May 21, 2016 It's SHOW TIME!!!!
Updates:
See how Pyscho Sister did in her debut here
The stomach starts to knot. The nerves begin to fray. Excitement creeps in. After an endless waiting period, the entries for Saturday’s race card are finalized and Pyscho Sister is entered to make her professional racing debut in the 4th race in the new silks of Royal Victory Thoroughbreds. Somebody once asked me when I begin to feel nervous? Right NOW and it will last until the race is over. Anticipation, excitement and emotion are all coupled within oneself.
Pyscho Sister was bred in Washington by the good hands at Blue Ribbon Farm under the care of Debbie Pabst. She is daughter of the mare Melba Jewel who ran 36 times, including 30 times at Emerald Downs with 5 wins and top 3 finishes in 60% of her races. Her total earnings were $124k over her four year racing career, including a stakes win and several stakes placings. Pyscho Sister is her first daughter to race. Pyscho Sister is by Freud, a perennial leading sire in the very competitive New York market, including several graded stakes horses and graded stakes horses winners, mostly back East.
Pyscho Sister was training well last year in California and preparing to race on turf before she ran into a typical 2 year old issue, commonly called shins. She then returned to Washington and took the winter time off in order to prepare for her 3 year old year. She has since returned to train at Emerald Downs and has been working steadily under tack for the past few months. We kept her in Washington this year to watch her race live locally. Her morning breezes (workouts) have been encouraging, although race conditions are significantly different than training conditions, so we can only speculate as to how this will translate on race day.
The fourth race at Emerald on Saturday sets up as a tough handicapping race with 10 horses entered, including 5 first time starters; thus, promising an array of odds across the board. Each of the previously raced horses have at least demonstrated enough talent to compete at this level and have the advantage of experience over the newbies. The unraced horses are sired from impressive stallions such as multimillion dollar studs Distorted Humor, Pure Prize and Tricky Trevor. Each ownership group is hopeful their horse will emerge as a future ‘Stakes’ horse from this race. Indeed, this sets up as a very tough assignment for Pyscho Sister.
Pyscho Sister will go off as a relative long shot as evidenced by her 8-1 morning line odds. Her odds are due to a combination of her lack of experience and stout competition. She will be partnered with a proven veteran rider in Francisco Duran, who has been riding in both California and Emerald Downs over the past year; however, he is lesser known locally than some of the other riders in the race. Ideally, she will run a strong race, finish well and return to the barn in sound condition.
Her first race is the culmination of a regimented training program, careful daily examination of her health and fitness and exhibited patience from both owner and trainer alike. She has told us that she’s now ready to perform on the track and we’ll be there to watch and hopefully bask in the glory that comes with victory! Regardless, I will marvel at her competitive nature.