Email Updates

Nov 3, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Daylight Saving Time has arrived, which must mean we've entered the final furlong of 2019. However, before we start looking towards 2020 and the Spring series of Triple Crown prep racing, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds has a lot more racing action remaining this year for its partners and enthusiasts!

If you watched the Breeders Cup this past weekend, you witnessed some great racing and some amazing champions in Mitole (sprint), Bricks and Mortar (turf) and Vino Rosso (classic), as well as some incredible riding by Irad Ortiz, Joel Rosario and Ricardo Santana. Bricks and Mortar made a serious case towards winning Horse of the Year with his victory on Saturday! Unfortunately, this Breeders Cup will also be remembered for Mongolian Groom, who was injured in the Classic, vanned off and ultimately euthanized. In spite of the substantive efforts made by Santa Anita and the Breeders Cup to enhance the safety of the racetrack and scrutinize the health of the horses, this still happened. Was it the track? The rider? The meds? The trainer? Or was this just an unfortunate accident?

I will not speculate on the cause and will follow the results of the necropsy before making any personal judgment, but regardless, racing has a serious problem in my opinion. There are accidents also at Churchill Downs, Saratoga and even Emerald Downs too, so this is not just a Santa Anita issue. There have been some good efforts made across several venues and some jurisdictions to improve the safety of the horses and riders but is racing collectively doing enough? We are overdo for a governance body or national racing commissioner to enact and enforce strict rules regarding medications, racing surface and pre-race testing (for both soundness and medications). The sport is too fragmented today, which creates inaction and lack of accountability when a crisis like Mongolian Groom strikes.

I love horses and love horseracing. As a racehorse owner, nothing can compare with the natural high of winning a race. To witness the racing 'high', just watch the reaction of Mike Repole after winning the BC Classic. His emotions are real, raw and unbridled. This is a guy that has made a ridiculous amount of money from his business, and has many successes, yet there he is acting like a little kid! You can also watch the 1990 KY derby when Unbridled won, to experience a genuine tear jerker moment with Carl Nafzger and Frances Genter. Such scenes are played out at racing venues all the time. I recall being at Emerald Downs a couple years ago when my parents were in town for a visit. My horse crossed the finish line first in a photo and they sprinted into each others arms in a spontaneous embrace, jumping and shouting like children. It was quite the scene! This is the incredible gift that our horses give to us. We need to protect them in racing and retirement and I will support all efforts to improve the safety and conditions of our racetracks and horses.

As indicated above, Royal Victory will remain very active during this stretch run of 2019 with five horses actively in training and all expected to race in November. The lineup (and projected racing date) includes Straituota Congtin (Nov 14 at Belmont), Not My Money (Nov 9 at Laurel Park), Super Buddy (Nov 9 at Laurel Park), Hardy Chisel (Nov 16 at Golden Gate Fields) and Two Sixteen (Nov 17 at Laurel Park). My next update will include an update on each RVT racehorse.

We also have three more racehorses yet to be syndicated, starting with Bigfoot City by City Zip (to race in California in 2020) and Miss Vanjie Nation by Nationhood (to race in Cal and Washington in 2020) who will begin training in December. This filly and colt are expected to be offered for syndication in early 2020 as they get close to debuting. The next East coast horse is a 2020 2YO colt by Zivo. He is currently earning his Virginia Certification and will ship to New York in late Spring or early Summer to be stabled with multiple Graded Stakes Winning trainer, James Toner. If you have any potential interest in any if these future horses, please contact me for more information.

Sep 14, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

September is typically a month of transition as we shift our thoughts from summer to autumn, head back to school and start watching football. For horse racing, September is also a time of transition as popular summer venues in Saratoga and Del Mar hand-over to the autumn meets of Belmont and Los Alamitos, Emerald Downs ends live racing for the fall/winter recess and Keeneland hosts the worlds largest yearling auction.

For Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, this summer has been an unexpectedly quiet in terms of races, but fear not, as September is shaping up to be a promising transition month for RVT partners and enthusiasts! Several horses have recently returned to training, setting us up for a potential exciting and very active final few months of the year.

Leading things off is Not My Money, who returned to the races in July and nearly broke her maiden at first asking in her Laurel Park debut, missing by just a length. She came back with a pair of races in August at the grand reopening of Colonial Downs in Virginia, finishing 5th and 3rd. At present, she is training at Laurel Park in preparing for her next race this month.

Next up is a trio or our runners coming off the Disabled List and showing renewed enthusiasm in Hardy Chisel, Super Buddy, and Straitouta Congtin. All have been training well in preparing for their respective returns to the races.

Hardy Chisel haschanged venue from Emerald Downs to Golden Gate Fields and has been training with rejuvenated action, based on a trio of sub 50 half mile breezes in the past three weeks. The son of Paynter is pointing towards making his California debut by the end of September. In New York, after nearly a year off, Straitouta Congtin has also returned to a serious training regimen. He started breezing at Saratoga last month and has continued at Belmont Park, including a sharp 47.6 half mile breeze on Sep 8. moving him closer to his return. Finally, a few miles to the south at Laurel Park in Maryland, Super Buddy was spotted breezing a sharp half in 48.4 on Sep 10. He returns after successful epiglottis surgery in June and is also shooting for a return to the races by month end to race for the first time as a gelding!

Not too far behind the above trio is one of our top runners this year, Two Sixteen, who is moving back to Laurel Park just this weekend following minor surgery in June. She'll work for a month under tack before starting to breeze again around mid-October. If all goes to plan, she will be ready to race again about Thanksgiving time!

Finally, in upstate NY, one horse will remain on the DL through the end of the year as the promising filly, Running on Entry, will be given a few extra months of turnout. This is mostly due to the calendar since turf racing in NY ends by the end of November, and that is not enough time for her to get into game shape before they switch to all-dirt racing. She'll return to training in early 2020 with a bit of extra rest, and will target a return in April to the grassy oval of Belmont Park.

We are enthusiastic about the coming months and optimistic on having five Royal Victory Thoroughbred horses racing across three different venues during the final three months of 2019. See you at the races this fall!!

Jul 28, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The dog days of summer is typically a great time of year for racing fans with premier meets at Saratoga and Del Mar well underway, along with seasonal venues, such as Emerald Downs in Washington and the California Fairs to compliment a busy time of year for most horseman.

Ironically, activity on the racetrack this summer has been seasonally slow at Royal Victory Thoroughbreds with just a single race in July. The Mid-Atlantic debut for Not My Money at Laurel Park on July 6 was exciting, as she stayed closed to the pace and finished strongly for a solid 2nd in a $40k maiden claiming affair. It was a nice return to the races after several months off. She continues to train at Laurel and will be sent to Colonial Downs in early August, aiming to break through for her first career victory in her home state of Virginia.

Recently spotted galloping on the racetrack at Saratoga was Straitouta Congtin, who has not raced since Sept 2018. He has now moved into the barn of Jimmy Toner where he joins his younger half-sister, Running on Entry. He'll begin serious training in preparation for his 2019 debut either at Saratoga or more likely, when NYRA returns to Belmont Park in September.

Finally, after a month off for maintenance and pasture therapy, Hardy Chisel has returned to Emerald Downs to resume training in anticipation of getting his first 2019 victory before the end of the meet, which runs till the end of September.

As with any sport, athletes will sustain injuries that may take them out of the game for a short period of time. When this happens, it's critically important for the well being and sustainability of the athlete to haste not and take care of the issue. It's part of the game and one of the risks we willingly sign up for when owning a thoroughbred. Do things really come in threes? Perhaps, as such has been the case with Two Sixteen, Super Buddy and Running on Entry. All three are presently sidelined after recent surgeries, and presently going through various stages of rehabilitation.

Super Buddy experienced an issue during that last race in early June. The subsequent medical attention was successful and he's feeling much better and ready to resume training next week at Laurel Park. Two Sixteen and Running on Entry both experienced P1 chips on their front ankles. This is a fracture of their first/proximal phalanx, and it manifests with some fluid in the ankle. In both cases, it was tricky as their ankles would cool out after a breeze since the chips was small. These were removed to relieve any pressure being experienced and prevent further issues. This type of injury is not career threatening or performance impacting long-term, as minor surgery was performed to remove the chips. Both are expected to fully recover and resume training in September.

In light of recent media reports regarding racing, our horses are given the best of care. They are inspected from head to hoof with temp taken daily and each movement is carefully observed. The smallest of issues are noticed, from tying up, to small bumps, swelling, heat or superficial cuts. As evidenced by the actions above, we will stop training immediately if there is any indication of a potential issue and immediately address anything that threatens their well-being.

On that note, Big Foot City has returned to Yakima for give him some additional time to mature. We'll plan to syndicate him late in 2019 or early 2020 once he breezes a half-mile, and appears close to his 3YO debut in early 2020. The initial feedback (riders/trainer) from his first few breezes at Golden Gate Fields have given us a lot of reason to be optimistic for this son of City Zip for 2020 and beyond.

Stay cool through these dog days of summer and good luck at the window!

Jun 2, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

From the controversy of the Kentucky Derby to the devastating fatalities at Santa Anita, it has been a trying year for the horseracing industry. As an owner and an animal enthusiast, it's a sobering reality that challenges our involvement in this beautiful expression of speed, skill and competition. There are few things as thrilling and exciting as watching your racehorse cross the finish line in front of the others and we (all owners, trainers, etc...) need to assure we are protecting our horses from undo harm and racing with integrity.

Based on the ignorance of some online comments (and I've only read a handful), I gather that most of those shaming the sport and its participants have not seen a backstretch or spent much time around a magnificent thoroughbred. I can reassure you that all our trainers, farm managers and grooms always put the health and welfare of the horse above anything else. Our team at all facilities genuinely care about our horses and the trust we place in them. Each horse is thoroughly checked every day, temperatures taken, legs and bodies inspected. If there is anything not perfect, we immediately back off. This also means we may skip a start (Super Buddy in May), not debut a 2YO (Running on Entry, Straitouta Congtin) or layup a horse for several months to give them necessary time off (Not My Money). Additionally, in the spirit of transparency, all partners and prospective partners are welcome to visit the barns at any of our racetracks or farms at any time.

While we are just one of many owners/ownership group that operate with integrity, there are improvements the racing industry can undertake to improve the sport, weed out the bad actors and protect the welfare of the horse. In my opinion, this includes the authoritative oversight of allowable and safe medications, stricter penalties for violations, consistency in rules, a national racing license and a higher commitment towards retirement/aftercare services. If there is a silver lining from the recent problems, its forcing the industry to seriously look inwardly, debate these issues and hopefully, we'll see something positive and constructive result.

Royal Victory Thoroughbreds had a relatively quiet month of May with just three races. The highlight of the month was the fabulous debut of Running on Entry at Belmont Park on May 2 as she rallied from last to finish 2nd by a neck. Two Sixteen tried her hand on a sloppy racetrack at Laurel Park on May 4 and finished third while Hardy Chisel struggled against a tough group at Emerald Downs in his 2019 debut on May 5, not unlike his 2018 debut. Hopefully, he just needs a race to get going.

Running on Entry (#1), missing by just a neck at Belmont Park, May 2

Looking forward to June, Hardy Chisel will try a softer group today at Emerald Downs in the fourth race (10-1) while Super Buddy looks to return in allowance company on Jun 9 after missing a start. Running on Entry is targeting a NY maiden race on Jun 13 at Belmont for her second career race and Two Sixteen will likely skip a start some maintenance, and looks to return near the end of June. Gearing up for the summer, both Not My Money at Laurel Park and Straitouta Congtin in Saratoga are scheduled to start breezing this week with mid-July targets for their respective 2019 debuts. June is shaping up to be an exciting entry into the busy summer months for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds.

With every start, we seek new thrills and excitement as we energetically root our horse home to victory, but most importantly, we always hope our horses return to the barn after each race, happy and sound.

May 5, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Even the general public has weighed-in on the drama at the 145th Kentucky Derby on Saturday as Maximum Security was disqualified, making Country House the winner. If you had a wager on Country House, many congratulations for having the gumption to put it out there on a 65-1 shot!! For those with wagers on Maximum Security, take solace from the fact you picked the best horse. I bet neither, so was merely a spectator for the 22 tension filled minutes. Can you imagine being the trainer or owner?

I've watched the replay and was frankly stunned by the decision, but not the conclusion that Maximum Security interfered with War of Will. In my opinion, the Stewards made the right call. It is clear that Maximum Security affected the race on the turn for home, and if not for the quick reaction of jockey Tyler Gaffalione to prevent a cascading spill, the headline could have read as a tragedy and racing dealt a serious problem. Thankfully, all the horses and riders are safe. While it seems nearly impossible to mess with tradition, especially in Kentucky, the stewards deserve a shout out for having the courage to make a decision never made in the previous 144 years of the Kentucky Derby. Perhaps, they can update some other traditions too, like reducing from 20 horse fields and extending the Triple Crown races over two months.

We have also embraced springtime at Royal Victory Thoroughbreds with more action and excitement on the track and the promise of more in the coming months. April featured another exciting 2nd place finish by Two Sixteen, as she defiantly held place against a pressing rival on April 11. She followed up that performance with a 3rd place finish today over the sloppy mud at Laurel Park. While the sloppy track was not really to her liking, she boosted her record to an impressive one win, two seconds and two thirds in just seven career starts.

At historic Belmont Park, Running on Entry had a thrilling career debut on May 2 in a 10-horse field sprinting 7F on the turf in a state-bred Maiden Special Weight. She had been training well leading up to the race and she broke cleanly, but after a clean break from the one-post, she was at the rear of the pack and trailed by nearly 10 lengths after the first quarter mile and again at the half-mile post. At this point, we were hoping she would pass a some tired horses, but then she did something completely unexpected - as described in the trip notes "she rode the rail until the end of the bend, was placed into the two path at the top of the stretch, closed in readily, altered one path farther off the rail past the eighth pole, continued to chop away the deficit, came up short of reeling in the winner." In other words, she passed not just the tired horses, but all of them except for the winner and finished 2nd by a neck.

Needless to say, we're super excited about her prospects and looking forward to her 2nd career start at Belmont Park!

Yeah, It was that close!!

On the West Coast, Hardy Chisel had a less successful 2019 debut at Emerald Downs on May 4. It was a tough claiming $25k race and he broke sharply from the one-post and led the way to the first quarter. However, he began to lose momentum before ultimately getting bumped into the fence by a rival, which impeded any momentum he had at that point. After the race, he cooled out well and seemed to tell us he needed that race to accelerate his fitness, just like last year. You may recall that after finishing last in his career debut last year, he came back to finish 3rd and then 1st in his next two races. Hopefully, we'll see a return to that good form next time out.

Thus, after three races this weekend with Running on Entry (2nd), Hardy Chisel (7th) and Two Sixteen (3rd), we're going to take a few deep breaths and get ready for the Preakness Stakes on May 18. Those slick looking Royal Victory Thoroughbred silks should reappear on the track at Belmont, Pimlico/Laurel Park and Emerald Downs at the end of May and beginning of June with more races and more excitement assured!

Mar 30, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

We are three weeks from opening day at Emerald Downs, four weeks from opening Day at Belmont Park and just five weeks from the Kentucky Derby!

Your friends at Royal Victory Thoroughbreds are busily preparing for the upcoming meets at Emerald and Belmont Park while continuing to stay active in Maryland at Laurel Park. So far in 2019, our two horses Super Buddy and Two Sixteen, have run a combined seven times with two wins, along with a second and a third in earning $56,111 between them. Yet, we are just getting warmed up for 2019.

We expect the next Royal Victory Thoroughbred horse to start in 2019 will be Hardy Chisel at Emerald Downs, possibly on Opening Day but more likely the next weekend based on the first condition book. Hardy Chisel has been working at Emerald Downs regularly, including two recent half mile breezes going 48 flat on Mar 24 and 49 flat this morning.

Hardy Chisel galloping at Emerald Downs on Mar 16

Running on Entry is next up and pointing to her career debut at Belmont Park when it opens in late April. The first condition book for Belmont is now available online and there are some options in that first book for this daughter of Point of Entry. She has been breezing at Laurel Park, including a 5 furlong work in 1:02.60 (15 out of 30) and will ship north to New York in the next two weeks.

Running on Entry on Mar 17 from Laurel Park. She's ready for the Winner's Circle!!

Soon after Running on Entry, Straitouta Congtin will return to Belmont Park in May as a bigger, stronger and faster horse coming off of his winter layoff. Finally, Not My Money will resume training around the beginning of May and is targeting a July return to the races in Maryland and then Virginia.

In them meantime, Two Sixteen continues to train alongside Super Buddy and each are targeting their next start for April at Laurel Park. In his last race, Super Buddy had some difficulty keeping up in allowance company when his reigns snapped and the rider lost his stirrups, causing an erratic run down the backstretch. Fortunately, both horse and rider are fine as Super Buddy did finish the race, albeit, 7th and last.

Finally, there has been a lot of public awareness that I want to share regarding the obscene number of equine deaths at Santa Anita Park this past winter. Much of the blame has been attributed to race-day medications, and this has been shared broadly in the court of public opinion. While this is a deflection (in my opinion) regarding the true root-cause of the fatal injuries, I have long wanted to see a national racing jurisdiction to oversee medications uniformly across all racing venues and the recent movement in banning certain medications is gaining traction. We have always selected trainers that are experienced horsemen and horsewomen and not injection-first promoters. Our trainers have never relied on questionable medications, such as steroids or ospho, to prepare our athletes. Thus, if enacted, these new regulations could favor our trainers by leveling the playing field.

The common use of Lasix is an exception as it medication benefits the health of the horse during competition and activity in preventing bleeding. Fortunately, this has only been reduced so far (specifically in California). Time will tell how this plays out over the next several weeks, months and years. The emphasis and awareness on the health of the horse is good and RVT will continue to support the welfare of our horses first and foremost. Always.

Feb 11, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The days are getting longer, Kentucky Derby Prep races are underway and springtime is almost here. We are super optimistic at Royal Victory Thoroughbreds for our 2019 campaign with two horses currently in training and several others just starting to prepare for their first race of the year.

2019 has already been terrifically exciting with our first two victories of the year on Feb 2 and Feb 24, both under the training of Ferris Allen at Laurel Park. Super Buddy scored our first in a 2-length victory in a Maryland restricted allowance, earning $19,950 for his effort. Combined with his 2nd place finish on Jan 1, the 5-year old colt has now earned $27,300 in 2019 since being claimed on Dec 9. He returns on Sunday, Mar 3 when he steps up against a group of very tough colts and geldings in open allowance company. Post time is 2:30 PM EST and his ML odds are 10-1.

Then, on Feb 24, Two Sixteen battled throughout the stretch drive and gamely outran her rival down the lane to score a thrilling victory and break her maiden at Laurel Park in a maiden $50k sprint. She found the winners circle in just her second start of 2019 and fourth career start. The three-year daughter of Strong Mandate has now earned $22,931 in 2019 and $31,461 since her debut last November.

Two Sixteen gets the wire and the win for Royal Victory and Super Buddy earning his trip to the Winners Circle!

With wins from multiple horses in 2019 to date, we look forward to carrying this positive momentum to all our horses. In Washington State, Hardy Chisel has already returned to Emerald Downs after a winter of turnout in Yakima. He's getting prepared to debut in 2019 for opening weekend, which is April 20-21. His stallion Paynter, is currently ranked as one of the top 50 sires in North America for 2019, and we are eager to help out those stats once we get started next month.

Running on Entry, by Point of Entry and ranked 7th in 2018 for 2nd-crop sires, is in training at Laurel Park and has already clocked a half-mile breeze. She will continue to train at Laurel Park through March before shipping to Belmont in advance of her career debut at either Aqueduct or Belmont in April. As a NY-bred and Virginia Certified 3 filly, she is qualified for additional bonus money when she wins at any mid-Atlantic or NYRA track. Shares will be available for this 3-year old filly in late March or early April.

Straitouta Congtin has gotten bigger and stronger during his winter layover time at Saratoga this winter since his last race in late September. The 4-year old colt has resumed his training at the training facility in upstate NY and will ship to Belmont in early April for a few final breezes in preparation for his 2019 debut on the grass at Belmont in late April or early May.

Winter has also been maintenance time for Not My Money. The VA-bred four year old filly moved from Northern California to Maryland late last year and we gave her some time off after her competitive 2018 campaign in which she finished 2nd twice, 3rd twice and 4th thrice in eight starts. She is currently on schedule to begin training at Laurel Park around mid-April and debut in late June or July. Our goal is to send her to home to Virginia for the historic return of Colonial Downs, which operates a 15-day meet from Aug 8 through Sept 7 and will feature $500k/day in purse money.

We are just getting started in 2019. If you have any interest in shares of future horses, or would like to learn more about owning part of a thoroughbred, please don't hesitate to inquire by replying to this email.

Jan 11, 2019 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Happy 2019 and Happy Birthday to all of our horses!

In the racing world, the Jockey Club considers all registered thoroughbreds to have a birthday on Jan 1. Thus, we wish all our active, retired and yet-to-race horses a happy birthday with many treats of carrots and molasses. The effect of the birthday rule is evident during a thoroughbred auction as horses born in Jan and Feb generate more interest than those foaled in April and May. Many consider it advantageous in young racing horses to having their biological birthday close to their racing age. Hint: You can often find very nice options at less competitive prices when bidding on April or May foals.

At Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, we are looking forward to an exciting new year especially since every RVT horse 'hit the board' in 2018, meaning everyone had a top 3 finish. Now, they are hungry and poised to step forward in 2019. The RVT 'in the money' percentage in 2018 was a solid 50% in 20 starts, meaning we were very competitive throughout the year. However, we had just one glorious trip to the Winner's Circle when Hardy Chisel closed to win a photo and then survived an unwarranted inquiry on July 10 at Emerald Downs. Our aspirations for this year are higher in terms of number of starts, wins and overall excitement after being teased in 2018 with nine 2nd and 3rd place finishes combined. As the song goes, "I've got the horse right here, his name is <not> Paul Revere (It's Hardy Chisel, Straitouta Congtin, Not My Money, Two Sixteen, Super Buddy)!

