Guinevere Works at Keeneland

Guinevere turned in an easy solo five furlong drill in 1:05 flat under exercise rider Julio Garcia this morning at Keeneland. The daughter of Justify went wide in the turn and wasn't asked for anything in the final stretch. 

We caught up with trainer Wesley Ward following the work who said he was pleased with what he saw. The current plan is to target a first-level allowance going one flat mile on the turf at Belterra Park on Sept. 20th or Sept. 25th. 

Guinevere should get in one to two works ahead of this target.

Fancy Quality Runs a Strong Work from the Gate

Fancy Quality seems to be coming online as she runs a strong work, 4th fastest of 116 on the Belmont dirt training track. Her time of 48.52 for 4F starting from the gate is be far the sharpest work we've seen from our daughter of Wootton Bassett in some time. 

Belmont Park 8/31/2024  Dirt training    4F    48.52     Breezing/gate   4/116 

If we receive a report from trainer Kenny McPeek, we'll post it here. 

Workout Update 9/1/2024

Fancy Quality returned to the work tab yesterday morning with a sharp half mile drill in :48.52, returning as the fourth quickest from 116 workers over the Belmont training track. 

We spoke with trainer Kenny McPeek this morning who reported, our daughter of Wootton Bassett is doing well and should be ready to run later this month. Kenny has his eye on a six furlong turf maiden special weight on September 21st at Belmont at the Big A which would give our filly two more works.

Thoroughbred Daily News Article on Seismic Glory's Win

Seismic Beauty "Shaker" has gotten some press after her big win in only her second start.

TDN: Uncle Mo's Seismic Beauty Shakes, Rattles and Rolls at Del Mar

Equibase speed figure: 97

Beyer speed figure: 87

Fractions:

1/4          21.99    

1/2          44.74

3/4          56.71    

Final     1:09.06 (6F)

Track record set in August 1973 by King of Cricket 1:07.60

Seismic Beauty Turns in a Huge Performance!

Seismic Beauty won her second start by a huge span of daylight in some very fast fractions today at Del Mar. So excited about this girl's performance. Dare we start to dream of the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies...or is it too soon to have our head in the clouds? :)

We'll follow up with the after race report when we receive it, but here's the race video. 

Simply Enchanting Entered in Stakes, But On Second Thought...

Simply Enchanting has been enterred in the G3 Torrey Pines this Saturday at Del Mar, August 31st. 

With no entry fee required, we'll be taking a look at the field, though we have a pretty good idea of the expected contenders already. If we ultimately feel that one of the allowance races mentioned previously would be a better spot, she may opt out of the Torrey Pines and re-enter one of the alternative races.

EDITED 8/29/2024

Simply Enchanting has instead been pointed to a 1 mile dirt allowance OC race at Del Mar on September 1st as a potential confidence booster. R#3, P#4, Antonio Fresu up, 2:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM MT 

Blue Devil Turns in First Work Back

Blue Devil had his first breeze since shipping to Ellis Park covering three furlongs in :39.80 yesterday morning. Our veteran has settled in well and went an easy three-eighths as expected since it was his first breeze back at the race track.

Fancy Quality Breezed at Belmont Park

Fancy Quality transitioned to Belmont Park last week and breezed four furlongs this past Friday over the training track. She was credited with a final time :49.77. 

She breezed in company with an unraced French-bred colt, Chou Chou d’Aven, who was purchased from the same French sale as Fancy Quality. 

She should return to the work tab later this week and we will follow up with more information.

Fireball Birdie Workout Report and Possible Plans

Fireball Birdie returned to the work tab this morning at Remington Park, covering four furlongs in :51.78. He breezed solo this week and is possible for an allowance race on September 4th. 

While it is a bit of a quicker turnaround, our colt did have six weeks between races recently and ran well off a three-week turnaround when breaking his maiden. 

Entries will be taken tomorrow for this spot and we will leave it up to trainer Steve Asmussen to make a final entry decision. It is a substitute race in the condition book, meaning it’s not guaranteed to be used on the 4th even if it receives enough entries.

UPDATE

Fireball Birdie has been entered. 

