Return to the QuikSand Ranch: Keep it Short
 

QuikSand Ranch – Keep It Short

I’ve tried a few times to put together careers in Quarterpole Plus, with mixed results. Generaly, I have found that the game is simply too easy – I inevitably find my way from pocket lint to Triple Crown contenders in a matter of a couple of game years. So, here, I’ll try to do something more limited.

I’m going to focus my stable solely on sprinting horses. I will make no effort to run in or win the big races, the classics – instead, we’ll just focus on races of up to 7 furlongs. That should keep us out of the really big money.

I’ll also stick with only claims as the way to get my horses. I won’t buy on the open market (too easy to get great values). And unless a horse is a total loss, I will only sell them by allowing them to be claimed – I’m not going to “cash out” after a big race and get the sale price.

I will also be running my charges responsibly, despite the QPP universe that allows all sorts of nonsense. My horses won’t run more than every two weeks.

May 2005

As I begin this report, I have played a few months, picked up one horse, ran him about six times, and had him claimed. My initial stake of $10,000 cash has blossomed into … $9,064. So far, so good.

I have put in a claim for a veteran horse, who has made a big drop in class, and is available for $6,000. It looks like my eggs will pretty much be in this one basket going forward.

In the one mile claiming race, my future horse bolts to the lead, and WILLOWY STAR can’t be caught. Looks like a good claim for us.


Okay – WILLOWY STAR has won over $650,000 in his career, and last time out he posted 6f in 1:10.1 – that’s pretty respectable. This is the classic weakness in QP+, as this horse simply has no business being available for a $6000 claim. I’m happy to have him, but it bodes poorly for the continuing challenge for this career.

June 2005

Anyway, I choose to point WILLOWY STAR toward a decent level claiming race, where I will try to keep him at short distances. It’s a 5f turf race, perhaps not ideal, but he doesn’t seem to mind the grass.


A solid effort for my guy – he made the lead, but got nipped right at the wire for the win, and took second. That helps the pocketbook a bit, and suggests that this is a decent level for this horse.


So, I wheel him back in late June into a comparable spot – another 5f claiming race, on the turf, a little lower in class.


So, a good effort for my guy, a nice paycheck, and he doesn’t get claimed. We’re in business.

July 2005

I’ll try another turf sprint for my guy, and will step him up to allowance company, as I think he’d get claimed if I made him available for a running price tag.



Another solid effort – he couldn’t quite make the lead, but he belongs at this level, I think.


We get him into a high level claimer in late July – another 5f affair, this time on the main track. I didn’t really expect him to be a turf specialist, that’s just what came up at his preferred distance of 5f. He seems pretty equally capable at either surface.

Turns out this is a tougher field than he’s used to – he never makes the lead, and is in trouble since he’s not a rallying type. He gains some ground early, but is outclassed here.

August 2005

And now, it seems, I have worn out my horse – I try to enter him, and get a “This horse is not suitable for race (sic)” comment. That’s fine – a new one on me for this game, but I’ll give him some time off.

I have $23,000 in hand, so I decide we can look for a second charge. I find a filly who looks fairly promising – SPILL THE WINE seems to have pretty good early speed, a couple recent wins at 6f, and she makes a good fit for my stable theme. She finishes second in this 7f race after leading early, and I claim her for $12,000. Here’s her PP line as she comes aboard:


We’ll put her onto a more humane schedule – but if we can get her to regularly run 6f in 1:14 or under, she will make money for us.

There is actually a 6f fillies-only stakes race in August, and I decide to give it a try. I don’t know whether SPILL THE WINE is ready for that kind of competition, but nothing ventured, nothing lost.



And, it turns out, WILLOWY STAR has been retired. He earned us a few bucks along the way, but apparently just broke down. That’s how it goes.


In the 60K La Troienne Handicap, it’s ABATIS who looks like the class of the field. I don’t give my gal much of a chance, but any piece would be a nice paycheck.


As I had feared, she is just not the caliber of these horses, and got swallowed up in the last stages. It wasn’t an awful loss – she was only four lengths behind the winner, but last is last.

September 2005

I am trying to be careful with my filly, and pick a spot for her to run against only distaff opponents. It’s a $25,000 claimer – I wouldn’t mind if she got claimed, but I really want a paycheck here.


Regrettably, she is in trouble early, and falls to last – she simply doesn’t have a great quick start, and this turns out to be a tougher spot than I had imagined.


I use nearly all of my cash to claim DOUBLT OUT, a 3yo colt who has tried and failed among the better 3yos this year. Now, he is down in the claiming ranks, and I think he has some potential for us in shorter races. He is poorly placed in this 10f race, but I’ll shorten him up and see if we can’t get him on track.

October 2005

I decide to double enter my horses into a race in mid-October. I suspect this will be a common thing in this career – perhaps over time I can build up some rivalry among my charges.

This is a 21K claimer – I expect both of mine ought to be competitive here, and I don’t think either will get claimed. Good measuring stick, I suspect.

However, something happens on the way to that race – apparently my new colt DOUBLE OUT was raced and got claimed. I’m guessing he was pre-entered by his previous owner and somehow my manual entry failed to override that. But alas, I only have one horse now – but I do have $14,000 (so we must have profited on the sale of DOUBLE OUT).

And oddly enough – DOUBLE OUT is indeed in this race after all, just not under my flag. That’s weird. But, such is life with Quarterpole Plus.

Anyway – we’ll trot out our girl for this one, and see how she does against her one-time stablemate.


Well, at least she managed to run down DOUBLE OUT.


We advance to the end of the month, where I will target SPILL THE WINE for a 7f claiming race. She has been gaining ground late in her races recently, so I think she might benefit from the extra panel.


