Author: grarick

Cape Tycoon finished back in the field in his handicap at St. Cloud, but didn’t race too badly. He was lying third for most of the one-mile race but he pulled quite a bit as usual, and when a hole opened in the stretch run, he wasn’t able to take advantage of it. After that, he got back on the bridle and was ready to accelerate, but then there was too much traffic to move and Gerald Mosse quickly gave up. We thought he could have hung on for a place, but that thought hadn’t really occurred to Mosse, who realized he wouldn’t win and quit riding. I still think the distance is a little too long, and I would like to keep him at 1,400 meters. And Mosse did say that he would be better on a flatter track, which I would agree with since his somewhat fragile joints don’t take galloping up and down hills all that well. That said, I think we could have done better today. But that’s racing. All win streaks come to an end, and it just means we’ll have to start another one, hopefully tomorrow at Longchamp with Hard Way.

Yesterday in Deauville was one of the most frustrating I’ve had as a trainer. I brought two horses with good chances to win, and neither finished in the money. Turfani got badly jostled in the early stages so couldn’t keep position close enough to the leaders to let her take a place. She finished 7th and closing, running well but too late. That’s the problem in these 20-horse fields, especially on the 2,000-meter course at Deauville. There’s not much space going into the first turn and you can get shoved out. But Hard Way was even more frustrating. He drew post 15, so I didn’t ask for him to be loaded last because I thought it would go quick enough with only four horses to go once he was in. But it wasn’t quick enough, and he started fidgeting and panicking in the gate, so when it opened, he was in the process of sitting down against the back of the stall. By then, the rest of the field was gone. Hard Way jumped out straight into the air, causing Nadege to lose the stirrups in the process. She picked up the pedals just as Hard Way launched himself into the air a second time and then finally galloped on – 12 lengths behind the rest of the field. Nadege kept her head and didn’t press the issue, allowing him to gradually catch up. Then when they turned for home she asked him to go, and he closed to finish 11th – beaten 10 lengths by the winner, which means that if he hadn’t lost the 12 lengths at the start, there’s a good chance he would have won. Paris Turf gave him “best impression” of the race, which I like to call the Miss Congeniality award. You didn’t win, but damn, you gave it a hell of a shot and we all liked you. Both horses came home fine, which is essential, and Hard Way actually managed to ride in the truck to Deauville all by himself like a big boy, even though we had to let him loose in a double-wide stall to do it. So that’s something, anyway. One has to find the positives. Next up: Skid gets let loose on the fibersand in Deauville next Wednesday.

This week’s entries certainly did not go as I had hoped. I wanted to run Hard Way in the 2,400-meter second division of the Tierce in Clarefontaine on Tuesday, but he was eliminated, so I had him in a 2,000-meter handicap in Deauville on Wednesday as a backup – the same race in which I had entered Turfani. Since it will be a split handicap, I had hoped that Turfani would fall into the second half, so we could have a shot at winning two races. But no – when the final deadline passed this morning, we ended up in the same race. On top of it, the weather is turning against us. Beautiful, wonderful summer weather for everything you’d want to do, except race a horse that needs a little cut in the ground. Hard Way isn’t bothered one way or another, and he will race for sure, but Turfani doesn’t handle the heat and really needs it a little soft. Rain is forecast, but not until Thursday. The track crew told me yesterday they were watering, and friends staying there say there has been a humid fog hanging over the track every morning, but I’m not sure it’s enough for Turfani.

On the upside, both horses are in top form. Hard Way has gained a lot of muscle since his last race, and Turfani is squealing and jumping out of her skin. I still may scratch her at the last minute if it really looks too firm, but at the moment I would really like to take advantage of her good form. It’s a shame I can’t get a crack at two different races, so I guess we’ll have to settle for a dead heat.

Pixie had a pretty bad run yesterday, finishing back in the field in her handicap. I switched jockeys to an apprentice to get the weight allowance, but it turned out to be a bad idea. My instructions were to find cover behind the leaders and make sure you ride to the finish. Instead, he left her three wide for the entire trip with no cover at all, so she really over-extended herself before the home stretch. On top of it, he snatched her up about 150 meters from the post, then dropped his hands and cantered out.

