Indy

He is the son of the only Triple Crown winner who went through the three races undefeated, his broodmare sire is possibly the greatest race horse to ever grace the race track. How could a foal live up to that expectation? Not only did AP Indy do so, but he turned out to be one of the best sires and broodmare sires the world has seen. The winner of the 1992 Belmont, Breeders Cup Classic and Horse of the Year was pensioned today after getting none of the mares booked to him in foal. What a career he's had, from 2001 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Tampera, to 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, to 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini, to of course possibly the crown jewel of them all 2007 KY Oaks and Belmont winner Rags to Riches. As a broodmare sire he can count several great horses among them. This includes 2006 Derby runner up and Haskell winner Bluegrass Cat, as well as BC's cousin last year's Derby winner Super Saver (their dams are full sisters). I know I missed several great horses that he is either the sire or broodmare sire of, but this is just a taste of what he had.

Dispite his pensioning, his legacy will continue to live on. Bernardini has been doing well with his first crop, it looks like that Mineshaft has finally turned a corner, Congrats was the leading freshman sire last year, Flatter has been having some good horses lately, Stephen Got Even's son Stevie Wonderboy's first crop hits the track this year, and finally Rags to Riches little girl (by Giant's Causeway) should be making her first start later this year.

Have a great retirement Indy! To remember his racing days, here is his Belmont win.

Weekend Recap

I had an okay birthday yesterday. I wasn't anything special, but fun otherwise (Check Yarn Talk later for a full recap of my birthday).

Anyway, alot to recap today, so lets get started. First off the Americans at Royal Ascot almost got a Group 1 win as Cannonball ridden by Oliver Peslier (Corey Nakatani was supposed to ride, I wonder if he decided to stay in Cali.), got nosed out in the Golden Jubaliee. Not sure what his plans are for US races, but he could end up being the favorite in either the Sprint or Turf Sprint at the Breeder's Cup.

I do have pictures from an extremly rainy Delaware Park from Saturday, however I'm still editing them, and not all of them are up on my gallery just yet. So, I'm hopeful to get it all done by the end of next weekend. But the two stakes races where awesome and heartbreaking at the same time. First up in the Obeah, Unbridled Belle pretty much showed why she loves DP by romping home in the slop. She'll be one of the favorites for the Delaware Handicap. Sadly, All Smiles broke down in the race and dumped her jockey right afterwards, however I read that she made it. Of course she's not out of the woods yet, but hopefully an update on her comes soon. In the Susan's Girl, Bon Jovi Girl turned the tables on Payton d'Oro. I really wouldn't be suprised if BJG is nominated for both the Oaks and DelCap, as she has already beaten older females and the mile and quarter distance shouldn't be a problem. However with that being said, I think she is more likely for the Oaks. Coffee in Bed was pulled up in the Susan's Girl, so if anyone knows how she is, please leave a comment on this post.

That was just the begining of "Lets flatter Rachel Alexandra Day" (Bon Jovi Girl faced Rach at Oaklawn). At Charles Town that night, Preakness 5th place finisher Big Drama rebounded from his last two races and offically won for the first time as a three year old (he crossed the line first in the Swale, but was DQ'ed to second). Also running on Saturday, Take the Points was able to rebound to finish 4th (I think), in the Colonial Turf Cup.

Sunday was supposed to be a cornation for Medaglia d'Oro as a sire, however it turned into redemption for AP Indy. First off at Belmont, the royally bred With Flying Colors (Should I go through her pedigree, other then being by the 1992 Belmont winner, she is out of the wonderful My Flag, who in turn is out of Personal Ensign. Of course this makes her a half sister to Storm Flag Flying), upset G1 winner Cocoa Beach in a listed stakes. I'm not sure what's next for her, but I'm hoping they decide to nominate her for the DelCap as a prep for her grandmother's race (Big sis won that race in 2004). Distance wouldn't be a problem and would give Belle a challenge.

Then it was up to Woodbine for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. I had chosen the MDO filly Tasty Temptation to win with Milwaukee Appeal finishing second and Eye of the Lepoard finishing third. Well the good news is niether of them did horribly, the bad news is I had them in the wrong order. Congrats to Lepoard and his owners Sam-Son Farm. Also this means that both the winners of the two biggest 3yo races in North America had the same broodmare sire, Smart Strike (see even with English Channel and Curlin retired he's making a name for himself). This is their first win in the QP since 2001. Milwaukee Appeal was third and Tasty Temptation finished fourth. A long shot (whose name is escaping me right now) was second. Why was it redemption for AP Indy? Two words: Friesan Fire. That was an extremly horrible Triple Crown. Plus Indy maybe pensioned soon.

So MDO's cornination will have to wait until the CCA Oaks which is Tasty Temptation's next start. Why not this weekend in the Mother Goose? That's because the headliner will only be facing at least three other horses. I had hoped we would finally have the Rachel vs Dixie matchup, but Justwhistledixie is going to the Test. Hopefully they meet up later, but I doubt it. Flashing, Don't Forget Gil and Malibu Prayer are all excpected to face Rach, I don't think they expect win however. But of course anything can happen in horse racing.

Zenyatta runs this weekend as well, but I expect her to face a short field as well.