Bullet workout ...now what?

Posted by Avram Freedberg

It’s been an eventful week, starting with a bullet workout for Ahvee’s Destiny at 5 furlongs in 1:01. That means she was the fastest of those horses working at 5 furlongs on that day and her time will be published accompanied by a black dot (the bullet) indicating her time was fastest. To give you an example of the speed of a workout compared to a race, Ahvee’s Destiny has raced that distance in as little as 54.77 to the over 57 area. So, now what?

I’d hoped she would run in Lexington, Kentucky at Keeneland in a $100,000 stakes race but I wanted her there for a week before the race to acclimate her to the strange surroundings. Linda thought her first race of the year should be a little easier, so we were going to enter her at Gulfstream in Florida for a $45,000 purse next week. Yesterday, Linda and I discussed sending her to Kentucky Thursday because the Racing Secretary in Florida is afraid he might not have enough entrants in the race next week for older fillies and mares. Today we decided to keep her in Florida, enter her in the race on April 22. If it doesn’t fill, we’ll enter her for Thursday’s race at the same distance (5 furlongs) against the boys. That’s what happened last year and she won. Then we’ll probably aim her for the Very One Stakes in Maryland on May 15th, the day before the Preakness.

Arielle’s Song worked 4 furlongs in 48.8. She was 4th fastest of 11 working at that distance. She will probably ship to New York on May 1st and run at Belmont in May.

Hope you have all had nice holidays. Between Passover and Easter much munching was done by many. My dad made it to dinner at both Sederim which was very nice. Unfortunately, Rhoda’s cousin, Sammy, died on Friday at age 54 and we had a funeral on Sunday. I found it ironic that his gravesite is right around the corner from Belmont park and very close to Linda’s stables. I’d rather be interred (Hopefully, a long time from now) in the infield at Belmont, where the flowers grow but that’s not gonna happen unless I – not a horse I own, but me, myself and I – win the Belmont Stakes. Oops, that’s for 3 year olds and I’d be overweight anyway!

Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!