Posted by Avram Freedberg
After Ahvee’s Destiny’s awful loss last Wednesday, we had Little Ahvee (It’s Truly Ahvee) post a come from behind third place finish and Millie Money (the Obviously NY Stable horse that runs in our colors) finish a nice but distant second on Friday (Ramon Dominguez said the winner was in a different Zip code!).
Later on Friday, Patsy Symons’ Meriwether Jessica was running in the $100K Yaddo Stakes (named after the famous artists retreat and with some funds go to support same). You may remember MJ as one of the snuggliest horses around. We’ve spent time with her over the years (she is 5 yrs. old). Since Patsy left Linda for Ric Violette, MJ had won two straight, first at 7 furlongs and then a mile. Friday it was going to be at 1 1/8 miles, the longest distance she’d ever competed at. Plus, there were strong contenders who had run and won at this distance before. Hence, MJ was listed at 7 – 1 on the tote board.
Alan Garcia took her near the top, settled back to fourth and coming around the stretch turn, he asked and she responded, passing all the horses in front her. However, You Go West Girl was coming fast on the outside. Down the stretch they came with You Go West Girl gaining throughout the stretch run… gaining but not quite getting there before the finish line. MJ held on and won her third straight. Wow. Jubilation! We all rushed to the Winner’s Circle.
Well, we love Patsy and MJ. So, it was a pleasure joining them in the Winner’s Circle. Nonetheless, it was reflected glory… not the kind we were hoping for at the top of the stretch on Wednesday, when Ahvee’s Destiny was in perfect position to score and faded instead. Still it was nice to see good things happen to good people who happen to be good friends… and the champagne and treats served up in the Stakes Winners’ room by the NYRA weren’t bad either! On top of that, Patsy took a group out to a dinner celebration. It was the next best thing to celebrating our own victory.
The next day Linda had three winners. We made it to the Winner’s Circle for two of them who were owned by Clyde Rice, Linda’s dad. We thought maybe it would be helpful if we ran OUR horses in Clyde’s name! Linda came out with us that night and we celebrated again. Not a bad two nights. Maybe next time, it will be our celebration.
Now we’re home trying to figure out when and if we can steal a little more Saratoga time. We’ll let you know.
Best,
A.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Little Ahvee
Posted by Avram Freedberg
Where the rubber meets the road. Fantasies get made or destroyed. Little Ahvee came closer to the latter than the former but is really somewhere in between.
Start with the fact that I am tough critic with big dreams. The Hopeful Stakes for 2-yr. olds on September 6th was my first goal. After today, I don’t think so. And, yes, this colt had my Derby dreams wrapped up in his beautiful body (no jokes, please). On top of everything else, I wanted to stick my tongue out at all those who passed on participating in his acquisition. I wanted to say that “Stuck With You” was everything anyone could have wanted in a race horse.
Well, he may yet turn into a wonderful race horse but it’ll have to get better from here… and there’s no reason to think that it won’t! He finished third today after a really awful start that saw him get out of the gate slowly and probably give up four or more lengths when he veered to the outside (even the race chart says he gave up two lengths just getting out of the gate). Yet, he managed to squeak out a 3rd place finish by a nose hair, 4 ¼ lengths behind the winner.
You should have seen him bucking his way down the stretch during the warm-ups prior to the start of the race. He was so cute… telling the jockey he didn’t like his racing saddle. Ramon Dominguez is the best and he got him under control. I’d never seen any horse do that before. We like the fact he is precocious.
The time of the race seemed very slow to me. We’ll see tomorrow what Beyer Speed Rating he gets for this race… but he can do nothing but learn from this experience and continue to grow and get stronger and, presumably, faster. Plus, he’ll probably start to run longer. He seems to be a distance horse… but I’ll get a further opinion from Linda tomorrow when I get a report on his condition after the race and how he is doing since. So, more to come!
Our winner this meet, Hear the Footsteps, is scheduled to race in a 5 ½ furlong allowance race for NY breds on Sunday. We wanted action and we’re getting it. Millie Money tomorrow and Hear the Footsteps Sunday makes four races in five days. WOW!
We’re still stung by Ahvee’s Destiny’s poor performance but she’s in good shape. She’s pointing for another Stakes on September 3rd. Canadian Ballet will undoubtedly contest that one too, as will many others. Let’s hope for a turnaround. Go Ahvee! You’re still our queen.