Super Buddy started our year on a positive note with an impressive 2nd place finish, at 8-1 odds, when he stepped up in class to compete in a two-turn Maryland Allowance race at Laurel Park on January 1. He just finished just 1/2 length behind the 3-2 co-favorite. By finishing 2nd and earning $7,350 for his effort, he pushed his career earnings over $100k! Way to go Buddy! He will look to return in a similar spot later this month.

Next up in 2019 is Two Sixteen, who returns in a Maiden Special Weight at Penn National on Saturday, Jan 12 (5th race). She will be competing against a tough group of maiden 3 YO fillies in the chilly evening of eastern Pennsylvania. Tyler Conner gets the assignment and she'll break from the inside post, which favors her early speed for the 5 1/2 furlong sprint.

All other horses are about a month or two out from returning to serious training, including Not My Money in Maryland, Straitouta Congtin in New York, and Hardy Chisel in Washington. Running on Entry is our un-raced 3 year old filly by the outstanding young sire Point of Entry and she will begin training during the next 30 days, starting in Laurel Park and then moving to Belmont Park to train for Graded Stakes winning trainer, Jimmy Toner. Finally, our babies Bigfoot City (by City Zip) and Miss Vanjie Nation (by Nationhood) will make their first ever visits to the racetrack in early spring. Bigfoot City is destined for California and Miss Vanjie Nation will seek glory at Emerald Downs.

Looking ahead towards summertime (yes - longer days and warmer air), Royal Victory Thoroughbreds is looking forward to participating in the re-opening of Colonial Downs when they reopen their doors for thoroughbred racing the first time since 2013 this August. They have announced 15-days of racing over five weeks featuring some of the best grass courses in the country. As a Virginia-bred, Not My Money is the perfect racehorse to ship down to take down one of those Virginia restricted races!

Read more about the 'rich' Colonial Downs meet here:

Let's all find the Winner's Circle in 2019!

Nov 24, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this past weekend, I want to thank all those in the racing and broader equine industry that share our love of horses and look after the health and well being of our athletes. The horse is the centerpiece of our sport and in many cases, a central part of our lives. There are so many people involved that deserve our thanks, as together, they enable the Sport of Kings to be enjoyed as both an owner and racing fan. This list includes the grooms, exercise riders, assistant trainers, trainers, track surface specialists, veterinarians, assistant vets, farriers, racing secretaries, jockeys, jockey agents, stewards, racing associations, bloodstock agents, equine transportation drivers, breeders, farm managers, racetracks and of course, those of us fortunate to be owners.

This list also extends to aftercare of the racehorse and there are many great organizations and charities working hard to enable second careers and help many horses to continue to live meaningful and happy lives. Those committed to saving horses deserve a very special thanks.

Of course I am also very thankful for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds and fortunate to have such great Partners, friends and horses!

For those of you who may be thinking about getting involved in owning a racehorse, we have some great opportunities to consider! Each share represents 10% ownership.

Available now are shares in Two Sixteen, a 2 YO KY-Bred filly by Strong Mandate out of a Corinthian mare. She is stabled at Laurel Park Maryland under the care of Ferris Allen and is entered to race this Thursday, November 27 at Laurel Park in a Maiden $40k claiming race. Please email or phone me about share prices. You can check out her web-page at Two Sixteen
Coming in Feb or Mar of 2019 is Running on Entry, a 2 YO NY-bred and VA-Certified filly by Point of Entry out of a Proud Citizen mare. She is currently in the early stages of training at Ingleside Training Center near Charlottesville, Virginia. She will be sent to Graded Stakes winning trainer Jimmy Toner in 2019 and will look to debut in NY in early Spring.

Coming in the summer of 2019 are two exciting prospects. From the Keeneland Sept 2018 yearling sale is the unnamed KY-bred colt by City Zip out of a Forest Camp mare, who ran 4th in the 2010 Juvenile Fillies Breeders Cup Turf. He has already been under tack in Yakima. Also in Yakima is an unnamed WA-bred yearling filly by one of the top WA sires, Nationhood, out of a Crafty Prospector mare. For those local to Emerald Downs, she will be targeted to run in Washington next summer. Both horses will be in the care of WA Hall of Fame trainer Tim McCanna.

If you have any interest or potential interest in any of the current or upcoming offers, please let me know via email, phone or text.

Regarding our horses of racing age,

Two Sixteen has been breezing since early September and is cleared for takeoff! This 2YO filly will debut in the 9th at Laurel Park on Nov 27, going 6F in a Waiver-Maiden $40k claiming race with jockey Jorge Ruis getting the mount.
Not My Money has travelled safely from California to Maryland and is looking to make her East Coast debut at Laurel Park next month. As a Virginia-bred, she qualifies for additional bonus money if she wins in Maryland or Virginia.
Straitouta Congtin and Hardy Chisel are both turned out for the winter and will enjoy some time off before preparing for their respective 2019 debuts in NY and WA respectively.

Aug 25, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I'm excited to share that both Straitouta Congtin and Not My Money are entered to race on Sunday (tomorrow) and Thursday respectively as they both seek to join Hardy Chisel in the Royal Victory 'Winner's Bracket'.

First up is Straitouta Congtin on Sunday, in the final race and 10th race of the day at Saratoga Race Course for his third career start and first career route as he'll go 1 1/16 mile on the outer turf course. He had been entered to race on Aug 12 but due to the rains in upstate New York, was scratched when they pulled the race off the turf. Fortunately, the forecast calls for clear skies throughout this weekend.

Straitouta Congtin will break from the 11-post as he competes in the full field of 12 NY bred colts and geldings, and one Also Eligible (AE) should one of the twelve scratch. The morning-line has him at 10-1 but I would not be surprised if he heads into the gate at slightly lower odds. He's been training great since his last race and even been showing a bit of attitude and moxie in the barn. Kendrick Carmouche returns for the ride as we look for him to continue to move forward off that last race.

Next up is Not My Money, who takes her swing in a Maiden Special Weight at Golden Gate Fields, also going 1 1/16 of a mile on the turf course. She draws into a short, but tough field of six fillies and mares and has been established as the slight morning-line favorite at 8-5. She will be competing against a rival from her past two races in Boldest Vow (2-1), who is the top challenger and looking to avenge Not My Money after getting boxed in during that race and nearly besting her at the wire.

Not My Money comes into this race training well after two near misses, finishing second by less than a length in her most recent race at this level. If she can run her race, sit just off the pace and finish with a little energy, then I expect her to be tough in this spot. Abel Cedillo returns to guide her as she looks to also punch her ticket to the winners circle.

Both horses are doing terrific in the barn and training track and both trainers are enthusiastic about their upcoming races. Post time on Sunday is 6:18 EDT and Not My Money is scheduled for 3:15 PDT on Thursday.

Aug 21, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Hardy Chisel Breaks Through!

The Royal Victory Thoroughbred partners nervously paced in the Winner's Circle. It was an impressive victory for the determined Hardy Chisel, who sprinted to the lead from the gate, felt pressured around the turn and then repelled all challengers as he bounded home ahead of the six other aspiring maidens. It was a close, exciting and enthralling victory!! Or was it...….Something was going on??

Please read the full blog story at http://royalvictb.com/handicap-blog/

As a spoiler alert, there was an objection but the stewards made the right call and kept the the order of finish intact; thus giving Royal Victory Thoroughbreds its first victory of 2018. It was a great ride by jockey Lionel Camacho Flores and a gutty win for Hardy Chisel!

With more than half of the year completed, the stat line for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds year-to-date includes 11 races, including the one win, three seconds and three thirds (11 1-3-3-1), for a productive "in the money" percentage of 64%!! It's been a very exciting 2018 for our partners and I want to thank them for their continued support and enthusiasm for racing! Let's keep it going...

Hardy Chisel was purchased in the 2017 WTBOA Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale and that Sale will take place again TODAY, Aug 21 at the Emerald Downs Sales Pavilion. Perhaps we'll find the next great one in the sale today or at Keeneland September, which is held from Sept 10-23. Royal Victory will be represented at the Keeneland Sale from Sept 17-20.

Looking ahead, Straitouta Congtin is training well and looking forward to his next race, which may just be on Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course. He's been entered the past two days but his race has not been carded; however, they rewrote the race as an extra for Sat, Aug 25; same day as the Travers. He's had two half-mile tune-ups going 49.07 and 50.44 over the past two weeks to stay sharp. Not My Money is also training well at Golden Gate, including a half-mile breeze in 49.0 last Saturday. Her next race may also be on Aug 25 on the turf at Golden Gate Fields as both three-year olds will attempt to match Hardy Chisel's last effort and graduate to the winners bracket.

Entries for both Saratoga and Golden Gate Fields for Sat, Aug 25 take place tomorrow.

As for our most recent winner, Hardy Chisel, there are no upcoming race in the next condition book for 2 YO winners, which is unfortunate as our young two-year old is showing continuous improvement and could be ready to stretch out next. We'll look for an extra over the next few weeks at Emerald Downs and explore our options for his next outing.

Finally, you can check out the updated home page at www.royalvictb.com, which now features the Win Photo of Hardy Chisel at Emerald Downs from Aug 10!

Aug 10, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Tonight at Emerald Downs, Hardy Chisel will make his third attempt at breaking his maiden in a $15k claiming race (post time 7:12 PDT, race 2). After finishing an encouraging third in his last race, he will break from the inside post against six other foes. He is listed at 6-1 on the morning line in what appears to be a rather competitive race based on past performances. Lionel Camacho Flores returns to the irons for the gelding, who recently completed two easy 5/8 mile maintenance breezes on Jul 27 and Aug 4. The race tonight is 5 1/2 furlongs, and he should benefit from the added half furlong based on his training.

Then, on Sunday (Aug 12) at Saratoga Race Course, Straitouta Congtin will make his third attempt at breaking his maiden in a $40k claiming race (post time 1:33 EDT, race 2) going a mile on the turf. He also finished an encouraging 3rd in his last race at Belmont Park. For the first time in his career, he will not break from the inside post as he goes around two turns for the first time. He will don the #10 saddle cloth. Kendrick Carmouche returns to the irons for Straitouta Congtin, who recently breezed half-miles on July 30 and Aug 7, doing the latter in 49.07 on the Saratoga training track. It's a competitive race and he'll be facing the best in the business as Todd Pletcher and Johnny Velasquez combine on a ringer for mega owner Barry Schwartz, dropping down from the Maiden Special Weight level. Straitouta Congtin is listed at 8-1 in the morning line. Can our guy take down this goliath?

Last Sunday at Santa Rosa, Not My Money ran a game race in finishing 2nd for the second time in as many efforts, this time on the turf. She led for most of the race and dictated the pace and even slowed along the backstretch, but she was outkicked to the finish and appeared uncomfortable down the stretch on what seemed like an uneven turf course. Nevertheless, she was game to hold second and has returned to Golden Gate Fields where we will point her towards her next race. In five career races, she has finished 2nd twice and 3rd and 4th once, all at the maiden allowance level. So close...

Will one of our young students graduate to the winners bracket soon? Could it be Hardy Chisel tonight at Emerald Downs? Perhaps, Straitouta Congtin at Saratoga on Sunday? Or Not My Money in an upcoming race at Golden Gate? Let's make it a breakthrough weekend!!!

Looking ahead, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds is preparing two more horses for syndication, both are on schedule to become available as the calendar shifts from Summer to Autumn. The first is a NY bred (and VA Certified) two-year old filly by top-ten, second year stallion, Point of Entry. She will begin training in Sept/Oct at Belmont Park. The other is also a two-year filly by first-year stallion, Strong Mandate. She is currently training at Laurel Park in Maryland.

More information on both of these young fillies (and new pictures) will be available in the coming weeks on www.royalvictb.com

July 18, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th brought us a pair of very encouraging performances, first by Straitouta Congtin and then by Hardy Chisel, to compliment the previous week's solid performance by Not My Money. With their performances, all three horses have created lots of optimism going forward as they continue training and preparing for their next race.

At Belmont Park last Friday, the general public ignored Straitouta Congtin's good looks and sent him off at a whopping 73-1 odds, way above the 30-1 morning-line. However, heads were surely spinning when the big white horse strode past the finish line to capture 3rd as he stuck his head forward to win the important photo for Show. Straitouta Congtin was the least experienced in the field of 10 colts and geldings and he validated he belongs by hanging with this group. In fact, considering his sharp left turn at the break in his first race, which cost him 20 lengths, this race was more or less a second debut.

The photo for 3rd, 9th race July 13, Belmont Park

Straitouta Congtin broke well this time and settled near the back in 7th, saving ground with a patient rail trip by jockey Kendrick Carmouche. He picked up ground around the turn, switched leads and finished in a drive. From the midpoint to the finish, he passed four horses while not allowing any horse to pass him. He completed the final furlong in than 12 seconds and was only 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner, who dropped in class from MSW to the maiden 40k level. Straitouta Congtin galloped out strongly past the wire and then returned to the barn in good order. He has since shipped upstate to Saratoga where he will prepare for his next race around mid-August.

Then, at Emerald Downs on Saturday, Hardy Chisel had his chance. Similar to Straitouta Congtin, the betting public showed little faith in the Chisel as he went into the gate as a longshot at 11-1 odds. Hardy Chisel broke well but as he lacks a quick early foot, jockey Lionel Camacho Flores smartly positioned himself along the rail in 5th of the field of nine. The eventual winner (odds-on favorite) got loose on the lead and ran away to win by 5 lengths; however, Hardy Chisel dug in after switching leads, came off the rail and finished with good energy in closing nearly three lengths on the winner and getting the photo for Show! (Sorry - I don't have his photo for Show)

In two career races, Hardy Chisel has run 4 1/2 and 5 furlongs and I expect he'll benefit from a little more distance, such as 6 or 6 1/2 furlongs and perhaps even a mile. He showed marked improvement from his debut and has gained tremendous experience while improving his fitness level with each race. With just a little more improvement, he could be very tough at this level in his next outing around mid-August.

All and all, it's been a fun few days for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds. With a second (Not My Money), and two thirds (Straitouta Congtin, Hardy Chisel), each horse is showing nice progression and if they continue to move forward, it could get really fun! Fingers crossed

July 12, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

More information on both of these young fillies (and new pictures) will be available in the coming weeks on www.royalvictb.com

July 12, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

And here comes Not My Money ………

She loomed just outside, challenged the leader for the lead and finished just a length behind after running a huge race on Sunday at Pleasanton! We're super excited about her performance and looking forward to her next race already!!!

Pleasanton only has a dirt surface, and thus, it was her first race on dirt track and just her second race routing, as they completed a 1 1/16th of a mile. The official race comments says: NOT MY MONEY settled early from the three path, remained out on the second turn and rallied.

She was just beaten by $50k yearling purchase in her 10th career start but also defeated a $115k yearling purchase that finished 3rd and showed she belonged with this group. Although it was nearly triple-digit hot at Pleasanton on Sunday, Not My Money managed to handle the heat reasonably well and was predictably down a few pounds after the race. Our plan looking forward is to skip the Sacramento Fair and wait for a similar race at Santa Rosa in early to mid-August.

In New York, Straitouta Congtin is ready and will get his chance tomorrow at Belmont Park. Yes, Friday the 13th! In his debut affair, he unexpectedly hopped coming out of the gate, then darted left, and spotted the field nearly 20 lengths before recovering and running evenly for the remainder of the race. Remarkably, he managed to draw the far inside post once again and his jockey will need to guard against a sharp left turn out of the gate.

What are the odds of drawing the inside post for his first two career races? Less than 1%. I mention this as his morning line odds are 30-1, so he's already shown he can overcome high odds, at least based on his morning post-position draw. 30-1? Bring it on! He gets the benefit of a more experienced and proven jockey in Eric Cancel for this 7F affair on the Belmont turf course.

Check him out galloping around the training track earlier this week at Belmont (Sunday July 8) by clicking this link https://vimeo.com/279695361. He is listed at 30-1 morning line in the maiden claiming $40,000 race but his odds will likely go higher by post-time in spite of his strikingly handsome looks. He just may be worth a small wager :). Post time is 7:22 EDT tomorrow.

Finally, Hardy Chisel will also make his second career start at Emerald Downs this Saturday evening. He is entered in the 3rd race, a maiden claiming $15,000 race, and will break from the 3-post in a field of nine. Just walk up to the betting window (or call your broker) and make your bet on the three in the third.

The Chisel has been training well since his debut last month and should benefit from the experience and fitness out of that first race. He's dropping down from the maiden special weight level and should find a softer group this time around. Lionel Camacho Flores returns for the mount and is familiar with him, having both breezed and ridden him in his one race.

Also, if you're in the Seattle area, I highly recommend you come to Emerald Downs this weekend and catch the Equine Art Show, which exhibits fantastic local equine related artwork and photography. It's a unique tradition at Emerald Downs and the artwork will be exhibited Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the races.

All pieces are also for sale too! Come on down, watch Hardy Chisel and take home a excellent work of equine art with your winnings!

July 7, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Summertime action resumes on Sunday for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds as Not My Money looks to break her maiden in her fourth career start, going a 1 and 1/16th mile on the dirt at Oak Tree Pleasanton. She drew into a short field of five and picks up one of the leading riders in the Bay area, in Abel Cedillo, for the mount.

Not My Money comes into this race fresh after a five week break from her last race. During this time, she's had a few maintenance breezes, including a sharp 1/2 mile work on July 1 with Cedillo aboard. I believe she's a bit of an overlay, given her lackluster performance last time out, at 6-1 on the morning line in this short yet tough field. Post time is 2:15 PT on Sunday.

In New York, Straitouta Congtin continues to train well as he prepares for his second career start, including a sharp move out of the gate, just this morning. You can watch his test-run out of the gate from the link below. He is due for a short tune-up breeze tomorrow morning as a final prep for the race on Friday. (link): Gate Training for Straitouta Congtin

Straitouta Congtin is looking to improve off his debut when he returns in a 7F turf sprint at Belmont on Friday, July 13. Entries for Friday's Belmont card are drawn tomorrow.

Straitouta Congtin says "Put me in Coach"

Finally, Hardy Chisel is ready and raring to go for his second career race. He was entered in a Maiden claiming Race for July 8 but the race did not fill. He'll continue to train as we keep our eyes on the condition book and extras for potential races in which to enter him once again.

June 24, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

One of the characteristics of being a racehorse owner is no matter what happened in that last race, we hold a short memory and remain optimistic in pointing forward. After all, we're in the game racing and we have more action ahead! As such, we have the utmost confidence that we'll address any nagging issues and we plan to be standing in the Winner's circle soon enough to celebrate our joyous triumph!

To illustrate, after a few rough outings over the past couple of weeks, all three Royal Victory Thoroughbred horses in training are doing great in preparing for their next race.

In California, Not My Money completed an easy maintenance breeze on both Jun 17 and Jun 23 in prepping for another Maiden Special Weight Race on Jun 30. As the racing circuit has moved from Golden Gate Fields to the California Fairs, she will entered to run at Oak Tree Pleasanton where she'll be testing her talents on a dirt surface for the first time in her career. Abel Cedillo gave her a test-run in her breeze on Jun 17 and may be our new jockey for next Saturday. Entries are drawn this coming Wednesday.

Out East, Straitouta Congtin was anything but straight, after breaking from the gate last week at Belmont Park. Maybe we should have named him 'Left'outa Congtin based on how he took that hard left turn. While everyone else seemed to understand the instructions for the race, the race caller stated the obvious, "Straitouta Congtin had a very awkward start, taking a left out of the gate".

Congtin, taking a left towards the starter, who seems unfazed! Jockey hanging on for dear life.

The good news is that he's doing great since the race and is getting additional gate work this week. He is expected to breeze a half mile this week and then will point to another 6F turf sprint on either Sat, Jul 7 or 7F turf sprint on Fri, Jul 13. As he spotted the field 20 lengths at the break and still managed to beat two and almost a third horse while running even fractions with the leaders, after that eventful first quarter, gives us hope that he'll greatly improve in his second career race.

In Washington, Hardy Chisel came back to the barn in good shape following the Maiden Special Weight race on Father's Day and even breezed back this morning out of the gate (Jun 24), just seven days after the race. He completed the half mile in a sharp 48.0 flat, good for 7th best time out of 42 breezing a half mile this morning. He will continue to train forward and we'll point him towards his second career debut during the weekend of Jul 7-8 as there are a few potential races in the Condition Book, should they fill. Lionel Camacho Flores did a good job in his first race and could return as his jockey for a second try.

All three of our equine heroes have the opportunity over the next couple of weeks to rebound from their last performance and validate our reason for optimism. We look ahead and look forward to their triumphant returns!

June 14, 2018 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

This coming weekend is **debut weekend** for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds as two of our horses will be making their first career starts this weekend, including one on each coast.

First up is Straitouta Congtin, entered in the 10th race at Belmont Park in New York on Saturday afternoon. He was all set to debut three weeks ago, but was a late scratch in the race. This Saturday, he draws into a competitive full field, with 16 entries, including one MTO and three Also Eligibles, so there will be no more than 12 into the starting gate.

It has been a long road to the starting gate for this 3 year-old grey son of Congaree (he's almost white and will be easy to spot in the race). He was in training last summer at Saratoga as a two year old when he suffered a non-career threatening injury but enough to miss five months of training. Upon his return to training at Belmont, his routine was interrupted due to some crazy east coast weather, and varying track conditions but he was finally ready to run on May 26, and then lost that chance when he became a late scratch by order of the stewards (no, I didn't screw up his papers). Now, with twelve breezes under his belt since March 5, he's finally going to step into the starting gate at Belmont Park on Saturday, barring any last minute shenanigans!

Straitouta Congtin drew the inside post position and while he will be listed as the #2 horse in the program, he will break from the first post with jockey Angel Arroyo taking the mount as two of the 16 entered are coupled (and are #1, #1A saddle cloth). Of the twelve likely starters running 6F on the turf, only three, including Straitouta Congtin are first-time starters. This race features the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers from the previous 6F turf sprint at this level and five others dropping in class from Maiden Special Weight; thus, it promises to be a stiff test for his debut. Coming into the race, he's been training well, including a final maintenance breeze on Tuesday of 4F in 50.45 seconds. Post time on Saturday is 6:22 Eastern Daylight Time.

