General News

Another terrific weekend, another terrific month, a great record at Monmouth Park, and the beat goes on! Seven wins and five seconds from just fifteen starts in July and August. Congratulations to all our owners on your wins with Highwaytwentyseven, No Good Deed, New Found Treasure, plus TWO wins for Rapstorerocks, a win and a photo finish 2^nd for Giuliana Vee, an outstanding blowout win to end the July following an excellent 2^nd on Haskell Day for Life On the Edge and a very game 2^nd in her Kenwood debut this weekend for Tracy Ann’s Legacy.

Horse by Horse News

• First up today was Highwaytwentyseven, entered on the turf at Monmouth Park hoping it would be moved to dirt and that’s exactly what happened, turning him from a live longshot (having never run on grass) to the horse to beat. He looked like the speed of the race and our plan was to get to the lead and never look back and that’s exactly what happened. He broke alertly from the unfavorable inside post, went to the front, repelled a couple of challengers on the far turn, and drew away in the stretch to win by over 5 widening lengths. Made up for losing the grass for Tracy Ann’s Legacy yesterday (who ran an excellent 2^nd at Monmouth Park, despite the surface switch). Congratulations to our active racing group #58, for a very impressive win here, coupled with the excellent 2^nd yesterday with Tracy Ann’s Legacy.

Highwaytwentyseven Vimeo video
Highwaytwentyseven Facebook album
Highwaytwentyseven Youtube race video

• One race later Fire's Finale made his first start at Monmouth Park coming off a fine debut 3^rd at Gulfstream Park six weeks ago. Stretched out a little in distance today he broke fine but had no speed early and dropped back to last. He gradually made up ground on the far turn while still far back and the top of the stretch looked off the board and hopelessly beaten. Then his long stride kicked in and he began to gobble up ground, running down the two front runners in the final stride to finish a fast closing 2^nd to a favored and highly impressive first time starter. Before his debut at Gulfstream trainer Ron Spatz stated “he probably wants to go a little further, but I think he has enough speed to show himself going 5/8” and after the race we said “this is a very typical debut for many good horses and most move forward in their 2^nd starts” and he did exactly that here. He’s bred to be a classic distance horse and get better as he matures, as we said before people bought into the group. We owned his mother and she went from a claiming sprinter at age two to a three time stakes winner going long at age three. We can’t guarantee Fire’s Finale will repeat her success but off two excellent efforts we have reason to believe he’s a talented horse and we are looking forward to a fine career with him. Being a Pa. bred gives us even more options with him down the road. Congratulations to all his owners  

Fire's Finale Vimeo video
Fire's Finale Facebook album
Fire's Finale Youtube race video

• The rain that worked to our advantage with No Good Deed previously and Highwaytwentyseven the following day was a disadvantage for Tracy Ann’s Legacy Saturday as her race was taken off the turf. After much discussion we decided to run and were rewarded as she ran an excellent, hard-trying 2^nd at Monmouth Park, picking up $10,000 in purse money. She and the 1 to 5 favorite both were bumped and off a bit slow but they quickly recovered and battled head to head until the winner pulled away in deep stretch, but Tracy Ann never quit and ended up 6 lengths in front of the rest of the field in a very solid effort. We stayed in because she’s run well on dirt and sloppy tracks before, knowing she is clearly better on grass. However as trainer Kelly Breen said these races are hard to get to go, so with a 5 horse field we opted to run. This race comes back in the book in 3 weeks and while no guarantee it will go, if it does the timing would be excellent to run back in there and hopefully it will stay on the turf next time. This is a very nice filly and looks like an excellent claim for our active racing group #58, should be lots of good times ahead with her. It was a fun day, a good race, and more to come!

Tracy Ann’s Legacy Vimeo video
Tracy Ann’s Legacy  Facebook Album
Tracy Ann's Legacy Youtube video

Kenwood’s record at Monmouth Park thus far has been nothing short of phenomenal; a word we rarely if ever use but with two wins and three seconds from five starts for the meet it certainly applies. Would love to have run more but with a very short meet (just began in July remember) and racing only 3 days a week, the opportunities to run have been limited but we’ve sure made the most of them. We picked up well over $20,000 in purse money with our win and two seconds this weekend alone and look forward to more wins and purses to come before the meet ends!

