The WAR HORSE Chronicles

[Miss Woodford]

I just can't believe that this Sunday Silence horse (who I believe is still intact) is still racing instead of standing at stud.
Does Japan have any rules mandating retirement at a certain age? IIRC, even Standardbreds can't race past 15 in this country.

I know there have been efforts to reverse the STB retirement rule with many STBs continuing to race well through their teenage years (mandatory retirement is after 14). 14yo Grecale AS has the most wins of any trotter in the country this year with 16. The richest Standardbred in history Foiled Again (earnings of over $7.5 million! Hard to do in a sport without sheikh and Stronach money) recorded his 97th career victory at age 13 a couple weeks ago. If a horse is still racing well and is sound and enjoys their job then their age shouldn't matter.

It is a shock that an intact son of Sunday Silence is still racing at this age though. Was he found to be infertile?

[BaroqueAgain1]

I agree that SBs can be raced into their teens, but their situation is a bit different than TBs. They're not carrying a rider at a 40 mph full gallop. Their gaits spread the stresses out more evenly than running, where all the weight lands hard on one slender, fragile ankle. The nature of harness racing also tends to protect the horses from clipping heels or being body-slammed off balance by another half-ton horse during a race.

[Sparrow Castle]

After surviving two hurricanes, serious colic, horrible conditions in Puerto Rico, and a long ride across the country, he's finally back home in Washington State to the gal who foaled and helped raise him, and to his original owner who was there to greet him. Welcome home, Catty, and much thanks to all who made this happen!

Shelley Blodgett‏ @ShelleyBlodgett
UGOTTABCATTY (11y WA-bred gelding) is safely home after a journey of 4,500 miles. He arrived stateside Oct 19, and spent a little time in Ocala and a month in Lexington. His adopter Alaina, who foaled him, and his former owner Jim are tickled to have him home. @CaribbeanOTTB

[WarBiscuit]

The spirit of Ben's Cat must be pushing his stablemate to do well for King Leatherbury, as 11yo Classic Wildcat has just won his 3rd in a row edging this years earnings toward the $90,000 mark. For obvious reasons, this should make alot of people very happy.

Visitors to the Winners Circle include:

11yo g Classic Wildcat (Forest Wildcat - Affirmed Class, by Affirmed), 1st at Laurel Park (12/11/17). 94 - 28-16-13, $465,098.

12yo g Bank of Dad (Valid Expectations - Starlit City, by Carson City), 1st at Mountaineer (11/22/17). 125 - 25-12-26, $374,207.

10yo g Gentleman Jackson (Alert - Somethingquiet, by Quiet American), 1st at Woodbine (11/22/17). 71 - 20-12-9, $423,613.

11yo g Khan of Khans (Storm Boot - Mondra, by Digression), 1st at Finger Lakes (11/14/17). 105 - 28-20-7, $386,797. Stakes Placed.

11yo g I Am The King (Indy King - Star of the Ball, by Risen Star), 1st at Mountaineer (11/20/17). 85 - 22-18-9, $372,634.

10yo g Island Sunset (Vronsky - Bora Bora, by Numerous), 1st at Mountaineer (11/20/17). 96 - 14-20-9, $245,606.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Placed: Country Flavor - 11g, Its Mr. Slew To You - 10g, Big Tall Paul - 10g, Amerocko - 10g, Roarin Missile - 10g,
Toccets Charm - 10g.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd: Straight Thunder - 11g, Strike A Spider - 11g.


WarBiscuit

[Miss Woodford]

What a great old horse Classic Wildcat is - moved up in class and beat the odds-on favorite in his race today. His line for the year is 13 starts, 5 wins, 2 places and 3 shows. That's the kind of horse every trainer wants in their barn.

[Sparrow Castle]

The spirit of Ben's Cat must be pushing his stablemate to do well for King Leatherbury, as 11yo Classic Wildcat has just won his 3rd in a row edging this years earnings toward the $90,000 mark. For obvious reasons, this should make alot of people very happy.
WarBiscuit

It does seem like Ben whispered in his ear that he's the #1 old guy now, passing the baton.

Classic Wildcat finished 1st by 1/2 lengths, on December 11, 2017, at LAUREL PARK in Race 2.
Off odds: 3.50
Your comments for this horse were: 2006 Forest Wildcat - Affirmed Class, by Affirmed; Leatherbury
http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pd ... 17USA2.pdf

[WaquoitNBroadBrush]

With Woodbine and Finger Lakes headed into their extended winter breaks and Mountaineer to take a shorter one, I wonder which of these great old-timers will be back in the spring and which will get that well-deserved retirement. Bank of Dad -- always loved that name -- coming back at 13 would be kind of cool, especially since he's going so well at the end of his 12-yo year, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Khan of Khans run on one of my Suffolk visits next summer/fall.