She gets caught mid-pack of a full field, and ends up never contending – but a runaway winner made the top spot moot anyway. Looks like she needs to try softer spots.

November 2005

I make a claim in a race on the first of the month, picking up 3yo colt ALBATINA from a $4,000 claimer. He made the lead, but faded late – we’ll shorten him up and hope to see better things.



I will send out both of my horses in a claiming race in mid-November. It’s a 6f race for a $15K price tag – no worries if either one gets claimed, really. It’s a solid field of seven, so we don’t get a walkover here.


My gray colt makes a short lead on the backstretch, and has my filly right behind him. But, a couple of late runners swallow them up, and we’re in the money but that’s all.

We might need to shorten ALBATINA down to 5f, and see if his sprinter’s speed can hold out that long. I just don’t think SPILL THE WINE is a very talented filly, and we’ll drop her down another notch or two.

December 2005

Despite my intentions, I don’t find a perfect fit for either of my horses in December, so I will double-enter them again. This time, it’s a 10K claimer at 6f.


We are again 1-2 into the turn, which is good. This time, ALBATINA holds on for the win, but he is clearly out of gas at the end of the race. Looks like a good 5f spot is best for him.

SPILL THE WINE is now prepared to become our second chair, but we get the claiming papers for ALBATINA. He gets scooped up for the $10,000 price – so we have cash, but not a winner in the barn any longer.


Late in December, I give WINE another shot, I an $8,000 claimer. Scouting the field, I like what I see in another colt, and claim MIGHTY EMPEROR. We’ll see how those two fare side by side.


Both are moving forward late, and both look fairly well-spotted at this level. I don’t have higher aspirations for WINE any longer, but we’ll see what MIGHTY EMPEROR can do.

Enjoying!

~rpi-fan

ditto.

January 2006

I drop SPILL THE WINE down to a $6,000 claimer, and we get the result we wanted. No, not a win. A claim!

She departs our company with this record:



Now, my main focus will be to pick up another charge, hopefully a 3yo who can get onto the lucrative series of 3yo-only races. We probably won’t get many chances to make a claim until February, but we will be watching for prospects.


I send out MIGHTY EMPEROR into a 7f race, but he will face RENO’S A GIRL, whom I expect to be very tough.


My colt gains the early lead, but not by much, and gets hung a bit outside on the turn. He gets pressured by CHEESECAKE, ceded the lead for a while, but gets it back in the stretch to gain a narrow win. Nice effort, and no claim.


On January 23, we get a maiden claiming field of 3yos to check out for a $20,000 claiming price. That’s expensive, but I’m itching to get into the 3yo fields. I give a long look at ARTESIAN FLO, but decide against pulling the trigger – she’d be okay for $6-10K, but not $20K.

February 2006

I decide to send out MIGHTY EMPEROR in a low-level stakes race – I doubt he’s really up to the task, but it’s only 5f and it’s a $50,000 purse, so it’s worth a stab. He posted a speed figure of 100 for his last race – that puts him in the right neck of the woods at least. But an eight horse field doesn’t help my feelings about this one, and STACKED CALL looks to have plenty of speed to take control.


MIGHTY EMPEROR makes a nice stalking ride, gets into position on the rail, and sneaks into second place in the final stages. A great run for him, and a nice payday for us! That certainly helps the bottom line as we head into the 3yo claiming picture.


I find a 3yo to follow, a colt named TIME TO STIKE who is running for $15,000. There’s a claim ahead of me, but he looks like a good fit for our stable, if we get the chance.


I decide to wheel MIGHTY EMPEROR back into another small stakes race, the $75K Blaze of Glory Stakes at 6f. I am delighted to see two familiar faces in this race against us – both SPILL THE WINE and DOUBLE OUT are entered here. I am pretty confident that MIGHT EMPEROR can dust both of them. We’ll see about the rest of this field.


My guy has no early jump to get near the lead, and is running mid-pack into the turn. The early leaders prove to be too tough, though we do manage to beat both of our former charges, at least.

March 2006

Frustrated with the fields I’m seeing with the three year olds, I decide to check out the older ranks, and end up putting in a claim for a horse I had been watching, 4yo colt TIME FOR LIFE. He looks like he’s a solid sprinter, and a $21,000 price tag isn’t a major problem at the moment. He ought to fit into the same events that MIGHTY EMPEROR is running in, so we’ll get a chance to see them side by side sometimes, I guess.


The fact that YTIME FOR LIFE just won in a 1 ½ mile race, and that we intend to bring him solely to sprint races should raise eyebrows. I’m guessing he was just up against a short field in that last race – I think he’ll do well at 6f or so.


I decide to bring MIGHTY EMPEROR back into allowance company, where he will run against older company.


It’s basically a parade race – my guy gains second early, and that’s how it stayed the whole way. Decent effort, pays for the oats.

April 2006

Okay, so far we haven’t really made much inroads into the big money territory. I haven’t been all that aggressive in trying to dig into the low-level claimers for prospects – I’m trying to remain realistic and fairly focused on my one or two horses. So far, it has been a fairly realistic challenge – even if that’s the result of some unwritten house rules that complement all my written ones laid out in advance.

While this has been challenging, I’d also volunteer that it isn’t terribly exciting. I don’t know where the balance lies, but claiming a horse for $8000, running him in one race and seeing him get claimed away for $10,000 is technically pretty savvy, but not very fun. So, I don’t know exactly where to go with this career.


Right now, I have two 4yo colts in the barn, both seem to be reasonably decent horses, but neither is a world-beater by any stretch. I don’t know if the next step is just to keep doing more of the same, and grind out a showing here – or if I ought to go in a different direction, maybe start buying unraced two year olds or something of that nature.


