I'm A Looker '20 Workout

Horse Workout Notification 

November 30, 2022 

I'm A Looker '20 (2-Year-Old Colt) 

Date: November 30, 2022 

Track: SANTA ANITA PARK 

Distance: Four Furlongs 

Time: 49:40 Handily 

Track Condition: Fast 

Surface: Dirt 

Rank: 12/18

Disdainful on Track for the G3 Stakes, But...

Disdainful(IRE) is now at Del Mar and we received a report he worked very nicely on Del Mar's dirt oval for Graham Motion in preparation for the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes on December 4th. 

But...we're now in Wait-to-See Mode as the race could possibly over-prescribe and Disdainful may not get a slot. We won't know for sure until Thursday at the earliest. Meanwhile, we'll keep our fingers crossed and post any news as soon as we can.

If Disdainful does make it into the field, he'll have a change of jockey with Joel Rosario in the irons, due to John Velazquez having to return to New York for other commitments. 

We'll keep you posted as we know more. 

Coexist - Take Two

We received a detailed update on our soon-to-be 3YO filly, Coexist, today. 

She has been cooling her heels in Kentucky since August when she incurred a rear suspensory injury in a 'bumper car' type incident shortly after the gates opened for her first race at Saratoga. Her injury appears to have since heeled and she seems to be enjoying farm life.

She was inspected yesterday to determine her status. A plan was drawn to put her back into training and access her physical and mental situation, to see if she wants another shot at being competitive.

As with all things, the horse comes first, so much will depend on how she takes to training both mentally and physically.

We'll keep you updated as time progresses and we receive more reports. 

Best wishes, Coe!

Disdainful Works at Del Mar

Prior to his upcoming start in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar on Sunday, December 4th, Disdainful has been shipped out to the West Coast where he turned in what was probably an easy maintenance work this morning at Del Mar.

We look forward to his first test in a stakes race. 

 Disdainful (IRE) (2-Year-Old Colt)

Date: November 27, 2022
Track: DEL MAR
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 50:40 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 15/18

Magical Ways Works

 Magical Ways (3-Year-Old Colt)

Date: November 27, 2022
Track: BELMONT PARK
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 49:03 Breezing
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt training
Rank: 36/132

Mo Temptation at Kingfisher Farm

Mo Temptation has arrived at Kingfisher Farm where she is expected to undergo 60-90 days of rest and rehab after the discovery of a troubling area in her knee. Although she could have gone on to run in her scheduled race, the team decided to that giving her time to let the area clear up before continuing with her training was the best choice for Mo.

We are in 100% agreement with this decision, because the horse must always come first.

Mo will be re-evaluated after her time off to ensure the area is no longer showing any issues before she returns to training in the spring.

Kingfisher Farm is located in the Santa Ynez Valley of California.  

Earlier photo of Mo Temptation

Major Step Forward for Lady Blitz

We received a wonderful update on our Audible daughter!

"We’re delighted to report that Lady Blitz made a seamless transition from training in the grass fields to now galloping over the main track and has even begun the early process of gate schooling. 

She’s been training on Wavertree’s main track for several days now."

This filly has taken the transition from grass field to dirt training track like a pro, and trainer Ciaran Dunne seems very happy with her progress. 

Here's a still from the video we received. 

We're very encouraged as this lovely filly is about to turn the corner to her 2YO year!

I'm A Looker '20 Workout Report

 (2-Year-Old Colt)

Your comments for this horse were: I'm A Looker '21 - partnership

Date: November 23, 2022
Track: SANTA ANITA PARK
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 49:80 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 3/8

Magical Ways Workout Report - 11/20/2022

Magical Ways had his first work back yesterday morning since his debut on Nov. 11th. The 3-year-old colt worked in company with fellow maiden and stablemate Celestial Moon. 

