Finally...

Well as I'm sure you know by now Kickin n Screamin finally broke Dee Tee Stable's maiden. It has been a long journey from when Hooves called me to ask what I thought about the idea of Derby Trail getting a horse to the winners circle on Saturday afternoon. However the wait makes you appreciate the victory that much more especially after the close calls with both Sumwon and Kickin. There was a strong turnout of Dee Tee partners from around the country as well as the hometown Arlington guys which was great. Scavs (Tom) did his usual fine job in hosting the group, securing three nice boxes, and was "having a very good day" (except at the Meadowlands). TC has done great job in fiddling with the filly, keeping her happy, getting her to eat, maintaining her weight and it showed up in the performance on Saturday. Jose Velez rode a good race, didn't force the issue with her and move too soon, saved enough ground on the 2nd turn and rode her hard down the stretch. A few partners were able to find the time to visit the barn which is always fun. Heels even brought evidence that I once had a little athletic ability, though it was long ago. Paula and I had a great time seeing everyone again and meeting people we hadn't met in person before. Though we didn't get much luck on Sunday with GBBob's horse, it was still a great weekend and we look forward to many more.

I did want to say thanks to all the people who called that I have not been able to get back to. Both Steve and I appreciate the kind words that many have expressed on the occasion of our first winner.


Now we can look forward to her next race which tentatively a $25000 NW3L on June 12 at Arlington going 1 1/16th on the polytrack. You may be thinking, "Didn't we just run for $32000? Why would we drop her off of a win?" The fact is that the condition is more important than the price for these types of races. Since Arlington doesn't run a NW3L for a price higher than $25000 our options are limited but this is the next logical spot for the filly. The likelihood of her being claimed for the $25000 are pretty slim and she would have a much better chance of winning in that class than in an open claiming race. She is not the type of horse that is easy to ship and run so I would prefer for now to keep her at Arlington, especially since she seems to like the surface. We are pointing to the June 12 race but there is still a long time until that race and if she doesn't bounce back sufficiently we will give her a bit more time as she seems to run well when her races are spaced out.

Aldebutante has managed to injure herself once again. Before you panic, it is not serious but is something that needs to be taken care of properly so there are no lingering issues. She got a small piece of metal lodged in the area by her quarter in her foot. Cherie had the blacksmith remove the object which had caused a small pocket to develop in that foot. We are soaking it to flush out anything potentially bad stuck up there and keeping her foot wrapped. She will miss a few days of training while we wait for the area to dry out and it is still a little tender also. This is not a big problem but it needs to be 'put to bed' so to speak before we do much serious training with her. The biggest worry in the foot area besides infection is a weakening of the area where the metal was lodged turning into a quartercrack. I will update everyone on her condition in a few days when we can tell more about how it is healing.

Rampillion is back training regularly after her fight with the wheelbarrow. I plan on doing a little something with her (1/4 mile) this weekend. She is growing noticeably and is starting to mature, at least physically. We will start doing more gate work with her before she is too fit.


I am planning on visiting Sumwonlovesyou on Thursday and since Scavs returned the camera, I will try to get some pictures and post them on the board.