Names of the Month
Cop a Tude. The Jan. 4 Laurel Park maiden special weight winner, who races for breeder High Five Racing Stables II LLC, is by Officer out of Emotional Storm.
Chapel Street. The Jan. 4 Charles Town allowance winner, bred in West Virginia by owner/trainer Larry Curtis, is by Chapel Royal but more importantly shares his name with a 1970s era timber star. That Chapel Street, a son of Nashua, won a Virginia Gold Cup (and more) for Rokeby Stable and trainer Ridgely White.
Take a Number
10:Highest ranking by a Mid-Atlantic bred on the 2011 national earnings list for Thoroughbred racing. Pennsylvania-bred Plum Pretty, who won the Kentucky Oaks-G1 and Cotillion Stakes-G2 on the way to more than $1.3 million in earnings for the year. She was bred by Silent Indy Stables LLC and DDS Stables.
49: Seconds it took Animal Kingdom (outside) and Toby’s Corner to work a half-mile in company at Maryland’s Fair Hill Training Center on Jan. 2?–?their first workouts as 4-year-olds. Trained by Graham Motion, the 2011 Grade 1 winners were on the comeback trail with major goals for 2012.
New Year’s Resolutions
A few from some Mid-Atlantic horsemen as the calendar page turned to 2012:
“The goal last year was to stay healthy, of course, and to get to 200 wins. We ended up getting 195, that’s something I’d like to go over this year. And win a graded stakes.”Jockey Sheldon Russell
“I want to have more fun in 2012 than I had in 2011, that means winning more races, claiming more horses and learning from the mistakes I make everyday so that I can better myself as a trainer. To get better, you have to admit your mistakes and learn from them.” Trainer Dane Kobiskie
“I resolve to not make at least one Jamie Ness-trained horse the morning-line favorite in 2012.” Maryland Jockey Club handicapper Frank Carulli
“My resolution is after two years of downsizing to finish the year with the same amount of horses as I start with.” Trainer Scott Lake
Worth Repeating
“Look, the condition book wins races.”
Trainer David Wells, of Rapid Redux fame, on finding the right spots
“It’s the best $275 we ever spent.”
Wells, on the late 2010 throat surgery performed on Rapid Redux at
Valley Vet in Charles Town, W.Va.
“Well, I’ve got 14 phone calls to return and a horse to haul?–?can I call you back?”
Murmur Farm’s Allen Murray,
on his busy schedule in January
“It’s a shame he passed away. We’re all going to do that someday, but he could have been a dean of sires in Pennsylvania and an attraction for people.”
Penn Ridge Farm’s Tom Reigle, on stallion Real Quiet (who died in 2010)