Assistant trainer Leana Willaford reported the colt has been in really good order since his debut. As we mentioned in our most recent update, pending all goes well and the Mott team believes he is ready to stretch out to a mile, the logical target is the maiden special weight on Dec. 15th going the one mile at Aqueduct.

Disdainful Runs Another Bullet

Nice work for Disdainful this morning at Fair Hill. It was a bullet, but only two horses went the four furlong distance.

He's still on track for the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar on December 4th. 

Here's the notice:

Disdainful (IRE) (2-Year-Old Colt)

Date: November 20, 2022
Track: FAIR HILL
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 50:20 Breezing
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: All Weather Training
Rank: 1/2

Flightline: The Quest for Immortality

Here's a new short documentary - Flightline: The Quest for Immortality.

Flightline is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and several other partnerships. His dam was also a partnership horse, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners who we're involved with.

We believe partnerships are the future of horse racing and through them, thousands will be introduced to Thoroughbred ownership in the coming years. Enjoy.

I'm A Looker Ran a Bullet Work at Santa Anita Today

 (2-Year-Old Colt)

Your comments for this horse were: I'm A Looker '21 - partnership

Date: November 18, 2022
Track: SANTA ANITA PARK
Distance: Three Furlongs
Time: 36:20 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 1/7

Naming Contest for I'm A Looker '20 Begins!

The partnership naming contest for I'm A Looker '20 (Pioneerof the Nile x I'm a Looker) is underway! Soon this guy will have his registered name and we'll be updating this site to reflect his official name once the contest is complete.

Name submissions are being accepted now, and we sent ours:

Look of the Nile - compiled from his dam's name I'm a LOOKer and PioneerOF THE NILE.

No idea if our name will make it into the first round, but it'll be fun to see all the names that the partnership comes up with for this boy.

Here's the schedule:

Smart Shopping '21 Healing and Training Well

We received an update on our partnership Arrogate colt and he continues to heal very nicely, thanks to the laser therapy used on his leg wound. 

We also received a video of his saddle work that showed how well his leg cut has come along and hear how pleased trainer Ciaran Dunne is with the healing process. 

The latter half of the video showed Smart Shopping ’21 galloping in the field. 

His next steps will be the same as Lady Blitz (our Audible filly who is at the same training center).

In the next week or so, he will begin galloping on the main dirt track at Wavertree for approximately 30 days. 

Each day he goes to train, he will become familiarized with the starting gate by walking through it before reaching the racetrack. During that time, he will be treated to twice-a-week visits to the farm’s pool swimming, which is a tremendous way to build endurance and muscle without the strain of weight-bearing exercise. 

Around Christmas, he and the other yearlings at Wavertree will receive a brief refresher and then will pick up where she left off in her training in the second week of January as a newly turned 2-year-old! 

Provided all goes well with this routine, Smart Shopper '21 would be ready to begin short breezes around the third week in February. 

Magical Ways Update

Magical Ways exited his debut effort in good order according to the Mott barn. 

He earned a 54 Beyer Speed Figure. 

As was reported in the race recap, it is likely Magical Ways will get some additional distance in his second career start. The barn will let him ease back into rhythm and monitor how he trains out of the race before locking down our next target but the logical spot falls on December 15th going one-mile at Aqueduct.

We'll add this above as a tentative start. 

One of our new partner photos of Magic.

Mo Temptation Sidelined

We received an update today that Mo Temptation has been sidelined for 60-90 days and will not start this week. 

After reading the full report, we are in 100% agreement with the decision made. The welfare of the horse always comes first. She should come back better, more mature and stronger with the time off, if all goes well, and be a better 3YO for it. 

 

Lady Blitz Update

An update from MRH on our Audible filly and her training in the months ahead.

Lady Blitz Update 

Our team visited with Lady Blitz yesterday at Wavertree and watched the yearling filly during her training session. All remains well with the daughter of Audible who continues galloping in the grass fields. 