Pixie hasn’t run with much spark this year in any case, which has been frustrating. We may give the same course and distance another try, with a jockey change again, at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Hard Way was eliminated from his handicap on Tuesday so will run Wednesday in Deauville instead. He will go 2,000 meters rather than 2,400. I prefer the longer distance, but the Wednesday race is still good for him. Turfani is entered in the same race, but since it’s a split handicap, it looks like she will fall into the second division, which I prefer. She does need cut in the ground, though, so we won’t take her unless it rains a bit before Wednesday. Both horses seem to be in top form, so I hope they can both race.

Pixie’s Blue runs tomorrow at Clairefontaine, an 1,800-meter handicap with a new jockey, Erwan Bureller, up so that we can get the apprentice weight allowance. He claims a kilo and a half, which is important because otherwise we would have been top weight of 60 kilos in this race. Pixie has been working well, but I’m not really sure where we are with her – she ran pretty lackluster last time out and is hard to peg at home. The finishing post tomorrow will answer the question.

Hard Way and Turfani are on deck for next week, and both are doing well. Klutzy Tyke had his first canter back this morning, and worked well despite having knocked his leg and loosened a shoe the day before yesterday in his box. This horse is starting to make me afraid to open the stall door for fear of what I might find – and always with his same big dopey head saying “What? Don’t look at me. I don’t know what happened.” At least he’s pretty zen about it all.

I just got word last night that Pip Payne, a longtime friend of mine – and many, many others in the racing world – was found dead, apparently a suicide. Pip was one of the most optimistic, helpful and supportive people on the planet, and I can’t believe he’s not around any more. Not only was he indispensible for all of my horse-buying trips to Newmarket, but he was always available for a quick call for advice on any horsey subject. Of all the people I know, I can’t think of one least likcly to take his life. When I made the decision to switch careers and take up training full time, Pip was one of the few who said he had no doubt I could be a success. I bought one of my first horses from him when he was still training, and we kept in touch ever since. I just saw him four weeks ago at the July sales, when we had drinks with him, his wife and one of his three sons.  I stood next to him in the sales ring as I bid on Derringbay, a three-year-old gelding who, thanks to Pip, I paid way too much money for! We were laughing about it later, and now he won’t be around to see who gets the last laugh when – and if – this horse ever makes it back to the track.

I can’t imagine a trip back to Newmarket without seeing Pip, who was always ready with a joke, a beer and did things like have me paged over the public-address sytem at Tattersalls just to improve my name recognition. The town, and racing, will not ever be quite the same. I can’t imagine what personal demons he was fighting that pushed him to do this, but I hope he is now at peace.

Skid Solo finished 9th of 16 runners in the Tierce handicap at Clairefontaine today, but was only five lengths behind the winner. If he had been a length closer up, we would have gotten some very good place money, but that’s racing. He was closing well until about a furlong out but then couldn’t find more, so I think he was a little surprised by the added distance. He had been running 1,200-meter straight sprints, and this was his first shot at 1,400 meters with a turn. The turn didn’t seem to bother him, but the extra distance on Clairefontaine’s slight downhill stretch got the better of him. Nadege rode him well and he was the most relaxed he’s been so far before the start, going down calmly and not lathering up behind the gates like he usually does. He recovered quickly after the race and came back home in good spirits, so I’m hoping he can run a 1,300-meter race on the fibersand at Deauville before the end of the month.

Next up is Pixie’s Blue on Friday, in an 1,800-meter handicap, also on the grass at Clairefontaine. She will carry the top weight of 60 kilos, so I’m going to try to put an apprentice up this time because I really need the weight allowance. In any case, Nadege has Hard Way and Turfani to look forward to next week; they have entries next Tuesday and Wednesday and both are doing very well.