Then, on Sunday, our focus moves westward as Hardy Chisel makes his career debut on Father's Day in the 3rd race at Emerald Downs. His father Paynter will be proud if his boy, Hardy, can Chisel out a score in his debut! He'll be facing a group of nine juvenile (2 YO's) colts and geldings traveling 5F for this Maiden Special Weight affair, and he'll make his career debut from the #4 post with jockey Lionel Camacho Flores aboard. Flores breezed Hardy Chisel this past Sunday, 5F in 59.6 seconds, which is also available to watch on his web-page.

Included amongst the seven first time starters is the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association Sales Topper from the Mixed Sale last August, named Baja Sur and purchased for $67,000. In addition, the race also includes a $34,000 Keenland purchase by Sky Mesa named Sky Confidential and $35,000 yearling purchase named Helaman by Majestic Warrior. A few others, including Hardy Chisel, are graduates of the WTBOA Sale last August including $21,000 purchase Fuzzy Dolphin by Harbor the Gold. So, much like Straitouta Congtin on Saturday, this promises to be a very competitive race.

This is the last opportunity to purchase a share in Hardy Chisel! Invest today, and race this coming Sunday! What better way to celebrate Father's day to all the Dad's reading this email . Seriously, this is as good as it gets in terms of investing and immediately seeing action and especially considering the level and investment in several of the horses in which he is competing against on Sunday!

For both Straitouta Congtin and Hardy Chisel, as with any first time starter, there is a unique level of excitement, nervousness and anticipation as these maidens are untapped coming into the race, so our expectations are yet to be set. I am looking for a clean break, good ride and the opportunity for both Congtin and Chisel to show us they belongs at the level in which they are competing!

June 1 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

As we begin the month of June, our activity on the racetrack is increasing with three horses actively in training of which two are on the cusp of their first career start this month and the other is entered this coming weekend as we eagerly anticipate her third career start.

Not My Money looks to build on her first two starts at Golden Gate Fields when she runs this coming Sunday, Jun 3 in the 9th race (post time 4:45 PDT). Once again, she is entered in a Maiden Special Weight (not a claiming race) and she'll try the turf and route for the first time, going one mile. Not My Money drew the #4 post position in the eight horse field. The morning line has listed her as the 5-1 fourth choice, amongst the eight runners. The top three choices are 2-1, 5-2 and 3-1 and all raced against each other on April 21, and finished 2nd, 4th and 5th going a mile on the turf and all finished within a length and a half of the winner.

Jockey Frank Alvarado returns for the mount and has but one instruction, "Just Win".

traitouta Congtin was entered on Saturday, May 26 in a maiden 40k claiming race at Belmont Park in NY, but was a late scratch attributed to the stewards.

Suffice it to say, the stewards applied poor judgment upon receiving obvious inaccuracies about our horse, never validated the information and errored in scratching him. It turns out, they had Congtin confused with another gray horse, who was known previously to be unsound. Had they done a modicum of follow-up, they would not have scratched him or acted on such poor information. The good news is that Congtin is doing great physically and had a maintenance breeze on Thursday morning, going 1/2 mile in 50.01 seconds (28/44) in hand. He'll likely run a 2-minute gallop around the training track next week and then breeze another 1/2 mile at Belmont on Jun 9 (Belmont Stakes Day) as he re-points to debut on Jun 16 at Belmont in a 40k maiden claiming race.

Finally, Hardy Chisel continues to make great progress in training and is getting ever closer to making his first start as a juvenile (2 YO). He will breeze this coming Sunday, Jun 3, at Emerald Downs and if all goes well, we will enter him to start during the weekend of Jun 9-10 at Emerald Downs. I will be there on Sunday morning to capture him on video and post his breeze on his web-page on www.royalvictb.com. A full and highly detailed appraisal has been completed by a very well known and highly respected local bloodstock agent. I plan to mail out a separate mail next Monday morning, announcing his share price and offering 10% shares through Friday, Jun 8, or until shares sell out. For anyone seeking local activity at Emerald Downs, Hardy Chisel could be a very interesting and unique opportunity with imminent action at the races.

Pictured is Hardy Chisel, looking good last Sunday morning!

Royal Victory Thoroughbreds is also developing two other 2 year-old fillies on the East Coat but they are not quite ready for heavy training. However, they are hopeful starters in 2018, pointing towards late summer of early autumn. As they continue to develop and initiate their on-track training activity, I'll provide updates accordingly and announce their availability once they breeze at least 1/2 mile.

May 25 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Much is happening in the world of horseracing as we point towards summertime and some of the best racing of the year, outside of the Triple Crown Series where Justify will try to be the next Triple Crown winner in two weeks! At Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, we are also excited about our own upcoming action in New York, California and Washington.

I'm very excited to share that Straitouta Congtin will make his racing debut on Saturday, May 26 in the 10th race at Belmont Park, donning the familiar Royal Victory Thoroughbreds silks, but for the first time on the East Coast. The big gray colt has been training between what seems like regular and repeated rainstorms over the past several months in preparing for his debut. He breaks from the 11-post in this NY State-bred maiden claiming 40k affair, sprinting 6F on the turf course. His sire, Congaree, has enjoyed equal success on both dirt and turf but we believe his inbreeding to Blushing Groom (top and bottom side) and conformation leans towards a grass bias.

In any debut race, but especially considering a full field in which most of the others have previously raced, we are really looking for a good break, clean trip and strong effort in which he passes or beats some and learns through experience, giving us reason for optimism leading up to his next race. Congtin will have the services of Abel Lezcano for the race tomorrow and is 20-1 on the morning line. Post time for the affair is 6:22 PM EDT.

In California, Not My Money has been training well and breezed an extended 6F in 1:16.2 at Golden Gate Fields on May 20 and continues to point and prepare for her turf and route debut on Jun 3 at Golden Gate. She is scheduled for another breeze this coming weekend and entries for the MSW on Jun 3 will be drawn on Thursday. Of significance for Not My Money is the winning horse from her last race on Apr 28, Ima Happy Cat, shipped north to Emerald Downs horse and won the $50,000 Seattle S. last Sunday by almost 3 lengths. The second place finisher, Magna Rose, returned to run 2nd in a MSW turf route at Golden Gate Fields versus horses 3 years old and oldernd up. Not My Money ran 4th in that race and the strong performance of those horses since is indicative of the quality of fillies she has faced.

Finally, Hardy Chisel is motoring along with his training regiment at Emerald Downs. The two-year old has already breezed twice at a half mile, including one from the gate last Sunday. In both breezes, he completed the 4F in 49.8. However, seeing is better than reading and I've uploaded a video on Vimeo of Hardy Chisel breezing at Emerald Downs on May 20. He is breezing in company with two other 2-year olds and he's the horse closest to the rail (red jacket and leading them for much of the breeze). The video starts just after they break (at about the first 16th) and follows the trio past the quarter pole on the turn where they complete the 1/2 mile breeze and break into a gallop out past the camera and through the finish line and around the clubhouse turn. The weather was misty/raining and I was focused on following them versus playing with my zoom, so they are a little hard to pick up initially in the video (look towards the top right of the image when it starts playing).

To watch the video, click here:

Chisel will breeze again this weekend from the gate and is currently being assessed for Fair Market Value and shares will be offered in a separate announcement soon!

It's an exciting time for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds and horse racing overall! Let's all cheer on Straitouta Congtin tomorrow in his racing debut at beautiful Belmont Park!

May 15 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The latest condition book for Golden Gate Fields, going from May 24 through June 10 has been published online. Based on the new book, we are pointing Not My Money for her next race on Sunday, June 3. It's another maiden special weight, but is a two-turn mile route on the turf surface and restricted to three-year old fillies. The five weeks between races will help her preparation, after running twice within twenty days during April.

Not My Money also returned to her regular workout schedule with a solid half-mile breeze on Sunday completing the half-mile breeze in 50.2 seconds; a nice goldilocks breeze as it was not too fast and not too slow. She is scheduled to breeze another half this weekend. The current meet at Golden Gate will end in mid-June as racing moves to the California State Fairs in Pleasanton, then Sacramento and finally Santa Rosa before returning to Golden Gate in mid-August. Of the three locations only Santa Rosa has a turf course, thus, I expect we'll have an opportunity to also watch Not My Money run over a dirt surface in the coming months.

Curiously, the horse that ran second in both of Money's races, Magna Rose is entered in a Maiden Special Weight race this Friday, going a mile on turf; however, the race not restricted to three-year olds and five of the nine entries are four years old. In spite of her two second place finishes in two races, Magna Rose morning line odds are 9-2.

At Emerald Downs, Hardy Chisel continues to make progress towards his first start as he just completed his first 4F breeze this past Sunday, covering the distance in 49.8, which was 27th out of 34 runners on Sunday. He is scheduled to breeze again this coming weekend. I will be at Emerald during training hours this weekend to capture video of him running and take some new photos for his web page. I also plan to share more details and officially announce the availability of shares in Hardy Chisel next week. The first two-year old races at Emerald Downs should start around mid-June and based on his current trajectory, it's possible he could be part of the first few groups of two-year old starters.

Finally, the second leg of the Triple Crown will be held this coming Saturday at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland. I expect the Kentucky Derby winner, Justify, to be a deserving odds on favorite in the race. Several challengers will undoubtedly do their best to upset him but I have no reason to expect anything less than another strong showing by Justify in the Preakness on Saturday.

April 27 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I am excited to share that Not My Money will return to the races for her second career start in the 5th at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday, April 28 . Post time is 2:27 local time. You may recall she finished a closing 3rd in her debut on Apr 8 in a short, yet tough field of six runners and this time, she draws into a larger field of nine runners in another maiden allowance affair. The second place finisher from her debut, Magna Rose, is the 2-1 morning line favorite in the race tomorrow.

Not My Money will break from the far inside post, or number one position and Frank Alvarado has once again been selected as her rider. Frank has been breezing her regularly and rode her to 3rd in that race on April 8.

The Maiden Allowance (or Maiden Special Weight) condition is the highest level at Golden Gate Fields in which to win that first race as the competitors are all well-bred, well-conditioned and/or highly talented and this race appears to be no exception with several strong contenders amongst the nine entries.

#9 - Magna Rose (2-1) - She is a legitimate favorite after finishing 2nd in her career debut and just missing the win on Apr 8. She stalked the pace around the track and closed to within a 1/2 length at the wire, finishing 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Not My Money. She may have gotten a tick tired in that last race but I expect she will be firing on all cylinders and perhaps try to win on the lead right off the break.

#3 - Spectacular Move (3-1) - Ships up from Santa Anita, where she ran 4th out of 9 in her debut and returned 3 weeks later to finish last in a field of five. The maiden allowance races are notably harder at Santa Anita, justifying her low odds. Also, the winner of that second race recently ran 3rd in a Grade III at Keeneland. Her form is a bit odd though as she has not raced (or been entered) since mid-Feb but has breezed regularly at Los Alamitos. Its also interesting that she sold for $47,000 as a weanling, then $15,000 as a yearling and then for $260,000 as a two-year old in training.

#7 - Miss Shirley C (9-2) - She has raced four times, all as a 2-year old, with a 2nd and two 3rds and one fourth (in a stakes at Santa Rosa). Her last race was in September when she stalked the pace and finished 3rd of 8. She got the winter off and has been breezing regularly in preparation for her 2018 debut, including a very sharp 48.00 1/2 mile on Apr 22. Her trainer, Badilla, however, only wins at 3% off a layoff of more than 60 days.

#5 - Ca Dreamer (6-1) - She is a well bred first time starter by Tale of the Cat out of an Unbridled Song mare. She was bought for $60,000 as a yearling in the same sale at Keeneland as Not My Money. Her trainer wins at 15% with first-time starters and Orozco is a solid rider, so will need to see how she does in the paddock and watch the tote-board to see if she gets any unusual action in the betting window.

Not My Money (5-1) belongs with this talented group of young fillies who are all vying for their first career victory. The outside horses (7,8 and 9) seem to have the most natural early speed and they will either try to break on the lead or rate very closely behind the pacesetter. A super fast pace would be great if we are sitting behind it. I don't expect Alvarado to sprint for the lead but he should stay within striking distance on a ground saving trip and then accelerate in that final quarter to close on those leaders. Remember, she closed fastest in the final 3/8, even against Magna Rose last time out.

It may just be a blanket finish at the wire. Let's hope we get the best bob!

April 21 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

As the weather heats up (ok, warms up) in the Pacific Northwest, there is a lot of excitement in the days and months ahead for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds!

Not My Money sparked enthusiasm with an exciting career debut on April 8 at Golden Gate Fields, finishing third in a classy maiden allowance race. After breaking from the gate nicely, she gradually dropped back until she was last in the field of six, yielding more than five lengths to the leader at the 3/8th pole. The race was just 5 1/2 furlongs in distance and the pace ahead of her was modest, but not exceptionally quick. However, Not My Money began to move off the rail to start her rally, then moved inside one of her competitors and extended her stride down the stretch to capture third, just 2 1/4 lengths behind the winner and more than 2 lengths ahead of the fourth place finisher. She then galloped out strongly past the wire.

The effort by Not My Money extends our optimism about her as she gained valuable experience and should benefit from a little extra ground next time out. She returned to work this morning, breezing a handy 5/8 this morning in 102.2. Her next potential race in the condition book is written for Saturday, Apr 28. It's a maiden special weight going 6 furlongs on the synthetic surface. The May condition book was just posted online and there is also route race (mile and 1/16th) in the book listed on May 12 which may be worth waiting. The later race is on also turf and restricted to three year olds only.

Up here in Washington, Hardy Chisel is looking strong and progressing well at Emerald Downs and is ready to start breezing. Once he is breezing regularly, I will open up shares for the two-year old gelding.

April 5 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

If it feels like a long time since Royal Victory Thoroughbreds had some action on the racetrack and that is because it's been a long time since our last race way back in early February. I'm happy to share the wait is finally over as Not My Money has been entered in the 4th race on April 8, at Golden Gate Fields.

Not My Money is the first horse to graduate to the races from our yearling program as the race on April 8 will be her first career race. She draws into a field of just six horses but will compete with the highest level of racing for maidens (horses seeking their first win). The race is a maiden special weight (MSW) or maiden allowance race and is a non-claiming race. The purse for the race is $26,000.

Bringing a horse to the races for their career racing debut is one of the most exciting days for any thoroughbred owner. It features a main dish of anticipation, a side of upside potential and a secret ingredient of unknown. If she performs well in her debut on Sunday, she will accelerate our expectations with visions of grandeur and future glory! Our feet will not feel the ground. We are dreamers full of hope, energized by possibilities and immersed with enthusiasm.

If reality keeps us grounded, then we'll assess and reset accordingly but with plenty of time on our side. It's possible she may need a race or two as experience matters in this game as evidenced by the low percentage of winners amongst all first-time starters.

Coming into this race, she has been training well with 10 total workouts since Jan 28, including the last five going 5F. Post time for the race is 1:45 PM on Sunday and the six fillies will be sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on the All Weather Track. Not My Money will have the services of jockey Frank Alvarado and break from the #3-gate. The blue #3 saddle cloth will match nicely with the blue and yellow silks representing Royal Victory Thoroughbred!

As for the race, she is one of three first-time starters and one of four three-year olds in the race. Of the three experienced fillies, one has finished 2nd a remarkable 8 times in 10 career races; one has been second once in two starts and the other finished 3rd in her only race to date. The other two unraced fillies have been training fast based on their workout times. This all just means her debut matches her against a strong and highly competitive field. No lightweights in this race. I have no doubt the odds maker will list the three experienced fillies as the top three betting choices when the morning line comes out. As an interesting side note, the race includes a Maryland-bred, California-bred, Ohio-bred, two Kentucky-bred and our girl, the Virginia bred.

Mar 19 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

As we say good-bye to winter and flip our calendars to spring, I am excited that Not My Money is nearing her debut, as she continues to breeze each week with regularity at Golden Gate Fields. I'm also looking forward to the arrival of Hardy Chisel at Emerald Downs this week.

On Saturday, Not My Money breezed another 5/8 of a mile in a time of 1:03.4, essentially the same time as her previous three breezes. The difference in her last few breezes is that she continues to gain fitness and has galloped out stronger following each one. She has now breezed four times at 5/8 of a mile and eight times overall since starting her training at Golden Gate. You can even watch her 5/8 breeze from Feb 25 on the website www.royalvictb.com (click on button that says Not My Money in top right corner of main menu. She is the outside horse).

Her time was 46th out of 60 workers going 5/8 of a mile. This may seem slow but what is more important is the regularity of her works and that she has been working in hand, meaning she has not really been asked to run a bullet work (fastest work of the day). She doesn't need fast works and has been doing everything that has been asked of her.

In speaking with Tim McCanna yesterday, we are targeting April 1 or Easter Sunday for her debut. Entries for April 1 will happen on Thursday, March 29, so we won't know definitively until then. In the meantime, she will likely have her final breeze before her debut next weekend.

Up at Emerald Downs, the track has been open for training and Tim is bringing several two-years olds from Yakima to Auburn this week, including Hardy Chisel. He has been jogging at Yakima and will continue to jog for several weeks at Emerald before he is ready for more rigorous training. If he passes the first check point, he could start breezing in late April or early May. Once he is breezing regularly (and up to 1/2 mile), shares will be offered for those of you seeking an ownership experience in the Pacific Northwest this summer. Of note, he is fully nominated for the Northwest Racing Series.

Lastly, springtime means Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Derby prep races, which are now underway. Please check into our website for Kentucky Derby prep analysis, all the way through the triple crown. You can find all racing analysis, usually posted each Friday at http://royalvictb.com/handicap-blog/triple-crown-2018/

Mar 9 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I am VERY EXCITED to announce that Royal Victory Thoroughbreds is introducing Not My Money!

She is a bay three-year old filly by the renown stallion City Zip, and has been training regularly at Golden Gate Fields since the beginning of the calendar year. Since the end of January, she has been breezing regularly, including two breezes going 5/8 of a mile on Mar 4 and Feb 25. She is tracking towards debuting at Golden Gate Fields in approximately three weeks.

Not My Money is by City Zip who was ranked 13th amongst all stallions in North America in 2017, earning more than $10 million in earnings last year. City Zip is the sire of COLLECTED, who finished 2nd in the $6M Breeders Cup Classic behind Gun Runner. City Zip sadly passed away in 2017 but had been commanding a stud fee of $50,000 up until he died in April of last year. In 2016, when Not My Money was a yearling, an average City Zip yearling sold for $115,000 (based on 80 sold) and as two-year olds in 2017, they sold for $156,000 (based on 31 sold).

Her first Dam is named Hawaiian Love and she was unraced but has produced four other racehorses, all winners, including General Ike, who has earned $137,000 to date and was recently competing at Santa Anita. Her three other babies have all been the winners circle. Hawaiian Love is by the sire Not For Love, who is best known as the broodmare sire of California Chrome.

In speaking with Kyle Kaenel, a local bloodstock agent in San Francisco, he has noted she has a great hip, shoulder line and boasts good angles at her hip, pasterns and shoulder. He has seen her breeze a few times and is impressed by her efficient stride and movement. She has a strong body and carries her weight gracefully. City Zip prodigy have performed well on turf, dirt and synthetic surfaces but have done best on turf. You can see her picture on the website at her web page.

Kyle also recorded her recent breeze in company on Feb 25 and you can watch her final quarter mile from the Royal Victory Thoroughbreds web site. Just click the button that says Not My Money on the top right of the main menu bar at www.royalvictb.com (she is the outside horse).

I have just one share remaining in her and it is only available until Mar 16 or until someone scoops it up. Please contact me soon if you are interested in her final share or just curious to learn a bit more about her.

Looking further ahead in 2018, I also plan to offer shares in a 2 year-old colt, named Hardy Chisel, who is pointing to Emerald Downs this summer. He will begin training at Emerald Downs in about 1-2 months and shares will become available in late Spring or early Summer. You can view his picture and background on his web-page.

If you are also/more interested in a future share in Hardy Chisel and/or would like to learn more, please let me know. I will introduce him formally in a few months when he is close to his debut.

Feb 13 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Winning any horse race is hard. So many things need to go right, even when you have the best horse in the race. On Sunday, I felt that Annisquam was easily the best horse and ran the best race of everyone racing but only managed to finish 2nd, a length behind the 20-1 longshot that won the race.

After the break, Orozco had Annisquam in a nice stalking spot along the rail and just four lengths behind the early leaders. As they entered the turn, she suddenly slowed, visibly tossed her head and quickly dropped 7 1/2 lengths behind the leader. My immediate impression was something went wrong. My stomach sunk and I hoped she was ok. Then, she regrouped and started to move forward once again. She rallied fast down the stretch, pinned her ears back and passed every horse except the winner, just a length behind at the wire.

I wondered what happened? Why did she fall back to last? After watching the head-on replay, I finally saw what happened. The horse just outside of Annisquam moved into her path as they entered the turn, leaving Orozco no choice but to slow and then 'check', meaning he tugged on her reins just enough to avoid getting pushed into the railing. This immediately cost her several lengths and any forward momentum. It was a really tough and unfortunate way to lose a race but I was at least relieved that Annisquam was not hurt or injured.

After the race, I thought I saw a red claiming tag on the video feed as the jockeys dismounted and grooms collected the horses. Tim called me a few minutes later to confirm my suspicions. She was claimed by the barn of Jonathon Wong, the leading trainer in the current meet at Golden Gate Fields. And thus, we close our chapter on Annisquam. We placed her in a realistic condition and winnable race but lost her to another who felt the price was right.

Over the past year, we have had a lot of fun watching and rooting for Annisquam. She has been the subject of many of my email updates and she ran hard in many of those nine races in our colors. A fun fact is that in her last six races, she had a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th (just not in that order), so we can say she did an admirable job in offering a full range of emotions. I also wish her and her new connections as much fun as we've experienced with her.