For tomorrow, it’s Millie Money. Go Millie! Someday I’ll have to tell you what it’s like when you have lots of new partners, as we do with the Obviously NY Stable group. Let’s just say for the moment, it’s very interesting!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Where the rubber meets the road. Fantasies get made or destroyed. Little Ahvee came closer to the latter than the former but is really somewhere in between.
Start with the fact that I am tough critic with big dreams. The Hopeful Stakes for 2-yr. olds on September 6th was my first goal. After today, I don’t think so. And, yes, this colt had my Derby dreams wrapped up in his beautiful body (no jokes, please). On top of everything else, I wanted to stick my tongue out at all those who passed on participating in his acquisition. I wanted to say that “Stuck With You” was everything anyone could have wanted in a race horse.
Well, he may yet turn into a wonderful race horse but it’ll have to get better from here… and there’s no reason to think that it won’t! He finished third today after a really awful start that saw him get out of the gate slowly and probably give up four or more lengths when he veered to the outside (even the race chart says he gave up two lengths just getting out of the gate). Yet, he managed to squeak out a 3rd place finish by a nose hair, 4 ¼ lengths behind the winner.
You should have seen him bucking his way down the stretch during the warm-ups prior to the start of the race. He was so cute… telling the jockey he didn’t like his racing saddle. Ramon Dominguez is the best and he got him under control. I’d never seen any horse do that before. We like the fact he is precocious.
The time of the race seemed very slow to me. We’ll see tomorrow what Beyer Speed Rating he gets for this race… but he can do nothing but learn from this experience and continue to grow and get stronger and, presumably, faster. Plus, he’ll probably start to run longer. He seems to be a distance horse… but I’ll get a further opinion from Linda tomorrow when I get a report on his condition after the race and how he is doing since. So, more to come!
Our winner this meet, Hear the Footsteps, is scheduled to race in a 5 ½ furlong allowance race for NY breds on Sunday. We wanted action and we’re getting it. Millie Money tomorrow and Hear the Footsteps Sunday makes four races in five days. WOW!
We’re still stung by Ahvee’s Destiny’s poor performance but she’s in good shape. She’s pointing for another Stakes on September 3rd. Canadian Ballet will undoubtedly contest that one too, as will many others. Let’s hope for a turnaround. Go Ahvee! You’re still our queen.
For tomorrow, it’s Millie Money. Go Millie! Someday I’ll have to tell you what it’s like when you have lots of new partners, as we do with the Obviously NY Stable group. Let’s just say for the moment, it’s very interesting!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Big favorite Silver Timber is beaten
Posted by Avram Freedberg
With those words, I’d assumed we could celebrate Ahvee’s Destiny’s victory in today’s Troy Stakes at Saratoga Race Track. Silver Timber was beaten by Awakino Cat, Ahvee’s stablemate. The same Awakino who beat us at Suffolk Downs. The same Awakino who both times Linda said was sore and not training well. While Ahvee’s Destiny ran a very disappointing race. John Velasquez executed the game plan, which called for him to stalk the leader and be well-positioned to get in front in the stretch. However, Destiny did not take off. She emptied out and faded to next to last… the last one being the early leader, Ezzy, whom Destiny had been stalking.
Johnny said that she seemed intimidated when she was surrounded by horses both to her inside and to her outside. She never relaxed and used up her speed with the stress she was feeling. She “scoped” out fine, so it had to be some other factor. Maybe she needs some time with a psycho-therapist. Arielle?
Speaking of Arielle, her namesake, Arielle’s Song has been shipped to Presque Isle Downs. They’ll try her in a cheap claiming race and when that doesn’t work, they’ll ship her to the same charity that took Conseated Lady. I’m sorry they’re even trying to race her again. She seems so traumatized by it.
Tomorrow is the debut of our 2-yr. old, It’s Truly Ahvee. You remember him… the one I got “stuck” with by myself when no one wanted to partner on buying him. Rhoda calls him “Little Ahvee.” He’ll run 5 ½ furlongs on the dirt. He hasn’t gotten out of the gate quickly during training. If he repeats this habit, it will not bode well for victory in a short race. Anyway, this is where reality may overtake the dream. I can’t just imagine his success. Now, he needs to earn it. Go Little Ahvee! …Please?
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
With those words, I’d assumed we could celebrate Ahvee’s Destiny’s victory in today’s Troy Stakes at Saratoga Race Track. Silver Timber was beaten by Awakino Cat, Ahvee’s stablemate. The same Awakino who beat us at Suffolk Downs. The same Awakino who both times Linda said was sore and not training well. While Ahvee’s Destiny ran a very disappointing race. John Velasquez executed the game plan, which called for him to stalk the leader and be well-positioned to get in front in the stretch. However, Destiny did not take off. She emptied out and faded to next to last… the last one being the early leader, Ezzy, whom Destiny had been stalking.
