OLD McARDLE
HAS SOME FOALS
And so too does Red River Hanover. The anticipated first
crops of contemporary racetrack rivals McArdle and Red River
Hanover will be featured in the Perretti Farms yearling
consignments to Harrisburg, The Lexington Select Sale and
The New Jersey Classic.
McArdle headliners could be GENERAL McARDLE (Armbro Terrace),
THE McDONALD (Born To Be Best) McGAIN N McGAIN (Ever And
Again), EMPTY McPOCKETS (Insolvency), and McARDLE PARK (Sunset
Palace). Red River Hanover’s of note will be OLE RED
RIVER (Art Sale), DOCTOR HOLLOWAY (Doc’s Girl), CLUB
RED (Steamy Place) REDUCATIONAL (Capericorn) and REDORIC
(Second Term). More about them as we get closer to sale.
BREEDERS CUP RAISES ANTE
Noticed how The Breeders Cup will indeed be increasing purses
in an effort to remain competitive with the World Cup program
from Dubai. This year’s CLASSIC will be worth $5 million
and pots for the other races have been upped accordingly.
Still feel we’re missing some boats here with the
incumbent Breeders Crown concept and that perhaps a little
fine tuning could make for a truly blockbuster presentation.
What if the CLASSIC SERIES was disbanded and those monies
added to the Breeders Crown pots?
What if the aged Breeders Crown events were disbanded and
those monies added to what could then be a climactic eight-race
Crown bonanza-four for 2-year-olds and four for 3 and ups?
After all staging the aged Crowns in Mid-Summer really
defeats the all comes down to the Breeders Crown premise
as there’s nothing to separate the aged Crown trot
from say The Nat Ray.
Or have we forgotten how the likes of Armbro Flight, Shadow
Wave, True Duane, Oil Burner, Most Happy Fella, Bullet Hanover,
and the other great sophomores so gloriously distinguished
in the old American Classics at Hollywood Park?
Possible this scenario could have some broadcast appeal?
WHERE HAVE ALL THE HORSES GONE?
It would appear the New Jersey Classic and companion event
Miss New Jersey are in dire need of rescheduling when only
eight enter the Classic the Miss New Jersey lures but six!
Actually staging these lucrative events between NJSS legs
is like sandwiching The Super Bowl between playoff weeks.
BOBCAT OR CHEETAH
Looks like PRIMETIME BOBCAT could be renamed Primetime CHEETAH
if this speed explosion keeps up given the sensational 1:47.2
recorded at Woodbine last Saturday.
In the 10th race no less. Long past the twilight hours
when some tracks are at their ultimate fastest.
Fascinating that Primetime Bobcat now 9 who began life
as Armbro Topaz could have been foaled in the mid 80’s
seeing as how his sire Abercrombie was foaled in 1975 and
his dam Emerald Girl is a foal of 1980. Armbro Topaz was
a $23,000 yearling from the 1998 Kentucky Standardbred sale.
The runner up timed in 1:48.1 was Buckeye One a son of
a rather modest Artsplace horse named Park Place from the
Niaracy mare Niabug. Buckeye One was a $9,000 yearling.
Finishing third also at 1:48.1 was the pacesetter Rair
Earth a 9-year-old son of Keystone Raider foaled 1985, from
the 1990 foal Save The Day she by Lon Todd Hanover who first
saw the light of day in 1979. Rair Earth was a $7,500 yearling.
Rair Earth carved out fractions of :25.1, :53.2, and 1:20.4
before yielding to the pocket sitting Primetime Bobcat at
about mid-stretch. The official last quarter was :26.3 though
Bobcat individually was clocked in :26.1
Not bad for a horse that never saw a stakes event during
his colt days, never earned more than $50,000 in any one
year until this year and got claimed for $50,000 not too
long ago. Guess life begins at age 9
HMMM
Interesting that the track in question will be refusing
entries from the outfit in the EPO positive case. To have
just allowed the horse to be suspended would be incarcerating
the gun while the shooter walks free.
Commissioner Scotty Tickets mentioned that “main
man” the Palone Ranger still has not received his
driver of the year trophy for 04 or last year’s Little
Brown Jug ring..
Great stuff from Dave Briggs in the latest Sportsman concerning
the Frazer Downs and Flamboro Downs stories.
Tom LaMarra’s right. Derby Day is special! Not unlike
Super Bowl day!
Stan Gutkowski mentioned how fans of yesteryear would almost
adopt certain horses and try to be on hand whenever they
raced. He’s right. Many of the Roosevelt-Yonkers mainstays
enjoyed what could be called cult followings. This undoubtedly
occurred at other tracks too.
Bob Marks