Category: Updates from the yard

Pixie ran 4th of 17 runners today in her first race back since January, and while I had hoped she would win, she ran probably the most relaxed, best race of her career. Her gallop was relaxed and steady, with no pulling, which is a miracle for her. She has a bad back, and she tended to want to bowl along out front in her previous races; she won wire-to-wire in Maisons-Laffitte last year and was beaten in races since because she insisted on trying to do it again. But today, she sat in the pack and finished very well, which is really encouraging for the future. She decided to take a big breath just as the pace quickened in the stretch, then was blocked when she had the gas to move. When she did find room to run, she came on wonderfully and fought back to steal fourth place by a head. She recovered quickly and came home well, so it seems we’ve done our work with her and now can finally enjoy it!

The strategy for the race was really just to see how she wanted to run it. I told Nadege that if she needed to go to the front, go ahead, but see what was best for Pixie – the primary objective was not to fight with her and see how she wanted to run. She is a very touchy – but talented – horse, and it’s best not to get in the way sometimes. So given that, I’m really pleased she ran correctly and relaxed. While this race was just a low-level claimer, it was a big step forward for her in running style and I think we can look for better things to come. (It also, despite being the easiest race on the card, was the fastest mile of the day at 1 minute 38 seconds.) We will probably try her at a slightly longer distance next time out, possibly 1,800 meters in Chantilly on July 27th if she rebounds well.

Pixie’s Blue, our four-year-old Hawk Wing filly, will make her comeback to racing after five months off tomorrow at Maisons-Laffitte. She has been a challenge, to put it mildly, so we’re really looking forward to seeing how she does. Pixie is very talented, but has back problems that were compounded by ulcers over the winter. She had a layoff in Normandy while the ulcers were treated, and she has built up substantial back muscling to compensate for her touching vertebrae and seems fit and ready to go now. She has been an eating machine since coming back into training, and the extra work toward the race has not dented her appetite, thankfully. We’re dropping her into a really easy claimer at a mile, so now it’s up to her. If she wants to win this, she certainly has the ability, but it just depends on where her troubled head is tomorrow! Nadege is up, and she knows the horse well, so that’s a plus. It will be hot and the going will be good to firm, but trifling exterior factors like that never seem to bother Pixie. She’s in her own world, and if she decides to run her race, the going and the temperature won’t matter.

I made it back from Newmarket late last night, and the three horses we bought arrived this morning. It was a very tough sale, and we’re all exhausted. Only 423 horses catalogued were actually sold, and more than a quarter of these went to Kuwaiti buyers, who paid silly amounts of money for horses that should have gone for less and really skewed the market. We managed to get three three-year-olds, a filly and two geldings. None of them have as strong a pedigree as I am usually able to buy in England, but they are all correct, nicely made animals, so I’m sure we can  find races for them to win. The filly is especially nice – a big chestnut called Blessing Belle, by Traditionally. She will carry the colors of Steve Collins, a new owner. The two geldings, Derringbay by Mull of Kintyre and Tarruji by Verglas, are available for lease and will run under my silks for now.

For the moment, all of the horses are in better accommodations than their trainer. My bathroom is being redone and our house looks like a bomb dropped. This was exactly the moment, of course, that my husband’s back decided to give out, so he is stuck in the bedroom immobile amid the chaos until the pain eases. The deep bed in Blessing Belle’s box is looking pretty inviting right about now…

Skid Solo finally ran the race I knew he could today, finishing a great second in Chantilly. The first three past the post came home six lengths in front of the rest of the pack, and Skid just nosed out the favorite to take second just a length behind the winner. Nadege rode a great race, and managed to find cover in only an eight-horse race – something our previous jockey couldn’t manage to do in a field of 18. Skid was relaxed for most of the race, then stretched out nicely for a nice finishing kick, which we hadn’t seen before. It would have been even nicer to win, but the second made us very happy, especially since we got the thrill of finishing in front of some of the biggest trainers in France, including Andre Fabre! This gives us something to build on, and certainly sends me off to the Newmarket sales in a good mood. Off to buy more good horses…

Skid Solo runs tomorrow at Chantilly, again his usual 1,200-meter straight sprint. It’s a great entry, a maiden race with only eight starters, and it makes me regret running the handicap 10 days ago. He seems fit and ready, but this is the third race in relatively short order for him and I’m always a little worried about going to the well too often, especially in the heat. The weather has turned a degree or two cooler, and apparently it has rained in Chantilly, so those are positives. Nadege will take over pilot duties this time, and I’m hoping the change of hands does us good. We can’t seem to get lucky in the draw, though; last time we were outside in No. 17 and this time we’ve got the No. 1 hole. I’d have loved to be in four or so, right in the middle, because it will be very hard to find cover in this race and I was really hoping to do that this time. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.