What's next for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds? We don't have any imminent races on the docket, however, we are currently training our next pair of horses, including an unraced 3 YO filly by City Zip named Not My Money. She is coming along nicely at Golden Gate Fields in preparing for her debut in early Spring.

I will be sharing much more about her in my next email update. Stay tuned for more as shares will be offered soon.

Feb 10 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Annisquam returns to the Golden Gate oval tomorrow for a date with six other older fillies and mares running 5 1/2 furlongs at a claiming price of $5,000. Since winning in October, she ran 6th at the $12.5k level, then 5th at $8k level and most recently finished an encouraging 3rd on Jan 15 in a starter allowance $4k. Running at the $5k level provides her with some class relief relative to those previous races, meaning slightly softer competition. Coming into the race, she has been training well and she'll benefit from time off since her last start.

The morning line is published and has listed her as the 7-2 third choice; however, I believe she will end up as the second betting choice by the time they leave the gate tomorrow, about 2:30 PM PT.

I'm exciting that we are bringing Irving Orozco back for the mount. He's the last jockey to ride her to victory in October and has performed well since returning to action at Golden Gate on Jan 21, winning at a 24% clip and finishing top 3 in 57% of his starts. Both are the top percentages of any rider with at least 50 starts so far this meet. Good karma here.

Our top threat tomorrow is the ML favorite (2-1), Filly on Fire, the #6 horse. We faced her two-back on Jan 5 when we finished 5th, just behind Filly on Fire who ran 4th. In that race, Filly on Fire ran off the pace and passed Annisquam in the final 16th of a mile to snatch 4th place out of our hands. Her typical running style is to sprint to an early lead and try to win from start to finish. However, given her last race, she may try to stay back and make a run down the lane.

The second choice on the morning line is Whyugottbesomean (3-1) and she has been dropping steadily since running in an Allowance race back in August of last year. Since then, she has dropped to $25k, $20k and $6.25k before getting vet-scratched in a $4k claiming race last month. She has finished 6th and 7th in her last two races in spite of the drops and just appears to be going backwards. She could still benefit from yet another drop in class but she will need a better effort than her previous few races to threaten here. I'm frankly surprised her ML odds are just 3-1.

Cowgirls Pray (9/2) and Padawon (8-1) are next. The former recently ran 2nd in a $4k claiming race and moves up a notch tomorrow. To win, she will need to show a little improvement off that last effort but at age 8, her upside seems limited especially given her overall body of work at Golden Gate Fields has been being lackluster, except for that last race. Padawon has been a consistent mare, finishing 3rd at both $8k and $5k levels most recently. The $8k was a conditional NW2 race, so not as tough as the $8k that Filly on Fire and Annisquam last ran.

The last two Lovely Lioness (15-1) and Handful of Pearls (15-1) are both longshots. Lovely Lioness last ran 6th at the $4k level, after winning at $3.2k in a short field and Handful of Pearls finished 8th in that same $8k race where Annisquam was 5th and Filly on Fire was 4th and about 5 lengths behind us. Both are deserving longshots.

But what about Annisquam?

I'm stepping up to pick Annisquam (7-2) to win tomorrow! If she breaks clean, she is versatile enough to give Orozco the option to move early or come off the pace. I'm confident with Orozco in the irons, the four weeks between races and the softer competition that she is the horse to beat. Of course, anything can happen and I look forward to watching her compete tomorrow. If Annisquam can put away Filly on Fire, she should be capable of putting away the others too. Besides, we're ready for a win too!

The Daily Racing For agrees based on their comments below about the race:

Jan 30 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I'm looking forward to watching Not My Money race this year. She is the daughter of City Zip, who was the 13th leading stallion in North America and 9th leading turf sire in 2017. She has turf potential, based on her pedigree and looks and she enjoyed her first breeze at Golden Gate Fields on Jan 28 going 3/8 of a mile. We are pointing her to start at Golden Gate in late March / early April and she will likely to remain in California year-round. Once she is breezing at a 1/2 mile, a limited number of shares will made available (mid-Feb)

Not My Money (Jan 20 at Golden Gate Fields)

If you have interest, potential interest in her or would like to learn more about her, please reply to this mail. I will provide you with all her vet-information and answer any questions you may have.

This summer, we also plan to offer shares in an unraced 2 YO gelding, pointing towards Emerald Downs for the 2018 season. His name is Hardy Chisel and he is by Paynter, the 9th leading first-crop stallion in North America in 2017. Paynter won the $1M Haskell Invitational and ran 2nd in the Belmont Stakes in 2012. Hardy Chisel is fully nominated for the NWRS (Northwest Racing Series). I will share more information as he gets closer to race-ready over the next few months.

You will find more details and information about both Not My Money and Hardy Chisel under the horses tab on the web page as well as two New York based horses, an unraced 3 YO colt named Straitouta Congtin by proven stallion Congaree and 2 YO unraced filly named Running on Entry by Point of Entry, the 7th ranked first-crop stallion in 2017. If you have any interest in NYRA racing, please let me know. Of course, there is also a tab featuring Annisquam on the 'Horses' tab!

Annisquam continues to train at Golden Gate Fields in anticipation of her next race. She breezed 4F on Jan 27 in 50.2 which was a good workout for her following two quick races on Jan 5 and 15. There is a $12,500 NW 2 sprint on Feb 3, but after speaking with Tim, we are going to pass on the races this coming weekend and give her a little more time before her next race. We'll look at the condition book and any extra races for the weekend of Feb 8-11 or the weekend afterwards for her next race.

Jan 14 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Following a decent performance on Jan 5 to kick-off the year in finishing 5th of 9, we are wheeling back with Annisquam once again tomorrow at Golden Gate Fields. The 10-day turnaround is quick, but we had an opportunistic window for a $4k Starter Allowance race, meaning there is no risk of her getting claimed. To qualify for this race, each of the horses must have been in a claiming race of $4000 or less at least once during 2016, 2017 or 2018. Annisquam last ran at that level in March '16. She returned from her last race in good shape and gave us the option to enter in this spot before we lose the condition (The 4$k Starter will be limited to 2017-18 only after tomorrow).

In critiquing her last race, she ran ok but she appeared warm and a tad washy prior to the race. It was a tough field with a lot of speed and she only lost by 3 lengths while learning to run off the pace (or rate). We'll look at this positively and be optimistic about tomorrow's affair. To help her stay cool and relaxed, Tim and his crew have been working with her daily, including a trip the paddock as if she were going to race, to alleviate her pre-race anxiety.

There are seven entries and Annisquam is listed as the co-4th choice at 6-1. The last time she ran in this condition, she was the odds-on favorite (when odds are lower than 1-1) but she broke horribly and finished 4th, behind Ultimate Game, who is the third choice on the morning line. The favorite, Matter of Luck, most recently finished 2nd for $12,500 claiming and before that was running in much tougher allowance races. The second favorite is Bellanza, who was just 2-1 when she ran 3rd behind Annisquam on Oct 26. That race was on turf but they will run on the All Weather (Tapeta) surface tomorrow. She's returned to race in two very tough allowance races since.

Aaron Gryder returns to ride Annisquam, which is great since he is winning at 21%, the top percentage at GGF and he's also familiar with our mare based on the Jan 5 mount. Here's a fun fact - In her last six races, Annisquam has had six different jockeys. She moved from Emerald Downs, where Bowen and Flores rode her, to Golden Gate and won with Orozco, who has since moved his tack to Portland Meadows. We tried her old jockey (Cedillo) and then took a shot with Thomas Queely, fresh from Ireland. Finally, we landed on Gryder. Yes, this is a bit unusual and it's really nice to see Gryder coming back to ride her again.

If Annisquam is able to maintain her cool and run her race, she should make for an exciting race! There is a lot of early speed, including from the morning line favorite, Matter of Luck, who will breaks from the inside post. Given this, and Annisquam's recent experience running off the pace, I would not be surprised if Aaron Gryder tries to settle her down behind the speedy front-runners and save her energy for the excotimg stretch run.

The Daily Race Form has handicapped the race and selected her to run 2nd:

Post time is listed at 3:55 PM tomorrow for the 7th and final race of the card! Let's go get 'em!!

Jan 3 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Entries are finalized, Jockeys selected, Horses trained!! We're all set to kick off 2018!

Our first race of the year will be on Friday, Jan 5 at Golden Gate Fields!! Annisquam returns to the oval this Friday in the 8th and final race of the day in a competitive field of 10 mares, travelling 5 1/2 furlongs on the Synthetic or All-Weather Surface.

When we last saw Annisquam, she was racing at a mile on turf in a $12.500 claiming race in which she led the first three-quarters of the race, setting reasonably fast fractions and finished 6th out of 10, about 5 lengths behind the winner. The cutback from a mile to 5 1/2 should benefit her as well as a drop in class from $12,500 to $8,000 claiming.

The morning line is listing Annisquam as the 8-1, which is fifth choice:

I reviewed the past performances of our competitors and consider Annisquam to be an overlay, meaning her odds seem a little higher than her probability of winning. Of course, my opinion is just one persons viewpoint and I do carry a personal bias. However, if our girl runs back to the form she showed us in October (as well as last year at GGF), I expect her to be very tough in this spot. Recency and class are big factors when determining initial odds and her last two races were off the board (not in the top 3), after her victory in October.

Based on her past performances alone, it may seem that her race in October was an outlier but I see it differently. I'm looking for her to run closer to her October form than her form of those last two races. Two back, she threw her head leaving the gate as the overwhelming favorite and spotted the field 6 lengths at the break. In her last, we tried something new by stretching her out to a mile when all her previous races were sprints. Before the race, she looked washy (excessive sweating) but she ran a decent race for $12,500 NW2.

She has breezed twice since that race, including a sharp 48.6 on Dec 24 and an easy 50.2 on Dec 31. Aaron Gryder returns to ride her again, which is a positive indicator. Gryder is off to a fast start since Golden Gate reopened on Dec 26 and is tied for first place with 6 wins, yet with just 16 starts, he tops all other riders with a 38% win percentage.

This race returns Annisquam to a familiar distance and a clean break could be a difference maker for her. She likes to run on the lead and she'll have the opportunity to dictate that pace early as she'll break from an inside post (#3). My expectation is that she'll start fast on Friday. There are two other very speedy horses (#5 and #7) that will likely press her for the early lead and this does concern me, but she just needs to run her race and not worry about what these others will do as she should outrun both of them.

The two favorites will break from the far outside posts, #8 and #10.

The Power of Nine (#8) is a nine-year old mare and she likes to run from off the pace. She returns for just her second race since 2016 but in her return after 18 months off, she won a 6F sprint at 5-1. Her extreme time off suggests she suffered a serious injury in 2016 but given her recent breezes and return performance, she seems to be holding together well and may even improve off her last race. As such, she is a legit favorite, even though she is bumping up from $6,250 to $8,000 claiming. Her vulnerability is possibly her age and wear and tear over the years, so watching her in the paddock could be telling.

The second betting choice at 3-1 is Run Sofia Run (#10). She is returning to Golden Gate Fields after running in a $20,000 claiming race at Santa Anita two-back, where she ran last by 10 lengths but don't be fooled. Her last race at GGF was a solid 2nd, just behind The Power of Nine, and well clear of the rest of the field. If she returns to her 2016 form, she will crush this field; however, with just three races following a 8-month layoff, she is yet to show her previous form. She likes to run near the lead and the 10-post doesn't help her in such a short sprint.

The fact that both favorites are coming back from long layoffs and breaking from the far outside makes this a challenging race to handicap. If you get past these two, then Annisquam deserves to be in the conversation, along with Sweetwater Gal (# 1) and Glamsquad (#(9). The former makes her second start at Golden Gate after running in Southern California previously. She was claimed for $12,500 and ran 3rd out of 6 in a $12,500 NW2 race. Interestingly, she was claimed for $75,000 in June 2016. The latter is a rather consistent mare, having run in the top four spots 18 of 21 races. If she gets a good trip and sits comfortably behind the early speed, she could be sneaky too.

It should be a fun and competitive race. Post time is 4:15 PM on Friday!

Nov 15 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

How flipping GREAT is this? Racing in mid-November!! Rain, wind, cold, dark - foo to that - We've got action tomorrow!!

The preparation is over. The workouts. The daily exercise. The schooling in the paddock. The hard training. The morning line is set. Nerves are tingling. Excitement is building. Annisquam is in the House (Ok, Barn)! We are poised and Ready. Set. Action! We won't wait long. We have the first race tomorrow. Post time at 12:45 PST. Golden Gate Fields.

As expected, Annisquam is the morning line favorite, at 7-5 odds. I also would not be surprised if she drops to even-money odds (1-1) by post time. The Program for tomorrow is posted online and below.

In terms of how this race plays out, both inside horses, Brite Echo and Tizfit may vie for the early lead right off the break. Regardless of what they decide, Ultimate Game (#5) will surely gun her engine early and look to set the pace. If the race plays out this way, Annisquam can watch things unfold in front of her, find a good stalking spot and make her move down the lane just like she did three weeks ago. In previous races at Golden Gate Fields, Annisquam has shown a strong bias for being the front-runner but she found a new playbook last time out and she may be wise to use it again tomorrow. The surface change from turf to synthetic may affect her running style but in any regard, I expect the pace scenario will factor into the final outcome of the race.

Finally, the Daily Racing Form has posted the following analysis for the race tomorrow.

FIRST RACE

ANNISQUAM is happy to be back after a disappointing trip to Emerald Downs this spring. She’s won seven of 10 starts on the main track here. She had a convincing turf win at this level last time following more than four months on the sidelines. She has two solid works since, including a half-mile bullet drill. BRITE ECHO won’t go off at 36-to-1 as she did when second to the top pick last time. That was her turf debut, and she’ll likely appreciate the return to the main track. TIZFIT is bidding for a repeat after dropping to this level last time for a nice win after eight weeks on the sidelines. She’s a stalker that always seems to be sitting in a good spot.

I normally don't follow up another email within a few hours but I just found this article in the BloodHorse and since it pertains to our jockey tomorrow, Annisquam even gets a nod in the article.

It's pretty special to be part of something this noteworthy that it makes the headlines in the top racing publication! Enjoy!

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/224787/tom-queally-rider-of-frankel-moves-tack-to-california#disqus_thread

Tom Queally, Rider of Frankel, Moves Tack to California

www.bloodhorse.com

Tom Queally, known best as the regular jockey of undefeated European champion Frankel, has relocated to Northern California, where he'll begin riding Nov. 16 at Golden Gate Fields.

Hope they nail it. Let's go get 'Em tomorrow!

Nov 10 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

After chasing down her competition in an impressive off-the-pace victory on Oct 26, Annisquam has returned to the barn in good shape and is flourishing in her return to California. If you've not had the opportunity to watch her last race, you can find the race replay at www.calracing.com (after you register for a free account).

Annisquam returned just a week after her victory, on Nov 3 to breeze a snappy fast 4F in 47.6 and then again on Nov 10 in an easy-going 5F in 1:03.4. She's ready to run again and I'm excited to share that she has been entered in the first race on Thursday, Nov 16 at Golden Gate Fields, a 6F sprint on the All Weather Surface!

This is a Starter Allowance Race, just like her last race; thus protecting her once again from getting claimed. I'm glad the race filled as there are just six entries in this short field. In order to qualify for this race, she must have raced for a claiming price of $4,000 or less sometime during 2016 or 2017. She last raced at that level in Mar of 2016, allowing her to qualify for this condition through the end of this calendar year.

I took a quick glance at the past performances and I expect she will be the morning line favorite once the initial odds are published. She will face the 2nd place finisher from her last race but otherwise faces four newcomers. If Annisquam can run back to her form from the last race, she will be tough in here. There isn't much early speed in the race and since she will break from the outside post, she can decide if she wants the lead or to run off the pace based on how she breaks from the gate.

Another interesting note is that her jockey is Thomas P. Queally, famously known in Europe as the regular rider of the superstar racehorse Frankel, who won 14 out of 14 races before retiring in 2012. Queally has ridden in some of the biggest races in Europe and even won a Breeders Cup race in 2009 at Santa Anita aboard Midday (2nd in 2010 BC). He has just moved his tack to North America and Annisquam may be just be his coming out party in North America. His last race in the U.S. was 2013 when he finished 2nd aboard Gifted Girl in the Grade I Beverley at Arlington Park. Let's hope his and Annisquam's return is a triumphant one!

Post time is 12:45 PM on Thursday. 1st Race!!

Oct 27 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

"Annisquam gets out late and ERUPTS, Annisquam BLASTS home to win wrapped up and there was plenty left in the tank" - Frank Mirahmadi, Golden Gate Fields race caller, Oct 26, 2017

It's been a waiting game for Annisquam, her partners and fans but patience finally paid off on Thursday with a visually impressive 1 3/4 length win, facing a very stout and tough field of eight fillies and mares. When the track announcer said she was wrapped up, he meant the jockey simply put away his crop and just let her ride home without any additional urging. The hard work was done and they both enjoyed that last bit of running together to the wire.

As I watched the race, I was initially concerned about her early positioning. All her previous victories had come as a front-runner and she was sitting 4th or 5th early in the race. Then she started to move off the rail and appeared to be getting stronger and suddenly that initial concern turned to excitement. But as she was gaining momentum, she looked trapped behind a wall of horses. I was now yelling things like "She's Raging" and "Let Her Out". If she could just get out, she looked to be a winner.

Then, a beautiful thing happened. A teeny-tiny seam started to open between two of the horses in front of her and she courageously bolted through the opening as if she had a turbo propelling her. The track announcer had not paid her any attention until that point, and seemed ready to call the stretch-run between the favorite and one of the other challengers, when he finally saw the Annisquam Eruption!

First Pic: She's 6th early in the race (#1)

Second Pic: Just 1/8th of a mile to go. Trapped. Nowhere to go (yellow cap, blue sleeves)

Third Pic: Annisquam is all wrapped up crossing the finish line !!

Annisquam benefited from a little time off and a little patience. She gained a few pounds over the summer and relaxed out at pasture with no pressure, no training and little activity (other than eating) from June through August. She certainly benefited from the turnout, a change in scenery and the move to a grass surface. Annisquam has also reiterated the old adage that all work and no play (or time off) ........is stinky for us humans too!

If you did not get the chance to watch the race, you can pull it up by registering for free at www.calracing.com and then just either type in her name or search for Race 5 at GGF on Oct 26. I will be catching up with Tim over the next couple of days and we'll start plotting out her next race soon!

Oct 22 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

It's been a month since our last update but while we've been quiet, Annisquam has been hard at work and training regularly since late September at Golden Gate Fields. She has breezed every seven days for the past five weeks, including a 5 furlong breeze on Saturday in 1:01.6 seconds.

I'm happy to share that after nearly five months of turn-out and training, Annisquam is entered to run in the 5th race on Thursday, October 27 at Golden Gate Fields (2:45 PM PDT). She drew the inside post position, #1, and will get the services of talented jockey Irving Orozco.

The entries and post positions are listed below:

This is a Starter Allowance race, thus she is protected from getting claimed in this race . All Starter Allowance races are restricted based on certain conditions. To qualify for this race, all horses must have raced for a claiming price of $4,000 or less sometime during 2016 or 2017. Annisquam had raced at that level during the early months of 2016. There are several other horses that have recently been running at higher condition levels, thus making this a very tough race, reflected by her morning line odds of 6-1.

The last time we watched her race, it was on the dirt at Emerald Downs on Jun 3. She ran 4th in that race and was 11 1/2 lengths behind the winner. In her only two races at Emerald Downs, she never really took to the dirt surface. Prior to racing at Emerald Downs, she had alertly bounced out of the gate and sprinted to the early lead in most of her races but just failed to not show this tendency at Emerald. I'm looking forward to this return to her favorite racetrack and hopefully to her old form.

Tim has a successful track-record in getting horses ready off a layoff with a 16% win percentage and 51% in the money (1st, 2nd or 3rd) but considering the competition, expectations for Annisquam should be a little tempered. Our main goal for this race is to show competitiveness and increase her fitness level as horses typically will improve once they race once or twice after a freshener. The race meet at Golden Gate continues through Dec 10, and I expect to her to run a few times before the two-week break in December.

In studying the past performances for this race, six of the eight horses entered, including Annisquam have a tendency to sprint to the early lead. The two big favorites (#7 , #8) also like to start fast. The break from the post may be quite the Calvary-Charge as several horses could be vying for that early lead. Our mare will be breaking from the inside, 1-post and given her tendency to bounce out and sprint early, I expect she will be in the mix of early front-runners. If so, she will likely be pressed throughout by the other speed horses and this will represent a stiff test in her return to competition. The race is just 5 furlongs or an 1/8th mile shorter than her races at Emerald Downs, and tactical positioning throughout the race will factor into how they all finish.

Finally, as there were no sprints in the condition book on the All-Weather surface that meet her conditions, Annisquam will race on grass for just the third time in her career. The good news is that last time she raced on grass in Aug 2016, she won going 5F in a shorter field of just five horses. She won that race by 1 1/4 lengths leading from start to finish. I'm excited to see Annisquam return action and looking forward to the race on Thursday!

Sept 24 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

It's hard to believe that summer is now in the rear-view mirror and Emerald Downs has also concluded its 22nd year of racing this past weekend. It was a fun meet for Royal Victory as we found the Winner's Circle twice and enjoyed exciting action and great experiences with our two horses. Although the casino remains open, there will be no more horses on the grounds until next February when training resumes in preparation for the 2018 racing season, likely to start in mid-April.

During the final weekend of the meet, our old friend Party Pooper ran again on Sept 23 in the 8th race. This was a Starter Allowance race, meaning it had some very specific restrictions to qualify, but it was not a claiming race. To qualify for the race, he had to have previously raced in a claiming race of $10,000 or lower. As his last two races met this condition, he was qualified to enter this race. It was a tough race and his post-time odds were 5-1. Unfortunately for Party Pooper, he appeared to take an awkward step during the first quarter mile and was eased (pulled up) by his rider and then vanned off the track. The injury did not appear to be life threatening but I'm guessing he'll need several months to recover. If, for example, he pulled a tendon muscle, he'll need at least six months off from any training. We certainly wish him well in his recovery and hope to see him next year on the track.

