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Honestly, I'm starting to burn out on the game a bit and the temptation to rage-retire her is real, but I feel like that would be stupid to do in the long run
She's a Stakes Late Bloomer, and as you can see, impeccably bred. She won her first start in classy fashion, and has bombed every start since then, with the exception of a barrier trial. I just tried her at 1 1/8 because I was like "well maybe she just isnt as into the 1 1/16 distance as I thought?" but she ran a very underwhelming race at 1 1/8. As far as I can tell, she shouldn't want a super long route... What would you do?
โค ๐ด๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ธ๐๐ข๐๐๐ โค Since Year 30 Proudly Standing Equinox | TR/AWR | $50,000 Quinny | DR/DM | $10,000
โพ Visit our Nursery to view our floofy little future stars!
Why would you think she doesn't want further? James Dean won a G1 over 2 miles , over 1 and 1/2 plus a number over 1 and 1/4, DMB won a G1 over 1 and 1/4, You Never Know won a few G1 at 1 and 1/4.
I'd at least try her over 1 and 1/4 before retiring.
She wants to be older and go farther. In addition to what Dave wrote, DMB sired last year's Derby winner, and her dam ran well at 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles, and probably did her best running at 3 and 4.
I think in addition, what hurt you in her seasonal debut was running her in a barrier trial Week 15, Day 7, and then wheeling her back for a Week 1, Day 1 race. That's essentially one week's rest (plus the little bit of quasi-rest from the break). I find my horses need more than a week after a barrier trial, so I try to give them 10 days to 2 weeks before running after a barrier trial. She might have been ready to go, but not ready to give a peak effort. I think if you're patient with her the first half of this year, you'll really start to see dividends the second half of this year, and as a 4yo. Good luck with her!
Wait for her to mature. I'm still sitting on three-year-old stakes gallopers that haven't raced yet because they are late bloomers. I ran quite a few stakes/late bloomers last year and the year before with mostly extremely disappointing results. Also want to echo the statements about distance. Her dam's side is positively loaded with stamina, at the very least of the 1 1/4 mile classic type if not the marathon type.
Just a thought, but have you considered leasing her? I got a few stakes gallopers this way because their owners just wanted someone else to wrestle with them. And there are some very smart junior players now- Eric, Gwen, and William come to mind- that would probably love to run a horse like this. It sounds like you are getting good advice here, and may just let her sit for a bit, but I would consider leasing a nice horse and potential breeding prospect to a skilled junior/new player with access to more restricted conditions before I would rage-retire. At least that way you still get the breeder's rewards and have the option of picking the horse's career back up later if it does bloom.
Thank you all so much for the insight!
Iโm kind of a ding-dong, as for some reason in my head I thought she was going week 15 Day 1 to Week 1 day 1 (face-palm!) that is probably what mostly explains the poor performance.
Clearly I just need to be more patient and explore letting her have more distance
โค ๐ด๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ธ๐๐ข๐๐๐ โค Since Year 30 Proudly Standing Equinox | TR/AWR | $50,000 Quinny | DR/DM | $10,000
โพ Visit our Nursery to view our floofy little future stars!