I decide to double-enter my two horses into a solid allowance race at 6f. Should be a decent “measuring stick” for them both. I know that MIGHTY EMPEROR should be well suited to this race, and I think that TIME FOR LIFE ought to fit well also.

Turns out TIME FOR LIFE gets into the race, but for some reason MIGHTY EMPEROR does not. It’s okay, I will send EMPEROR out in a few days in a comparable spot.


So, TIME FOR LIFE is moving forward late in the race, but can’t get to the front pair, and even loses ground to another rallyer. He might be better suited to longer races, I fear – might be a mismatch for our stable’s objectives.


We send MIGHTY EMPEROR in a comparable allowance race – here’s the write-up:


Nice effort by a true sprinter – he stalks early, takes command, and holds off the later runers. A speed figure of 101 marks him well here – that’s actually lower than the 103 TIME FOR LIFE got in his race, though, so perhaps this was just a softer spot. Regardless, it’s cash money.


I decide to put in a claim for a 3yo filly, DANCIN ON AIR. She has not been systematically overraced, for whatever reason, and it appears that the sprint distance is her best bet. I pay $18,000 – we’ll see if she’s a money maker at that level. Regrettably, I have missed the heart fop the 3yo-only season, and she may have to go out and earn it against older company.


This last outing for her was disappointing – I was hoping to see her get the early lead, even if she didn’t have a full mile in her. Alas – being six lengths back early on isn’t a great sign.

May 2006

It seems the game won’t let me double-enter into single races – so this time TIME FOR LIFE gets the spot again in a 6f allowance race I had targeted for both of my colts.


And this time, TIME FOR LIFE looks just great, as he just crushes a short field. Nice win in allowance company for him – reaffirming my faith in the original claim.


The next day, it’s MIGHTY EMPEROR’s turn:


Another win, a very good effort, and another solid paycheck. Now, especially with these very comparable final times, I am very anxious to get these two up against one another in a race – perhaps I will try a low-level stakes race for them both, where I think I might not see one get scratched.


We send out our filly DANCIN ON AIR in a 6f claiming race, looking to see where she fits. I hope the 6f suits her, but she doesn’t look like a heavy favorite to me, unfortunately, as I’m worried about the chestnut colt to her outside, THREE BARS.


My girl holds off THREE BARS for the win in her stable debut – maybe things are looking up after all, we’ve had a red hot two months.

June 2006

We have filly DANCIN ON AIR in another claiming race.


Tougher competition, and she was in deep at the end. Not too bad, but disappointing to see the whole field catch her.


I double enter my two colts into the $60,000 King Cole Stakes, but once again my top gun MIGHTY EMPEROR fails to draw into the field, so we only have TIME FOR LIFE entered. Damn. So, I will send out EMPEROR in a turf sprint race instead.

Anyway, in the King Cole, TIME FOR LIFE is in against tougher competition, theoretically, than the allowance race he just won. We’ve seen HAPPY LOU and WHATA DUDE before, and know they are both very solid. We’ll see how he does:


Very tough spot, turns out those two are again on top, and the 1:09.5 final time is well beyond what my guy can do.


On to MIGHTY EMPEROR’s shot, where he will go in the 5f Jack Rabbit Handicap, on the turf. My guy is pretty unproven on the turf, but I will hope that the short distance suits him. It’s a full 10 horse field, with a lot of early speed, mostly from the outside – might be tough to get clear here.



With our run of good results, we have tallied a full $60,000 in cash – so I have the luxury of entering stakes races with my colts if I choose, and might be interested in investing in the 2yo group if possible.

July 2006

The Zenith Handicap is a 7f stakes race for $70,000 – I’d like to drop both of my colts in here, but since that seems to inevitably scratch MIGHTY EMPEROR, I just enter him here, and will save TIME FOR LIFE for a 7f claimer after a few days. In the field for this race is the mighty WHATA DUDE, who has been the bane of TIME FOR LIFE the last couple of months, as well as HAPPY LOU, the other regular face on the sprinter circuit – we’ll se if our other colt has better luck against these two.


This is a great race – the pace is predictably set by HAPPY LOU and WHATA DUDE, but my guy hangs in there with a solid stalking trip, and gets to the wire in a bob of heads over LUV APPLE, another stalker who worked through traffic to get there. Great effort, and a great paycheck!


We send out TIME FOR LIFE in a 7f claiming race – I think this distance might suit him a little better than our usual 6f spots. It’s a $50K claimer – I guess it’s possible he gets picked up, but I really don’t expect it.


Pretty tough spot, but I would have expected him to be able to go 7f in under 1:24. A little disappointing, actually.



I have a fairly rare opportunity to claim an unraced 2yo as he is entered in a maiden claiming race. The price tag is $35,000, but I am feeling a bit flush and decide to spin the wheel and pick up SHEERBRILLIANCE on spec.


So, he gets out early and holds on in his first race – a good profile for the stable strategy we have adopted. We welcome aboard our winner.



I’m so pleased with this claim, that I do the same thing the following day in another MCl race, and pick up TALL MEASURE for a comparable $35,000.


He also comes to us as a maiden winner – now we have two bullets to fire from the 2yo ranks, how exciting!


Neither one of these young ones looks like he wants any part of a distance race – so we’ll keep them focused on the sprints.


Finally (for June) we send out DANCIN ON AIR for her next claimer. She gets a win, and gets claimed away – not too bad for us, all told.

August 2006


A bit of perspective, here. Since we’re focusing on sprint races, and it looks like we have a chance of being in the upper class now, I want to lay out the stakes schedule that fits for us. There are not a lot of big money races run at under one mile, but here’s the year-long plan.



