The look of death?

Mallory Claire · Post by **Mallory Claire** » 18 years ago

This POOR filly. She's toast if she doesn't scratch.

<a href='http://simdb.turfangels.com:1002/sim/FM ... 2206&-find' target='_blank'>Millego</a>

Shame, she showed some promise in that first start on turf, before she got overraced.

Mandy Saunders · Post by **Mandy Saunders** » 18 years ago

Well...with hopes that she survives this race, I have...um...done something about it. I am probably not the only one either after others have seen this post.

Dave Shields · Post by **Dave Shields** » 18 years ago

I thought the right thing to do was to send her an email. So I did in the hopes that she get my email, reads it and scratches the horse from the race. I am not sure if she reads the forums or not, so basically I let her know that 2yo's need 2 weeks of rest between races (minimum!) and her horse is in dire need of rest for what I would think to be at least 3 weeks before trying another race.

I am thinking maybe this new player just needed some information. Hopefully she takes my suggestions in the email and comes her to ask questions or even lurk the boards for information. I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for all of you other players helping not only myself, but each other along the way.

Think good thoughts and try to make a difference.

Ronda Figal · Post by **Ronda Figal** » 18 years ago

also due to the added weeks in the sim our horses are now needing more of a minimun rest..Those babies that could do every oter week on heart alone now need a minimun of 3 weeks off(perferbly 4) and even our older horses need 3 off(learned that the hard way)..i was racing my horses under theh old system of every 3 weeks for the 2yrs and every oter for the 3 and older horses.. Now due to the added weeks,i had one of my most promising colts break down off of the old every other week schedule so i jsut spent a minimun of 6 hours(not kidding)
redoing all of my racing schedules to make sure tehy get the layoffs they need.and now i also have like 13 head that i have laid off for the remainder of the season to prevent more breakdowns.

IsaP · Post by **IsaP** » 18 years ago

You also have to look what races these horses are competing in.. I'll give you a few of my racing schedules...

Thepainwevefound.. my sprinter. 2,7,9,12 with 14 and 16 projected unless there's no race I like in 14.
Dreamhimbacktolife.. my miler.. 2,6,10,12 with 14 and 16 projected
Palpitations.. my more distance runner.. 2,6,8,12 with 16 his only projected race..
A Crown Awaits.. my baby and distance boy.. 3,6 with 13,15 and 16 his projected races..

Why did my distance horse (and logically speaking, the most sound since he can run the longest) get such a HUGE break? Because week 6 was Dubai, a race in the desert against the SIM's best. Why did he get a huge break before his first race? Because the year before, he raced the Breeder's Cup, another difficult race. Also, I wasn't going to race him in a race that didn't suit him.
Don't just race a horse for the sake of getting him out there. A bad race can adversely affect the mindset of a horse. Find what works and stick with it. If this causes you to lose a week or two because conditions aren't favorable, so be it. Younger horses and sprinters are more breaky, be careful. Bloodlines are important. Silver Charm is a very breaky line. Storm Cat, not so much. I keep a spreadsheet of everyone racing for the year. It shows me what distance works best, what equipment I used when the horse raced the best, age, favorite surface, finish, total earnings and the whole year's worth of racing. It helps me see patterns in the races to tell whether the horse needs a break.

Course.. I expect this advice to be ignored, as per usual.. I just like typing to read my own thoughts.

Brianna McKenzie · Post by **Brianna McKenzie** » 18 years ago

Actually Isa that was brilliant. 16 weeks isn't making the year longer.. It's the same year, the races are just split up differently.

Horses who raced in Dubai haven't fared well unless they had a HUGE break.
I raced Inspired Myth there week 6.. Gave him until week 10.. But he's a miler soo it's different. Into Glory raced there week 5.. I gave her until week 10 because she ran her guts out in Dubai. Also I ran her in an allowance race, so she wasn't facing monsters. A horse who seemed to get BETTER off his trip to Dubai is Midnight Dreams. He came back from a week 5 race in week 8. I felt more comfortable racing him back sooner because Dubai was his first start of the year, it was only an allowance race. He came back and finished 2nd to a great horse by only a 1/2. Now the poor buggar has decided he needs lasix, but that's up to his new trainer.

Also I've seen great proof that if your horse runs it's guts out, it takes at least 4 weeks off to get them back.

Common sense says that if your horse is coming back from injury or a really hard race that you just try and find a spot that's not wicked tough on them. You don't need to duck horses, just don't throw them to the wolves.

