Gallop France

Cagnes: Week 4

grarick — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:24:14 +0000

We’re turning into the home stretch here, with some horses running their final races this week. The last few runs have been disappointing, but there have been some good reasons. Deep Ocean ran a handicap on Saturday in which he should have had every chance to win, but it was on the turf, . . . → Read More: Cagnes: Week 4

Cagnes: Week 2…and 3!

grarick — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:29:50 +0000

The past two weeks have been so busy I didn’t realize I’ve neglected to say what’s been going on! Backtracking to Deep Ocean’s race, which is where I left off: He finished only 5th, and I had expected better. Unfortunately I had to shoe him a few days before the race, and he has . . . → Read More: Cagnes: Week 2…and 3!

Cagnes: Week 1

grarick — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:24:55 +0000

It all started much more calmly than last year, but Cagnes sur Mer still has all the ingredients of a frat party for grown-ups (and the not-so-grownups). Sun, sea, alcohol and horse racing. If there’s a better combination than this, I don’t know it.

I came down last Sunday with Satwa Sunrise, and Deep . . . → Read More: Cagnes: Week 1

Bugging out

grarick — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:56:53 +0000

Five water buckets, five mangers, 10 rugs, two saddles, pads, bridles and a partridge in a pear tree. We’re packing for Cagnes. As I suspected last year, it’s come around again before I could blink. I can’t believe we’re making the expedition south again.

I feel better prepared this year, since I know what . . . → Read More: Bugging out

Back to Deauville for Deep

grarick — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:23:15 +0000

Deep Ocean heads back to Deauville tomorrow for another handicap, this time at a slightly shorter distance of 1,900 meters. He ran a nice third last time out at 2,400 meters, but I had the impression, shared by the jockey, that a little shorter would be better. Tomorrow, we shall see. He seems healthy . . . → Read More: Back to Deauville for Deep

Sunrise shows her drug-free stuff

grarick — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:26:57 +0000

Satwa Sunrise ran a game second of 16 runners in Deauville today, starting our year off right. She couldn’t quite catch the winner, but she showed great turn of foot in the straight and lots of promise for Cagnes sur Mer. Best of all, she came back great, again hardly blowing, and no coughs . . . → Read More: Sunrise shows her drug-free stuff

Into the Deep end

grarick — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:20:22 +0000

Deep Ocean is going to finally get a run for us on Friday. Deep is a very nice four-year-old Sinndar colt who came to me from a trainer in Marseille, and I have to say he’s been a bit of a challenge since he arrived in early November. Not surprisingly, November is probably not . . . → Read More: Into the Deep end

A good start

grarick — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:43:00 +0000

Satwa Sunrise finished 9th in Deauville yesterday, but ran very well and passed a very big test: She had absolutely no trouble breathing and clearly is NOT having any bleeding issues. She broke very well – too well, really – and Fabien had to fight with her a bit at the beginning to get . . . → Read More: A good start

Sunrise on Solstice

grarick — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:24:42 +0000

Satwa Sunrise will finally debut for us on Wednesday in Deauville, running a 1,900-meter claimer for a tag of 17,000 euros. We paid 2,000 for her, partly because she was allegedly a mild bleeder; her trainer told me that he galloped her on Lasix, which is a rare thing for European trainers to do. . . . → Read More: Sunrise on Solstice

On the edge of the storm

grarick — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:13:40 +0000

In just over an hour, we are expected to start seeing the leading edge of a weather system called Joachim, a depression that is supposed to bring with it a tempest to rival the one we had a decade ago. It’s been a gusty, rainy week already, but Joachim promises to be much more . . . → Read More: On the edge of the storm