Another busy week began well enough, with a good closing 2^nd for Boardwalk Run at Penn National on September 9^th, the 8^th straight in-the-money finish for this ultra consistent filly. But September 11^th was a disappointment, beginning with Title Fight at Gulfstream Park, who was running in a good, competitive spot. He broke nicely and rated comfortably, made a move on the far turn to gain contention, while caught a little wide. He ended up finishing 5^th, beaten just a neck for 3^rd and a length for 2^nd. He was closing well at the finish and at a little longer distance, would clearly have hit the board. This is the right level for him. He tried hard and ran well and should be competitive in these kind of races all fall, but it was tough to finish 5^th when beaten about 1 length for 2^nd.

Then, at Penn National, Big Apple Brit ran an odd race, when 5^th and last in a small field. Broke sharply, was in 2^nd early (which is very unusual for this deep closer), dropped back to last, and then rallied a little in the stretch to miss being a well beaten 3^rd by ½ length, in a blanket finish with the other two trailers. After being a model of consistency for us for a long time, this was his 2^nd straight out of the money finish. We’ll see if a little time and shortening up in distance helps next time.

The week ended on Sunday September 13^th, with two big races that did not give us the results we were looking for, but were not a total washout either, First up at Parx, Long May You Run got the surface he wanted, as his race came off the grass and was reduced to just 4 horses for an incredible purse of $90,000 & 20% bonus for him as a Pennsylvania-bred. To be fair, all three of the horses he faced were top class, stakes quality runners, so it was still a stern test, but a shot a huge $. After battling hard between horses for the lead, he tired to finish 3^rd. It was not a bad effort at all, but with an outside post where he could sit just off the pace, the result could have been even better. The good news is he did pick up over $11,000 in purse money and came out of the race good. If all goes well there’s a Pennsylvania-bred race at Parx in 9 days for a $70,000 purse, where off this one he’d be one tough customer. Recall he ran perhaps the best race of his career last year in his win off just a 7 day layoff, so this one is doable.

The real disappointment of the day came with Huamantla at Monmouth Park, when the rider simply didn’t follow instructions. Instead of taking her back behind horses for a late run (as Joe Bravo did to perfection when she won for us 1^st time off the claim, and no, we couldn’t ride him again since he was out of town), he let her run early and she simply had nothing left in the stretch, finishing 6^th in a race she could easily have won. This filly requires a very specific type of ride, she’s not the usual, but given the right set up is very consistent. Rarely do you read any criticism here of jockeys who have a split second to make game-changing decisions on 1100 pound animals, but this was just a plain example of a poor ride from start to finish.

Next week will be yet another BIG week for us, with both our New York-breds running Wednesday, as an entry at Belmont Park, and three horses running Thursday at Penn National for starters. Best of luck to Awesome Papa Al and Sky Ace at Belmont Park and Fuego Mi Amor (ready to break her maiden!), This Quay Home and PJ’s Enigma at Penn National. We expect Mackinaw Pharoah and Hardrainsgonnafall to make their debuts at Monmouth Park the following week.

We’ll end with a little perspective on sales and sale prices. Kenwood Racing President Jack Czajkowski noted in a recent email, a horse who ran at Monmouth Park this weekend, named Cloudy River that sold at the OBS April 2014 sale for $110,000.  Our team looked at him at the sale. He was hip 820, worked a fast 10.1 in the under tack show.  He did not make our final cut, after we looked at him a second time. Jack points out that after a few decent races early in his career, he has been dropped down the claiming ladder, to where he was running at Monmouth for a $10,000 claiming tag and a $18,000 purse.  His earnings to date are $64,100.  As Jack stated  “if that horse had been bought for $40,000, the original owners would at least be close to a break even point (counting training bills, etc.) had they kept him.. At this point, barring an incredible turn around, he will never get close to earning the $110,000 paid for him at the auction.  Just another example that stepping up in purchase class is no guarantee of success

Along those lines, I recalled a Rockport Harbor colt we all loved a couple of years ago at OBS, top of our buy list. I clearly remember two co-owners with us at the sale practically begging us to buy the horse. They fell in love with him. We went to $70,000 and he sold for $85,000. We didn’t pay that because we didn’t feel he was worth the risk at that level. To date, almost age 4 now, he has yet to run a single race. As trainer Steve DiMauro & I like to say, it’s a long way down the elevator when you pay $75,000- $100,000 for a horse. Statistics show that of the top horses picked out by super capable people, you get one or two real nice horses, 4 or 5 decent break even ones, and 3 or 4 that are close to worthless. If you pay $40,000 for a horse that turns out to be a $5,000 claimer you probably can pay the bills and end up losing $30,000. If you pay $100,000 for the same horse because you fall in love with him, it’s more like a $95,000 loss. Yes, there are times it’s worth paying top $ (within reason), but they are few and far between!

On that note, we look forward to another exciting week as our great summer of racing continues!