Johnny said that she seemed intimidated when she was surrounded by horses both to her inside and to her outside. She never relaxed and used up her speed with the stress she was feeling. She “scoped” out fine, so it had to be some other factor. Maybe she needs some time with a psycho-therapist. Arielle?
Speaking of Arielle, her namesake, Arielle’s Song has been shipped to Presque Isle Downs. They’ll try her in a cheap claiming race and when that doesn’t work, they’ll ship her to the same charity that took Conseated Lady. I’m sorry they’re even trying to race her again. She seems so traumatized by it.
Tomorrow is the debut of our 2-yr. old, It’s Truly Ahvee. You remember him… the one I got “stuck” with by myself when no one wanted to partner on buying him. Rhoda calls him “Little Ahvee.” He’ll run 5 ½ furlongs on the dirt. He hasn’t gotten out of the gate quickly during training. If he repeats this habit, it will not bode well for victory in a short race. Anyway, this is where reality may overtake the dream. I can’t just imagine his success. Now, he needs to earn it. Go Little Ahvee! …Please?
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Upcoming races
Posted by Avram Freedberg
We were wanting for races. Well, here they come.
Ahvee’s Destiny is in the Troy Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs tomorrow. It’s the 8th race on the turf with Johnny Velasquez up in the irons. She faces the boys… most notably Silver Timber. She’s running from the 8th post position.
Our 2-yr. old colt, It’s Truly Ahvee, is in a Maiden race on Thursday. He’ll be running 5 ½ on the dirt with Ramon Dominguez up.
Millie Money, one of the Obviously NY Stable 2-yr. olds, is in a NY Bred Maiden $50K Claiming race on Friday at 5 ½ furlongs. This one runs in our colors. Ramon Dominguez is on her as well.
So, it’s back to Saratoga. Yay!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
We were wanting for races. Well, here they come.
Ahvee’s Destiny is in the Troy Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs tomorrow. It’s the 8th race on the turf with Johnny Velasquez up in the irons. She faces the boys… most notably Silver Timber. She’s running from the 8th post position.
Our 2-yr. old colt, It’s Truly Ahvee, is in a Maiden race on Thursday. He’ll be running 5 ½ on the dirt with Ramon Dominguez up.
Millie Money, one of the Obviously NY Stable 2-yr. olds, is in a NY Bred Maiden $50K Claiming race on Friday at 5 ½ furlongs. This one runs in our colors. Ramon Dominguez is on her as well.
So, it’s back to Saratoga. Yay!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Between a rock and a hard place
Posted by Avram Freedberg
Ahvee’s Destiny has been entered in two races… Monmouth for $100K on Sunday vs. Saratoga for $70K on Wednesday. We’ve been agonizing over a decision because there is at least one better-on-paper horse in each location. Monmouth is against the girls and a super-girl named West Ocean. Saratoga against the boys and a recovered super-hero named Silver Timber that Linda had claimed away from her for $25K and has gone to win 6 races including 3 graded stakes.
Left to my own devices when I could not reach Linda, I chose Monmouth. Once Linda weighed in with her choice of Saratoga, we changed direction. She felt that there was troubling competition in both places but that since Ahvee’s Destiny has won four races at Saratoga and is based here, this was the best idea for her. Since the decision was a close one in either direction, I acquiesced. My only fear is the on again – off again weather forecast for Saratoga over the next few days. Hopefully, that will not be a factor and the race will end up running on firm turf on Wednesday. It’s the 8th race at 5 ½ furlongs with John Velasquez in the irons. She starts from the 8 post. Let’s hope for the best and root her on.
Also weighing heavily on our mood is the fact that our 3+ weeks in dreamland is ending. Of course, the need to return Wednesday is dampening the discomfort. The time has literally flown by… lots of horses, lots of concerts, lots of friends and family. NICE!
It’s Truly Ahvee will run next Saturday. So, we’ll be here for another weekend and look forward to seeing this 2-yr. old colt in his first race.
BTW, I’ve taught Ahvee’s Destiny to give me a kiss for a carrot. I think she’s pretty cute!