Although racing locally has ended at Emerald Downs, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds will continue on in California as our mare Annisquam, has returned to the bouncy surface of Golden Gate Fields where she has experienced her best career success. She travelled to California from Yakima a few weeks ago and has settled into her stall and new routine. On Sunday, she had her first breeze since returning and she worked 3 furlongs in a moderate, yet handy, 37.8 seconds. Of the 32 horses that breezed 3/8 of a mile on Sunday, she ranked 11th. I caught up with Tim on Sunday after her breeze and he reported that she came back to the barn in good shape. I bet she's rather happy to be back at Golden Gate Fields, although I'm sure her time in Yakima was also enjoyable.

Annisquam will progressively extend her breezes over the next several weeks and should be ready to return to competition towards the end of October / beginning of November. Golden Gate Fields is currently not racing anyway until October 19 as the horses are currently running at Pleasanton and then Fresno over the next several weeks. Golden Gate will open on Oct 19 and stay open through Dec 10 and then again from Dec 26 through Jun 17. Hopefully, she will get a bump from her freshening and be ready to return to the Winners Circle at Golden Gate Fields!

Sept 10 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Following the claim of Party Pooper on Aug 26, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds has no more action at Emerald Downs this season. It was a very fast summer and I hope that everyone participating and attending the races during the meet enjoyed the experience! Although Emerald Downs is open till Sept 24, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds will now shift its focus to California. After some much needed rest and turn-out time, Annisquam is doing well and is ready to return to training. She has been lightly jogging in Yakima and is scheduled to van to Golden Gate Fields this week! Once she arrives in San Fran, she will settle back into a routine at her favorite oval and prepare to start breezing in a few weeks.

As for our old friend, Party Pooper, he was entered to run again at Emerald Downs in his new colors yesterday at Emerald Downs and he won by nearly 2 lengths. The condition for the race was exactly the same as our last race in terms of distance and class (claiming level of $10k). Even considering his previous 4-length win on Aug 29 at the same claiming level and running as the odds-on favorite yesterday, he was not claimed this time around. It just goes to show how this this game can be baffling at times. I'm frankly surprised he was claimed in our race but not yesterday at the same price; especially since he came into yesterday's race off an impressive win at the same level. The new owners, however, rolled the dice and effectively stole the race without losing the horse. It will be interesting to see where he runs next.

I thought briefly about claiming him back yesterday but decided it would be best right now keep our focus on Annisquam as she returns to training. The Pooper has run a long campaign and been in training without a break since early March. To run him back before the meet closes would mean three races in a span of just five weeks (assuming there even is a race in the book), and that is asking a lot of him on the heels of his long campaign. Once Annisquam returns to action, we can resume shopping again for our next partnership horse.

In other racing news, the largest yearling auction of the year will kickoff tomorrow at Keeneland in Lexington Kentucky. The sale features nearly 5000 yearlings that will go through an auction ring and continue through Sept 23. The first two books make up the 'select sale' and this part of the sale begins tomorrow, and attracts some of the most prestigious buyers from around the world, including the Prince of Dubai! From this select group of yearlings, there will surely be at least few that will sell for more than a million dollars over the next three days. As the sale continues over the two weeks, the average purchase price drops each day as both the pedigrees and buyers change! . You can follow the action or view the results at www.keeneland.com

Although, the Keeneland Auction is one of my favorite events each year, I will not be attending this year. Last year, I purchased a filly at Keeneland and she is now a grown up 2-year old named Not My Money. I'm hopeful she will begin serious training at Golden Gate Fields later this year. One of the reasons I decided not to travel to Kentucky this year is that I already purchased a yearling colt at the WTBOA auction at Emerald Downs last month . He is a colt by the young stallion Paynter (his first foals are just two years old this year) and will hopefully be ready to race next year at Emerald Downs.

If you have any interest in the process of attending auctions and evaluating babies, bidding strategy, and preparing/training yearlings, please let me know and I will follow up with you in a separate email.

August 27 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The final chapter of our ongoing saga with the Party Pooper ended with a decisive triumph on Saturday! After his scintillating victory, we learned that Party Pooper was claimed during the race and thus, moved to a new barn immediately after the race. Of course, we still earned our 1st place purse money for his effort and the glamour of another joyful get-together in the Winner's Circle below. All smiles for the W!

Prior to the race, Party Pooper looked settled and professional in the paddock. He was ready for business and demonstrated none of his previous antics and childish behaviors. All those sessions on the couch with Robert obviously paid dividends as he ran a solid race from start to finish. The only doubt came after a slow break from the gate but he was immediately hustled to the lead and then never looked back. He was pressed just a bit as they rounded the turn, but easily rebuffed the potential challenge. At that point, a quick tap from his skilled pilot, Rocco Bowen, ignited him to the finish line and left no doubt as to the outcome. The Pooper officially won by an easy 3 3/4 lengths. Clearly, the bettors felt strongly about his chances as his 7-5 morning line was bet-down to a surprisingly strong 2-5 (odds-on) by post-time.

If you missed the race or want to relive the memory, again and again and again and again...., you can find the video of the race from the Emerald Downs Race Replay at https://emeralddowns.com/racing/ - Once on the Emerald Downs web-site, scroll down until you find the below blue button and click it -

This will bring you to a menu where you can search for Aug 26, 7th race and then watch the Pooper show off his stuff as many times as you would like!!

After his last race, we placed him in a spot we felt more confident he could realistically win and gain his own confidence back. It was an aggressive move. After the race, we learned he was claimed by the barn of Candi Tollet and owner John Parker. During his time with us, Party Pooper brought us to the winner's circle twice from his five starts! In addition, he also brought us a rich, unique and entertaining ownership experience with his many trials and tribulations. For the Pooper's sake, I hope the new connections have a big couch and are prepared to keep his sessions going.

In all seriousness, I want to thank all the Royal Victory Partners for their participation and patience with the Pooper and I also hope he continues to entertain his new connections as much as he's entertained us!

August 25 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The morning line is out and as expected, Party Pooper is the morning line favorite, at 7-5. In reviewing the past performances for this race, there is no doubt that our horse is the class of this field and should handle this group *if* he runs his race. If he is behaving himself in the paddock prior to the race, that should be a positive indicator as to how he'll perform on the track. If so, I would not be surprised if his post-time odds drop to even money.

We are dropping from a higher claiming level into this race. Our competition tomorrow have all recently run at lower claiming levels compared to our previous competition; thus it represents a softer field than we've seen in the past. The second choice in the morning line (#7) has finished 3rd in his past two outings, both at this claiming level. He will try to come off the pace to win. The third choice (#2) ran well at this level earlier this month after moving up from a lower claiming level and appears to be on the improve.

There appears to be very little early pace in this race, although the #1 horse may try to break fast out of the gate and take an early lead. If so, we should sit right behind him and stalk but if not, we should also be comfortable dictating the pace as the early front-runner ourselves. Hopefully, we can clear this group by the top of the stretch and then finish strongly!

I hope to see you there on Saturday. Post-time is 5:00 PM, so try to be there by 4:00 PM if you are coming!

August 23 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The ongoing saga of Party Pooper will resume once again on Saturday, Aug 26. There were two viable races for us to enter Party Pooper for this coming Saturday. The first was a $15k claiming race or essentially the same group he ran behind in July last race and the other was a $10k claiming race. We watched the entry board closely this morning and the $15k claiming race fell far short in terms of entries but the $10k claiming race successfully filled with seven entries, including your favorite Party horse!

The class relief he will get, especially after his previous race will benefit the Pooper. He will break from gate #4 in the 7th race on Saturday. In addition to the class relief and shorter distance (his last race was a mile), we also secured the services of Emerald Downs leading rider, Rocco Bowen. While Eswan Flores has been a good rider for Party Pooper, the opportunity to use the leading rider was too tempting to pass up. The fact that Rocco was showing interest in our horse over the others is a positive sign. I'm sure he had many calls given his success this season; and yet, he still chose us and the Poopster!

After a quick scan of the past performances, I expect Party Pooper will be the morning line and post-time favorite in this race. With a slight improvement over his last effort, he should be good enough to give him the edge over his foes on Saturday. This race will also take place well before sunset (~5:00 PM), so I'm also not anticipating a repeat of his toddler antics on race-day. Robert will school him on Friday evening to ensure he's not going to be a goofball on Saturday. In terms of race strategy, there's not a lot of natural early speed coming from his competition, so if he breaks quickly from the gate, I expect Rocco will let him run on or near the lead.

I'm excited about the race on Saturday and look forward to another exciting episode of the Party Pooper chronicles. What will he do next? Will he behave himself? Will he keep his shoes on? Will he poop on his walk into the paddock? Will he even get to the paddock on time? Will our jockey wear the right silks? So many questions that will only be answered at Emerald Downs this weekend. You must come out on Saturday to see this growing legend perform live and in flesh on Saturday!

I hope to see you all at the races on Saturday.

August 14 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The Longacres Mile yesterday was an exciting affair won convincingly by a rising star, Gold Rush Dancer. Congratulations are well deserved to his connections, owner (John Parker), breeder (John Parker), trainer (Vann Belvoir) and jockey (Evan Roman). John Parker is an extremely generous individual and very likeable personality and I'm so happy for him and his connections. It's also nice (and inspiring) to see the Mile being won by local ownership.

The Emerald Distaff, run just prior to the Mile, was personally disappointing for me. I had high hopes that Pyscho Sister would run a big race but she was hustled to the front and then simply cruised too fast before falling apart in the final quarter of the race. She lost any chance at hitting the board as she faded badly from first to 8th when she finally crossed the wire. There was also a little concern for her after the race as she got a tick warm but Robert and his team did a fantastic job in quickly cooling her off and attentively managing the situation. Afterwards, she looked bright and alert in her stall and showed no ill affects.

Party Pooper breezed 4F in a snappy 48.8 Sunday morning as he prepares for his next race in less than two weeks. There were no added races that fit his conditions this coming Saturday, so we are still pointing to the race on Saturday, Aug 26 for his next start. If the race fills a week, it will be several days after the eclipse; thus, we are guaranteed daylight for the race! I'll keep you posted as he progresses towards the race.

In Yakima, Annisquam has started to jog lightly in preparation for her return to Golden Gate Fields. She has added the requisite weight she needed and has benefited from her time off from training (sometimes called a freshener or layup). I will be visiting her at the McCanna farm in Yakima on Wednesday morning and will take a few pictures to share in my next update. If all goes well in Yakima, she will van to California at the end of August/beginning of September.

I also want to remind everyone of the WTBOA Sale on August 22 at Emerald Downs. Even if you have no intention of actively participating in the auction, I strongly encourage you to come out for the sale especially if you have never been to a yearling auction. These sales provide the backdrop for a terrific classroom on pedigree, conformation and equine behavior. The consigners are extremely friendly and helpful and the action and bidding can certainly get exciting. The sale begins at 2PM and goes until about 6PM. Prior to the Sale, the consigners are showing horses in the barn area behind the sales ring. Please let me know if you have any interest in joining me at the Sale.

August 12 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

If you are a horse racing fan and you live in the Pacific Northwest, then I don't need to tell you that tomorrow is the biggest racing day of the year at Emerald Downs. The card features four stakes races and is highlighted by the oldest, biggest and most prestigious race of the year, The Longacres Mile! This year's Mile includes a full field of 12 horses and looks to be a wide open race on paper, in which several horses have a legitimate chance to win!

If you are attending the races or watching on the cable broadcast tomorrow, you may catch the silks of Royal Victory Thoroughbreds in the race just prior to the Mile, which is the Emerald Distaff Handicap. This is the most prestigious race of the year for fillies and mares at Emerald Downs. Royal Victory Thoroughbreds will be represented by Pyscho Sister in this race. She is a WA-bred four-year old and recently ran 4th in her first stakes race at Emerald Downs in July. She is considered a longshot but has been training extremely well and perhaps we'll get lucky and steal a piece of the purse tomorrow. It's already a thrill to participate and be represented in this race on this historic racing day and I look forward to watching her compete tomorrow.

Speaking of psycho(ish) equines, Party Pooper, has been spending significant time on the couch in Robert's office to help him overcome his sudden fear of racing in the dark. I must admit, while winning just one for four races in our colors, he hasn't been short of entertainment value and interesting anecdotes since he was claimed (lost shoe, wrong silks, lucky head bob, afraid of the dark). While we may not be richer financially, we are certainly richer for the experience:)

Robert has recently changed his approach to training on him and now brings him into a deep state of hypnosis in order to uncover what makes him tick (just picture the horse sitting on the couch and Robert with the pocket watch). So far, this tactic appears to be working as he's shown no physical effects or hangover from his unusual behavior of a few weeks ago. In looking forward to his next race, or our next anecdote, there is a race on Aug 26, that is a 6 1/2 furlong sprint, which should suit him. Entries for that race will be on Wednesday, Aug 23. To ensure a good effort, we are going to hypnotize him prior to the race and convince him that he really is American Pharoh 🙂 Of course, he may then start looking to breed a few mares, so we'll need to play this one carefully.

If you are planning to attend the Longacres Mile tomorrow, please let me know. I hope to see you there!

Also, don't forget the WTBOA Yearling Auction is Tuesday, Aug 22. If you have any interest in shopping, buying or just attending, please let me know.

August 7 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

In our last update, I shared some theories as to what may have happened with Party Pooper in his last race on July 29. It has been more than a week since his little episode and he has checked out just fine physically. Thus, it appeared he had some sort of unexplainable alien episode that prevented him from wanting to behave like a race horse on that Saturday night.

I looked through his history and he has just one other race in which it would have been dark outside, which was Apr 29, 2016. On that night, he was the odd-on (odds less than even money or 1-1), post-time favorite at 2-5 odds and ran 2nd by a neck. The time of that race was 9:02 PM, so perhaps it probably wasn't completely dark outside by the time he walked out (sunset was 8:20). It was already rather dark on July 29 when he walked to the paddock for the 9:49 PM post time and I'm guessing this was his trigger. Our horses (and grooms and trainers) often start their days before 6:00 AM every day as that is when the track opens. His race was 16 hours later when he is normally safe and snug in the comforts of his stall.

So, in the absence of any other evidence or data, I'm going with this theory of the race being too late and it being too dark outside. Good thing he won't be running during the eclipse on Aug 21. Robert may want to keep a light on in his stall :). We'll be looking for a race over the next few weeks that looks like a good fit, most likely another sprint, which is the distance in which he last won.

In Yakima, Annisquam is doing extremely well and is very close to returning to race-training. Her weight is good, her blood count looks great and she starting to jog again out in Yakima. The weather in Yakima is extremely hot and there is a chance we will move her out of the heat and down to California to resume training sooner than later.

There is also a lot happening at Emerald Downs over the next few weeks. This coming Sunday is the biggest racing day of the year in Washington State as it is Longacres Mile Day! The tradition of the Mile goes back to 1935 or more than 80 years ago, and it's always the most celebrated and anticipated race of the year. The richest race in the year in Washington with a purse of $200,000 typically brings in the largest crowd of the year as well! This year promises an exciting and contentious race with several Emerald horses competing against several horses that will ship in just for this race (most likely from California). The race will also be televised live on TVG, Fox Sports NW and on KJR radio.

There are three other Stakes races on Sunday, including the Emerald Distaff, which features older fillies and mares that will run 1 and 1/8 miles and compete for a purse of $65,000. The other two stakes are the Pete Pederson Overnight Stakes and King County overnight stakes, with one race for the boys and the other for the girls, both featuring a purse of $25,000.

Then, on Tuesday Aug 22, is the WTBOA yearling auction. Technically, it is mixed sale (which could include weanlings, horses of racing age and broodmares) but 95% of the horses entered in the auction are yearlings. NOW is the time to think about getting in on a yearling. I will be happy to discuss this option with you if you are interested in purchasing a share in a yearling.

The cost structure and timelines are different than claiming a horse. Your risk / rewards and timeline / expectations are going to be different as you take a bigger risk for the opportunity at a greater reward. To illustrate this point, I have purchased three yearlings in the past three years. The first one is to be entered in the Emerald Distaff on Sunday which is incredibly exciting but the second broke his fetlock last year after just one race and was retired at two and the third is yet to begin serious training (which was expected as she was a late foal), so she is TBD. Please let me know if this is of any interest to you.

July 30 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

There was a race last night at Emerald Downs in which Party Pooper was technically participating but if you had the misfortunate to watch the race or wager on him, then you already know that he barely participated from start to finish. He pooped on his own party last night.

When I entered the paddock last night, we saw the other five horses but Party Pooper was missing. It seems that during the walkup from the barn area into the paddock, Party Pooper simply decided he wasn't going any further. This was new and unexpected behavior. Not good. He simply planted both front feet and stopped. This 1200 pound animal refused to move any further in spite of significant urging from his groom. If he could speak, he would have been saying "No, I'm not going. It's too scary, so just take me back now". Thus, as the other horses were willingly saddled, walked and stretched, there was our horse, Party Pooper, telling his handler "No Way Jose" (and yes, his handler's name is Jose).

Time continued to pass and still no Pooper in the paddock. Robert, then did his best Carl Lewis impression sprinting up the walkway and Party Pooper must have recognized the look in Robert's eyes, so he reluctantly trudged into the paddock amidst much anticipation from his owner group awaiting inside. At this point, his behavior was akin to a small child throwing a tantrum as he continually threw his head and did his best to make his case for going home. This continued throughout his time in the paddock. He was quickly saddled and his jockey jumped up without incident and he moved willingly to the track. Based on his visibly poor paddock behavior, I cannot offer any rational behind the gambling public making him the betting favorite come post-time.

Here is a *tip for future wagering: If the horse you select for any given race decides to just stop and refuse to move forward for an extended period of time on the way to the paddock, don't bet on him. Just don't do it.

The gates opened and he was off a step slow. His effort for the remainder of the race was, lets just say, effortless. Literally. He ran without any effort. He never grabbed the bit and just sort of galloped behind the other horses for the mile and earned a participation trophy for this feat. His jockey remarked after the race that he tried to get him to engage but he just lacked any interest in running very hard last night. Physically, there was no obvious issues in how he galloped or walked back to the barn.

What does this mean and why did he behave so oddly? We don't really have the benefit of a horse psychologist but Robert will do his best to evaluate what's happening between the ears and then see what adjustments should be made. In the days and moments before the walk-up, he was acting perfectly normal.

In the meantime, here are a few potential explanations we can offer:

We found a beer tap in his stall and he tested for high blood alcohol level after the race.
He had to break his big date with one of the sex-pot mares in the barn.
He contracted mad-horse disease in the test barn prior to the race.
The race favorite slipped him a mickey.
He wanted to see what it would be like if he gave everyone the finger (or in his case, the hoof-wall).
The race was past his bedtime and/or he was spooked by racing in the dark with loud music. He really is a party pooper.

Assuming he is fine physically over the next couple of days, we will look for another race for him during daylight hours in the next few weeks. I will keep everyone posted as to any new developments that may related to his utterly bizarre behavior last night.

July 27 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

We entered Party Pooper once again to run in the claiming $15k race, this time for Saturday, Jul 29. However, unlike our past two attempts, this time **the race filled** with a total of nine horses entered and thus, we have action on Saturday night. This race covers one mile which is one full lap around the Emerald oval and it will feature a rematch [or grudge match] between Party Pooper and Ready Set Jet, the horse we beat with our timely head bob last time out. Of course, there are seven other competitors that may have something to say about the outcome and they will make for a very competitive affair on Saturday night. The morning line is yet to be published but I expect the odds will be spread out of the nine contestants.

I'm happy to share that we retained the services of jockey Eswan Flores, who is also the regular rider for two other horses in this race. Thus, he and his agent had a choice of a multiple horses to ride and they chose to remain with us, which is always a positive sign in his confidence in our horse. Then again, he may just really like our colors (jockey silks) as he was the jockey who mistakenly wore our colors before our races, two races ago.

Post time for the 8th and feature race on Saturday night is currently listed as 9:33 PM but it may slightly change and if it should move up or back, I'll send an updated post-time before the race. Party Pooper will be breaking from the outside #8 post position. The distance between the starting gate and first turn is relatively short, so we'll either need to break extremely fast if he's eager for the lead or we'll look to settle behind some of the quicker insider runners, including Ready Set Jet, who should press the pace this time. In his last race, Party Pooper was tugging on the bit, thus propelling him to a front-running trip. Over the past two weeks, the racetrack has not necessarily been speed favoring and Eswan Flores has relevant experience by winning with Party Pooper at a mile last year after sitting close but off the pace and then rallying to win by a neck at the wire.

I hope to see you all on Saturday night. Please let me know if you're able to make it out and watch Party Pooper take on eight other challengers in the feature race at Emerald Downs!

July 23 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Today's update feels a bit like deja-vu as we again entered Party Pooper in a $15k claiming race, this time for 1-mile, for next Friday night (Jul 28). There were a total of 7 entries and it seemed likely our race would make the program but the Racing Secretary surprisingly decided *not* to card our race, and thus we are not racing next Friday night. Instead of using our race, the Secretary used seven other races, and all but two of them have at least 8 entries. There were just two races with only seven horses entered, so we barely missed the final cut.

However, I'm hopeful that Party Pooper may not be off for much longer. The Racing Secretary also wrote back our race as an extra for next Saturday night, Jul 29. I'm assuming the same seven horses, including us, will re-enter again for Saturday and if this happens, we should see our race in the program on Saturday night. The entries for Saturday's card will be drawn on Wednesday morning and we plan to retain the services of our winning jockey, Eswan Flores, if the race fills.

Per Robert Sodergran, Party Pooper is doing great in the barn and if we get the race next Saturday, he will have an almost ideal three week gap between his last race and his next race. I will send my next update on Wednesday if we have some action on Saturday night.

