HAPPY DEL MAR 2011 EVERYONE!
Today is the beginning of the WEST COAST SUMMER RACING SEASON at Del Mar. It is a race track that is also known by the phrase….”Where the turf meets the surf”.
When you are sitting in the grandstand watching the races, the Pacific Ocean is directly to your left. The ocean breezes are always surrounding you…and the environment is breathtaking. You literally get to see the waves roll into the shore and later watch the sunset while you are enjoying each race!
I remember Del Mar very well. I won the Clement Hirsch G1 there on 3 different occasions. They use the TRAKKUS system to monitor how fast the horses are moving while running…and they noted that I was closing in the 2009 Hirsch at over 40 miles per hour. NOT BAD…if I say so myself!
Dress is totally California Casual. Nice Walking Shorts, T-shirts and sandals are A-OK for most parts of the track. You do need to dress ‘up’ a bit if going to the Club House or Turf Club….but it is still summer casual and very relaxed.
MY TEAM tells Me the restaurants are fabulous down there. One can drive down to San Diego and eat on the water or stay in and around Del Mar and enjoy the local restaurants. I’ll share some of those with you as the season goes on.
Overall, it is a wonderful change in scenery and pace for all of my friends.
I truly hope that you get the opportunity to go RACING AT DEL MAR!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Zenyen
@Dona,
Wow, overreact much? First, your bringing up rape in the context of this conversation is just obscene. No one is blaming Ruffian or Reviewer or Shennanigans but there is documented facts all over that Reviewer was soft boned with questionable soundness and crossing him back over a Native Dancer mare like Shennanigans is the exact risk of inbreeding/line breeding that faces any breeding practice. Yes you got brilliant speed doubled but you also got physical limitations doubled as well.
As for Ruffian, it’s also documented that she missed 8 months when she developed a fracture in her right hind leg. Just like when her Daddy was on the track, keeping her sound was a challenge when she was two and it was her downfall when she ran at three.
Zenyen
@eastcoastkid,
If I ever had a ‘what if’ question regarding Ruffian it is, ‘what if’ the practice of using the pool for bringing them out of anesthesia had already been in place for her. But then I suppose she would have still had to face that true killer laminitis. Until veterinary medicine can get that complication under control, broken legs are always going to be a danger to any horse.
Terry Crow
@Barbara Wood-I would rather think that my first name is gender neutral. LOL. @Judy Berube-No offense taken. It happens all the time, usually with an I at the end. @Happy Harriet-Mr. Commons ran a great race yesterday. I seem to remember that he preferred your company when we all visited Barn 55. Today’s joke–A man bought what was purported to be a jumper from a horse broker. He came back the next day, steaming. The man said “You told me this horse could jump as high as a 10 foot fence and he can’t jump at all.” “Well,” said the broker, “Neither can a fence.”
Lisa g
@eastcoastkid: I could not agree with you more, Ruffian did improve the protocal for bringing a horse out of anesthesia…Barbaro for one, this was a miracle I believe. Ruffian is 10/10, who knows how far that beautiful filly would have gone..I agree again, 20/20 for our Queen, plus…look at all she has won and achieved since she retired from racing!! Owners, as the Moss’, John and Dottie, have set a standard that owners and trainers, and managers. There are alot of good owners and trainers and love/health management in the horseracing world now. We are lucky humans, EastcoastKid, we had two of the best ladies in our lifetime.
Sharon Call
@Dona. Well, I knew this was coming and I will address this ONCE and ONCE only. Have you every heard of a bibliography? It’s that list of references at the end of a publication or book? Try looking at this, it’s the bibliography from the end of the piece in Wiki on Ruffian:
^ a b Schwartz, Jane (1994-03-02). Ruffian: Burning From the Start. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345386027.