Ciaran Dunne provided us with a loose timeline of what to expect in the coming months in terms of a training routine for Lady Blitz. In the next week or so, she will begin galloping on the main dirt track at Wavertree for approximately 30 days. Each day she goes to train, she will become familiarized with the starting gate by walking through it before reaching the racetrack. 

During that time, she will be treated to twice-a-week visits to the farm’s pool swimming, which is a tremendous way to build endurance and muscle without the strain of weight-bearing exercise. 

Around Christmas, she and the other yearlings at Wavertree will receive a brief refresher and then will pick up where she left off in her training in the second week of January as a newly turned 2-year-old!  

Provided all goes well with this routine, Lady Blitz would be ready to begin short breezes around the third week in February.

Magical Ways Debut Race Recap

Magical Ways' debut race recap was actually quite encouraging. Here it is:

Magical Ways Race Recap 

Magical Ways received a good racing education today at Aqueduct in his debut. It was a positive to see him break so well and show early speed while contending with racing in between rivals, which can be an intimidating position for a first-time starter. 

Your colt finished fifth in the 6 1/2-furlong race and we received positive feedback from jockey Jose Lezcano who said when the 3-year-old broke so sharply he allowed him to play a part in the early pace. 

The rider reported that Magical Ways “wasn’t really happy” with racing in between horses, yet said he liked the overall feel he received and believes the colt will improve with this race under his belt and suggested that he would do well stretching out. 

The idea behind stretching out in distance is that the early pace dynamics would likely be slower than a sprint, which in turn would allow Magical Ways to finish stronger than he did today. 

The son of Maclean’s Music was vocal in the paddock and Leana Willaford, trainer Bill Mott’s assistant, said he was simply taking in the race-day scene, which was new to him, and didn’t view it as him being overwrought or misbehaving. 

Leana reached out about 30 minutes after the race to let us know that Magical Ways had scoped clean and was cooling out well. It’s been a long time coming, but we were happy to get this start into today and look forward to seeing him back in the starting gate.

I'm A Looker '20 Workout

 

Horse Workout Notification November 11, 2022 (2-Year-Old Colt) Your comments for this horse were: I'm A Looker '21 - partnership Date: November 11, 2022 Track: SANTA ANITA PARK Distance: Four Furlongs Time: 50:80 Handily Track Condition: Fast Surface: Dirt Rank: 33/41

Update on Coexist

Things have been quiet while Coexist recovers from her suspensory injury, but we received an update today that she is now in Kentucky.

She will be evaluated in coming weeks to come up with a game plan for the next step.

Magical Ways Didn't Hit the Board on Debut

Magical Ways performance today is not what we'd hoped it would be, but it appears he came through the race without incident. 

He was running well early, but the track was wet and it seemed, at least to us, that when he lost the lead he didn't like getting hit by mud and shut down in the later part of the race to run 5th of 6 horses. 

First races are always hard, but the important thing is the horse's welfare. Hopefully this was both a learning experience and will make him even more fit for his next start. We'll share the after-race analysis with you when we received it.

Magical Ways Race Overview

Magical Ways long-awaited debut is tomorrow at Aqueduct, where he'll start as a late 3YO. Below is a very detailed and informative Race Overview  provided by MRH.

_____________________________________________

There have been peaks and valleys on this long and twisty road to launch Magical Ways’ career, so to see your 3-year-old in the entries on Friday at Aqueduct is truly cause for celebration.

The son of Maclean’s Music is among a field of 6 set to compete in the 6 1/2-furlong dirt race. Magical Ways drew post 3 and will be ridden by Jose Lezcano. He is the co-second choice at 3-1 on what is a tight morning-line with not much separating this compact field in the way of odds. Magical Way is one of two first-time starters in this $85,000 Maiden Special Weight. While older horses were eligible to enter, only 3-year-olds comprise the field.

Post time for Race 2 is 12:50 p.m. ET, which by the looks of the weather forecast will be before the heaviest rain hits the area.