So, there’s the context. There are only Grade 3 races available to the sprinter class, and there’s nothing over $125,000 out there at all. But as we head into August, this is the richest time of year for sprinters – there are five sprint stakes races for older horses in August alone, so there ought to be ample opportunity to see some big money action.

With that schedule in mind, I decide to try to point my top charge, MIGHTY EMPEROR, for one of the two stakes that fit him best. I decide that the Morning Glory Sprint is his best fit, while we will run TIME FOR LIFE in the A Phenomenon. Both are $100,000 races – I think my guy MIGHTY EMPEROR might have a shot in his, I don’t know about TIME FOR LIFE, he will be a longshot.


We get to the A Phenomenon Stakes, a $100 event – the biggest money this stable has run for, and among the biggest stakes races at the sprint distances. TIME FOR LIFE is in an 8-horse field, and I make him a decided longshot here. But, we’ll see how he stacks up – I have him here because I still think he benefits from the 7f distance.


He makes the early lead to my surprise, bit yields to HEAD OF STATE after a furlong or two. HEAD OF STATE cannot be caught, by my guy finishes fairly evenly in fourth – not that bad.


In the Morning Glory Sprint, I see several opponents for MIGHTY EMPEROR who pose problems. SILO MARIE looks very tough, posting some speed figures in the 106-108 range at short distances. And CHERI JAN and LADY LORRAINE both seem to be talented as well. My guy is a player, but I’d make SILO MARIE the one to beat here.


My guy is swallowed in traffic early, and has top sit behind four other horses. He is never a factor, as SILO MARIE nips CHERI JAN for the top spot.


So, we get out of the big month without a big score, but honestly I didn’t think a big hit was too likely.


I have my 2yo TALL MEASURE running in an allowance race, against a decent field totaling seven colts. I like his chances, but this stretch to 6f will be telling.


TALL MEASURE manages a win here, battling hard against BANK ON BILL most of the way down the stretch. Good to see my guy show some grit in the stretch, and the final time under 1:14 isn’t too bad.


We’ll finish our monthly card with SHEERBRILLIANCE, our other sophomore colt. He will face a similar field, and I expect a similar test for him at 6f.


He makes the lead and grabs the rail, but cannot hold off the charge, and settles for fourth. The final time suggests that this field was even easier than the last one – so I think I know where our two youngsters measure up against one another now. Unbeaten TALL MEASURE will apparently be our standard bearer.

September 2006

No sprint stakes until October, so I decide to run TIME FOR LIFE in an allowance race, and give MIGHTY EMPEROR some time off.


TALL MEASURE will get a shot at a stakes purse, as we point him toward the $75,000 Coming of Age Stakes. I don’t think he’s likely to be a real player here, but I’ll give him a shot, and we’ll see what happens. Just looking at the speed figures – my guy’s best is a 91, but both MISSOURIFREIGHT and FRINGE BENEFITS seem to outclass me here by a sizable margin. I think we will be lucky to stay competitive.


Well, nobody was going to catch MISSOURI FREIGHT, but my guy ran very well here – he had traffic trouble, but got loose and pulled away from the rest of the pack to be the clear second best. Nice effort – better than I had expected, really.


TIME FOR LIFE doesn’t win his allowance race, but makes a decent effort:


I’m starting to wonder if the 7f distance is better for him than the 6f. That has been my working assumption, but this race didn’t help that – he just got swallowed up here in the final strides.


SHEER BRILLIANCE’s efforts continue to decline, as he fails to impress in his allowance race.


I think 5f is probably his limit – and we’ll try to get him offloaded when the time comes.

October 2006


For October, we send out MIGHTY EMPEROR into the $60,000 Sterling Silver Handicap. I think he’s a good fit here, and has a shot to claim a piece leading into the Wynnefield races next month.


Great effort, they were four across on the backstretch, but EMPEROR gradually pulled ahead and settled to the lead, then held off the late rallyers to claim the top spot. Good effort for him, and now we have momentum heading into the Wynnefield races in four weeks.



In October, we have a choice of two different stakes races for our sophomore star TALL MEASURE. I decide to go with the 7f MacBeth stakes, after what he did in the final stages of his last 7f race.

We will again have to do battle with BANK ON BILL, but my guy at least has the rail. We’ll also watch FRIGATE, who threatened the top finishers in their last tangle.


This time, my guy runs beautifully early, as he won’t concede the rail and ends up gaining the lead – but he loses to late running CRASH ALOFT who just edged him out with his late grind.

My guy sits out the Mint Condition Stakes, as it’s only one week after this race.

November 2006

November opens with the Wynnefield Cup series of races – the game’s equivalent of the Breeders Cup. A major year-ending stakes race for every division. Regrettably, the sprint class isn’t very well paid, but we’ll try our best anyway.

This year, I will be sending out MIGHTY EMPEROR in the sprint, and TALL MEASURE in the juvenile race called the Wynnefield Promise. I will make an effort to double enter my two older colts, but I don’t expect this to work, as before.


In the Wynnfield Promise Stakes, we will be just to the inside of CRASH ALOFT, who ran my colt TALL MEASURE down in their last matchup. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, once again, TALL MEASURE and CRASH ALOFT battling down the stretch for the top prize. At a full 8 furlongs (I bent my own rules to run here, admittedly) I don’t know if my colt has the staying power – I think CRASH is the one to beat here.


A fascinating race – CRASH ALOFT jumped out ahead of my colt, and my guy had to track him through the first half mile or so. IN the stretch, the field caught up to the fading leader, and my guy was among those who broke through all at once. Throw a blanket over the top three – my guy takes the third place position, but made a nice effort.



As it turns out – our double entry is allowed here, so both MIGHTY EMPEROR and TIME FOR LIFE will get to run, head-to-head, in the Sprint. Excellent. My regular jockey Coyle takes the reins on TIME FOR LIFE for whatever reason, and we’ll have a backup Culligan on the mount for MIGHTY EMPEROR, running from the 4th position.