^ a b c Jones, Kathleen (2002). “Ruffian”. ThoroughbredChampions.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20080404044359/http://thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/ruffian1.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ Schmidt, Neal (2004-05-01). “Horse of a different color”. Cincinnati Enquirer. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/01/spt_sptderby1horses.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/ruffian1.htm
^ Parker, Ellen. “Ruffian – What Made Her Great Made Her Die”. Pedilnes. http://www.reines-de-course.com/ruffian.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ http://www.reines-de-course.com/soundness.htm
^ CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/1/.
The paragraph I copied and pasted above never said Ruffian’s dam died from broken bones but it did say she had 2 broken legs in her lifetime. Read before you speak.
Ruffian’s trainer, Frank Whiteley, stated after the Spinaway, that Ruffian had a fracture in a hind leg that was confirmed by radiographs, so she DID have a problem before the match race.
I love Wiki because it’s a good neutral source for information. It doesn’t mean that I chip everything in a rock before I quote it. This certainly is not the only source I have used that said almost exactly the same thing about Ruffian’s breeding.
Frank Whitely DID NOT want to run her in that match race because of the back leg problem earlier in the year, but Ruffian’s owners decided to do it anyway. BTW, you showed a #1 in your post above but no #2.
If you want to answer this back understand that I’m done with it and I won’t respond. I don’t enjoy posting with hysterical people.
eastcoastkid
I guess the very best thing we can say is medicine has impoved exponentially since the “70s”. We should all be joyful that we had a healthy, magnificent race mare in Zenyatta and she never had to face the troubles of previous generations. For that, I, for one, am thankful and bless the connections every day. The are all remarkable people.
eastcoastkid
@Lisa G…you go girl! the best the world has ever seen
Sharon Call
@Dona. Well, I knew this was coming and I will address this ONCE and ONCE only. Have you ever heard of a bibliography? It’s that list of references shown at the end of an article or book? Check the one out on Wiki for Ruffian. If I post it here, it won’t go through because of the numerous links.
The paragraph I copied and pasted above never said Ruffian’s dam died from broken bones but it did say she had 2 broken legs in her lifetime. READ before you SPEAK.
Ruffian’s trainer, Frank Whiteley, stated after the Spinaway, that Ruffian had a fracture in a hind leg that was confirmed by radiographs, so she DID have a problem before the match race.
I love Wiki because it’s a good neutral source for information. It doesn’t mean that I chip everything in a rock before I quote it. This certainly is not the only source I have used that said almost exactly the same thing about Ruffian’s breeding.
Frank Whitely DID NOT want to run her in that match race because of the back leg problem earlier in the year, but Ruffian’s owners decided to do it anyway. BTW, you showed a #1 in your post above but no #2.
If you want to answer this back understand that I’m done with it and I won’t respond. I don’t enjoy posting with hysterical people
Lisa g
@Zenyen, yes, it is documented about Ruffian, not just in the wikipedia!! I have done alot of research on Ruffian, it is sad and she is beautiful. Thanks for your post regarding Ruffian, your opinion is from dependable research.
Dona
@Barbaro Wood – Native Dancer had nothing to do with Ruffian and if he’s in your horse’s pedgree, consider yourself blessed.
Avalyn Hunter said “unsoundness seldom arises in isolation: it is most often an interaction between a horse’s innate level of fragility and the tasks it is asked to do. For some, the basic demands of racing are too much. For others, unsoundness results when an animal is asked to do more than its level of maturity or fitness can handle. And many horses walk a hair-thin line between racing fitness and unsoundness, the balance depending on the skill of the trainer in managing their physical limitations and placing them where they can be competitive without being overstressed. Too much unchecked ambition on the owner’s part, and the horse may pay a bitter price as it is pushed beyond limitations the owner may be unable or unwilling to see. Potential, promise, dreams and fragility – this is the world of the Thoroughbred racehorse: a world in which the difference between a great champion and just another name in the records may be a single crucial decision.”
Lisa g
@Sharon Call, thank you as well for your dependable, documented, and truthful opinion as well regarding our beloved Ruffian.
Dona
Shenigans broke her leg coming out of surgery, in the recovery process. SO DID RUFFIAN. The equiptment (sling) for handling horses’s coming out of surgery wasn’t available at that time. Neither incident had anything to do with pedigree.
