The Trip Down to Calder

It is 6 o'clock and we are on the way to Miami to race again tomorrow at Calder. The sun is just starting to come up. We have been on the road an hour and the horses are quiet.

Here comes the sun through the orange groves along Highway 27.

After the orange groves we pass through miles of sugar cane; plains of cane.

After the sugar cane fields we see dredging in the Everglades.

Miami here we are!

Tall buildings everywhere.

The Intracoastal Waterway.

Fence building and Travel Preparations

Saving the wood....

Fence building gang!

The brains of the crew.

Tiny had her trot and is getting more muscular in her body. She will breeze one more time and,if all goes well we will look for a race.

Phontiff's shin looks pretty good and we will breeze him also in Miami.

We are checking tire pressure for the trip...a stitch in time... I hope will help!

Miami Fireworks and T.S. Faye's Raceday

After settling the horses in at the track, it was time to have a little fun . It was July 4th and Miami was at our feet. We went out to the beach and joined the thousands that came out to watch the fireworks.
I have the philosophy that we have to have a good time while on the way on training the horses as who knows how well they will do... And a good meal and fine times with friends may be the highlight of the trip....the horse...we can only hope he does well!

The fireworks began.

In the morning I sent the two horses to the gates... It was great timing and they broke from the gates together. They went 4 furlongs in 52 ... Not very fast but I will compare it to others on the same morning. This just reinforces the fact that they need to work over the track to be fit enough to run. Stack finished out stronger than Phontiff...and he is fitter...he did the five furlongs in 1:06
We'll see how the shins are tomorrow.




After we worked the horses and bathed TS Fay we went to breakfast on the water. How refreshing it is to see beautiful Miami.

TS Fay going to paddock for her first race (Race 2 at Calder on July 5th)

Beautiful paddock area!

The filly was very workmanlike.









Jockeys up!

Post Parade.











On to the track!

TS Fay broke well and was competitive for about four furlongs . She then faded to second to last.
She cooled out well and should be ready to improve in a week or ten days. I see no way other than through races to improve her. Practise on any other track won't do and shipping in to breeze with a five hour trip is out of the question. So the way to go is racing one and bringing others down at the same time. I will keep you informed as to next trip!

At Calder

We got to Miami safely and without incident. The horses loaded at 5 AM quietly and traveled wonderfully.

The receiving barn was ready for us and I turned in the paper work with no problems. The tatoo man was there at 10:30 and both Fay and Phontiff were done in no time.

This is in front of the barn-it is really nice to be able to sit and picnic while waiting for a race.

Here is the spit box at Calder. I hope my horse ends up there!

This is the lane on the way to the race track. We'll be heAding that way tomorrow. In the AM we will work two horses and see how they handle the heavy surface....that will help me decide if running down here is feasible.
Until tomorrow, have a great 4th- I am heading for the beach!

Busy Weekend

A busy day . Friday morning I found out that I could bring 2 other horses to work Sunday morning at Calder race course. I have one horse in on Sunday. I need to get as much as possible done with such a long trip.
Had to line up tatoo man for first time starter. Hope that will be done on Sat. Had to line up two riders to show up Sun morn...at the same time. Horses can only be on track until 8:30.
Had to get permission for extra stalls.
Then I had to load horses and haul them to the Vets to get a 72 hour health certificate. Logistically this is tough ... Hauling in the heat... A day before a four hour trip to track... You know how hot it is here !
Then had to pack trailer for horses for two days.
Now I remember why I go to east in the summer... Oh well ..let's see how it goes in Miami.
We'll leave around five AM to avoid the heat.
Happy fourth!

More OBS

June 10, 2009: Gates and Breeze.






We are at the OBS track and it is much busier as the two year sale is next week . we are waiting for the riders.











We went back and brought Spitfire ,Irish,and TS Faye. The two boys had a little bit of mucus so I told the riders not to push them if they did not feel well.










This time I had horses stand in gates and they were flopped out and galloped out .
They then came back and stood again and broke out well when the gate was sprung automatically. They are progressing well.









This is the second break and they broke very well this time!












Spitfire fought most of the way with the rider and didn't settle down until they galloped a half a mile but he needs to work with the rider.
They broke off at three eights and breezed to finish line.
TS Faye finished out front in 38 seconds with Irish second at 39 seconds and spitfire behind having fought too much with rider.

Breezing at the OBS Track

Back on May 25th, 2009:Since trying work at Calder turned into a Catch-22/logistical nightmare, we ended up heading the 2 or so hours north the the OBS track.





TS Faye Loading well.













Spitfire in like a pro.











And of course, good old Moose, the pony.










Arrived at OBS safely. Waiting for riders.










This is all new for these guys.











Sure is different from the orange grove!











On to the track...












Track looks big and scary.











At the gates.











First breeze! TS Faye in front.












Nice and calm after breaking from gates and breeze. Now back home for late breakfast.