Good night from beautiful Saratoga (you should have seen the misty backstretch at this morning’s sunrise),
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Ahvee’s Destiny has been entered in two races… Monmouth for $100K on Sunday vs. Saratoga for $70K on Wednesday. We’ve been agonizing over a decision because there is at least one better-on-paper horse in each location. Monmouth is against the girls and a super-girl named West Ocean. Saratoga against the boys and a recovered super-hero named Silver Timber that Linda had claimed away from her for $25K and has gone to win 6 races including 3 graded stakes.
Left to my own devices when I could not reach Linda, I chose Monmouth. Once Linda weighed in with her choice of Saratoga, we changed direction. She felt that there was troubling competition in both places but that since Ahvee’s Destiny has won four races at Saratoga and is based here, this was the best idea for her. Since the decision was a close one in either direction, I acquiesced. My only fear is the on again – off again weather forecast for Saratoga over the next few days. Hopefully, that will not be a factor and the race will end up running on firm turf on Wednesday. It’s the 8th race at 5 ½ furlongs with John Velasquez in the irons. She starts from the 8 post. Let’s hope for the best and root her on.
Also weighing heavily on our mood is the fact that our 3+ weeks in dreamland is ending. Of course, the need to return Wednesday is dampening the discomfort. The time has literally flown by… lots of horses, lots of concerts, lots of friends and family. NICE!
It’s Truly Ahvee will run next Saturday. So, we’ll be here for another weekend and look forward to seeing this 2-yr. old colt in his first race.
BTW, I’ve taught Ahvee’s Destiny to give me a kiss for a carrot. I think she’s pretty cute!
Good night from beautiful Saratoga (you should have seen the misty backstretch at this morning’s sunrise),
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Arielle's Song didn't disappoint
Posted by Avram Freedberg
We thought she would be awful… and she was. This one doesn’t want to be a racehorse. She was well positioned more than halfway through the race and then faded to next to last.
It’s Truly Ahvee will probably not run until next week, since he’s a little thin.
More later.
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
We thought she would be awful… and she was. This one doesn’t want to be a racehorse. She was well positioned more than halfway through the race and then faded to next to last.
It’s Truly Ahvee will probably not run until next week, since he’s a little thin.
More later.
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Photos
Posted by Avram Freedberg
I’ve been asked for the win photo for Hear the Footsteps. Here it is along with a photo of me, trainer Linda Rice and jockey Alan Garcia after the race.
Arielle’s Song is supposed to run in the 6th race tomorrow… 5 ½ furlongs on the grass with jockey David Cohen (I thought he was a lawyer). We don’t have much hope but we do know how to pray.
It’s Truly Ahvee will run either Friday or Saturday. It’s his first race, so we have lots of hope.
More to come!
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
I’ve been asked for the win photo for Hear the Footsteps. Here it is along with a photo of me, trainer Linda Rice and jockey Alan Garcia after the race.
Arielle’s Song is supposed to run in the 6th race tomorrow… 5 ½ furlongs on the grass with jockey David Cohen (I thought he was a lawyer). We don’t have much hope but we do know how to pray.
It’s Truly Ahvee will run either Friday or Saturday. It’s his first race, so we have lots of hope.
More to come!
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Almost a tragedy
Posted by Avram Freedberg
The horses paraded around uneventfully in the paddock prior to Hear the Footsteps’s race this afternoon when suddenly a thud was heard and the crowd around the paddock gasped noticeably. Cincinnati Kid a 30-1 shot lashed out at his jockey Jermaine Bridgmohan with his powerful foot as the jockey was about to mount him. He kicked Jermaine in the ribs. After lying motionless for several minutes, the jockey was lucid and was rushed to Albany Medical Center. The horse was scratched when no one else agreed to ride him. Later, Bridgmohan was judged able to ride tomorrow. A tragedy had been averted.
Now on to the race. Hear the Footsteps was bumped at the start, lost a shoe during the race and ran erratically, losing ground as the race progressed. Thanks to the skillful ride of Alan Garcia, Hear the Footsteps started moving well into the stretch. He kept on coming but it appeared he could not catch the leader. We were all screaming for him but it seemed the finish line would be reached too soon… but he kept on coming… and coming. As they approached the line, he inched in front but as the heads bobbed on the finish line victory was not assured. The PHOTO sign went up on the board. We waited breathlessly for the judges to post the order of finish. 1st – Hear the Footsteps. We all roared and I got to don my copy of the jockey silks and enter the Winner’s Circle. Rob and I were surrounded by family and friends. As Linda Rice arrived and Alan Garcia rode in on the victor, we posed for our photo. Wow! What an exciting race. The link below is to the official chart of the race (copy and paste onto your browser, if the link doesn’t work. Sometimes the entire link is not highlighted).
http://www1.drf.com/drfNCWeeklyHorseDisplay.do?track=SAR&country=USA&raceDate=20100807&raceNo=3
This was the first time ever that my children, Jonathan and Arielle and her partner, Tamar, were ever in the Winner’s Circle with us. Jonathan surprised us by arriving from California. It was very special. So, this Maiden win by Hear the Footsteps meant so much more because it was shared with them and so many good friends.