Here's The Kicker Post Race Update

Here’s the Kicker bounced out of Friday’s race in good physical order! She earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 72. 

Isle Blue Update

We checked in on Isle Blue this morning during our owner farm visit to Miacomet Farm. 

Our daughter of Speightstown looked tremendous, already filling out in her short time at the farm. She remains hand walking daily and in approximately another two weeks she will begin paddock turnout.

Here's The Kicker Race Update

Here’s the Kicker lost a heartbreaker Friday afternoon in Gulfstream Park’s fourth race, finishing second by only a neck. 

Our daughter of Liam’s Map sat a perfect trip, stalking right off of her stablemate and the eventual winner, #8 Stormy Mitole. It was a pretty straightforward and uneventful trip this afternoon with limited excuses. It was a heck of an effort from Here’s the Kicker, but she was second best today. 

Perhaps with a straighter path in the stretch she would have come out on top, but all in all we were quite pleased with the effort. With the scratch of #5 Lionza this morning, it eliminated a major pace presence allowing Stormy Mitole to get the lead on her own.

We’ll regroup and look for a similar spot next time, potentially even looking for more distance (one mile), but will discuss our options with Saffie Joseph Jr. He remains high on our filly and believes there are plenty of races still to be won by her.

Catalyst Update

MRH checked in with Tristan de Meric this afternoon who reports Catalyst is doing well and ready for her first breeze this week. Right now, their plan is to give her four breezes at the farm and they expect she will be ready to ship back to the track towards the end of September.

Seize The Grey Work and Update

Seize the Grey breezed five furlongs in 1:01.80 this morning over a “good” Oklahoma track at Saratoga. 

We remain on schedule for the G1 Pennsylvania Derby on September 21st at Parx. Nominations will close on September 4th. 

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas reported that he plans to space out his breezes every nine or 10 days for now--keeping him fit and happy. 

He will remain in Saratoga until they ship to Parx, which will be mid-September.

Blue Devil Update

Blue Devil is doing fantastic at Sequel Training Center with Susan Montayne. We have had to battle weather and track conditions of late but he was on the muscle during his daily gallop this morning. Susan feels he is ready to head off to the track and do more. 

He is scheduled to ship to Ellis Park on Tuesday, joining Steve Assmusen’s string there. We’ll report back once he arrives with Steve.

Secret Crush Graduates to Turnout in Big Grass Paddock

Dr. Wes Sutter gave Secret Crush the green light to move from round pen turnout to a large grass paddock. 

He had his first morning out on the grass today and it’s safe to say he was very happy.

A video was included which showed his expansive paddock where he should be able to get a lot of good exercise and plenty of fresh grass. Progress, for sure! :)

Isle Blue Update

Isle Blue settled in nicely at Miacomet Farm and has recently started hand-walking. She has about seven weeks to go in her rehabilitation which will include three weeks of hand-walking and four weeks of paddock turnout before she is reevaluated by Dr. Bramlage.

We will follow up in the coming weeks on our daughter of Speightstown.

Seize The Grey Update: Options?

 “The Coach," via a call this morning following Seize the Grey's five-furlong breeze (1:01.44 over the Oklahoma) said that he would like to target the G1 Pennsylvania Derby. 

Since STG has been doing so well, Lukas was still thinking the Travers was worth considering, but after looking at the potential field and assessing the risk of retirement due to the "performing" clause in our stallion deal, he believes the PA Derby will be the best spot for our colt. D. Wayne always thought the track configuration at Parx suited Seize the Grey’s style best when we first discussed "the big three" race options, which included the G1 Travers, G1 Pennsylvania Derby, and G1 California Crown.

The last option we discussed was the G1 California Crown, but Lukas believes a race against older horses on the West Coast will be tougher than the straight 3-year-old option in the PA Derby. While there's no "top dog" in the older category in Southern California, with the new purse upgrade, it would not be surprising if this race attracts various shippers. 

Although the potential $5-million bonus is alluring to everyone, we need to make sure we put our colt in the best spot to perform, and right now, Lukas favors the PA Derby. 

Things can always change, and we have Gainesway's support on either race, so it really will come down to what Lukas thinks is best for STG as we get closer to the PA Derby. 