[PJMIII]

With Woodbine and Finger Lakes headed into their extended winter breaks and Mountaineer to take a shorter one, I wonder which of these great old-timers will be back in the spring and which will get that well-deserved retirement. Bank of Dad -- always loved that name -- coming back at 13 would be kind of cool, especially since he's going so well at the end of his 12-yo year, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Khan of Khans run on one of my Suffolk visits next summer/fall.

Here's hoping that Bank of Dad bounces back from his last outing.

[WarBiscuit]

With Woodbine and Finger Lakes headed into their extended winter breaks and Mountaineer to take a shorter one, I wonder which of these great old-timers will be back in the spring and which will get that well-deserved retirement. Bank of Dad -- always loved that name -- coming back at 13 would be kind of cool, especially since he's going so well at the end of his 12-yo year, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Khan of Khans run on one of my Suffolk visits next summer/fall.

Here's hoping that Bank of Dad bounces back from his last outing.

Yeah, I neglected to mention that after his Mountaineer win, Bank of Dad finished 9th at Mahoning Valley a few days ago. Looking over his results of the past few years, it would appear that he really doesn't care for Mahoning that much and races much better at his regular Mountaineer home. Hopefully, he'll get his customary two
month break this winter and return healthy and sound in the spring. He's had a pretty decent year.

WarBiscuit

[Miss Woodford]

With Woodbine and Finger Lakes headed into their extended winter breaks and Mountaineer to take a shorter one, I wonder which of these great old-timers will be back in the spring and which will get that well-deserved retirement. Bank of Dad -- always loved that name -- coming back at 13 would be kind of cool, especially since he's going so well at the end of his 12-yo year, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Khan of Khans run on one of my Suffolk visits next summer/fall.

Classic Wildcat was running in bottom level ($5k) conditioned claimers earlier this year and as I mentioned has moved back up the ladder to $7.5 and now $11k open claimers which are pretty competitive at Laurel. He'll probably be back next year too.

[Miss Woodford]

The annual stories about the 14yo harness horses who will be sent off to their mandatory retirement are starting to pop up. Always great to read, these are the war horses on the other side who keep going week after week bringing home their relatively small paychecks.

"She's the definition of a professional" (Soapy Sap)
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... 6&zoneid=1

[Sparrow Castle]

The annual stories about the 14yo harness horses who will be sent off to their mandatory retirement are starting to pop up. Always great to read, these are the war horses on the other side who keep going week after week bringing home their relatively small paychecks.

"She's the definition of a professional" (Soapy Sap)
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... 6&zoneid=1

LOL, “We’ve lasted longer than most marriages.” What a sweet article. Thanks for posting it.

[Sparrow Castle]

Woohoo, celebration time!

New Horizon for a Racetrack Warrior

Last Wednesday, a 12-year-old gelding named Bartletts (Mr. Greeley) arrived at the Michalson Farm, its 180 acres contoured by the rolling hills east of Columbia, Missouri and turned to its purpose by the Michalson family–Greg, Gena, and their daughter, Marian. As the van turned off the highway and made its way along county road WW, Bartletts was surely stirred from the somnolence of his long journey by the unmistakable feel of horse country.

Like so many riders drawn to the challenge of the Retired Racehorse Project, Marian Michalson recently began her search for a horse to enter in the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover, to be held in early October at the Kentucky Horse Park. The RRP differs from programs oriented toward the rescue of horses that have fallen into perilous circumstances. It’s a program of renewal, rather than rescue. The typical approach is to find a sound, healthy 4- or 5-year-old close enough to the end of its racing career to qualify as an off-track Thoroughbred–in the parlance of racehorse retirement, an OTTB. This was exactly what Marian was looking for–until the photo of a 12-year-old racehorse with 23 wins in 111 starts popped up on her newsfeed.

Bartletts is far from the typical OTTB. He’s been raced in each of the last 11 years, including 10 races in 2017 as a 12-year-old.

More: http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/ne ... ck-warrior

[WarBiscuit]

Woohoo, celebration time!

New Horizon for a Racetrack Warrior

Last Wednesday, a 12-year-old gelding named Bartletts (Mr. Greeley) arrived at the Michalson Farm, its 180 acres contoured by the rolling hills east of Columbia, Missouri and turned to its purpose by the Michalson family–Greg, Gena, and their daughter, Marian. As the van turned off the highway and made its way along county road WW, Bartletts was surely stirred from the somnolence of his long journey by the unmistakable feel of horse country.

Like so many riders drawn to the challenge of the Retired Racehorse Project, Marian Michalson recently began her search for a horse to enter in the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover, to be held in early October at the Kentucky Horse Park. The RRP differs from programs oriented toward the rescue of horses that have fallen into perilous circumstances. It’s a program of renewal, rather than rescue. The typical approach is to find a sound, healthy 4- or 5-year-old close enough to the end of its racing career to qualify as an off-track Thoroughbred–in the parlance of racehorse retirement, an OTTB. This was exactly what Marian was looking for–until the photo of a 12-year-old racehorse with 23 wins in 111 starts popped up on her newsfeed.