OK, anybody who knows me knows I can’t possibly let the lasix study go by without giving my opinion on it. For those of you who haven’t seen it, a bunch of American veterinarians decided to actually do a real study on whether or not Lasix actually reduces bleeding in racehorses. Americans have been pumping their horses full of the stuff for the past 30 years or so based on purely anecdotal evidence that it has any effect on the problem. So now, finally, there is a study. Here’s the bad news: Guess what, it seems to actually reduce the incidence of bleeding, giving ammunition to those who justify its use and think racing can’t possibly live without it.

But before you all  jump on the “I told you so” bandwagen and call the rest of the world barbarians for not using it, let me point out there are some very important factors in this study that need to be considered. First, and most importantly, the study did not investigate any detrimental side effects that might be associated with repeated use of lasix. Secondly, researchers admitted they still had no idea HOW the administration of lasix actually reduced bleeding; the drug also acts as a bronchodialator, which means it might be possible that it simply reduces the flow of blood to the area seen when scoping a horse after the race.

All thoroughbreds bleed a bit in the lungs during a race or strenuous workout. (Humans do, too; that’s why you end up having a coughing fit if you run too fast when out of shape.) Most of this bleeding is benign, and can be managed by having a horse fit and ready to do the job at hand. Exterior factors like pollutants and temperature can play a roll, but managing stress and maximum fitness are the most important factors for limiting damaging bleeding. The study, conducted in South Africa by Colorado State University, classified the severity of bleeding between zero and 4, with 4 considered a severe bleeding episode. It found that 80 percent of the horses given a saline solution showed evidence of bleeding, while 55 percent of the horses given Lasix showed bleeding. So yes, while the incidence was reduced, HALF THE HORSES GIVEN LASIX STILL BLED. The study also showed that Lasix was most effective in limiting severe bleeding; none of the horses in the study given the drug had a Level 4 bleeding episode, but 10 percent of the saline control group did.

The study said it considered the conditions of horses trained in South Africa to be pretty much the same has horses trained anywhere else in the world. “Although racing and training conditions in other parts of the world do differ from those in South Africa in minor respects, we do not have any evidence that any of these differences
have been demonstrated to have an impact on the frequency or severity of EIPH,” or exercised-induced pulmonary hemorrhaging, the study said. I’ve never been to South Africa, but I have observed horses in training in England, Ireland, the United States, Dubai, Hong Kong, France and Germany, and I can tell you that there are HUGE differences in the way horses in these countries are trained. Considering how susceptible the modern thoroughbred is to the smallest differences in environment, I cannot imagine how the difference in conditions would not make a difference on bleeding during a race.

The study notes that 92 percent of horses in North America are treated with Lasix, making it a $100 million a year market. It concludes that the drug is really most effective only with severe bleeders. Surely, 92 percent of North American horses can’t possibly fall into this category. If so, there are problems with thoroughbreds far greater than Lasix can help. Oh, and by the way, horses treated with Lasix lose THREE TIMES MORE WEIGHT during a race than a horse not treated with Lasix. So is this really the most humane way to race? Let’s hope racing officials around the world don’t buy into Lasix – or at the very least, let’s see some more study as to how it really works, and what the detrimental effects might be. Race day for horses around the world should not start with a syringe.