To wrap up today's update, I was shockingly reminded last night just how brave, fearless and courageous our jockeys are every time they lead a horse onto the track. During the 5th race on Saturday night as they were turning for home, one of the front-running horses sustained a broken leg, causing a scary chain reaction of falling horses and jockeys. I was watching the broadcast live on the simulcast and gasped when I watched these events unfold. The final two races were understandably canceled and I was relieved to learn that all three jockeys are expected to recover from their injuries. In fact, two of them, Eliska Kubinova and David Martin may return soon while the third, Juan Gutierrez, appears to have suffered a more serious injury. He could miss much of the remainder of the Emerald Downs meet. I was also saddened to learn the horse with the broken leg was humanely euthanized following the race.

Horse Racing has made significant safety improvements over the years from equipment, to surface, to medical restrictions and access to medical supplies and personnel on the grounds; however, horses are not machines and there is always the risk of an unexpected event or accident. Our jockey community put their livelihoods and lives on the line every time they make split second decisions while controlling these 1200 pound animals moving at nearly 50 mph through some very tight spaces. Their courage is worth our admiration and is one of the many factors that allow us to participate in this sport that we love. My best wishes are with them all for a speedy, full and successful recovery.

July 20 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

We entered Party Pooper for the $15k claiming race on Saturday, July 22 but the race lacked enough entries and therefore, it did not fill so there are no races for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds this coming weekend. As such, we will keep our eye on the both the condition book and the extra races to look for a good next race for him. I was also able to visit briefly with Party Pooper early on Wednesday morning and shared some carrots which he seemed to appreciate. He looks good and ready to run again and after his efforts two weeks back, he deserved those extra carrots :).

The extra time off will not hurt him at all in terms of fitness and readiness and it may even be to his benefit, assuming we find a race that fits his condition either next weekend or the first weekend of August.

The condition book currently shows two viable options for Party Pooper. The first opportunity comes up next Friday, July 28 which is another $15k claiming race at a mile or an additional 1 1/2 furlongs longer than his winning race two weeks ago. He won last year at Emerald Downs going a full mile and thus, he's shown the capability to route (routing is a term used for races that are one mile and longer; for most racetracks, it also means they complete a full lap around the track or two turns). The second option in the book is for a $20k claiming race on Aug 4 that is 6 1/2 furlongs (as this is just one turn and shorter than a mile, it is considered a sprint).

Given the chronological sequence of these races, we will consider entering him for next Friday (Jul 28). If for some reason, he is not entered or the race does not fill, then we we'll next look at the claiming race on Aug 4. In the meantime, if there is another extra race written in during the next two weeks that looks like a good spot, then we'll also be opportunistic.

July 16 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Stakes Sunday at Emerald Downs has ended and it was an exciting and beautiful day to attend the races. My 4 year old filly, Pyscho Sister, ran a credible 4th in a field of nine older fillies and mares in the $50k Boeing Handicap, just missing 3rd place in the last few strides. She had a good trip in stalking the early leader and assumed the lead at the top of the stretch but instead of kicking away as she's done previously on turf, she seemed to stammer and really struggle home over the final 1/8th of a mile. Interestingly, all the early speed completely collapsed in this race and she proved to be the best of the early runners. The first three finishers were placed 6th, 7th and 9th during the first half of the race. Overall, it was a good experience for her and I'm hopeful she'll return to the winners circle soon.

Speaking of the winners circle, Party Pooper continues to do well in his training and is scheduled to breeze tomorrow (Monday) morning at Emerald Downs. Assuming all goes well during his breeze, we will enter him for an Extra Race that was just added to next Saturday' night's racing card. Similar to his last race, this is another $15k claiming race for the same $13,600 purse but this is a 1/2 furlong shorter at 6F. The racing secretary will take entries for the race on Wednesday morning and we will know by Wednesday afternoon if he is entered for the race.

If the race fills, there is a possibility he will get claimed since he's coming off a win at the same level and I would anticipate he'll be one of the more popular betting choices. However, he previously struggled at $25k and $40k and only won by a head-bob in his last race. Most people are looking to compete at the next level up when they claim a horse. Thus, his limited ceiling may offset the appeal from his last win. In fact, the horse he beat in the head-bob may be the more attractive one to claim (if he's entered again) as he's been steadily moving up in level each race. As mentioned in a previous post, we need to place our horse at the best possible condition in which we have confidence he can win; thus, we should be aware of the potential for getting claimed but not obsess over it.

Also, since he's had four races so far this year following a several month layoff over the winter, he should be fit and ready to fire back for us on just two weeks rest between races. You may recall, he ran back on just two weeks rest for his last race and successfully punched his (and our) ticket to the Winners Circle for a nice Royal Victory celebration.

July 14 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Our recent winner, Party Pooper, continues to look well following his gutsy victory on July 7 at Emerald Downs. His Beyer rating for the race was 75, which was the second best of the day and 4th best for the entire weekend. If you're not familiar with the 'Beyer', it's a formula based speed rating, created by renown handicapper Andy Beyer, that is given to every horse for every race he/she runs in North America. The ratings are determined by incorporating several factors including finishing time, surface bias, and level of competition.

The best horses in the world will earn Beyer ratings in the low 100s and the very best horses at Emerald Downs will earn from the high 80s to low 90s. These ratings appear in the Daily Racing Form and represent the most important data point for some handicappers while others tend to shun them as overly simplistic. I personally use them to determine if a horse fits a certain race but not specifically for handicapping a race.

The new Emerald Downs condition book is out for Jul 21 - Aug 6 and there is another $15k claiming race on July 28 that could fit our horse. This race is one mile, which would be 1 1/2 furlongs longer than his last race. He has won at this distance in the past, so I do consider this race as a possibility. We will also be scanning the extra races starting next weekend and we'll be opportunistic should a favorable condition come up. I will keep you posted.

Annisquam is doing really well at Yakima and is gaining weight. Our goal in sending her to Yakima was to add about 150 pounds to her frame while allowing her a chance to recover from a long racing campaign and she is progressing well towards this goal. My expectation is that she will remain in Yakima for another month and then resume training. Given her timetable, the probability of starting her once more at Emerald Downs this year seems low. To determine our next steps, I will follow up with her Partners separately and offer some options.

There will be four Stakes Races this coming Sunday at Emerald Downs. If you look at the entries, you may notice a horse entered in the Boeing Handicap (7th race) named Pyscho Sister running under the colors of Royal Victory Thoroughbreds. She is a WA bred filly that I purchased at the WTBOA Auction in Aug 2015 and she pre-dates this year's partnership opportunities. You can learn more about her at www.royalvictb.com/horses/psycho . If you are interesting in joining me for the 4-Stake Sunday race card and rooting for Pyscho Sister in person, please let me know.

The WTBOA yearling Auction will take place in late August at Emerald Downs and this is a good time to consider joining RVT for a share in a yearling. If you have any curiosity or potential interest, please let me know and I will walk you through the process and details.

July 9 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

On Friday night, Party Pooper eagerly flashed his early speed after breaking from the gate from post #4 in the 3rd race. He was challenged early by two inside runners and all three were co-leading as they covered the length of the backstretch. One of the co-leaders quickly gave way while the Pooper looked strong running through the turn and started to edge ahead of the other co-leader. However, as he put his head in front, the race favorite, Ready Set Jet, was also moving well and loomed outside our big horse as the biggest threat to our lead.

As they completed the turn and pointed towards home, Ready Set Jet swallowed in Party Pooper and captured the lead with the look of a winner when something special happened. Party Pooper simply refused to yield. When a horse is passed, especially during the stretch run, they are almost always beaten in that race. However, Party Pooper begrudgingly dug in under the encouragement of his rider and pulled even again with Ready Set Jet. It then became an incredible stretch duel to the wire with little separation, except for the bobbing of their two heads. As they battled down the stretch, one head bobbed up while the other bobbed down and so they went back and forth towards the finish line. We were winning, then losing, then winning, then losing, ..... here is the wire.....TOO CLOSE TO CALL.

The tote board then flashed one red neon word, PHOTO.

When this happens, a photo is analyzed at the exact moment the competitors cross the finish line to determine the winner. The yellow line in the photo below is the official finish line used to declare the winner when human eyes are insufficient to do the job! As they crossed the wire, Party Pooper was pushing his nose down and reaching for the wire while Ready Set Jet was not. Party Pooper won the bob. We WON! We WON! We WON!!!! And in that moment, a good time turned into a SPECTACULAR TIME at the races on Friday night!!

The mirror image below provides a super cool visual of how Party Pooper seems to know where the finish line is located as he's fully stretched-out and lunging for the wire with his nose, even though his front legs appear to be behind the front legs of the #6 horse. Such a gutsy win!

It was an Amazing race showcasing an Amazing ride by our jockey, Eswan Flores, and Amazing performance by our horse, PARTY POOPER!! Congratulations to all the Partners associated with Party Pooper! I'm so glad we found the Winners Circle together in such a dramatic fashion and that you had the chance to celebrate with Party Pooper, jockey Eswan Flores and trainer Robert Sodergran and your friends and family! He paid $7.20 for a $2 bet based on his final post time odds of 5-2.

After each race, a chart is published (think of this as a box score of the race) and also includes a brief written summary of the race, called footnotes. For our race on Friday, the footnotes read:

PARTY POOPER dueled for the lead while racing outside a rival, was challenged by READY SET JET into the lane, vied with the one through the drive and proved best in the long run.

He was the best for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds on Friday night indeed! The link to the race replay can be found at: http://emeralddowns.com/racing/ Scroll down to race replays, and search for the replay for July 7, 3rd race.

The official race chart can be also viewed at http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/EMD070717USA3.pdf

July 6 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

We are just one day away from more action at Emerald Downs as Party Pooper is gearing up to take on five challengers in the 3rd race tomorrow evening. The post time has moved up slightly to 7:22 PDT, so please arrive early enough to ensure you can see him in the paddock prior to the race. I plan to be in our VIP seats prior to the first race.

The morning for the race is available and Party Pooper is listed with odds of 7-2, which makes him the early 3rd choice. The favorite is 2-1 and second choice is 5-2.

On the Emerald Downs web site, neither of the track handicappers have selected Party Pooper to win but one of them was kind enough to select him for 3rd. In looking at the DRF Past Performances, there should be a lot of early speed in this race especially from the rail horse and the favorite breaking from the outside post. Party Pooper has tried to run on/near the lead in his last two races and this hasn't worked out too well for him, so we'll plan to let the others duel it out early and then look to run them down in the stretch.

Party Pooper's performance during his past two races have been factored into his morning line odds even though his previous races were much better than his upcoming competition. As such, he may be an overlay, which is when the betting odds for a horse are higher than his actual probability of winning the race. For example, if you believe his true odds are 3-1 while his post-time odds are 5-1, then he's an overlay. Of course, estimating the 'true odds' is purely subjective but I'm thinking that Party Pooper looks like a pretty good bet at 7-2 or 4-1 odds tomorrow. Of course, this assumes some sort of legitimate speed duel and that he returns to his previous winning form from three races ago.

I hope to see you tomorrow night. Please let me know if you're heading out and I'll see you at the races!!.

July 2 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day on Tuesday, Party Pooper is gearing up for his next race at Emerald Downs this coming Friday, July 7 at 7:28 PM!! The racing secretary created the extra race at 6 1/2 furlongs. The condition is a drop in class to the $15k claiming level, thus giving us our best chance to win considering the stiff competition we have faced to date. Entries were posted today with just six competitors and Party Pooper drew the #4 slot with Eswan Flores aboard. Flores is the 3rd leading rider at Emerald this season and won on him last year. I'm thinking he must really want to ride for us since it was Eswan Flores who mistakenly wore our blue RVT silks before our last race and had to switch silks behind the gate before the race. I expect no such mistakes on Friday!

To prepare for his race on Friday, Party Pooper breezed 4F in a snappy 45.6 seconds this morning, giving him the best 4F breeze of the day of all 30 horses that worked the same distance today. The fastest breeze of the day is called a bullet work and is marked in the Daily Racing Form with a bullet point next to the workout time to highlight the impressive workout. During his breeze this morning, the rider remained still as requested and the horse did it on his own without urging or prompting from the rider.

The morning line will not be available for a few days but I glanced through the past performances and there is a lot of early speed in this race with three, perhaps four horses that may want to lead early. We may do best if we stalk behind the early speed and then make our move down the lane and gobble up those early leaders, who should be tiring near the end of the race. Of the six entries, two are dropping in class (including us), two are returning to this 15k claiming level and two are moving up from a lower claiming level. The 'class' dynamic in the race provides handicappers with a logical angle to consider us a solid choice to win this race.

There is also the possibility he will get claimed on Friday given the potentially attractive price drop. His bullet work this morning may add to his allure. It's even possible his previous owner may want to reclaim him back for the slight discount. On the other hand, claiming at this level is never a given and based on his past two races, his shine may be a little duller and buyers may show restraint. They may prefer to observe him and witness improvement before dropping their claim slip. From our perspective, we need to place him in the best possible spot in which he can reasonably compete and not worry about the 'what if' scenarios until after the race.

I'm looking forward to Friday and hope to see you at the races too! A full house of owners and fans to support Party Pooper can only help his chances and perhaps you're extra good cheer will propel him past his opponents down the stretch and give us the pleasure of staking our claim in the Winners Circle!

June 25 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The 4th race on Friday night was billed as a highly competitive sprint and it played out as such with Party Pooper running 4th after challenging for the lead at the 1/4 and 1/2 mile pole markers. The track was speed favoring and our instructions were to stay close to the early leaders. While #3 predictably sprinted to the lead, #2 surprisingly failed to press the pace. Thus, to stay close, Party Pooper moved into the 2nd spot and flanked the early leader as they moved into the turn. The #3 took a purposely wide turn and subtlety pushed Party Pooper into a 5-wide turn, causing him to use a lot of extra ground. The additional effort around the turn was too much to overcome especially for such a quick paced affair. Meanwhile, the winning horse benefited from the wide turn by the leaders with a dream ride as the rail opened up on the turn for a ground-saving trip.

The final time of the race was 1:07.4, virtually tying the fastest 6F time of the current meet set in a Stakes race on May 21. In spite of the fast fractions, wide turn and pressing the pace, Party Pooper officially finished only 4 3/4 behind the winner in spite of several extra steps travelled during his effort. For his fourth place effort, he earned $1,245. The Daily Racing Form (DRF) notes from the race say the following:

PARTY POOPER broke sharply to press the pace of GRAND PALAIS while racing four-wide and gave way through the final furlong

I caught up with his rider, Isaias Enriquez, immediately after the race to get his feedback. He felt pressure from the horse that started to move alongside on the outside going into the turn (#6 horse) and Party Pooper responded by pushing the pace even harder than desired but at that point, he was committed to his position. After the turn, Party Pooper was simply too pooped from the pace scenario and wide turn to finish strongly.

Even though Party Pooper faded a bit down the lane, I'm encouraged by this race as he ran much better than last time and was mostly doomed by going a little too fast too soon and a little too wide. In such competitive races where multiple horses have a reasonable chance to win, the best trip can make a huge difference as demonstrated by the ground saving rail trip by the winner.

Following the race, Party Pooper came back with all shoes intact and he'll get a few days of rest before he resumes training again. We'll start looking for his next race in about 3 or 4 weeks.

As a footnote to the race, there was a moment of grand confusion (and levity) when the jockeys came out into the paddock our jockey was not wearing our silks but the rider of another horse was apparently in them. I was initially perplexed by this and asked Robert why he switched jockeys?' to which he said "I didn't" as he quickly recognized our dilemma. Of course, the riders hastily mounted and then moved trackside wearing the wrong colors for the post-parade before Robert could hail the Steward. This led to some frantic calls from the paddock to the gate crew until the riders discretely switched jackets behind the gate. If you watch the replay, you will notice the colors on their helmets do not match the jacket colors for our horse or the #6 horse as they only switched jackets and not helmets! This was a first-ever experience for me and it's rather amusing in hindsight. As a small consolation, we did outrun the horse that initially had our silks.

June 22 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I hope to see many of you at the races tomorrow night to watch Party Pooper take on five other challengers in the 4th race at Emerald Downs. Post time for the race is tentatively scheduled for 8:04 PM.

The morning line is out and unlike his previous race, Party Pooper is not an early favorites with initial odds of 9/2; making him 5th choice out of all 6 runners. Interestingly, the 5/2 morning line favorite is five year gelding named Grand Palais, whom Party Pooper defeated back on May 13 when he was claimed by Royal Victory Thoroughbreds.

The Daily Racing Form publishes an article for each track race every racing day and our race happens to be the focus of tomorrow article with the headline: "Party Pooper can rebound with better trip in claiming sprint".

Party Pooper can rebound with better trip in claiming sprint

www.drf.com

on runs deep in a $25,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Friday's feature at Emerald Downs. The six-furlong dash drew six horses, and a case could be made for or against most of them.

The article is also included in the print version of the Daily Racing Form that is available at the racetrack. The author believes Party Pooper had a less than ideal trip last race as he was bumped at the start and rushed up to become the middle horse in a three-horse duel. He then states that if you toss out his latest race, he looks like the one to beat.

He also hedges a bit and says the six-furlong dash drew six horses, and a case could be made for or against most of them, so it should be a contentious race. The track handicappers at Emerald Downs are less enthusiastic as they did not select Party Pooper in their top 3. Alas, we're in it to win it and we have a ticket to ride!

Friday nights are fun nights at races and they feature a live band between races just outside the winners circle. I'm looking forward to participating the festivities and cheering on Party Pooper. I'll be in the box before the first race and look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

June 19 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! Hope you had a terrific day. The entries for this coming Friday are now posted and I'm happy to share that Party Pooper is officially entered in the 4th race at Emerald Downs on Friday night.

We fortunately drew into a very small six horse field, however, our competition is a fierce group; making for a challenging and hopefully exciting race! Party Pooper will need a very strong effort on Friday if he's going to hit the board (top 3 finish) or best this group. He finished behind the #1 and #2 horse in his last race and both #3 and #4 are showing excellent form out of their last couple of races.

To prepare for Friday, Party Pooper breezed an easy 4 furlongs this morning at Emerald Downs, timed in 49.2 seconds with Isaias Enriquez on board. Isaias will also ride him on Friday night too. The workout was intended to both familiarize our new rider with the horse and give Party Pooper a tune-up workout. After the workout, our horse returned to the barn feeling good and looking like he's ready to race!

I also took a video of his breeze this morning at Emerald Downs. When we observe a breeze, we are looking for level of effort and exertion, movement/encouragement of the rider and how he hits the ground. We look to see if he landing hard (not desired) or appears to be gliding over the ground (good). Please take a look and watch for yourself. The video picks up after the far turn and records almost the final 2F of his work.

The complete URL is http://royalvictb.com/handicap-blog/upcoming-races/

I will send the next update during the week after the morning line is posted. Post time for our race is scheduled for 7:55 PM but is subject to change. I am looking forward to seeing you at Emerald Downs on Friday night! Let's have some fun!! When venturing to Auburn from Seattle or the Eastside on Friday evening, please give yourself plenty of extra time as the drive South as 405 can be slow. Really slow

June 16 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The race we were looking for this weekend for Party Pooper was not added to the racing card for Sat or Sun, thus we are not racing this weekend. However, the Racing Secretary added the extra race that we were seeking for next Friday night, June 23. The race is an open $25k claiming race going 6F for horses of all ages. The purse for this race is $16,600.

The entries for Friday will take place on Sunday morning at the racing office at Emerald Downs, meaning we will know by Sunday afternoon if Friday's race is a 'go'. Friday nights are fun nights at the racetrack and they have often have some live music between races too! If our race fills, it will give Party Pooper an ideal four weeks between races, so I'm hopeful we'll get this race to go for next weekend.

Also, this Sunday morning, Party Pooper is scheduled for a timed 4F workout (breeze) on the Emerald oval. It should be an easy workout in which he'll cover the 1/2 mile in roughly 50 seconds. During the workout, we'll be intently watching how he is travelling, the ease in which he covers the ground and his gallop out after the wire. The clocked time is easy to digest and compare with other workers but is typically secondary to our visual observation of his workout. I plan to be there on Sunday morning to watch and video him and share with you along with some thoughts about his breeze. Please let me know if you would like to join me in the morning and watch him breeze too!

This Sunday, Father's Day, is a popular day at Emerald Downs and if you are interested in using the box seats for the day, please let me know. I am not staying for the races myself but can leave a few tickets behind at Will Call if you are interested in attending.

June 11 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I hope you had a moment to catch the third leg of the storied Triple Crown Series knows as the Test of Champions or the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. Belmont Park is the largest race track in North America featuring a 1 1/2 mile oval (Emerald's oval is 1 mile by comparison) and The Belmont is one full lap around. Belmont is a very special place to me as it was my first experience with horseracing. I grew up just a few miles from the storied 112 year old oval and attended the Belmont Stakes annually from my college years until I moved to Seattle in the mid 90s.

While there was no opportunity for a Triple Crown winner this year given different winners for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, it was still an exciting and competitive handicapping race. Hopefully, you had a chance to watch the race and cash a ticket.

Back home in Washington, Annisquam has settled nicely into her summer vacation home in Yakima and is enjoying her time off. If there is any interest in visiting her out in Yakima, please let me know and we can arrange a visit to see her.

Party Pooper also continues to train well and should be ready to run by next weekend if we can find a race that suits him. The same 40k Optional Allowance race in which he ran 7th is listed in the condition book for next Sunday but we are hoping the racing secretary will add an open 25k claiming race, as it should be a softer group. The Extra Races for Sunday will be posted on Wednesday and I'll discuss our options with Tim McCanna mid-week to determine our next move.

Finally, I have a new blog posted titled "The Ownership Roller Coaster and its Ups and Downs!" I hope you enjoy the article. Feel free to share with others 🙂 Over the course of this week, I'll be updating the Royal Victory Updates page to add each of these Royal Victory email communications and maintain a running log over time.

June 6 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

After running 4th last Sunday at Emerald Downs, Annisquam returned to her stall at Emerald Downs and was in good overall condition. She ate up her breakfast on Monday morning and appeared bright and alert.