Cape Tycoon, meanwhile, is working toward his comeback, which I hope will be in the annual Trainers’ Race at the end of August. I will ride him myself, which should be…interesting to say the least, and certainly entertaining for the numerous people who say they’re marking their calendars just for the spectacle. Tyke is in a race against time to be ready; he’s the most accident-prone horse I’ve ever trained, and this week stumbled in the street and skinned both knees pretty well. This after he was just coming back from his battle against the starting gate at St. Cloud, which has already cost us two months with a banged-up back leg. This is the same horse that also gashed his head open on god knows what in his box one day.  But he’s a great guy, and if he can manage to keep his four legs underneath him in Deauville, we could have some fun in the trainers’ race. Oh, and win 10,000 euros, too. A suivre…

Turfani was eliminated from her handicap Wednesday, which is a shame because she’s really ready for a run. She was 16th on the list, which would have just given her the last spot in the 2,400-meter race on the fibersand in Deauville, but there were 27 start declared and two had priority because they had been eliminated in previous races. So we wait. The next best chance for her is Aug. 19 in Deauville, this time on the turf, so it has to rain.

Skid, meanwhile, is entered for the bit Tierce handicap on Monday at Clairefontaine, Deauville’s second track. He seems very ready to run, and this would be a good time for him to step up and do well. Nadege will ride, which is a bit of a risk because it’s her first try at the big handicap, but I know she is very motivated to do well and will keep her head together. I am getting quite a bit of pressure to change to one of the big-race jockeys, but I think she deserves her shot, and I’m going to give it to her. Doing well here would help her career a lot, she knows the horse well and she wants to win. Skid will go without the earplugs this time and is stepping up to 1,400 meters in distance, but I think he can stay that and I think the turn might help him.

Pixie has a race the following Friday, also at Clairefonetaine, in an 1,800-meter handicap. She has been lowered to a sensible 29 rating, so she should be in more suitable company now.

Tarruji debuted for me yesterday in a claimer in Deauville, finishing 5th of 16 and closing very well. While he wasn’t claimed, a trainer from Senonnes-Pouance was interested in him for slightly below the claiming price and we sold him on. Tarruji was originally bought with a partner with another client in mind, but this seemed a good deal; we paid just under 5,000 euros for him and he was sold for 10,500, which seemed a bit too good to refuse. He will go on to win, I’m sure, probably at a slightly longer distance.

Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to running Turfani in a 2,400-meter handicap on the fibersand on Wednesday. It’s a bit touch-and-go whether we’ll get in, because the field is limited to 16 and she’s currently sitting in the last spot, with two horses who have priority below her. We’ll know the final list tomorrow so I’m hoping she gets in. If she runs, she will carry the colors of her new owner, Alan Kennedy, for the first time.

The rest of the yard is doing well, and Skid Solo has an entry in the big Tierce handicap at Clairefontaine next week. He’ll be stretching out to 1,400 meters for the first time, but I think he’ll stay the distance. It will also be his first run with a turn, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. He’s working well, and we know he has all the ability. These big handicaps are tough, but I still like our chances.

Tarruji, one of the three new horses we bought in Newmarket at the July sales, will run in Deauville on Saturday, trying out a 1,500-meter claimer on the fibersand. He seems to have settled in well and certainly likes French cooking. His manger is always licked clean and he’s working well, so now he’ll get a chance to stretch out and show us what he can do.

Turfani, meanwhile, has an entry on Deauville’s fibersand next Wednesday; she works tomorrow and I’ll make a decision on whether or not to run after that.

The two other English newcomers, Blessing Belle and Derringbay, are following divergent paths. Belle is doing very well, and hopefully will be ready to race by mid-August. She had some back stiffness to work out, but seems on the right track now. Derringbay has soundness problems, unfortunately, and I’m not sure when – or if – he will be ready to try something. He may be looking for new employment, but I’ll wait until the end of August to decide. He got loose today and seemed sound as a bell when sprinting for home, but I think there are still issues to resolve. Meanwhile, all eyes on Tarruji…