Some sprinters are sounder then others. I'd be more willing to race an Em's Always Busy heavier then I would a Priceless Forever..

Peihe Sun · Post by **Peihe Sun** » 18 years ago

Horses who raced in Dubai haven't fared well unless they had a HUGE break.

Does that apply to just racing in Dubai? What if a horse is shipped to Japan or Europe and then back to the US/Canada? Would you recommend 4-5 weeks off for them too?

Also I've seen great proof that if your horse runs it's guts out, it takes at least 4 weeks off to get them back.

I'm a little confused by this as well. What tells you if a horse runs its guts out? The racing lines/winning margins? Would this be a "dueled, edged clear" victory or a lot of traffic problems/bad start/stumbles en route to a win (or both)?

Thanks for anwering my questions.

Sean Feld · Post by **Sean Feld** » 18 years ago

I gave my Dubai horses 3 weeks with I think one of those at a farm and one won a stakes race and the other ran 2nd in one.

Susie Rydell · Post by **Susie Rydell** » 18 years ago

Peihe wrote: Does that apply to just racing in Dubai? What if a horse is shipped to Japan or Europe and then back to the US/Canada? Would you recommend 4-5 weeks off for them too?

The least I've allowed on that kind of ship (it was Japan to Ireland, actually) was 2 weeks, and the horse won. I'd prefer to go with 3 weeks (or more) though, which worked for me going from Japan to the US recently. One of mine last ran week 10, and I just moved her to my farm in NY, and will probably wait until week 14 to run her. She's coming off of a tough (and long) race, so I wanna make sure she's good to go.

Brianna McKenzie · Post by **Brianna McKenzie** » 18 years ago

Well I think the Dubai races are tougher on horses because the fields are super tough. I haven't noticed anything major with other shipping. This week will answer some big questions, as Sir William and Kotya Peeking are both returing from European races that were tough. If they choke, I screwed up.
Regardless of the outcome Tom is finished for the year, I've abused that poor colt enough.

Running lines examples..
"Held, big rush outside, drawing away" That race wasn't very hard on the horse.

"Stalked pace, brief lead top of lane, dueled but couldn’t go by" My mare ran her heart out, she just wasn't good enough on the day.

Hope that helps

Sarah Chase · Post by **Sarah Chase** » 18 years ago

Some more examples of easy/tough fought races:

Easy (relatively speaking): Broke well, set pace, handily
Easy: Very powerful from gate, took lead middle of racetrack, powerful throughout
Easy: Stalked pace, moved outside, strong rally, easily (haha, if it says easily, then there you go)
Somewhat easy: Battled along the inside, dug in when challenged on the turn, then drew away while being ridden out.

Hard: Pressured leader, tried to go by that one, no match (she did her best, but was ultimately second best. In no way her fault. *hugs filly*)
Hard: Broke quickly, rushed up, dueled, game but outfinished.
Same filly as "broke quickly..." one above: In tight early, ducked through inside, fought hard, second best
Another filly: Showed speed, stalked, eager to go, let loose, tough fight, won

Dave Shields · Post by **Dave Shields** » 18 years ago

Just a word of good news... you will notice my email arrived and Millego has been scratched from the race.

I am not sure if Janey comes to visit the forums or not, but I hope she is able to at least lurk/read. Everyone here has helped me both directly and indirectly to becoming a better trainer (work in progress), but sometimes the information is just so overwhelming. So I would like to thank everyone and hope we can make difference in helping each other out.

Of course there are times when I just want my horse to beat yours, but thats all in fun and usually my horses are looking at your horses butts and breathing their dust.

We are just one big competitive family. B)

Peihe Sun · Post by **Peihe Sun** » 18 years ago

Ok, I understand the race lines more now. thanks to everyone who contributed. B)

Eric Nalbone · Post by **Eric Nalbone** » 18 years ago

Peihe wrote: Ok, I understand the race lines more now. thanks to everyone who contributed. B)

The other thing to note is that every once in a while, someone will post a thread either in here or in the new players forum asking for help with a running line, and since many of us are to the point where we can often (often, not always!) look at a running line and diagnose whatever problems may exist, someone can almost aways provide you with a few quick suggestions as to what might be worth a try. Don't be afraid to ask!

Mandy Saunders · Post by **Mandy Saunders** » 18 years ago

Ekawa Design wrote: Just a word of good news... you will notice my email arrived and Millego has been scratched from the race.

Oh darn... I was hoping to snag her.