This a major decision for his career and we want to make sure we evaluate each option and place him in ultimately what we all believe will give him the best chance to win.

Good Cop: Update from Eclipse

We received an upbeat report on Good Cop as he continues his break at Fair Hill: 

As you know, we have always held Good Cop in high esteem and that remains the case.

The NY-Bred son of Tiz the Law had some growing pains when he got into the Pletcher Program in NY, but he's handling his rehab at Fair Hill very well and we're encouraged by his progress.

We believe this move will serve Good Cop very well in due time.

While we all would have loved to have seen him flaunt his talent at Saratoga this summer, I have every faith our patience will pay off.

We'll report in coming weeks as he progresses and gets back into light exercise to build back up.

Simply Enchanting Work Back After Race

Simply Enchanting had her first breeze over the Del Mar turf course this morning, covering five furlongs in 1:03 flat. She worked on the inside of MGSP Almendares. 

Jockey Tyler Baze was aboard in today’s breeze noting, “She was looking around a bit early on but much better when she got company.”

This was certainly an encouraging work and while the final time was not extremely quick, she finished much better than in recent weeks — galloping out strongly past the wire.

Seize The Grey has been Nominated to the Travers Stakes!

A big surprise, to be sure, since we thought he was going to bypass the race, but this is probably being left open as an available option more than a set plan. We'll see what happens.

Among other nominees are Dornoch (Belmont winner), Fierceness (Jim Dandy winner), Honor Marie (Kentucky Derby competitor), Sierra Leone (2nd in the Kentucky Derby), Batten Down (3rd in the Jim Dandy)...and YES, the monster filly Thorpedo Anna (THREE Grade 1 wins in a row, including the Kentucky Oaks!). 

The Coach is also looking at two other stakes at this time, one in Pennsylania and one on the West Coast. We'll keep you posted!

D. Wayne Lukas and Seize The Grey Featured in Trainer Magazine Article

This is, without a doubt, one of the best articles we've read on trainer D. Wayne Lukas, including several mentions of our boy Seize The Grey ("Ceasar"), his most recent classic winner. 

 D. Wayne Lukas - Doing it his Way

Seismic Beauty Update

Seismic Beauty is in great order out of her debut according to trainer Bob Baffert. She was spotted galloping this morning and will likely return to the work tab on either Friday or Saturday.

There are two maiden special weights in the final condition book at Del Mar; a six-furlong option on August 30th and a one-mile option on August 29th. Bob’s immediate reaction after the race was to sprint her back one time but we’ll see how she trains and let our Hall of Fame trainer make that final decision as we get closer.

Seize The Grey - Possible Next Steps

Seize the Grey returned to the work tab on Monday morning over the Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga and was credited with five furlongs in :59.60. Admittedly, this was a bit sooner than we were expecting to see him back on the work tab, but trainer D. Wayne Lukas continues to be pleased with Seize the Grey's status since the Jim Dandy. We have had various chats with “The Coach” while our team was at the Saratoga sale this past week, game-planning our next move.

Despite the sharp work earlier this week, we would like to bypass the G1 Travers and instead give him additional time as we believe that will give him his best chance to rebound. It’s incredible what this colt has been able to accomplish this year, but he has had to overcome a very tough campaign, which included seven races in six months while at the highest level. The plan will be to point to either the G1 Pennsylvania Derby (Sept. 21) or the G1 California Crown (Sept. 28) with the hope of making a run at the G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile--but of course, a run in the Breeders' Cup will depend on a good effort in one of those two prior race options.

Here's The Kicker Runs 4th After Big Close

Our Liam's Map filly, Here's The Kicker, closed out what has turned out to be a pretty unbelievable weekend. Five starts with 2 wins, 2 VERY close just-got-nipped-at-the-wire 2nds, and a 4th from Kicker at Gulfstream today. 

Her finish was better than it sounds considering the ground she made up late in the stretch to be closing in fast on the 3rd place finisher after the announcer declared she "was done" -- and she did it in a 99 degree heat index coming off a 10 month layoff and first time on turf. 

All-in-all, we think she's set up for a big move forward next out, but we'll see. She's trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr. 