• Speaking of opportunities to run, a surprise entry at Monmouth Park for Life on the Edge this week. She was excellent out of her 10 length win so when an ideal extra came up to enter in today Kelly Breen put her in and the race went for this Friday. She returns on 2 weeks rest and if she can handle a slightly faster than usual turnaround and gets her trip from a middle post this time, she’ll be tough to beat.  Leading rider Paco Lopez stays with her off her big win last time.
• New Found Treasure runs this week at Penn National, a similar spot to the race she won last time. This one came up especially tough; the horse she was 2^nd to a couple of races back is in there along with several others with good form, but as well as she’s been running recently she’s one of the top contenders nonetheless.
• Enjoy some nice photos taken by trainer Mark Salvaggio of Pango, Giuliana Vee and Rapstorerocks training at Penn National. All of them are well (also New Found Treasure well, Mark couldn’t grab a good photo of her but will get one soon) and getting ready to run back later this month.
• Pango doing well out of an excellent flying 4^th at Penn National, beaten a head for 3^rd in a photo and a heartbreaking 1 length for the win despite a tough trip. It was an ultra-tough race for the level with an overflow field and for the first time since we claimed him this spring, he ran a winning race. A few strides after the wire he was in front and off this race we have renewed optimism that he can join the rest of our stable in the winner’s circle.
• Rapstorerocks great out of his 2^nd win in a row at Penn National. Should run back towards the end of August.
• Giuliana Vee good out of a very game 2^nd at Penn National coming back on just 2 weeks rest off her debut win. There’s a race for her towards the end of August. This filly has matured into an honest, consistent runner and we are very pleased.
• Seven Seven, is just fine out of his career debut at Saratoga. He broke well, sat an excellent stalking trip, made a huge move on the far turn to get alongside the 2 leaders, and then the horse next to him bore out badly, sending him 4 wide and causing him to lose all momentum and he finished 5^th   “strung out 4 wide on the turn” according to the official chart. There was a steward’s inquiry into the running of the race but they made no disqualification, but in any event it really wouldn’t have helped him at that point.  While he probably wasn’t going to beat the winner, he was would likely have been 2^nd or at least hit the board. We were expecting a solid effort from him and we got it, but it didn’t show up in the results. That said, he came out of the race fine and clearly has ability. Will come back next time at Saratoga or Monmouth Park and with a better trip be tough to beat.
• No Good Deed’s just fine out of a rough trip at Penn National as she went to her knees when the gate opened, losing all shot. Despite that, she made a nice move to gain contention and kept fighting the entire way, finishing 4^th, beaten in a photo for 3^rd. The winner looked to be much the best but with a better start she clearly was 2^nd instead of 4^th. It was encouraging to see her not quit after a bad start and she should bounce back next time.

Those two races offer a good education as to just how much the trip matters in every race. Almost all of our many horses who have won this summer got good setups and clean trips; if Seven Seven and No Good Deed got better trips they would have been 2^nd or 3^rd instead of 5^th and 4^th and if Rapstorerocks had anything less than a dream trip and not hit the wire at exactly the perfect moment, he’d have been 3^rd in a 3 horse photo instead of standing in the winner’s circle. If Life On the Edge didn’t get a favorable outside post or Highwaytwentyseven didn’t get a race rained off the turf where he was the controlling speed and was able to make an easy lead, they probably wouldn’t have won either, certainly not as easily as both did. The level of competition and the trip between them are easily 90% of the result at least 90% of the time.

• Blu Candy gets a little time off at the farm and is doing well there. Expect her to return to training at Monmouth in September. We are not rushing her as she’s bred to mature into a nice filly.
• Lisa Limon and her Liam’s Map foal well at Hidden Brook Farm in Ky. Hard to find a better looking horse. Congratulations to Lisa’s brother Snow Man, who won the Duke City Sprint Stakes off a 8 month layoff yesterday, coming from dead last to win by a neck (see attached chart)! He’s now a stakes winner after a close 2^nd in a stake last year.