Hard Way finished out of the frame at Compiegne yesterday, but he ran well and handled the whole procedure better than he has in the past, which gives us quite a bit to look forward to. It’s an hour and a half trip by horse transport from Maisons-Laffitte to Compiegne, and I had to ride in the back of the truck with him to avoid a repeat of his St. Cloud transport fiasco. Riding with him made a huge difference, though, and he settled and rode pretty well. He stayed pretty calm for showering and walking at the track, but still didn’t handle being in a box very well. Next time out, I’ll ask for a box bedded in shavings so we don’t have to use the “panier” to keep him from eating the straw. The panier seems to stress him out more than anything else, so we had to keep him out of the box and walking most of the time. The earplugs and iced cap went on with the bridle, and they seemed to really help. He was calm, cool and collected in the presentation ring, and he was pretty good behind the gate, too. I asked that he be loaded second-last, which worked well except that he missed the break a bit, so he was further off the pace than I had expected him to be. He also got a little startled on the turn by a horse coming up on his off side and jumped into the rail, losing some distance. But he came back well in the stretch to close and was running on past the wire, which is good to see. I think 2,000 meters is a little short for him, after all, and I’ll probably go back to 2,400 next time out. I don’t think 2,000 is out of the question, but I’d prefer 2,400. He recovered well, we had no major incidents on the trip home (although he did take issue when I fell asleep for a few minutes and wasn’t paying attention to him; he woke me up by threatening to rear or fall over, in that order). He ate up everything last night and took a walk around the park today with a calm, more mature look in his eye. I think he did a bit of growing up yesterday, and hopefully we can run back sooner than last time. The Compiegne race was only the fifth in his life, so he’s got plenty of races in front of him if he can learn to handle it all a little easier.

I’ve neglected my blog since Tommy’s race because I’ve been too swamped, but it’s past time for an update. First off, Tommy ran relatively badly; he was laying third or fourth for most of the race, then had no finish and tailed off. He was really difficult to handle and nervous before the race, which isn’t at all like him, so I knew there had to be a problem. I was most worried, of course, about his leg, but that seems fine. But he was coughing in the days after the race and ran a slight fever, so we can put it down to that. There’s been a small bug that’s been making the rounds in Maisons-Laffitte, and nearly all of the horses in the yard have been coughing at some point this spring, so it seems this is his turn.

Meanwhile, we’ve got plenty of entries at the end of the week, and I’ve been busy introducing new fans to racing. I had a group of 20 from the American Women’s Group at Longchamp last week, and I’ve had two receptions during the week to talk up racing with various expats. Then this weekend there’s Grand Steeplechase mania. My friend, Jean-Paul Gallorini, has one of the favorites in the big race, and his wife always plans a huge party around the event. I’ve been drafted since Thursday to help decorate and plan, and the first of the parties was tonight. Tomorrow is the big event – 5,800 meters over 23 obstacles. There are also three other Group races on the card, so it will be a very big day of racing. Jean-Paul’s wife, Alex, always gets a little carried away when they have a real chance of winning. The entire yard is decked out in yellow and green, the colors the horse, Remember Rose, will carry, and various friends (including me) have been asked to dress in those colors tomorrow. I’ve also been assigned a hat to wear. So if you’re watching the race, you’ll probably spot me. I’ll be the one that looks like a cake topping.

Little Tommy is in the last at Maisons-Laffitte tomorrow (Saturday), and there are lots of reasons this is a good thing: It’s been a month since his comeback race, he really needs the run, he’s well-placed in a handicap that should not be all that difficult for him and he has a great jockey. But there’s one big drawback: It’s been pissing down rain all week, and Tommy doesn’t go in the mud. Soft is fine, even very soft, but once the barrier is crossed into heavy or stick going, he might as well stay in his box. That seems to be the rule in racing: When you have a horse that needs fast ground, it will rain nonstop before the race, and when you have a horse that wants the mud, you get a week of tropical sunshine. We will make a final decision around noon tomorrow (post time is 6 p.m.), and I’m really hoping he can go, becase he’s driving us all nuts with his excess energy!

Turfani ran a decent race at St. Cloud on Tuesday, but she finished only 8th of 20 starters. She pulled a bit along the rail over the first 500 meters or so, then settled before closing nicely in the stretch. Not too much bad to say, except that she didn’t finish in the money. The jockey said she wasn’t too happy with the heavy ground, and that we could probably run longer. As excuses go, those aren’t too bad; I’ve been thinking of stretching her out to 2,400 meters and the ground was pretty hashed up. I do think she will win a race in the not-to-distant future, but it is frustrating, and it shows we have a bit more work to do before we find the payoff. She’s come back well, so she’ll get her usual break before we try again, near the end of the month or early in June. She clearly isn’t going to set the world on fire, but she’s a lovely big mare, easy to ride, a pleasure to have around the yard and she tries her best to do everything you ask of her. She’s also a very calm and patient leader for some of the fizzier horses in the yard, so she certainly has her qualities. I may start training her over hurdles, since she looks very suited to that physically, and that might help build up her topline a bit more, which she seems to need.