UPDATE: RACE RECAP

Here’s the Kicker ended up fourth in her comeback race yesterday afternoon at Gulfstream. She broke well and was in a good spot early on while on the outside, but struggled to quicken into the turn. She then found herself in a bit of an awkward position and it appeared as if her race may have been over at that point. But she ended up staying on decently and galloped out well.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said a race like that could make you consider stretching her out on the grass next time, but he feels getting her back on the dirt would be best and is keen to see her back on it. 

“Her last couple of works were much better than she showed,” said Saffie.

It was great to hear Saffie’s positivity following the race and it was great to see our daughter of Liam’s Map back in the starting gate. She exited the race in good order but a Beyer Speed Figure has yet to be released.

Seismic Beauty Debut - Just Caught at the Wire for 2nd

Seismic Beauty ran a thrilling debut, breaking well, staying with the leaders, going to the lead and pulling away in the stretch, only to be caught by One Magic Philly (Good Magic) just before the wire to come in 2nd by a neck. (The team behind One Magic Philly is none other than Simply Enchanting's trainer/jockey team -- Phil D'Amato and Antonio Fresu.)

We're super proud of Beauty's effort and believe she'll do better next out now that she has one under her belt. 

Here's a video of Seismic Beauty's race:

Guinevere WINS!

So Guinevere, our Keeneland "turf" filly won on dirt -- in the mud -- at Belterra Park today! 

After a not so encouraging start, she took over late and ran like a boss! We're so very proud of our beautiful daughter of Justify who appeared to really come into her own with this dominant win by considerable daylight. She earned a 81 Equibase figure even over the mud, her second fastest to date!

She looked fantastic, too, having put on some weight and muscle. Definitely starting to look like her father's daughter. :D

Maybe more dirt racing ahead? We'll see what's next for her.

Fancy Quality Update

Fancy Quality remains in good order at Keeneland, recently moving over to trainer Kenny McPeek’s barn on Rice Road at Keeneland. She has picked up galloping as of late and shouldn’t be far away from a breeze.

UPDATE

Fancy Quality was back on the work tab 8/3/24, breezing three furlongs in :38.80 over the Keeneland all weather training track. Trainer Kenny McPeek said the training track at Keeneland has been very beneficial for her. 

She will remain on a weekly work schedule pending all things continue in good order after each work.

Secret Crush

Secret Crush finished his therapy this week at Silver Springs. Dr. Wes Sutter has been pleased with our colt and his progress over the weeks. He will remain on round-pen turnout for a few additional weeks. Meanwhile, some of the owners had the opportunity to visit him.

Pioneer Prince....WIN and Claimed

Pioneer Prince ran a brilliant race with Mike Smith aboard, breaking sharply and winning wire-to-wire. Unfortunately, our concerns were valid and he was claimed. He now will be leaving our stable and we're really sad to see this guy go.

In the coming days, Pioneer Prince's page (at top) will be flagged as a horse we previously owned, but you can still click on his link at right to read his history. Our son of Pioneer Prince may finally be coming into his own, or he may have just "found his friends" (as they say in racing) running at this level.

Here's a brief recap of his record prior to this race. (We'll update this info once this race is included.)

Pioneer Prince finished 1st by 1 1/2 lengths, on August 1, 2024, at DEL MAR in Race 6.

PIONEER PRINCE  (Pioneerof the Nile x I'm a Looker by Henny Hughes)

4YO Gelding - Foaled February 11, 2020

8 starts  -  1 win  - 1 second  -  0 thirds $37,060 earnings

Santa Anita 6/16/2024 2 Starter Optional Claiming   6TH  71

Santa Anita 5/27/2024 7 Starter Optional Claiming   8TH  88

Santa Anita 5/4/2024 3 Starter Optional Claiming   2ND 95

Santa Anita 4/5/2024 3 Starter Optional Claiming   4TH   95

Santa Anita 3/10/2024 5 Maiden Claiming   1ST   91

Del Mar 11/17/2023 5 Maiden Special Weight 5TH   94

Santa Anita 10/27/2023 7 Maiden Special Weight 4TH   83

Santa Anita 1/21/2023 10 Maiden Special Weight 10TH 77