We see CHERI JAN, a proven winner, in this field, along with SHARP REVIEW who comes off a 10-length allowance win. Tough field, as it should be.


Regrettably, the early speed of CHERI JAN is too much – he gets pressured, but never falls behind and takes it in fairly comfortable fashion. MIGHTY EMPEROR trailed early, and had some run left at the end, but was not much of a factor at all.

Disappointing – I thought we might be heading for a year-capping win. But as it stands, we have two stakes-worthy older horses, and one obviously promising sophomore. That’s not bad at this point.

Oh wow. I missed all sorts of cool shit while I was gone.

Curious as to why you choose QPP over HoT for a new dynasty?

Nice, your horse racing dynasties are some of my favorites, QS. Even made me go download the demo for Starters Orders again. :) If only the price for the pro version would drop a bit... With the addition of breeding and the ability to create a multiplayer league of sorts it would be a definite buy if I only had a clue about horse racing. ;)

Anyways, looking forward to your updates and hopefully your future success.

Bucc -- my choice boils down to the fact that I have, on my own, fully explored the game Hooves of Thunder. I have played Quarterpole Plus a handful of times, but I don't feel I have fully explord it -- it is, as you may recall, essentially a "patched" version of HoT, but I still believe they took about two steps backward for every three steps forward.

The biggest thing in QPP is the necessity to "suspend disbelief" on what goes on in the background of the game. I grind my teeth every time I see the same horse running in races on back to back days, or running in ten races in one month, or running on consecutive races at 5f and then 12f -- but it's something I can't fix. I'm doing my best to do this for this career -- but it still burns me a bit.


Honestly -- while it's not exactly true to real life horseracing, I think a good horseracing sim needs to try to implement some aspects of other sports (or even sports sims). This game (or any horseracing gam) would be a lot more immersive if there were some sort of "rankings" involved -- top trainers or owners, top horses in various categories, top money earners, and so forth. Real racing has its Ecplise Awards -- a horseracing sim needs that sort of thing, maybe even broader, to bring the whole game together, in my judgment.


But that's all an aside...

December 2006

We have two races to round out the season – we’re running TALL MEASURE in an allowance race, and we will send out TIME FOR LIFE in a decent claiming race.



I want to keep TALL MEASURE sharp, even though the stakes races this month are both at one mile – so we run him here, and I’m surprised to see him get beaten.



TIME FOR LIFE pulls down a paycheck pretty easily here, and he does not get claimed, to my surprise. I had thought he might, was comfortable with that happening – but apparently it’s not to be.


To wrap up the year – I’ll have a look at the career standings for MIGHTY EMPEROR.


Since we claimed him last December, all the races in the 2006 year are mine. So, he has now set the benchmark for a single season campaign for a horse in our stable.

Of course, in the year ahead, I will be pointing him toward stakes races earlier, so he will have chances to earn more – but a season record of 11-5-2-1 isn’t bad at any level.


We close out the year with over $129,000 in hand – we have gotten ourselves in a good situation with cash, and are definitely ready to move forward.

I copied and pasted all of this and read it at work. Very nice work. Perhaps a challenge would be to keep at least one of three classes in your stable: 2 yr old, 3 yr old and 4+ yr old.

Good stuff, Quiksand. I am enjoying the read.

Thanks for the feedback.

Interesting idea, Bucc. If this actually sticks long term, I don't know what to do exactly. I'm frustrated by the apparent notion that I am at least very limited in being able to enter multile horses of mine into the same race (at least most of the time). My original vision was that I might end up with five or six good older horses, and that I'd sort of march them through the season together, running them all in the whole slate of top sprint races. Effectively, that would make it a sort of internal competition among my own horses, rather than just competing against anonymous rivals. But, it seems the only way to effect that would be to take over several individual stables and keep managing them all -- and I'm quite sure the investment required would prove to exceed the return.

Another update on its way, Chas.

January 2007


Since I have the whole year ahead, I decide that I’ll try to plan out my course for MIGHTY EMPEROR. He’s an older horse, a quality sprinter, and this will probably turn out to serve as the basic blueprint for my better horses if this career lives on.

My basic thinking is that this schedule makes sense:


That is essentially one race per month all year long (we’d skip September) with a solid stakes race every time out. Five graded stakes races along the way, with the Gossamer Wings in April and the Wynnefield Sprint in November essentially serving as the twin titles of the division, the Wynnefield more so since it’s at a standard distance on the main track.

So – we will be pointing MIGHTY EMPEROR to this series of races, more or less, and we’ll see how he can do there during his 5yo campaign.


But first, we have two horses running on the same day – in quite different circumstances.


SHEERBRILLIANCE has proven to be a bit disappointing, and he will be run in a $10,000 claiming race – good shot to pick up a paycheck, and a good chance to see him get claimed away, I reckon.


Alas – neither one happens. Instead, he takes a lackluster fourth, and sticks around in our barn. Doubly disappointing.


Now, our top youngster TALL MEASURE starts his 3yo campaign with an entry in the Nedcanrun Handicap, a $50,000 stakes race run at a pleasing 5f distance, but against older company. It’s the feature race of the day – and I give him an outside shot to take the top prize here. NO SECRETS is in very good form, though, and is probably the one to beat.


Running him against older company was probably a mistake, and he got eaten up pretty badly. I’ll try to keep him in 3yo company in the months ahead, and we’ll try to get him back in front of weaker fields.


Later in January, we run TIME FOR LIFE in another solid claiming race, and he once again delivers a solid effort – this time taking second place.


