milers, they are very unlikely to see the track until August or so.  Consequently, I usually don't get a lot of action from my youngsters, since most of them are usually distance types.

For 2017, I have just three 2yo's that will get some early runs and they all look decent on paper...

• Big Bang - colt.  Big N' Rich x Nova.  Miler.
• Numerator - filly.  Reichenbach Falls x Second Strike.  Sprinter.
• Tricky Woo - filly.  Yeager x Domino.  Sprinter.

Big Bang and Numerator both break well, have good acceleration and good speed.  Tricky Woo will be a little trickier to manage.  She also has good acceleration and good speed, but she is a slow starter and runs from behind.  We're concerned that she may run out of track before she can get up to speed.

As far as probable effectiveness goes, I would probably rank them in that exact order, alphabetically.  Big Bang and Numerator could possibly be interchangeable due to BB's very short projected career and N's very long career.

In truth, your guess is as good as mine as to who will step up and who will fall down.

Shocking new theory suggests past Photo Finish seasons have, in fact, occurred

Renowned Ancient Alien expert Giorgio A. Tsoukalos has weighed in on the theory that Photo Finish seasons have occurred in the recent historical past.

"Data recovered from dozens of computers scattered all over the globe seem to confirm that there have been previous seasons of Photo Finish", Mr. Tsoukalos recently stated.  He continued, "We have found incontestable evidence in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia that these culturally diverse people have shared this passion and technology simultaneously in the past, and I predict they will do so again in the future."

Mr. Tsoukalos declined to speculate on when a new season might begin.

My AR can beat up your AR!

I've always found it amusing when the new foal's AR's come out. Back in the day, it could get to be a bit over the top. We would seem to have foal crops with approximately 50 Kentucky Derby winners. Two dozen Triple Crown winners. Hundreds of Eclipse winners. It really was pretty funny. Especially for someone that typically looks over my entire crop for a few minutes and then completely forgets about them until they're ready to race.

She does. Bang, that is.

In her time at Otsego Farms, In Spirit has produced some very solid foals.  Kit Fisto has been the only stinker in the bunch and even he wasn't hopeless, although he has yet to notch a victory.  Her most recent foal, the little bay filly She Bangs, has created some buzz in the stable. 

Sired by the legendary turf stayer Sinking Fear, She Bangs looks like a chip off the old block, except for one thing... she is indifferent on turf.  Odd indeed when you consider that her dam In Spirit also had a distinct fondness for grass.  Ahh, the vagaries of breeding...

She Bangs (2017), 16.3 hand bay filly

By Sinking Fear out of In Spirit by Bellbuster

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).

This horse will enjoy a long peak performance time, several racing seasons.

This horse is good on 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 very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.

This horse has average ratability.

This horse always comes from midpack.

This horse accelerates like a bullet!

This horse has average speed out of the gate.

This horse has good speed. Could set records.

This horse likes a lot of distance.

Matures quickly, long career, bullet acceleration, good speed, likes distance... what's not to like? 

Yes sir.  I've got a crush on this girl.  I'm gonna walk right out to the gazebo and carve a heart with the letters JW + SB in it.