Annisquam has been in training over an extended period of time (> 18 months) but has recently been running off her best racing form as evidenced by three consecutive races out of the money. Thus, we have decided to tap the brakes on her and turn her out at the farm in Yakima. Upon arriving at her new summer vacation home, she express delight and happiness by sprinting around the pasture and then sticking her head in the grass for some fresh grass. Yummy!

The time off will give her the opportunity to recharge batteries, gain some weight and enable her to perform at a peak level again, such as when she was a win machine for much of 2016 and into the beginning of this year. Just like us, sometimes racehorses just need a little rest and relaxation to enhance and improve their performance! She should not lose much fitness on the farm over the next several weeks and I expect she will return to Emerald for more racing later in the meet.

Meanwhile back at Emerald Downs, Party Pooper has been training strongly and we are looking for a race that fits his conditions either during the weekend of Jun 16 or Jun 23. Right now, we don't yet see a race in the Condition Book, so we'll need to rely on the racing secretary to write in an extra race for one of those two weekends. We look forward to seeing him return and hopefully return to his winning ways!

June 2 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I'm looking forward towards tomorrow's race at Emerald Downs featuring Annisquam! She picks up the services of Eswan Flores, who has been riding well at Emerald Downs. The morning line odds-maker has set our odds at 7/2, making us the 3rd choice in this field of six older fillies and mares. Even though we're not top choice, I don't see this as a particularly tough group although the pace scenario may be a challenge for us.

I took a look through past performances of the competitors and a hard look at our first race at Emerald back in April. The only horse we faced on April 22 is the #5, Mary Lois, as she ran 4th to our 6th place finish.

Playing Monday morning QB after watching the replay again, it is clear we broke behind the others, and hustled to the front and used up a lot energy to get there. Upon realizing she would not gain the early lead, our jockey relaxed her briefly and got dirt kicked in her face, causing her to lose interest, so he put her back into a hard ride entering the turn and then ran out of gas down the lane. More simply said, it was slow-fast-slow-fast-and out of gas.

There is early speed in this race too. The #4 horse Perfect Meeting and #2 horse Delight Me have both shown a quick early foot and I expect they will do the same here. However, I frankly don't care what they do. They should be worried about us!! Our best option is to brake sharply and then glide (not hustle) to the front. It's possible and even likely the two speedy inside horses will press/push for the lead. That's ok. Our natural early speed should enable us to lead or even just sit off and then finish strongly.

May 31 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The entries for Saturday were posted today and I'm so thrilled as Annisquam is entered to run in the 8th race. It's an open $10,000 6F claiming race. An open race means there are no conditions such as "Never Won 2 races". These races tend to be highly competitive as those running have typically been through all their conditions. Unlike the race in which she scratched two weeks ago, there are just six entries (versus 12) in the race this coming Saturday.

The morning line has not yet been established but as we have learned from her last race and from Party Pooper's race last week, the morning line is not a prediction of the race result, so we won't read into the morning line when it does come out.

Annisquam will break from the #6 post, thus placing her in the outside post where she should be the last of the group to load into the gate. If you remember her Emerald Downs debut, she loaded first into the #1 post first and was then slow to break after waiting for all the other horses to load. This time, the other horses will need to wait for her to load!!

Our race strategy will be very simple. Break fast, get the lead and don't look back. Her jockey is Eswan Flores, who is presently 3rd in the overall standings for Emerald Downs with 18 wins so far in the current meeting. He is a solid rider and I expect a strong ride from him on Saturday.

Post time is about ~5:30 PM on Saturday afternoon and we'll head to the paddock before the race. Please let me know if you're able to make it down on Saturday. I really hope to see you there! The weather is looking favorable for a pleasant day.

Back at the barn, Party Pooper came out of his last race in good shape. He galloped today on the track and is looking well and eating up. It turns out the starter found his lost shoe at the gate, meaning he ran his entire race with just one front shoe. Given the hot & dry surface on Sunday, throwing a shoe certainly did not help him. We're also going to use a different jockey to ride him next time, hopefully in a few weeks.

May 28 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Prior to our race this afternoon, I was feeling confident that Party Pooper would run a competitive race and had a strong chance of winning. I was excited with anticipation and looking forward for a chance to savor that special moment in the winners circle. On paper, and based on his recent racing form, he appeared to be in the right spot and this was validated when he left the gate as the betting favorite amongst the seven competitors.

Party Pooper started out strong and stayed competitive as they rounded the turn and pointed towards home, even nudging his nose in front at one point. However, the speed battle up front was far too quick on a track that was unkind to front runners and he surrendered after getting brushed in the lane and then appeared give up all competitiveness at that point.

It was a disappointment to see him finish this way given those expectations. My first thought was regarding his health and soundness. I was relieved after the race when he looked well with no sustaining ill effects from the race back at the barn. Party Pooper cannot tell us directly, so we are left to speculate what happened based on what we observe and then hypothesize and use this knowledge to adjust for his next race. Here are a few such observations:

Looking ahead, he'll get at least three or four weeks before his next race and change up his jockey too. We'll also look hard at the condition book for a competitive race which may be nearer the level at which he was claimed and finally he'll get some new shoes too! Jimmy Choo's I think.

As owners, we have amazing resiliency! Once the sting of the loss dissipates, we return to being eternal optimists. We were humbled today but when it's our time to win, it will empower us with the amazing capacity to erase the long and winding path to the winners circle and so we turn the page and look forward to the next one and enjoy the experience along the way!

May 27 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Get ready for some racing action tomorrow!!!

In less than 24 hours, Party Pooper will be making his way out on the track with Lionel Camacho-Flores in our colors to take on six other stout competitors in a 6 1/2 furlong sprint. Are you Ready?

The morning line is out and we are the early favorite at 2-1. I've looked at the past performances for this race and we are up against some pretty nice and well accomplished horses but if Party Pooper can run back to his latest form, we should be really tough in here too!

There is no obvious speed horse in this race and Party Pooper is flexible enough where he can either dictate pace on the lead or follow behind the inside horses, if they decide to break quickly and gun for the early lead. In that case, he'll stalk behind the early leaders and make his move when the time is right.

Breaking from outside post #6 also gives our jockey a pretty good spot to see how the others horses break inside of us and as Camacho-Flores has ridden and won on Party Pooper before; he'll be able to place him appropriately as the race unfolds.

I hope to see you all tomorrow in the sunshine at Emerald Downs to cheer on our home town hero! If you haven't already, please let me know if you can make it out for the day/race.

Just a quick follow up note that our race for Annisquam did not fill for Monday, so our next option is to enter her on Saturday, Jun 3. Entries for Jun 3 will be held on Wednesday. She is doing really well in the barn and looking to come back strong in her next outing.

May 25 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I have some Great News as Party Pooper is entered to run on Sunday in the 8th race at Emerald Down with post time at 5:30 PM. There are seven horses entered and we will break from the #6 post. His previous rider, Lionel Camacho-Flores, was excited to get the call! Camacho-Flores has ridden Party Pooper three times with two wins and a third, including a trip to the winners circle in his last outing two weeks ago.

This is an Optional Allowance Claiming race, which means non-claiming but only if certain conditions are met. However, a horse without those conditions can still be entered for the claiming price. As we did not meet the race conditions, we are entered for the claiming price of $40,000. We're up against a very competitive group, as you would expect at this level, but I also think we stack up pretty well in here if the Poopster can runs his race and I like his outside post.

Both Party Pooper and Annisquam were out on the trackfor a light workout today and both were featured in the "Training Day" broadcast that is posted weekly by Emerald Downs. Joe Withee afterwards caught up with me, Dave and Party Pooper in the barn and includes a short interview with me in the broadcast. You can catch it all on the Emerald Downs You Tube Channel or via the link below!

EMD Training Day featuring Victor Bahna from Royal Victory Thoroughbreds!

EmD Training Day: May 25th

www.youtube.com

There is racing this Monday, Memorial Day, at Emerald Downs and the racing secretary added an extra race in which we'll enter Annisquam. We will find out tomorrow afternoon if that race fills for Monday and if we're running on back to back days. If it does not fill, we will point her to a race in the condition book for Sunday, Jun 3. Fingers crossed that we get her race to fill this weekend!

May 22 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I hope you had a chance to catch the Preakness this past Saturday. There will be no triple crown winner this year but I'm sure the Belmont Stakes in three weeks will be exciting nonetheless. Back home, we felt it was best to scratch Annisquam on Saturday and look for a more suitable race (better post, and hopefully less early speed).

There is a race in the condition book on Jun 3 that should work; however, we're going to monitor the 'extra' races for this Sunday and Monday and hopefully find one that works. If you are not familiar with 'extra' races, they are written each time entries are posted. The entries are posted by Emerald Downs on what is called an 'overnight sheet'. This overnight sheet is also where the extra races are posted.

They term extra races is self-explanatory as they are simply races added to the already published races in the condition book. The overnight sheet for Friday (5/26) was posted yesterday and includes 7 extra-races for Saturday, May 27. These 7 extra races and the 16 others already in the condition book will be used to determine the 8 to 10 races for Saturday's card. Of the 23 potential races listed for Saturday, none actually meet our desired condition for Annisquam, so we'll take another look at the extra races for Sunday when the next overnight sheet is posted on Wednesday.

The Racing Secretary will decide which races get carded typically based on the most horses entered per race. Some races will have many entries and easily 'fill' while others may only get a few entries and do not fill. We had entered Annisquam for a race last Sunday but with only 3 entries, the race failed to fill. You can actually watch this process unfold on most Sun, Wed or Thu mornings at the racetrack.

Both Annisquam and Party Pooper breezed an easy 4 furlongs early this morning over the track at Emerald Downs. For both horses, this was a maintenance breeze and just intended to keep them fit/sharp and thus, we were not pushing for any fast times in this breeze.

Party Pooper is doing well since arriving in barn and we are pointing him towards a race on Sunday, May 28. I am hoping we see enough entries to fill this race as I'm very excited to see him run following his impressive win on May 13. I'll add more about him throughout the week.

Party Pooper is also now published and you can learn more about him and his pedigree at

http://royalvictb.com/horses/party-pooper/.

The entries for Sunday will take place on Thursday morning. I will be down at Emerald Downs this Thursday morning for AM training and to watch the entries. You're welcome to join me if you can get away or sneak out and come down. We'll grab breakfast and watch our horses on the track!

May 18 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

We entered Annisquam for the $15k NW2 race on Sunday but unfortunately, it did not fill and therefore is not on the card for Sunday. Per Robert, there were only three horses entered for that race.

Our current plan is therefore to run on Saturday in the 6th race (4:30 PM). This race came up surprisingly tough and we drew the 11-hole; which is not ideal given our gate speed. We did get Eswan Flores, the 3rd leading rider at Emerald this year for the mount, which is positive! The morning line (odds predicted for post time by the track handicapper) has her listed at 12-1, making her one of the longer shots in the race. The favorite is 3-1 and longest shot is 20-1.

Bettors can be fickle and tend to put a lot of weight on recency. As such, her morning line odds indicate she'll be a slight overlay (when the betting odds are longer than actual probability) as her last two races were not her best. The longer odds also means the probability of her getting claimed are quite low. For her to win on Saturday or hit the board, she will need to give us a much improved effort. She has been training well and I do expect a better start and more compete in her than her last race but this still is shaping up to be a rather tough race (racing terminology may call this race salty).

There is alt-option, which is to scratch her on Saturday and then look to re-enter next weekend or weekend afterwards in a more favorable spot against a smaller and hopefully less competitive field. Of course, there is no guarantee such a race will be written and/or fill, so this has strategy comes with a bit of uncertainty.

May 15 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

It may be raining now but the weather forecast for next weekend is calling for warm temps and sunny skies and the timing is right to enter Annisquam for her next race this weekend! There are two viable races for her, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Saturday is an open $10k claiming race and Sunday is a conditional NW2 $15k claiming race. Both have identical purses of $11,200.

In speaking with both Tim and Robert, they expect the race on Saturday to be a little softer than the race on Sunday (i.e. more winnable), so we're going to enter tomorrow for Saturday's race. If that race doesn't fill, then we'll re-enter on Thursday for the race on Sunday. If we enter and win on Saturday, then she remains eligible for the NW2 $15k race for her next out.

Based on her form in the last two races and given her uneventful debut at Emerald Downs, I like getting a bit more aggressive and do not expect her to get claimed. It's always a possibility but she really needs to run a good one first at Emerald before the shoppers start seriously looking her way. Also, the California buyers won't likely show up till Aug/Sep as a horse claimed at Emerald must race at Emerald through September. In looking for a spot to run, we want to place her in the best possible situation to compete and hopefully win.

To get her ready for this coming weekend, Annisquam breezed an easy 1/2 mile in 49.00 flat on Sunday morning. This was a perfect maintenance breeze as it wasn't too fast or too slow and being 6 or 7 days from her anticipated race is ideal timing.

In addition to Annisquam, we now have Party Pooper in our barn and he is doing well following his impressive victory at Emerald Downs on May 13 when he scored in the feature race on Saturday. The fact he has run so well at Emerald Downs and at a high level gives me great optimism about his potential for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds! If you or someone you know may be interested in him, please let me know. We are already looking at the condition book and pointing towards a possible start on May 28!

May 13 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I want to provide you a quick heads up that Royal Victory may be claiming a horse that is running today at Emerald Down.

I believe this will be a very good claim for the racing partnership and I will send more details later this evening if our claim is successful as many of you may want to grab a share in this horse. The cost for this horse will be the same as our previous horse.

I also recognize that many of you are not familiar or have experienced the process / mechanism for claiming a horse. If you want to learn more about claiming a horse, I invite you to come to Emerald Downs this afternoon and join me and experience this first-hand.

May 13: Addendum:

We are happy to announce a tremendous opportunity with shares now available in our newest horse. His name is Party Pooper and he becomes the second horse made available for syndication by Royal Victory Thoroughbreds. For his name alone, he must be a keeper!

He won a fast and exciting feature race today at Emerald Downs today and is the first feature listed on the Emerald Downs home page

We dropped the claim on him prior to the 7th race at Emerald Downs and was fortunate to win the shake today against another group/trainer.

He is a five year old horse (older male horse that is not gelded) and has run 16 times in his career with 5 wins, 6 seconds and 4 thirds for a remarkable 31% winning percentage and 94% in the money! At Emerald Downs, he has been even better with 4 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds in 10 starts!!

Emerald Downs Wrap-Saturday, May 13 - Emerald Downs

emeralddowns.com

Party Pooper was bred in Kentucky by the stallion Desert Party, who won $928k in his career and out of the mare, Radcliffe Yard, who won $106k in 17 career starts. Party Pooper has been an extremely versatile horse at Emerald downs in winning races both sprinting 6F (today) and routing (1 mile).

The trip notes indicated "PARTY POOPER stalked the leaders while racing four-wide, moved up to offer a bid in mid-stretch and edged away late" His winning time of 1:09 flat was also impressive and more than a second faster than any other winning time today at 6F. You can watch the race replay at http://emeralddowns.com/racing/ (7th race, May 13).

May 9 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I hope you had a chance to watch and enjoy the spectacle that was the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday. Always Dreaming gave us a heck of a performance and I was happy for winning connections. Let's hope that one day it will be one or all of us wining the blanket of roses.

Back here at Emerald Downs, Annisquam had a nice easy conditioning breeze on Sunday morning going 4 F in 49.8, which is exactly what we were seeking in this workout. She continues to do well in her training as we look forward to her next race.

When Annisquam raced on Apr 22, she lost by 8 lengths to a horse named Jerrie to Carrie. That horse returned to the races at Emerald this past weekend and won convincingly in a claiming $25k, which is a significant move up from our condition. The take away is that we got behind and lost to a pretty darn good mare. The horses that ran 2nd and 4th in our race also returned to Emerald last weekend and ran 2nd and 4th again in the same $15k NW2 condition.

I believe Annisquam will perform much better next time if she gets a quick/easy start like she did when she won all her races at Golden Gate Fields. She broke poorly last race, rushed up and then tried to relax behind the leader which was clearly the wrong formula for success. Getting her to break well is our primary focus in preparing for her next race.

The new condition book is now online and there are two potential races for us to consider entering. The first is an open $10k claiming race on Saturday May 20 at 6F. Open means there are no conditions (such as non-winners of two races lifetime) and these open races are tougher than conditional races. The other is $15k claiming on Sunday, May 21, NW2 lifetime (where lower claiming races are not considered). This is the same condition and distance we ran on Apr 22. The purse for both races is almost identical.

Can our mare compete at the $15k NW2 level against that same group of horses (except the winner, who has since graduated)? I believe if she breaks sharply and is ridden on the lead down the backstretch that she will compete in this class and get the distance. I prefer 5 1/2F over 6F but they are just not writing the shorter distance for older horses right now. I will consult with Tim over the next week and let you know his and Robert thoughts in my next update. A really like the thought of a sunny Sunday afternoon in late May right now!

Speaking of Tim, he was Joe Withee's guest on the Win-Place-Show this past Sunday morning. In case you did not hear it, you can hear the broadcast via the attached link.

Stream Win, Place Show 5-7 Free | Seattle's Sports Radio 950 KJR

sportsradiokjr.iheart.com

Tim comes on at 36:30 into the broadcast and Joe gives Royal Victory Thoroughbreds a nice shout out during the interview! Thanks Joe for the mention :)! As a reminder, Joe Withee is the host of this informative horseracing broadcast every Saturday and Sunday morning live from the Quarter Chute Café at the track between 8 and 9 AM both weekend days.

May 4 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I was at Emerald Downs last weekend to watch Annisquam gallop on the track and am happy to share that she is doing well. We await the next condition book and will watch for the extra races to be written for next weekend to determine when she'll race next. I am expecting her to improve off her last effort and I'm excited to get her back to the races soon. I had a great time at Emerald Downs for her first race, but next time, I'd really like to grab that brass ring!

Of interest to us is the winner from our last race (Jerrie to Carrie) is re-entered in a $25,000 claimer after being claimed for $15,000 in our race. It will be interesting to see how that horse performs on Sunday. Also, the horses that ran 2nd (Kiss My LuLu) and 4th (Mary Lois) are both entered on Saturday for $15,000. Both races are 6F. We could have entered Annisquam for the race on Saturday but the two-week turn around is a little quick and I expect we'll benefit from an extra week between races.

Saturday is "Kentucky Derby Day", which is a National Holiday for horse-racing fanatics! If you get the chance, there was a terrific documentary made several years ago called The First Saturday of May, which follows a few horses leading up to the Derby. Wherever you are on Saturday, pour a mint julep and enjoy the pomp and circumstance, outfits, hats, celebrity sightings, 'the walk', predictions, My Old Kentucky Home, and the race itself of course. This will be the 143rd running (been going since the 1870s) and just remember that some horses were purchased for millions while others for just a few thousand dollars and others are home-bred by their owner. Then imagine, just for a minute, that you have one of those 20 horses entered in the race and you're there to run for the roses! No harm in dreaming!

Tim McCanna will be at Emerald Downs both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and I plan to head to the track Saturday morning for training and will stay at Emerald afterwards to watch the races (and KY Derby via track simulcast). I will also be at Emerald for the races on Sunday afternoon too. If you can make it down to Emerald this weekend, please let me know as Tim would be happy to meet you! As Saturday is Derby Day, there is a hat contest sponsored by Emerald Downs at the track on Saturday, so c'mon out, grab a julep, wear your sensational hat and enjoy the day!

April 28 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Happy Friday! Annisquam has fared well after her race last Saturday and will gallop on the track both tomorrow and Sunday. The first condition book only goes through May 14 but it's possible we'll wait until May 19-21 in order to give her an extra week between races. The next condition book (book #2) will be published in about a week or two and we'll explore our options and continue to manage her conditioning and weight for determining the best option for her next race.

I hope you like cool horseracing pictures as one of our partners brought a guest last weekend, who happens to be a professional photographer, and she was kind enough to share some terrific photos of Annisquam, which are attached. Thank You for the photos!

I am also heading to the barn tomorrow (Saturday) morning to check in on her and watch her on the track. Feel free to come on down tomorrow morning to watch her train and grab some breakfast at the Quarter Chute Café.

Please visit the Royal Victory website and enjoy the latest blog entry, http://royalvictb.com/handicap-blog/. This latest blog provides a small window into some of the great folks you will meet at Annisquam's barn. In this blog, you will meet Gabriel, Alfonso and Robert!

I'm excited and happy to share that Royal Victory Thoroughbreds is now actively researching for a second horse to compliment Annisquam at Emerald Downs and add to our stable! The terms/conditions/price for this horse will remain the same with up to 8 shares (10% each) available for purchase. Stay tuned for more information!

Partners: Are you ready for more action? Enthusiasts: Are you ready to jump into the game?

The Kentucky Derby is just 8 days away. If you are interested in coming to Emerald Downs to watch the Derby on the big-screen and would like to sit our box, please let me know.

Also, If you have an interest in the process of foaling to racetrack, there is a new club that will be managed and run by Blue Ribbon Farm called the Washington Broodmare Club. It is styled after the Emerald Club but involves breeding, raising and eventually racing a foal. The cost is $500 per year for the first 3 years. If you are interested, I am happy to connect you with the manager of that program.

Finally, with the prospect of improved weather ahead, I will soon be proposing the first of a series of gatherings (farm visits, BBQ, yearling inspections) for RVT Partners starting in the next couple of weeks. All events will take place on weekends when we are not racing of course! If you have a specific request, please don't hesitate to suggest!

April 23 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

It was truly terrific to see all the Royal Victory partners together in our blue polo's at the races on Saturday to watch Annisquam make her Washington debut. I hope you enjoyed the box seats, trip to the paddock, meeting both Rocco Bowen and Robert Sodergran and that you felt a knot of nervousness in your stomach that takes hold just prior to post-time. Next time, I'll also order more sunshine!

We showed up extremely well in the paddock and I'm sure we looked great on Comcast SportsNet too!! This game is very exciting and we're just starting on our journey as a group.