Arielle’s Song is entered in a race on August 11th and, we hope, our two year old colt, It’s Truly Ahvee, will race on the 14th. Then back to Stamford for a wedding and a few days of work before Ahvee’s Destiny races on the 18th (if she doesn’t race at Monmouth on the 15th).
We continue to have some very good luck at Saratoga. Yay!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
The horses paraded around uneventfully in the paddock prior to Hear the Footsteps’s race this afternoon when suddenly a thud was heard and the crowd around the paddock gasped noticeably. Cincinnati Kid a 30-1 shot lashed out at his jockey Jermaine Bridgmohan with his powerful foot as the jockey was about to mount him. He kicked Jermaine in the ribs. After lying motionless for several minutes, the jockey was lucid and was rushed to Albany Medical Center. The horse was scratched when no one else agreed to ride him. Later, Bridgmohan was judged able to ride tomorrow. A tragedy had been averted.
Now on to the race. Hear the Footsteps was bumped at the start, lost a shoe during the race and ran erratically, losing ground as the race progressed. Thanks to the skillful ride of Alan Garcia, Hear the Footsteps started moving well into the stretch. He kept on coming but it appeared he could not catch the leader. We were all screaming for him but it seemed the finish line would be reached too soon… but he kept on coming… and coming. As they approached the line, he inched in front but as the heads bobbed on the finish line victory was not assured. The PHOTO sign went up on the board. We waited breathlessly for the judges to post the order of finish. 1st – Hear the Footsteps. We all roared and I got to don my copy of the jockey silks and enter the Winner’s Circle. Rob and I were surrounded by family and friends. As Linda Rice arrived and Alan Garcia rode in on the victor, we posed for our photo. Wow! What an exciting race. The link below is to the official chart of the race (copy and paste onto your browser, if the link doesn’t work. Sometimes the entire link is not highlighted).
http://www1.drf.com/drfNCWeeklyHorseDisplay.do?track=SAR&country=USA&raceDate=20100807&raceNo=3
This was the first time ever that my children, Jonathan and Arielle and her partner, Tamar, were ever in the Winner’s Circle with us. Jonathan surprised us by arriving from California. It was very special. So, this Maiden win by Hear the Footsteps meant so much more because it was shared with them and so many good friends.
Arielle’s Song is entered in a race on August 11th and, we hope, our two year old colt, It’s Truly Ahvee, will race on the 14th. Then back to Stamford for a wedding and a few days of work before Ahvee’s Destiny races on the 18th (if she doesn’t race at Monmouth on the 15th).
We continue to have some very good luck at Saratoga. Yay!
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Linda Rice meeting
Posted by Avram Freedberg
Linda is a beautiful woman as well as a leading trainer. I made a lunch date with her while Rhoda was busy with her friends at the Fabulous Fillies luncheon. We had a nice lunch and then she took me to look at yearlings on display who would be sold at tonight’s auction. Finally, she invited me to see her apartment. Well, my fantasies were in full gear as we went up to her beautiful apartment. She gave me the tour, including the Master Bedroom but I was precluded from even fantasizing when her parents greeted me. Oh well!
At lunch, we reviewed the horse situation with special emphasis on last week’s mistake riddled situation with Ahvee’s Destiny. I hit the trifecta with Ahvee’s Destiny last week. First, she was entered in The Finney Stakes for Sunday. She was the defending champion and, since the race is named for a repeat sponsor of the Saratoga Meet and the Racing Secretary said they expected 8 or 9 horses to compete and the weather was forecast to be good, I did not authorize spending $500 to enter her in another race at Penn National. Well, that was the first two parts of the trifecta… the Finney Stakes did not get sufficient entries and did not run and we had no alternate race. The race in Pennsylvania came up with a soft field, except for Canadian Ballet, who ended up winning the race in a time that would have made Destiny very competitive.
Then came the coup de grace… Linda had me spend $1500 to enter Destiny in a race in Canada, plus there were licensing fees, etc. Figure we spent $2000. However, after seeing the entrants, Linda did not want her to compete and scratched her from the race. No race, no action, $2000 lighter!