Bartletts is far from the typical OTTB. He’s been raced in each of the last 11 years, including 10 races in 2017 as a 12-year-old.

More: http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/ne ... ck-warrior

Hallelujah, indeed! I've been waiting a long time for this news. I think Blindlucky reported back in June that a retirement was in the works, but he kept showing up at the races until just a few weeks ago. Happy retirement to Bartletts - a true War Horse!

Final racing stats for those interested - Bartletts (Mr. Greeley - Prior Park, by Silver Deputy). 111 - 23-19-14, $497,293.

WarBiscuit

[Miss Woodford]

The annual stories about the 14yo harness horses who will be sent off to their mandatory retirement are starting to pop up. Always great to read, these are the war horses on the other side who keep going week after week bringing home their relatively small paychecks.

"She's the definition of a professional" (Soapy Sap)
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... 6&zoneid=1

LOL, “We’ve lasted longer than most marriages.” What a sweet article. Thanks for posting it.

Those sorts of stories seem to be more common with Standardbreds. Maybe because the bottom rungs of their racing don't require them to be up for a tag (there are claiming races but condition races are more common) so the horses often stay with their same owner/trainer for life. That, and they last much longer on the track. At little Scarborough Downs in Maine last month for example 12 local 14yos were sent off in a retirement ceremony. There are just a few 14yo TBs who raced in 2017 in the entire US, and none that I know of in flat races.

Standardbreds older than 14 can still compete in fairs or non-betting races, and this year 15yo Orchard Street was quite successful on the fair circuit.
"Mr. Longevity"
http://harnessracingfanzone.com/mr-longevity/

[Sparrow Castle]

The annual stories about the 14yo harness horses who will be sent off to their mandatory retirement are starting to pop up. Always great to read, these are the war horses on the other side who keep going week after week bringing home their relatively small paychecks.

"She's the definition of a professional" (Soapy Sap)
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... 6&zoneid=1

LOL, “We’ve lasted longer than most marriages.” What a sweet article. Thanks for posting it.

Those sorts of stories seem to be more common with Standardbreds. Maybe because the bottom rungs of their racing don't require them to be up for a tag (there are claiming races but condition races are more common) so the horses often stay with their same owner/trainer for life. That, and they last much longer on the track. At little Scarborough Downs in Maine last month for example 12 local 14yos were sent off in a retirement ceremony. There are just a few 14yo TBs who raced in 2017 in the entire US, and none that I know of in flat races.

Standardbreds older than 14 can still compete in fairs or non-betting races, and this year 15yo Orchard Street was quite successful on the fair circuit.
"Mr. Longevity"
http://harnessracingfanzone.com/mr-longevity/

Another nice story. Sounds like I'd fit better in the world of Standardbreds. I detest the claiming game. Really hard to lose one to a barn that's not up to our standards, which really just means good horsemanship and caring. Wish TBs had more condition-type races and fewer claiming at the mid and lower ends of the sport. I'd happily keep a horse for his/her whole race career!

[WarBiscuit]

Well, I was pretty sure that I had this guy safely removed from the active list more than a year ago, but lo and behold, here is 12yo g Iron Sway back to the races tomorrow, after not having run for more than a year. Lightly raced for his age (27 career starts) with 1 win and $11,250 in earnings, he'll head back to work at
Portland Meadows tomorrow in Race 5 - a low level claimer as the longshot. I'm guessing that he was bored with whatever he has been doing for the past year and needs a little excitement, although personally I may have picked a less stressful job for him at this point. At any rate, the best of luck to Iron Sway!

WarBiscuit

[Miss Woodford]

Also on the Standardbred side: The war horse of all war horses, Foiled Again got the 98th win of his career last night! NW8000L5 at Saratoga Harness is a long way from the Grand Circuit but he won without breaking a sweat.
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... zoneid=118
https://saratogacasino.com/race-replays/ Click race 8 on the 16th
The richest Standardbred in history now has a record of 29-7-3-2 in 2017 and a lifetime record of 302-98-65-43. He'll continue his quest for 100 wins (or more) next year and will be making several meet-and-greet appearances along the way including Breyerfest 2018. If you have a chance to come out and see him in person make sure to do it. It's hard to compare him to any Thoroughbred, maybe Exterminator? Roseben? You'd have to go back a long long way, that's for sure.

[Starine]

Nice stories on those Standardbreds. I see a lot of them competing at the endurance rides and they do very well.

[honneerider]

Foiled Again has his own coffee named after him and sold as a benefit for New Vocations:
https://www.eriecoffeeroasters.com/prod ... dium-roast
He also has a Breyer horse in his honor