Your colt’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, is enjoying a spectacular start to the month and is fresh off winning two Breeders’ Cup races last Saturday at Keeneland with Cody’s Wish (Dirt Mile) and Elite Power (Sprint).

With regard to Magical Ways’ start, Mott is an excellent 12 for 61 over the past five years with older first-time starters sprinting on dirt (20%, $3.07 ROI), according to Daily Racing Form Formulator stats. Additional key stats can be found through sire Maclean's Music, who strikes at an above average and very strong 13% with his older first-time starters (the sire average in this category is just 9%). This sire is also very capable with his dirt sprinters, firing at an above average 18%.

Based on Magical Ways’ recent breezes, he should be sharp from the gate and is well drawn in the middle.

Best of luck to Magical Ways’ partners!

About the Competition (in post position order):

Happy Bob (5-2) is the morning-line favorite. Friday will mark his third trip to the starting gate and his first since Aug. 13 when he took money and went off the second choice and finished a well-beaten fifth. The colt’s first start, back in June at Belmont, was solid with him earning a 79 Beyer Speed Figure for a second-place finish to a subsequent graded stakes-placed runner, Accretive.

Opportunity Set (3-1) is a first-time starter for trainer Chad Brown. His worktab has been proficient and with the potent connections of Brown and Irad Ortiz Jr. behind this horse, he will get plenty of support at the windows. Like Mott, Brown brings solid stats to the table with his older first-time starters sprinting on the dirt and is 24% in this category over the past five years. Sire Classic Empire is below average (6%) with his older horses on debut, but has strong stats with his dirt sprinters (17%).

Matt Doyle (4-1) has made six prior starts, but this will be his first as a gelding. He lost twice as the favorite, including his most recent start on Oct. 9 at this distance and over this track. He also gets blinkers on for trainer Rudy Rodriguez who is 16% with that equipment change. Wouldn’t rule him out as he has some good second-place finishes behind nice horses, including Early Voting last year at Aqueduct.

Giant’s Fire (6-1) hasn’t raced since February. Three lifetime starts at Tampa Bay Downs all resulted in third-place finishes. Trainer John Terranova fires at 24% with his runners off the bench 180 days or longer. Would prefer to see a comeback race under his belt before throwing support his way.

Tiger Town Boy (6-1) wasn’t a factor on debut at the distance and at Aqueduct last month while showing no early foot. Gets blinkers on for trainer Danny Gargan who wins at 25% with that move. His last race was on Oct. 9, but he only shows one work for this upcoming assignment, although it was a swift one. He’s been cross-entered to run on as a MTO on Thursday, but that race is likely to remain on the turf so he would scratch and run here.

Magical Ways on Track to Debut Friday!

Our 3YO Maclean's Music colt is all set to debut at Aqueduct this Friday, November 11th.

He'll be in Race 2, Post Position #3, a 6-1/2 furlong Maiden Special Weight on dirt, in a field of six horses. J. Lescano is in the irons. His trainer is Bill Mott. The race will be run at approximately 10:50 AM Mountain time (12:50 PM Eastern). 

We're praying for a safe race, first and foremost, but really hoping this guy will have a debut like his sire, who won his first race with an historic first time speed figure. 

Magical Ways' journey to his debut has not always been easy, and some of the partners have been waiting 16 long months to see this promising colt run, so we're all hoping our bay boy with the ghostly star has a very safe and happy experience! 

Go Magic!

Mo Temptation Update - Houston, We Have a Hiccup

The report from the O'Neill barn this morning is not all sunshine and roses. The partners noticed that Mo Temptation skipped her regular work out on Saturday and now we've received the full story:

Mo Temptation had an open gallop on Saturday which was not listed as an official work or had the same intensity, but it was more than your traditional gallop.