My horse gets claimed here, essentially my intention, and we will hope to run into him down the road, perhaps up against MIGHTY EMPEROR again. But for now, I feel like there’s only room for one star of the show.


And with that segue, we’re ready for our first race from MIGHTY EMPEROR. Very tough field, any of several could be there, I figure – my guy is in the picture, but not a standout, I don’t think.


So, my horse picks it up at the end to finish a non-threatening third – not too bad. PAM RYAN proved to be very tough – a really good front-running ride by that one. I don’t see how we’d ever beat him, honestly.


We wrap up January with the $60,000 Vortex Stakes, a shot for my 3yo colt TALL MEASURE to rebound against a field of his peers. We should start to get familiar with the top contenders in the 3yo division here – and we see one familiar name in MARVELOUS MATT. I figure PROVIDENT as a major threat at a sprint distance, and am watching the improving QUIET AUTHORITY as well.


My guy got the job done here – holding the rail, establishing his lead, and then holding off the late chargers. Great effort – clearly his best win yet.

Hey QS,

I like the blueprint that you have setup for MIGHTY EMPEROR, but I was wondering if you've set up a different blueprint for TALL MEASURE. Or was it your intention to run your strongest horse on the MIGHTY EMPEROR blueprint and fill in races where you could find them for the rest of your stable?

Good luck at Blaze of Glory. That 75K sure would be nice. :)

Since TALL MEASURE is a 3yo, he will have a separate group of opportunitites this year -- I want to get him in against 3yo-only company as often as possible (much softer fields in this game).

Once I get to the point of having two quality olderhorses in the barn, then I may have to start thinking in terms of the A-list and the B-list for entries. I like the idea of racing my top horse in the same series of races each year, and I wish I could do it with two or thre horses... but I'll do my best.

February 2007

I have entered SHEERBRILLIANCE into a $50,000 claimer for 3yos, and will definitely be watching this field for claiming opportunities. I can’t imagine my guy gets taken for that price tag – but maybe there’s a rival who is worth the loot.

The best looking colt I see is FRINGE BENEFITS, who was up the track when we ran against him with TALL MEASURE. I’ll take a pass here at the $50,000 price.


My guy is starting to take the role of proven loser. Shame.



TALL MEASURE gets his next chance to run in a sprint stakes, as he challenges the 3yos in the $50,000 Cashmein Stakes. PROVIDENT and MARVELOUS MATT look like threats – both were closing on my guy last time out, and this race is an extra furlong. FRINGE BENEFITS and RACING FANNY are in here as well, but I don’t expect either to contend, really. I think TALL MEASURE will get the lead, but can he hold on for a full seven furlongs?


Well, color me shocked – not only did my guy not make the lead, but FRINGE BENEFITS suddenly puts together a brilliant race, and holds on for the win in a stakes race, right after I dismiss him as not even being worthy of a claim! Shocking.

TALL MEASURE will get a little time off now – we’ll point him toward the March 24th Agility Handicap.


In the Blaze of Glory Stakes, MIGHTY EMPEROR will again face PAM RYAN, who crushed the field the last time these two met up. This race is at 6f, which probably even suits that guy even better. WINDBREAK also looks like a serious contender to me. I think we’re in trouble here.


This time, the result is a 4th place, but the effort was better – my guy was within a length of the winner, and a definite threat. TUDOR PACE was barreling even harder on my guy’s outside, but those two definitely worked to reel in the early leaders. Alas, we still can’t beat PAM RYAN, even if these other guys can.

March 2007


I will send out SHEERBRILLIANCE again in a claimer, mostly to give me a look at the claiming field. I’m still open to taking on another 3yo this year. I find a nice 3yo filly, LAUGHING EYES, who looks like she wants to stay at the shorter distances. An expensive claim at $50,000, but I think she can be a moneymaker for us.


So, she gets a good effort for the win, and my claim looks like it might be worthwhile after all. I can eve send her back in about the same level – if she gets claimed away for the same price, there’s no great loss there. But I suspect she can be competitive at this level, and maybe in allowance company too.

Here’s a snapshot of our new charge – this filly looks very nice, and comes off her career best effort:



We are to the Agility handicap – a $50,000 race at 7 furlongs, where my top runner MIGHTY EMPEROR will once again face his latest nemesis, PAM RYAN. Speedy GOODNIGHT KISS is also in here and on the rail, and the short distance suits him well, too. CAMPAIGN WORKER is capable of a good race, and STUTZ BEARCAT will be rolling late, though this is below his preferred distance. Tough field.


My gelding settles in behind the early speed trio, and gets a good position for a rally out of the turn – which is exactly where he wants to be. The 7f distance is his perfect setup and this time, he finally overcomes PAM RYAN and holds off the field for a solid stakes victory.

So, to me, this proves to me that this horse is not outclassed in any of his races, especially at his 7f “sweet spot.” Next up is a turf race, which may not be his cup of tea, but the $125,000 purse is the biggest we see all year, so we’ll be there to give it another run.


As for TALL MEASURE, I tried to double enter him into the Agility, to no avail. Right now, there are no stakes races at sprint distances for 3yo horses, and I don’t want to run him in any claimers, since I suspect he would get picked up. So, I will just be patient and keep looking for a good spot at any level.

Side Note on Realism

By the way, just in case you are inclined to think that these familiar horses showing up in the fields for my sprint races indicate that the game is creating a believable background – let me show you this:


PAM RYAN, a horse who we are seeing regularly in stakes races, comes into today’s race having run FIVE TIMES in the month of June already. And he isn’t even the most absurd example in the field – just the one that also makes a second point. Look at those race distances – 7, 12, 7, 10, 6, 8. Reading this thread, you might be inclined to think there’s a “smart” trainer managing this horse, and sending him out in the best sprints just like I am with my horse MIGHTY EMPEROR.

