This horse makes me want to rip my hair out

[Carole Hanson]

Please someone help me, what the eff do I do with Nevermind now??

I know his poor result last out was in part him getting a 3.5 week break which is way too long for him when he is a sound horse. But I think he might have lost some confidence along the way (though I'm under no illusion, after all, he isn't among the top of the crop being only a Stakes in a growing division, so I'm not under the impression that he'll go on and win the SC or the Chimborazo). Maybe I should go to a barrier trial next for confidence? But then what?

This horse just makes me so frustrated, I genuinely feel like giving up on him and retiring at this point.

[Tim Matthews]

I honestly think 3 1/2 weeks is not too long once in a while. He's raced enough that he shouldn't have lost much fitness at all. He's just on a bad streak. You've done a great job with him, 8 for 14 is an excellent record. Stay the course I'd say.

Barrier trial might not be a bad idea, nothing to lose except game points and a little time. I just wouldn't run him in anything lower than a stakes. Or, I might try and find a weak spot somewhere week 5 Monday and see how he does on a short break. If he keeps cashing even like 30k per race it's definitely worth it to keep running.

[Art K Stables]

Training options are not just for yearlings... and 3.5 weeks can certainly cost fitness with nothing in between on a sound horse .. running him week 5 Monday he will probably not be rested enough, the horse is fully fit after a race so week 5 Friday is probably a better bet

[Rochelle Bos]

He’s only been off the board twice I think he's doing excellent! Maybe try a G3 or a listed stakes to get some confidence back.

[Kelly Haggerty]

The time was faster than the other 6f races he's been in. He "chased" and "flattened out". Comments and the time of the race suggest maybe just not the right pace scenario for his running style?

[William Atteberry]

Not being afraid to sound stupid, here is a rookie's opinion base upon all 4 weeks of experience. I have seen the discussion on confidence, and I'm not sure I really understand that concept or variable. Fitness on the other hand is something I can relate to. There appear to be different levels of rest (within levels) so it might be reasonable to assume there are different levels of fitness within the levels. One might be fully fit, but does on have the peak competitive edge today. As a veteran of air travel, I could adjust to the 8 hr trip fairly easily but the 12-16 hour flights were another matter.

I have found nothing about the impacts of long flights other than a couple of notes at it may take more than 1 day to get fully rested. That is not the same as fit. There is a reason Olympic athletes get to the games more than the day before. They are fully fit, but the body is out of sync a couple days. Day is night and night is day from the body's perspective. Effort is made to but one's body clock in sync with the competition clock that is going to take place.

Horses are no different but is that a variable in the sim? Let's say yes. To be competitively at its best the horse would have to adjust to the new time zone/place. That would mean brining it in a bit early, to have an extra day rest. To Jog, just to know the track and or walk so to relax. In this case, with the longer lay off, get there at week early and gallop, just to retain the fine fitness.

Logically, for a trip around the world (16 hr), there would need to be something to get the horse over the edge of the long trip. It could be coincidence but of the top 5 finishers, Nevermind was the only horse to get there Day 3 (and enjoy his 2 days rest), the other 4 got there Day 2.(rest +?). Were they closer to their competitive edge?

I have tried a couple of long trips (to take advantage of small fields), but not confident I got the best out of the horse.

Bill

PS: If you get to frustrated, I would love to enjoy that frustration.

[Karl Smythe]

My standard answer may not help but could.
Get him back to Africa where he has done his best running.
Might just get him back on top of things.

[Carole Hanson]

Thanks for the responses, some good stuff here to take on board!

William, as for the rest thing, in the SIM horses accumulate rest on farms quicker than they do at the track. That’s why I ship my horses to the track a day before the post time, so they get the maximum amount of time resting at a farm, and since I have first class shipping on, they don’t get any extra tiredness from the long ship.

[William Atteberry]

That's rest. I was wondering about little levels of fitness. I was fully fit and rested travelling from US to Europe, but rarely played my best golf the first time out

[Tim Matthews]

3.5 weeks can certainly cost fitness with nothing in between on a sound horse ..

Nah, if Carole had jogged him that day instead of racing him, the trainer would have said "fully fit." Even for a very sound horse, 4 week rest occasionally is not an issue.

running him week 5 Monday he will probably not be rested enough

Nope again, he'll probably vet perfectly week 4 day 6 or 7 at worst. People run on 1.5 week rest pretty frequently with no problems.

I think he probably just hit a little patch of bad luck. I would say the most important part now is just making sure his confidence is dialed in.

[Art K Stables]

News to me , just because it says fully fit doesn’t mean the horse is in top shape, even horses I raced who were sound 3 times 2 weeks apart will say asked but tired , even when vetted fine

[Ryan Whitehead]

Carole - Heads up your horse ran week 3 day 5 and you have him scheduled week 5 day 1. Thats barely over a week of rest and shipping. I'm not so sure that is a good idea.

[Gwen Morse]

I have found nothing about the impacts of long flights other than a couple of notes at it may take more than 1 day to get fully rested. That is not the same as fit. There is a reason Olympic athletes get to the games more than the day before. They are fully fit, but the body is out of sync a couple days. Day is night and night is day from the body's perspective. Effort is made to but one's body clock in sync with the competition clock that is going to take place.

Horses are no different but is that a variable in the sim? Let's say yes. To be competitively at its best the horse would have to adjust to the new time zone/place. That would mean brining it in a bit early, to have an extra day rest. To Jog, just to know the track and or walk so to relax. In this case, with the longer lay off, get there at week early and gallop, just to retain the fine fitness.

I have tried a couple of long trips (to take advantage of small fields), but not confident I got the best out of the horse.

I've been thinking about this/wondering about it too. I tried racing horses on long ships last season, but every time I've tried they run badly. Novices can't use first class shipping. I've tried 3 days auto-shipping and 2 days auto-shipping and my horses bottomed out using either time.

The tiredness mechanic from shipping seems rather mysterious (there isn't a lot of explanation/discussion about it on the forums) or in Racing News articles. Regina Moore's articles about tiredness were from the perspective of injuries - would a particular horse potentially be injured based on doing 'x' - rather than sharpness for a race.

I suspect there may be a sort of day 1 level of tiredness where a horse can't be be injured/gets the best rest messages, but isn't actually fully rested (call it jet lag). It's hard to feel certain because the most obvious explanation for my horses running bad when I ship them thousands of miles is trainer error (field too hard, etc.).

[Brad Fabman]

I don't know if this will help anybody. I probably approach this game differently than most. I don't sit on the edge of my seat looking for weak or unfull fields. I just don't care to invest time in that method of playing. But that's me. I always enter my horses two weeks in advance of a race date. Whomever shows up, so be it. But if it's a track that is going to be a bit of a distance, I ship to a close by farm right upon entry. Then I do my usual 3 day ship from that farm at the $100 ship rate before the race. Right, wrong or indifferent, I have to assume they are rested properly. How well they are placed may be another issue. They at least fit the conditions 95% of the time. For me, I think my lousy horses are more of an issue than rest. LOL

[William Atteberry]

I think that approach has merit, Brad. Focus on a track for a few weeks and then move to the next. Stay in Alaska, whatever. Keep your horses rested and trained. The 1-10 Mile trip to the track is certainly not taxing, nor the return. But them what do I know Still lots of variables to work thru.