Zenyen
@Dona,
Native Dancer was Ruffian’s damsire. I’d say he had a lot to do with her.
Source of information.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/ruffian
Zenyen
@Dona,
Here is another solid pedigree source, on Reviewer.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/reviewer
“Infamous for his fragile bones, he broke down 3 times before being retired.”
Ruffian had a fracture in her right hind leg her 2 year old year. It ended her 2 year old season and she came back at 3.
Just like Daddy, brilliant career, interrupted with soundness issues.
judy berube
Dear Terry Crow:
Loved today’s joke. Hugs, J.B.
Tressia
Clement Hirsch on August 6th……I will be there!!!!!! I can’t believe it I am finally making a dream come true! It would be cool if DM did their Zenyatta Appreciation Day then, since you won the last 3!
Zenyen
Here is another non-wikipedia site that talks about Ruffian’s bloodlines.
http://www.reines-de-course.com/ruffian.htm
Its a very good snapshot of how the linebreeding brought across her brilliance but also left her vulnerable to less desirable traits.
Lisa g
When Ruffian came out of recovery, she thought she was still running or was trying to run, she made what was horrible even worse. It was already sad news before the surgery.
judy berube
To Terry Crow:
I’m have a bad typing day today. Made a few more typos than usual. Hugs, J.B.
Lisa g
Native Dancer is also in Zenyatta’s pedigree.
Lisa g
@Zenyen, good, good article of truth about Ruffian. I looked into Bernardini and Zenyatta’s pedigree…All I can say from a layperson’s point of view…Dottie is what smart lady and knows exactly what she is doing.
judy berube
Dear Barbara Wood:
You’re welcome. I’m a little concerned about Chantell and Mikey’s match race too; especially since the DQ in the Los Angeles Stakes. Hope it goes well and safely. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear DJ:
You’re welcome. Love “Uncommon Ale” in Honor of MR. C. Hope this weather pattern changes soon. Hugs, JB
Lisa g
When is the Battle of the Exes?
judy berube
Dear Doreen:
Thanks for the link. I heard about this horse on TV news the other day. So glad he didn’t injure himself. Hugs, J.B.
Zenyen
Just for fun and because I had it open. Here is a list of progeny for Reviewer.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/reviewer
Now I think we can all agree that for a stallion that’s a small group and with a few exceptions not very distinguished. Looking at his other top earners, Adagio, Drama Critic, Isopatch, Revidere, Vite View, only Isopatch has any lengthy progeny list and not much in terms of earning and the further only Vite View, dam to Glorious View has an earner over 100K and beyond.
Reviewer put one brilliant freak into the world but beyond that very little of his get did anything. Shennanigans, through her son Icecapade has left more of an imprint on Thoroughbred breeding than Reviewer.
Lisa g
@Zenyen, thanks, that is a WOW. I thought it was a very busy Reviewer, but according to you that is a short list. WOW. 100% correct about Shennanigans…
Zenyen
@LisaG
Well just for comparison here’s Seeking the Gold’s progeny list.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/seeking+the+gold
Dona
I meant Native Dancer had nothing to do with her breakdown!
I also should have said Shenigans broke both legs coming out of surgery!!!
If you’re interested with the facts, chec k out Milton C. Toby’s book “Ruffian”.
Reviewer suffered a broken left hock in a paddock accident. I wasn’t aware an accident had anything to do with one’s pedegree.
“A week after surgery, Reviewer was placed under anesthesia to allow veterinarians to replace the massive cast on the horse’s hind leg .
“We took him back to surgery,” Dr. Arthur Davidson reported, “removed the cast, cleaned up the leg, and x-rayed it, then put a new cast on it. But we couldn’t get him back up. He fought us. The leg was stable; the horse just couldn’t make it. It would have been cruel to have tried to go on.” He was eleven”.
judy berube
Dear Z Fans:
Ruffian. Hugs, J.B. http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horses-view.asp?varID=128