Royal Victory Thoroughbred Partners in paddock prior to the race

Displaying 20170422_160852.jpg — Rocco Bowen getting ready to ride on Annisquam

Displaying 20170422_153655.jpg — Royal Victory Thoroughbred Partners getting ready for Post Time behind VIP box

Of course, the day left us wanting a bit more as Annisquam did not compete as we hoped and thus, we did not gain our exclusive entry to the winners circle. While this may be disappointing, don't be discouraged as it just makes us that much hungrier to triumph next time out.

I had the chance to speak with Robert Sodergran after the race and with Tim McCanna earlier today. Annisquam came out the race in good shape, ate up her food and will return to a regular training program to prepare for her next race. In the race yesterday, she left the gate a bit slowly. When she's won in the past, she has bounced out of the gate and gracefully assumed the lead. We can speculate why she broke slow yesterday and will look to correct for the next one. One possibility is that she was first to load and sat in the gate for quite a while as the other horses loaded, potentially causing her to lose a step as the gates opened. Needless to say, this will be a focus of her training before the next race.

The race itself was very competitive and the winning mare was a Stakes horse in 2016 (very high level) and most recently ran at a higher level (claiming 20k and 32k) at Golden Gate Fields. The winning mare was even claimed out of the race. Finally, the winning time of 1:08.66 was lightening fast and perhaps one of the best races that mare has ever run. For us that may lean towards various superstitions, we're going to ensure we use the blue silks instead of yellow the next time she races!

Looking forward, Annisquam will stretch her legs the next couple of days under strict supervision and then return to galloping on the track towards the latter part of the week. In the meantime, we'll be closely reviewing the condition book to find the most suitable next race for her, ideally looking for a race during the weekend of May 12-14 to give her a 3 week gap between races.

If there are no suitable races in the book to our liking, then we'll start looking for extra races from the racing secretary. These extra races are written-in when the entries for the previous race day are finalized, so we'll see the extra races for May 12 when the entries for May 7 are posted. In terms of the claiming condition, we'll also seek out a less competitive field by dropping her into a more appropriate claiming level; however, I don't anticipate this being a dramatic drop in class.

Yesterday was a first for many of you and I sincerely hope you enjoyed the experience. You may have some new thoughts or questions, and I want to continue to encourage you to ask any and all questions you may have. Feel free to email, text or call me. I appreciate your partnership and look forward to more exciting days ahead.

April 21 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

ARE YOU READY? It's almost post time and time for some real action from the rail. I'm so excited to watch our mare run tomorrow! Have you visualized the race yet? Played it out in your mind a few times? My advice is to prepare your lungs, bring your good luck charms, wear your lucky underwear and get ready to rock Emerald Downs tomorrow! The forecast calls for cool temps and the possibility of rain. I don't mind a little moisture in the track should we get a few showers.

The morning line is out and Annisquam has been designated as the early favorite at 5/2 odds. The morning line is essentially a prediction by the track handicapper as to what the final odds of the race will be. Sometimes they are very accurate and sometimes they are off but if the early odds is any indication, this race is shaping up to be super competitive. Just remember that odds and predictions do not determine who actually wins but let's hope they got this one right!

To add a just little more excitement to our day, Comcast Sports Net will be telecasting between 2 and 6 PM live from Emerald Downs which includes our race. Additionally, they have scheduled a brief pre-race interview with me and my partners (that would be you) in the paddock just prior to the race. Please wear your polo's and hats and let's splash the television screen with our Royal Victory Thoroughbreds blue!

Please text or call me when you arrive at the track. I plan to be there around noon time myself and first post is 2PM. I will meet you by the track entrance (or seats if you know where they are). Finally, remember that your parking pass gets you free parking in the preferred lot and your license gains you free admission. The additional two admission cards are good for two additional guests.

See you at the track tomorrow!! Lets go Rocco and ANNISQUAM!

April 19 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Get Ready. Get Set. GOOOO!! Saturday, Apr 22. 5th Race. Emerald Downs. We are RACING and Saturday is Show Time!!

The entries for Saturday's race card were posted today and it is now official! WE ARE RUNNING IN THE 5TH RACE SATURDAY AT EMERALD DOWNS! We will be the #1 horse (We are #1) in this field of seven runners. Our jockey is Rocco Bowen, the current leading rider at Emerald Downs and last year's leading rider. He breezed our horse on Sunday and must have liked her gallop!

I took a look at the past performances and this is going to be a competitive race. We are considered a 'speed horse' meaning that we like to run on the lead from the start to finish. The past performances of our competition suggest that #4 Kiss Mu Lulu, #5 Justitia and #7 Jerrie to Carrie are also speed horses that like to run on the lead too. I doubt all four speed horses will vie for the lead and we'll entrust our jockey to make the right tactical decision as the race unfolds.

If Annisquam can return to her previous form at Golden Gate, she should be a tough gal in this spot. She breaks from the inside post, which is a good for a speed horse as she has less ground to cover. We have the top jockey at Emerald Downs and have been racing over the winter, thus giving us a fitness advantage over those that are returning from layoffs (#2, #4 and #5). If it rains, she should also cover the wet surface based on her pedigree.

Logistics for Saturday are important. Please let me know how many folks you plan to bring with you to Emerald Downs on Saturday. I will ensure everyone has a seat! Post time for our race is 4:07 PM and we'll want to be in the paddock shortly after the 4th race, which runs at 3:36 PM. The first race is 2:00 PM. Feel free to show up early and stay for the entire day of racing!

If you are starting to feel excited, nervous, anxious and pumped-up, then you're feeling it! As we move closer to race-day, the excitement builds and you may start to consider ritualistic curses on our competition. You may also discover some old superstitions (good luck charms) and your family members may need to be warned that Saturday 4:07 PM is coming! Seriously, I am very excited about the race on Saturday and thankful for your partnership. I'm looking forward to a great day on Saturday for our entire team!

April 13 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Emerald Downs had a great opening weekend and we are now just about a week away from our projected race day of Saturday, Apr 22. The entries for Apr 22 will happen on Wed Apr 19 and I will let you know by early afternoon that day if we're in!

Annisquam continues to do well in her new surroundings and is scheduled to breeze over the oval at Emerald Downs this coming weekend. I will be at the racetrack on Saturday morning and will take a short video of her action on the racetrack and post on the website as well.

You are very welcome to join me and watch her on Saturday morning. Please let me know if you if you would like to see Annisquam, watch some training and grab a tasty breakfast at the Quarter Chute Café. I also plan to stick around through Saturday afternoon and watch the races if you prefer to come out in the afternoon and check out our owners box!

If you are new and interested to learn more about Royal Victory Thoroughbreds and partnership opportunities, please let me know. If you are not new to RVT but know of someone that may be interested in joining our team, please don't hesitate to reference us.

Finally, members - if you have not already taken care of your license, the WHRC is open Saturday morning (I think they open at 9:30 or 10:00 AM) and stay open through the last race on Saturday afternoon.

April 6 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Saturday, Apr 8 is Opening Night at Emerald Downs and will feature 7 races and a fireworks show after the races. Yay! Post time is 6:30 PM this Saturday. Emerald Downs will host live racing every weekend through Sept 17 with Friday night racing starting Apr 21. Post time each Sat/Sun is 2:00 PM, except in July when Sat post time is 6:30. Post time is 6:30 for all Friday nights. Also, don't forget to tune into the Win-Place-Show each Sat/Sun morning at 8:00 AM on KJR 950 AM.

If you plan to go to the races or wager on them this weekend, my tip is to look for horses that are shipping up from California or New Mexico as they should have a fitness advantage over some of the horses training locally.

Our owners box seats are right on the finish line in the upper grandstand. If you (& family or friends) are interested in attending the races and sitting in our owners box even when we're not racing, just let me know and I'll get you some seat tickets. You can use your racing license for free admission and free parking for any day of the meet 🙂

I had the chance to see Annisquam today at Emerald Downs. She is doing really well after her trip up from San Francisco and she'll get her chance to test out the Emerald oval with some gallops and a breeze (fast workout) before she debuts in our colors! We are still targeting her to race on Saturday, Apr 22.

Attached is a picture of her from her stall this morning. Please let me know when you are available to meet her in person. When you come down, she likes carrots but she is a little people shy, so bring whole carrots (versus baby carrots) and she is more likely to eat them out of your hand and be your best friend.

Displaying 20170406_132619.jpg — Annisquam at her stall in GGF

Please reference Royal Victory Thoroughbreds to your friends and colleagues that may be interested in horses, racing and some excitement and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have.

April 1 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Yesterday, at Golden Gate Fields, Annisquam ran 4th in a starter allowance race. She was a big favorite at 2-5 odds but broke slow out of the gate, rushed to the lead and was pressed the entire way until yielding the lead down the stretch. Someone actually bet [and lost] $7k on her to Show (finish top 3) - and no, it wasn't me.

In racing yesterday, she received her parole from California 'jail' and is now scheduled to ship to Emerald Downs on either Monday or Tuesday next week!

I spoke with Tim this morning and he indicated that she came out of the race just fine with no issues and scoped clean. She also ate up this morning. Just like people, sometimes horses just have an off-day and this race was a good reminder there is no such thing as a sure thing!!

Now that she's out of jail, I am so excited to bring her to Emerald Downs and watch her train on the oval up here as she prepares for her debut for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds! We are pointing her towards a $15k claiming race on Apr 22 (Sat) with a purse of $11,200. The entries for Apr 22 take place on Wed, Apr 19, so hopefully, the race will fill and we'll get our first *LIVE ACTION*in just three weeks!!!!

Getting licensed is a very easy process and I'm happy to walk you through it with the WHRC and give you a personal tour of the barn and introduce you to Annisquam. It is necessary for all of you to be licensed before her local racing debut, so please let me know when you are available to come down to Emerald Downs and we'll take care of all the paperwork. The licensing office is open Wed through Sunday the next two weeks and you can meet Annisquam as soon as this Wednesday!!

You may be familiar or have listened to The Win Place Show, a local racing program on 950 KJR AM. It is live and local and has returned to the airways every Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:00 AM. The show is hosted by Joe Withee onsite at the Quarter Chute Café on the grounds at Emerald Downs and several of you had the opportunity to meet Joe at Flycaster a few months ago. It's a terrific weekend show with many local insights about racing at Emerald Downs and across the country.

Displaying pastedImage.png — Victor Bahna on the Win Place Show, Apr 2

For tomorrow's show, Apr 2, Joe has graciously invited me to be a guest on the radio show and chat about Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, so grab some coffee tomorrow morning and tune into KJR 950 AM at 8:00 AM and listen to the show!!

March 26 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I want to share an update on our schedule for Annisquam. She is entered to run on Friday, March 31 at Golden Gate Fields in the 2nd race (1:15 PM PDT). This is the 'starter' race that we've been seeking as it protects her from being claimed. There are six entries and she is the #3 horse.

To help fill the race, we also entered another one of my mares. She is a homebred named Jamaalaree and is out the mare in Buckley that foaled last month. Even more interesting is that Jamaalaree and Annisquam are practically roommates with adjoining stalls and a big open window between them. They're both a little nervous and have been calming influences to each other. To keep this theme going, Jamaalaree is the #2 horse, meaning they will be neighbors from barn to starting gate.

The morning line is already out and has designated Annisquam as the early favorite with odds of 1-1. Jamaalaree is the fourth choice at 8-1. There is one other horse that may flash some early speed but I fully expect Annisquam will try to sprint to the lead.

Once the race, she will be freed of her penal obligation and can finally be vanned to us in Washington. Assume she will need a few days to rest and stretch her legs after the race and she could be on a van to Emerald Downs by Mon Apr 3 or Tue Apr 4. When she arrives, I will officially transfer her ownership papers to Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Annisquam, LLC.

As I mentioned in the previous mail, we are currently targeting the weekend of Apr 21-23 for her debut at Emerald Downs based on the first condition book.

Several of you are planning to come out on Mar 31 or Apr 2 to get licensed, sign papers and make your capital payment. I will share logistics and directions with you mid-week. If those of you coming down on Mar 31 are interested to stick around at Emerald Downs and watch the simulcast of Annisquam, please let me know and we can watch the race together.

March 23 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I travelled to Golden Gate Fields on Mar 17-18 and took some pictures of Annisquam at the barn and in the paddock (see attached). She also breezed on Mar 19 and completed an easy 4F (1/2 mile) in a smooth 48.6 seconds.

I added a new page, including pedigree information, for Annisquam on the Royal Victory Thoroughbreds web-page. I also posted a few pictures of her along with a short video of her in the paddock with a pony horse. You can check her out at: http://royalvictb.com/horses/annisquam/

Regarding our schedule, the timetable to bring Annisquam to Emerald Downs has slipped just a bit. The 'get out of jail' race we were planning on Sunday (3/26) did not receive enough entries and therefore the race was not included in the race card for Sunday, thus keeping her in jail a bit longer

What does this mean?

Golden Gate Fields will try once again to fill the race for next Thursday, Mar 30. If the race fills, she will ship a few days afterwards to Emerald Downs; probably Apr 3-4. If the race fails again to get enough entries, then we implement Plan B, and simply wait out the 45 days (till April 11) and then move her to Emerald Downs; probably Apr 13-15.

The first condition book for Emerald Downs is posted online and covers the first three weeks of the meet: You can view the book online: http://emeralddowns.com/wp-content/media/2017-Condition-1.pdf. In terms of her Washington debut, the most likely race for her is the $15,000 claiming race on Sat, Apr 22. The purse is $11,200. At Emerald Downs, the winner earns 55%, 2nd is 20%, 3rd 15%, 4th 7.5% and 5th is 2.5%

March 13 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

One of the cool ownership insider activities is to attend a thoroughbred sales auction. While most of these auctions happen outside of our local area, there is a 2-year old in training sale taking place next week locally at Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation in Redmond.

I always have found thoroughbred auctions to be a great classroom for learning about pedigrees and conformation and opportunity to meet other insiders. The sale next week is over two days. Starting at noon on Monday (Mar 20), each horse will participate in the training preview. This features a timed sprint on the track for either 1/8 or 1/4 of a mile. Then, starting at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, Mar 21, the auction will take place.

Pegasus is located near Redmond Ridge and is also within a 1/2 mile of Tashunka, where I currently board two retired thoroughbreds, Rooster City (Rooster) and Ken's Hard Roll (Kenny).

If anyone is interested in joining me at the training preview or auction next week, please let me know. In addition, if you are interested in meeting a few retired thoroughbreds, I would be happy to show them to you too. I will help you inspect them up close for a conformational discussion.

Before the sale next week, I'm heading to San Francisco later this week to meet with Tim and take pictures and video of Annisquam. She completed a nice, light maintenance breeze for 4 furlongs (1/2 mile) yesterday at Golden Gate Fields.

In terms of her pedigree, Annisquam is by the much acclaimed Kentucky stallion Forestry, who has sired more than 500 winners with progeny earnings that exceed $44 million, including Shackleford, winner of multiple graded stakes races including the Preakness in 2011. Some of his other progeny include Discreet Cat and Forest Danger, also successful stallions. Forestry is the son of Storm Cat, a perennially leading sire that commanded a stud fee of $500,000 at his peak.

Forestry is also infamously known as the sire of the Green Monkey, who was sold at auction several years ago for $16 million, yep 16 million, which remains the highest ever spent on one horse at auction. The Green Monkey never won a race.

One other compelling data point is that progeny of Forestry win at 13% on synthetic surfaces (Golden Gate) but 17% on dirt courses (Emerald Downs) and 19% on a wet-dirt surface - Annisquam could be a mudder too and we know it rains just a little up here!

Annisquam is out Princess Pegasus (mother), who ran 11 times between ages 2 and 4 with one win, one second and one third place finish. Princess Pegasus is by Fusiachi Pegasus, winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2000 and sire of 500 winners. Similar to Forestry, Fusiachi Pegasus progeny also perform statistically better on dirt and wet-dirt than synthetic surfaces.

March 9 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

Our mare, Annisquam, has been doing well since she moved into our barn a few weeks ago. She is scheduled to 'breeze' on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields. A breeze is a timed workout (the time of the breeze will be in the racing form) that is intended to both maintain fitness and sharpen a horse for an upcoming race. A horse that regularly breezes is a positive sign (i.e. the horse is not too fragile or banged up to workout).

I will be visiting her at Golden Gate Fields next week from Thursday (3/16) through Saturday (3/18) and will take pictures and hopefully catch a video of her breezing to share with you.

Regarding her next race, we are currently pointing her to run on Sunday, Mar 26 at Golden Gate Fields. By racing, she will earn her release from jail. The race is a 'starter allowance race' which is a restricted race where horses can only be entered after meeting certain/limited conditions. This is an important detail as it means there will be no risk of her being claimed away from us in this race.

A few things still need to happen before she arrives at Emerald Downs to meet you. First is she needs to stay healthy. Like any athlete, a horse can get sick or suffer a few bumps and bruises. All the horses are diligently examined daily proactively and if there are any unexpected issues, I will be informed immediately. Secondly, the race needs to fill, meaning a minimum number of horses must be entered for the racing secretary to 'card' the race. At Golden Gate Fields, they want a minimum of six horses or more per race. They will card the Mar 26 races on Mar 23 and that is when we'll know if the race is a go! Finally, she needs to exit the race without any setbacks.

Assuming all goes to plan, she will van to Emerald Downs in the days following the race and arrive in time to meet you on either Mar 31, Apr 1 or 2. It may be a quick turnaround but she could be ready to run back for us as early as opening weekend; however, my preference would be to give her three to four weeks between races. It will ultimately depend on the first condition book for Emerald Downs, which is not yet published. Once the condition book is available, I will share some options for her debut in Washington. I am also happy to show you how to read a condition book if you are not familiar with it.

Please let me know your preferred date to meet her (Mar 31, Apr 1, Apr 2) if you have not done so already. At that time, I will also walk you through the WA racing licensing process. Once you sign the formal Operating Agreement and get licensed, you will officially become an owner! Oh - and don't forget to bring carrots!

March 1 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

I am so excited about our newly acquired mare, Annisquam! Following the race, she returned to our barn and has been doing well in terms of her daily routine.

We are very close to selling out all shares on this mare, so if you are one of our enthusiasts contemplating membership on this horse OR you are interested in more than one share, please let me know soon!

Annisquam is 5 years old and since she is five, she is also considered a mare (filly is younger). All racehorses have a birthday on Jan 1 for racing purposes regardless of their biological birth date. Therefore, she is considered five years old even though her biological foal date was Apr 22, 2012.

Annisquam has raced 19 times over her career and won nine of those starts with one second and three thirds, meaning she has finished "in the money" 13 of 19 times, which is an outstanding record for any racehorse. Since she arrived at Golden Gate Fields about one year ago, she has won 8 times, ran 2nd once and third twice in 11 starts or 100% in the money.

I'm especially enthused about running her at Emerald Downs as she will have a fitness advantage over returning horses from layoffs while boasting a front-running style that is very conducive to the surface at Emerald Downs. She runs her best at 5 or 5 1/2 furlongs, which is the most common race distance for April and May.

Our next step is to run her again between Mar 16-19 at Golden Gate Fields to release her from 'jail'. I am tentatively planning to travel to San Francisco to watch her race in person and will take some pictures to share. After the next race, she will rest up a few days before shipping to Emerald Downs.

You will meet her on any of the three days, Mar 31, Apr 1 or Apr 2 at the barn at which time you will also become her official owner. At that time, I will also help you get licensed and we'll sign the Agreement and complete the initial capital payment. If all goes according to the above plan, she will be ready to race at Emerald Downs in our colors with you as owners approximately three weeks after her next race, which is also opening weekend at Emerald Downs.

Feb 20 Update

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Enthusiasts!

The races at Golden Gate for both Friday and Saturday are now posted. There is a 5 year-old mare entered in the 1st on Friday named Annisquam, that is very interesting for our partnership.

She has run extremely well since arriving at Golden Gate Fields from Southern California in Feb 2016 with seven wins, one second and two thirds in 10 total races. On Friday, she moves up to a claiming price of $12,500 race after winning at claiming $8,000 and previously at $6,250. It would have been nice to claim her for $8,000 last month but her climb is a net-positive as her trainer is confident in her chances moving up the ladder. Her morning line odds are 1-1.

Beyond her success on the Golden Gate track, she ran a strong 2nd in her most recent dirt race at Fresno in October and her sire, Forestry, has progeny that typically run best on dirt and wet-dirt tracks. She has consistent gate speed meaning she likes to start fast and is intent to lead from start to finish. The Emerald Downs surface typically favors the speed horse, so this running style is also a plus.

Her best success is sprinting at 5 or 5 1/2 furlongs. She has won at 6 furlongs but anything longer and she has struggled. However, this will not be a problem at Emerald Downs especially early in the season when most races are written for 5, 5 1/2 or 6 furlongs.

Finally, there are no notable breaks in her training or racing schedule which implies she comes into this race feeling good. Whenever there is a long break in training, it may be indicative of an underlying issue, thus, it is always more reassuring when they demonstrate a regular work-tab as she does.

I'll be speaking with Tim before the race and when she enters the paddock. It is possible there will be other trainers also interested in claiming this horse. I will send my next update on Friday after the race.

Feb 24: Addendum:

I have some very exciting news for Royal Victory Thoroughbred Partners!

We have successfully claimed the mare Annisquam out of the first race today at Golden Gate Fields! She was pressed early in the race today and then was very game in holding off some of the late challenging runners to win the first race today by about a half length. She has now won in three successive races as we welcome her into our barn!

There is a mandatory veterinary examination that she must pass to finalize the claim but pending something unexpected, I expect she will be in our barn with Tim this afternoon.

Once she arrives, our first priority is to observe how she came out of the race and let her recover over the next couple of days. During this time Tim will be assessing her overall condition to determine the timing and condition of her next race. If all goes well, she will return to race again in roughly three weeks. Then, once she races just once more at Golden Gate Fields, she is freed from 'claiming jail' and eligible to ship north to Emerald Downs for the start of our racing season in April!

Based on this schedule, we are on track to have you meet her on any of three days, Mar 31, Apr 1 or Apr 2 at Emerald Downs. At that time, we will formalize the paperwork and initial payment for committed partners as well.

This is very exciting! I'll keep you posted as we move forward!