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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Stories of the Year, 2008 Edition
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sprinters A-Go-Go
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Posted by
Superfecta
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12:57 PM
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Labels: Indian Blessing
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
An Historical Interlude
"While there were contests at four miles and even at four miles and repeat in England, such events were not considered the true test of merit in a horse; that kind of racing became really American, since for seventy-five years the four-mile-heat horse was the king of his day."It's rather a change from today. Virginia was also responsible for importing the great Diomed (pictured) in 1798, aged about 21 at the time – he would become the pre-eminent sire of early American racing. But it wasn't just the South doing all the early importation; James De Lancey in New York was at work somewhat later, but with no less influential horses. Wildair and Lath (imported in the mid-to-late 1760s) were both useful stallions, but the Cub Mare, know as 'the Selima of the Northern turf' had perhaps the biggest impact. Her daughter with Wildair, Maria Slamerkin (aka Old Slamerkin) became one of the first great racing stars in New York. Their descendants include Black Gold and Nearco. Wildair was sold and sent back to Britain where he continued his stud career when Tory De Lancey dispersed his stock. Some very interesting, if not entirely accurate, information on early American racing and breeding can be found in The American Thoroughbred, by Charles E. Trevathan, published in 1905 - now available on Google Books. Enjoy! |
Posted by
Superfecta
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12:48 PM
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Labels: History
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Odds and Ends
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Friday, December 12, 2008
A Few of My Favorite Things
Singleton and Johns plan to use the filly in a marketing campaign for Bluetongue beer in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley areas. Singleton's bloodstock manager Duncan Grimley confirmed that the name 'Bluetongue' was being sought for the filly, and proceeds associated with her career will be donated to charity.Indeed, she seems a filly after my own heart - she even enjoyed the beer, according to 'Singo': "She actually didn't like the Bluetongue early and I thought 'well I hope she's not a (Tooheys) New drinker," he said, "but then, 'boom', she took that big swallow and I knew she was one of us."A small aside - while in general I am not a huge fan of Australian beer (even of the craft variety), it seems Bluetongue (the brewery, not the horse) is aiming to follow the Coopers model, and I do recommend Coopers Dark Ale or Coopers Sparkling Ale on a hot day). Of course, if it's great Antipodean beer you are after, I suggest looking across the Tasman Sea for a Moa Noir - or you can ignore the Southern Hemisphere distinction entirely and just enjoy one of these, regardless of origin. But back to the horse -- Bluetongue is now in training and seems to be coming along nicely so far. There are plans to involve some racing clubs in her career and I would be very curious to see if overseas fans could get in on the action. In any case, I'll be keeping an eye out for her - and for 'her' beer. |
Posted by
Superfecta
at
1:20 PM
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Labels: Beer, Bluetongue, Zabeel
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Bringing Order Out of Chaos
"It is not so much that relations with Racing NSW are in disrepair but they will certainly be under review," he told the Herald. "We look at Article 10 of the International Agreement between racing jurisdictions as being one of the 10 commandments and it is unprecedented for reciprocity not to be applied when a penalty is handed down."QRL described its neighbor's license-granting decision as 'near anarchy.' Of course, the same characterization could be made of international racing rules in general - which leads us to the Bauer Problem. You may recall British invader Bauer was second to longshot Viewed by a nostril in the Melbourne Cup - but the controversy that has since arisen has not been a big story Stateside. After the race, it emerged that Bauer had undergone extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) five days before the race; this type of ultrasound procedure to treat soreness is allowed in most jurisdictions until the day before a race - but it must be given at least seven days out in Australia. On the surface, it seems like a clear violation of the rules, albeit an unwitting one - and in that instance the horse should have been disqualified, as Craig Young argues in the Sydney Morning Herald. But it's not so straightforward - the treatment had be recommended by a vet employed by RVL - one who surely should have known the rules of his own local racing authority. Given that it was quite clear a ruling against trainer Luca Cumani would have led to an entirely justified lawsuit against RVL, the result was allowed to stand. Back in Britain, Greg Wood suggests that these issues point to the need for a single rule book for worldwide racing: The mere fact that trainers from Ireland or Britain can now take horses to Melbourne or America and offer serious competition suggests that many of the practical issues involved in travelling horses over long distances have been overcome. Ten years ago, the first question to a European trainer on arrival at the Breeders' Cup meeting was: how did the horse travel? Now, it is almost taken as read that the trip went well.He's entirely correct that the sport is a long way from where it needs to be and he is also clearly aware of the challenge that would be presented in trying to standardize the rules around the world - but if we could make a start at home by getting the pharmacy in order, it would be a good first step. |
Posted by
Superfecta
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12:01 PM
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Labels: Drugs
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Returns and Farewells
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