I'm so glad he's running as a sprinter and he is back as a winner. There is just something about him--he's beautiful like his great-grandam Terlingua and great-great grandsire Secretariat. He surely has the determination of Terlingua. Congrats to the Romans team.
All weekend long the horses felt the tension in the air in the ring at Gulfstream. It was at Calder and Gulfstream where Barbaro's legacy began. Union Rags looked like a monster; it was a thrilling race. And I couldn't be happier for his ower, Mrs. Phyllis Wyeth, and his trainer, Michael Matz.
Awesome Maria put on a show in the show ring that Zenyatta would be proud of. She danced and pranced as though she was competing in the show ring and she would have won in that venue as well. You go girl!! I hope that someone makes a video of her show; she was the entertainment for the day at Gulfstream. What a talented and dominant filly. So glad to have her come back. And it was escpecially a treat for her owner, Mrs. Robsham; this year is the 20th anniversary of New Vocations, the retired thoroghbred retraining organization she and her late husband founded.
How about Secretariat, wasn't he horse of the year at 2 and 3 and of course, the rest is for the history books.
We shall see what Union Rags will do at the Fountain of Youth against Algarithims and possibly against Discreet Dancer. Discreet Dancer has a slight fever and Pletcher will see how he is doing as the race is approx 20 days away.
An undefeated 2 year old is still undefeated at 4 and her name is Awesome Feather.
He's running in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream against Union Rags in February. He is the only horse to have broken a track record as a two year old and he did it in his first outing.
It will be a wonderful weekend of horse racing. Breakfast at Gulfstream will feature John Velasquez and Kent Desormeaux from 7 to 10 am on Sat and include watching the horses train and a barn tour. On Sunday, the Holy Bull will feature Consortium, Hansen, and Algorithms. I can't wait until the Fountain of Youth when Discreet Dancer takes on Union Rags. It's a unbelieveable season at Gulfstream with so many top 4 year olds returning and top Derby contenders.
How exciting does it get? Stars and possible superstars will racing on that date. Looks like Mucho Macho Man has filled out his big frame iand is quite the Man (Sunshine Millions Classic). I'm so glad Awesome Feather(filly and mare race) is healthy and running. Little Mike (turf) and Apriority (sprint) are the other favorites. And Musical Romance (filly and mare sprint) is another favorite. Gulfstream is the place this winter with so many returning champions training and running and some wonderful derby prospects training there.
Check out the article in the Saratogan on Dec 7th, "Rising Stars: Discreet Dancer Dazzles in Debut", The article talks about his extremely talented and classy dam and her female family. His dam, West Side Dancer, is out of Gone West. The Gone West line has produced Excluswive Quality, Smarty Jones, Awesome Feather, and Quality Road. Tood Pletcher said Discreet D was not at all tired after a mile and can go the classic distances. Look at his dam's line to see that quality. Both he and Awesome Feather are on facebook. Pletcher has a Little Red monster in his barn. And you can only bet on him in futures, as he has 4 to 5 odds at the track in his first 2 races.