Wrong. This horse is being sent out all the time, for all sort of races. Sure, he’s in all the sprint stakes races. But then he will run in a $4,000 claiming race at over a mile two days later. It just fails any sort of common sense test.

And by the way – would it be that hard to randomize the post position? My horse starts from post #2 about 80% of the time, and post #3 the rest. Absurd. There clearly is some sort of order used to assign horses to races, and it’s just done in some sequential order. Every time I see PROVIDENT in any race, he is in position #1. PAM RYAN is always outside. Is this really that hard to do? (This was actually a complaint with the original version of the game… I think my horses were always on the rail in position #1… this is supposedly “fixed” since then by the game’s one patch… come on)

So – as I work to create some continuity in this particular career, I try to avoid writing about this, but understand that it is a big part of this game. The lack of an even semi-believable background for the racing world is a big inhibitor to making this game a deeply satisfying racing simulation.

Quik,

Good to see the dynasty back on track. It's unfortunate that the sim has such flaws. I think there are quite a few of us waiting for a good horse racing sim to be released. Keep up the good work.

My continued play with this game is evidnece that I'm one of those who continue waiting for a really good racing sim to come along.

July 2007

It’s time to clear out a slot in our stable, so I privately sell SHEERBRILLIANCE for $13,200. He just wasn’t performing for us – at least now he will get chances to run.


We have TALL MEASURE in a decent spot – it’s a $70,000 stakes race at 7f, the Zenith Handicap. We are running at Ashbourne now, a notorious front-runners’ track. So, we will try to keep him near the lead, as he runs against older company for the first time. My best guess is that he will turn out to be a second-tier horse in open company, and not a potentially big money maker like MIGHTY EMPEROR. Here, he will face top foes like PAM RYAN and DEEDLE, so the field will not be a pushover for him. PAM RYAN, in particular, with his early speed, ought to be very tough at Ashbourne.


Not a bad effort, really – PAM RYAN was, indeed, uncatchable, but my guy finished in basically a three-way tie for third place, getting the slight edge against him but only behind by DEEDLE about a head, really. Not a bad showing, I think.


On July 7, the third leg of the 3yo “feature races” is run – the 12f Ashbourne Stakes. A nine horse field runs, and it’s QUIET AMERICA who takes this one by a nose over FAITH IN BART. TOP LEVEL is up the track, with MISSOURI FREIGHT, PROVIDENT and BANK ON BILL, all earlier contenders. QUIET AMERICA is now a million dollar winner, and probably ranks atop the list of this year’s 3 year olds.


MIGHTY EMPEROR gets to run in a field without any of the standard foes this time, in the 7 furlong Scherzo Handicap. HOT JAZZ look very tough in this field, but my guy fits right here as well.



Nice race – my guy gets the lead, holds it into the final stretch, DUKE OF COUNT takes the lead, but MIGHTY EMPEROR battles back and very nearly reclaims the top spot, losing only by a neck. HOT JAZZ was rolling late, and very nearly passed us both.

In six runs this year, five money finishes- but only one win.


I decide to run LAUGHING EYES in a high level claiming race, as I don’t think she will be claimed away, and this might be a chance to take down a good paycheck.

Alas – I am right on one count. She doesn’t get claimed, but she also has not shot and finishes fifth in the field of five. Too bad.



I put in a claim for a 2yo gelding named RECEPTOR, who is in a Maiden claimer for his first time out. He puts together a decent second place in the race, and comes aboard as our youngest charge.

As he comes aboard, here is his spartan career record:



That wraps up July – we’ll keep moving along into the autumn, and will try to see what we have with our newest addition.

August 2007

TALL MEASURE gets another shot here, in the 5f Winged Victor handicap. He has essentially become my “B” entry – taking the second most prominent sprint race for each month, behind MIGHTY EMPEROR who gets first call at the best spots. The toughest foe in this field seems to be HEAD OF STATE, but the field is honestly jam packed with great talent – many horses I have not seen before.


If HEAD OF STATE starts showing up in sprint stakes we’re in trouble, because he seems to be more talented than anyone we have – under 56 seconds for 5f is damned quick! TALL MEASURE was outclassed here, but did hang in toward the front early on.


MIGHTY EMPEROR will get his chance to run now, in the A Phenomenon Handicap – a $100K affair, among the biggest events of his campaign. DEEDLE has the rail, and the potentially tough filly C FIELD is in the #4 slot to our outside. We are, of course, in slot #2. There looks to be plenty of early pace in this 7f affair.


Another paycheck, but a non-threatening third for my guy, well behind the speedy filly who dominated the race from the outset. he did rally nicely to stave off WIND SAILOR, but was far behind the winning runner.


RECEPTOR makes a good effort in a claiming race, getting an easy win over a small field of barnyard animals. My intent had been to keep entering him in high level claimers, to easily check out the fields he faces and perhaps pick up a few paychecks along the way. This effort might have been good enough to make me think he has a future, though:


Now, with this win, he will no longer be eligible for maiden claimers – so we will have to keep our eyes open for slots for him.


LAUGHING EYES could use a good spot, and we have one for her – the 6f La Troienne Handicap with a purse of $60,000. This is a 6f sprint race for 3yo fillies only – so the field is suitably narrow. Might be her best shot to get a stakes win.

We face QUIET AMERICA in this field, but she is a late-running type, and may not do so well at this sprint distance. GREAT IMPOSTER might be tough at this distance, and DREAM GIRL might start her late charge early enough to get there as well.


Nice effort, as she gets to the front, and holds on to withstand the late push by the pack. It was admittedly a perfect setup for her – a sprinter specialist in against a field of foes better suited to a mile or longer. Good showing, though.