So, I am here for two weeks with not one race (Arielle’s Song was entered but there were too many horses). That and the trifecta above cause much frustration. Then I thought I found races in which Linda should have entered Destiny. However, she showed me I was wrong about the conditions. I felt really foolish.
Then, we spoke about the other horses. Hear the Footsteps should race on August 7th. It’s Truly Ahvee, the two year old colt will point for a race August 14th and Destiny will either race at Monmouth on August 15th or at Saratoga on August 18th. Arielle’s Song will be entered as soon as the appropriate race is scheduled. Unless she does well, she is headed for a lesser racetrack and eventually out of inventory. Linda says the same will have to be the situation with Holy Blitzer, whose knee is deteriorating.
Of the two remaining Obviously New York Stable 2-yr olds, Millie Money will likely get to the races first, if she starts eating again and Obviously Tuesday should get to the races by the end of the Meet.
I’ve come to the realization that my expectations were not realistic. The past two years have seen us come to Saratoga one day and Ahvee’s Destiny would win a Stakes race the next day. The camaraderie we’d had with other owners is still there, just not as constant or as strong as it appeared to be. The trainer is a star, so I can’t expect her to be spending lots of time with us. So, we’ll have to settle for what we can get. C’est la vie.
As for the house, it (and even the pool) are in shape and ready for the guests about to arrive. I can see we’re likely to be going back and forth after the 15th. That is the reason we took the house for the whole season. Now, if we can just win some races…
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
Linda is a beautiful woman as well as a leading trainer. I made a lunch date with her while Rhoda was busy with her friends at the Fabulous Fillies luncheon. We had a nice lunch and then she took me to look at yearlings on display who would be sold at tonight’s auction. Finally, she invited me to see her apartment. Well, my fantasies were in full gear as we went up to her beautiful apartment. She gave me the tour, including the Master Bedroom but I was precluded from even fantasizing when her parents greeted me. Oh well!
At lunch, we reviewed the horse situation with special emphasis on last week’s mistake riddled situation with Ahvee’s Destiny. I hit the trifecta with Ahvee’s Destiny last week. First, she was entered in The Finney Stakes for Sunday. She was the defending champion and, since the race is named for a repeat sponsor of the Saratoga Meet and the Racing Secretary said they expected 8 or 9 horses to compete and the weather was forecast to be good, I did not authorize spending $500 to enter her in another race at Penn National. Well, that was the first two parts of the trifecta… the Finney Stakes did not get sufficient entries and did not run and we had no alternate race. The race in Pennsylvania came up with a soft field, except for Canadian Ballet, who ended up winning the race in a time that would have made Destiny very competitive.
Then came the coup de grace… Linda had me spend $1500 to enter Destiny in a race in Canada, plus there were licensing fees, etc. Figure we spent $2000. However, after seeing the entrants, Linda did not want her to compete and scratched her from the race. No race, no action, $2000 lighter!
So, I am here for two weeks with not one race (Arielle’s Song was entered but there were too many horses). That and the trifecta above cause much frustration. Then I thought I found races in which Linda should have entered Destiny. However, she showed me I was wrong about the conditions. I felt really foolish.
Then, we spoke about the other horses. Hear the Footsteps should race on August 7th. It’s Truly Ahvee, the two year old colt will point for a race August 14th and Destiny will either race at Monmouth on August 15th or at Saratoga on August 18th. Arielle’s Song will be entered as soon as the appropriate race is scheduled. Unless she does well, she is headed for a lesser racetrack and eventually out of inventory. Linda says the same will have to be the situation with Holy Blitzer, whose knee is deteriorating.
Of the two remaining Obviously New York Stable 2-yr olds, Millie Money will likely get to the races first, if she starts eating again and Obviously Tuesday should get to the races by the end of the Meet.
I’ve come to the realization that my expectations were not realistic. The past two years have seen us come to Saratoga one day and Ahvee’s Destiny would win a Stakes race the next day. The camaraderie we’d had with other owners is still there, just not as constant or as strong as it appeared to be. The trainer is a star, so I can’t expect her to be spending lots of time with us. So, we’ll have to settle for what we can get. C’est la vie.
As for the house, it (and even the pool) are in shape and ready for the guests about to arrive. I can see we’re likely to be going back and forth after the 15th. That is the reason we took the house for the whole season. Now, if we can just win some races…
Best,
A.
Visit the Official Avram Freedberg website!
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