Following back-to-back gate drills, she had some pressure (filling) in her knees which required skipping a week of breezes. While the O’Neill team thinks this is manageable and is still hopeful that we can make a debut at Del Mar, all parties agreed to have a nuclear scintigraphy (bone scan) performed on Mo Temptation.

Once we've received the results and consult with our resident vet Dr. Berk we'll get back with Team O'Neill on a path forward.

As is often the case with young horses -- even Flightline, himself -- complications can arise that need to be addressed that can delay or alter a horse's future plans.

On the bright side, this is just an example of how these young horses are carefully managed. The athlete is always the first concern. We care about our horses.

Magical Ways: Early Entry

Here we go! Early Entry Notice on Magical Ways! 

This will be the late 3YOs debut. 

Nov. 11th, Aqueduct, Race 2, PP #3 of 6, $85k, 6-1/2 furlong Maiden Special Weight. 

One other horse debuting, trained by Chad Brown. Some well bred competitors, but this looks like a really great spot for him IMHO. 

Go, Magic! We thought this called for an appropriate theme song. :)

"I Believe It's Magic" from Ghostbusters

Lady Blitz's Future Trainer Takes Two Breeders Cup Races

Congratulations, Todd Pletcher!

Lady Blitz still has several more months of pre-racetrack training with Ciaran Dunne at Wavetree Farm but when she does arrive in Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher’s barn, she will enter the shedrow of a 14-time Breeders’ Cup winner. 

Todd captured 2 races at this year’s World Championships — with Forte in the Juvenile and Malathaat in the Distaff. 

The trainer’s win in both the Distaff and the Juvenile marks his third time winning each. 

Lady Blitz will be in very capable hands when she starts her career. But we knew that! 

Magical Ways Works - Five More Days Until First Race

Magical Ways worked this morning in 48.61 for 4 furlongs at Belmont Park. Pretty good time, even though he has been running bullets. This work ranked 54/188. 

We're guessing with his race anticipated on Friday, that this was just a maintenance work and the trainer didn't want him putting out too much effort this close to his potential debut. 

We'll post a follow-up when we hear from his trainer.

I'm A Looker '20 Runs a Bullet Work!

Great start to our Breeders Cup Saturday as our Pioneerof the Nile son (temporary tag: I'm A Looker '20) ran a 3f bullet work this morning at Santa Anita Park. 

He ran it in 36 flat, tied with one other horse for fastest out of 9 works at that distance. 

Very encouraging update.

Jackie's Warrior and Magical Ways both sired by Maclean's Music

With Jack Christopher out of the Breeders Cup Sprint, the current 4/5 favorite is Jackie's Warrior, sired by none-other-than Maclean's Music, as is our about-to-debut Magical Ways. 

Needless to say, we'll be watching the BC Sprint closely. Maclean's Music has gotten a lot of attention as a sire of late. Here's an article on Jackie's Warrior.

The Breeders Cup Sprint is on Saturday at about 12:30 our time. It's a $2 million dollar Grade 1 stakes. 

Maclean's Music - sire of Jackie's Warrior and Magical Ways

Disdainful is Still a GO!

We were very happy to get a report that Disdainful came out of his race on Saturday in good shape in spite of the minor wreck just after the gates opened on Saturday in the Elmtree Allowance at Keeneland. 

If he continues to train well in the coming weeks, he'll have his graded stakes debut at Del Mar on December 4th in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes. 

I'm A Looker '20 Begins Official Works

Our Pioneerof the Nile 2YO has begun to run his official works on Mondays at Santa Anita.

On October 24th, he ran 2f in 24.80 handily, the 2nd fastest time of 5 works at that distance.

Yesterday, on Halloween, he ran 2f in 25.40 handily for the bullet out of 2 works. 

He's also begun some gate training, and was reported as "fiesty" at the start, but that that's totally normal at this stage of the game. 

It appears he's several months out from a start, but we'll keep you posted on his progress over the winter and any other news. 

He will, of course, turn three years old on January 1st.