September 2007


September is a notoriously slow month for sprint races, and I will spend my times instead fishing for young horses to pick up in claiming races.

I put in two claims for unraced horses, who are slated to debut in maiden claimers. We pick up two new faces for the barn who join us with these records:


Both come off nice debut wins, and both look to have some real potential. WILLOWMAKER might be the better suited to the sprint distances – but both got off well in their first race, at least.


That’s all I have for September – we’ll be back on the track in October, and we will get these young greensticks out there as well.

October 2007


RECEPTOR will take on his first allowance field, where I don’t know what to expect. I think he has the least potential of our three sophomores – we’ll see if he is up to a race against proven winners.


Tough loss – the early speed held on, though my guy did make up some ground late. Tough to say what to think, but the 1.14 time he posts isn’t that impressive to me.


Next up is WILLOWMAKER, who takes on his first allowance field as well.


He wrangles the early lead fairly quickly, but yields out of the turn and is swallowed up by the pack. He battled pretty hard, but he might not be the brilliant speedster that I had hoped he might be.

(And yes, we are indeed starting to see recycled horse names – another major annoyance in this game. The only way to fix it is to search for them, buy them, and rename them once they are in my barn – an extremely tedious process that I don’t intend to undertake here.)


MIGHTY EMPEROR is in the Sterling Silver Handcap, a $60K race at 6f. HOT JAZZ is here, as well as MISSOURI FREIGHT, two familiar horses. After a while without a win, this would be a nice one to get on the way to the Wynnefield championship races next month.


Instead, he ends up mired in traffic, and swallowed up by a deep and competitive field. His first off-the-board finish in a while, and perhaps a sign of his tiring a bit. Alas- the biggest race of the year is just ahead, so we need him to round back into shape and soon.


OAKEN BUCKET is next, and he will also run against allowance company for his first time. It’s a rainy day, maybe not the best setting to see what he can really do, but he handles it well to stretch out to an easy lead, and just loses a battle for the wire.


So – we come away 0-for-3 with our youngsters, but there is hope for them yet, I think.


TALL MEASURE wlll run in the Hybernion Handicap for $60,000 - not a bad spot. Speedy filly C FIELD is here, though, and I think that means trouble.


A quick pace set by ON THE CREST, who can’t hold on – my guy did okay, but was no threat here again.


A somewhat disappointing month – we would like to have landed at least one win from these five entries. November is ahead, and that’s a big month for a statement. Hopefully we can get this thing righted.

November 2007

November brings the Wynnefield Cup, the biggest day in racing. For us, it’s a chance to try to make a statement in the capstone events of the sprint season. My 2yos aren’t accomplished enough to run in the 2yo events, but we will be in both sprint races this year.

In the $100,000 Wynnefield Sprint Handicap, we have both TALL MEASURE and MIGHTY EMPEROR facing off, the one chance each year for them to go head to head. I have been a bit disappointed with MIGHTY EMPEROR’s form lately, and fear that he may have seen his best days. We will send off both here, and hope for the best. LIVELY MESSENGE is in this field and has blazing early speed, and HEAD OF STATE is one I have been very worried about running into.

So, this is it – essentially our biggest race of the year:


The early sped is from the outside, as my guys are in the #1 and #2 positions. TALL MEASURE tracks the early speed, but MIGHTY EMPEROR is among the closers who press upward in the final paces. Nobody can catch the frontrunning twosome, though – and EMPEROR settles for a solid third place.

A decent showing – I think HEAD OF STATE is the best sprinter we have seen this year, so it’s fitting that he takes top honors in the class here.


Now, we have the distaff sprint – where LAUGHING EYES gets her chance to run for $100,000 as well. She’s in against a tough field – I give her only an outside shot here. NO SECRETS and ASTONISHING might be the better choices.


A pretty creditable race for my gal – she was no real threat, but did come on nicely in the final paces to get into the mix a bit, only about two lengths back of the eventual winner. NO SECRETS couldn’t hold her lead, and ASTONISHING rallied well from the outside to gain the top spot.


Our two year olds each get allowance races – we’ll see what we can get from them here:

RECEPTOR


WILLOWMAKER


OAKEN BUCKET



So, OAKEN BUCKET picks up a win, and looks pretty sharp – but the other two continue to disappoint. RECEPTOR nearly won, but the final time isn’t too impressive at all, even if there was some rain. Our big black colt (OAKEN BUCKET) might be the one from this group who has a real future with us.

December 2007


December won’t be a terribly busy month for us – there’s a final sprint race for the 3yo division, and I have both our 3yos entered. Perhaps we’ll get to see TALL MEASURE and LAUGHING EYES square off here – but I suspect only one will draw into the field.

I am incorrect – both our young ones make it, so we will have another double entry here in this year-end event for three year olds only. My guess is that TALL MEASURE is the better runner of the two, but I honestly can’t be too sure. Eddie Coyle, my regular jockey, again picks TALL MEASURE – but he seems to prefer that horse anyway (he rode him in the Cup over MIGHT EMPEROR, I’ll note).


Well, we couldn’t have asked for much better – TAL MEASURE slipped along the rail to get the lead in the final furlong, and LAUGHING EYES was making a nice press at the end and came up just a quarter length short. Not a great field, admittedly, but a nice chance to get a double showing on the board.


The stakes races for two year olds are too long for us in December, so we will again run our trio in allowance races:


OAKEN BUCKET


WILLOWMAKER


RECEPTOR



Another half-hearted round of runners – OAKEN BUCKET picks up the best speed figure of the lot once again, and is starting to stand out as the class of this bunch. He’s also picking up some earnings, and might be a contender for a few stakes races down the road here. The other to will probably be dropped into claiming company for us.


That wraps up the year for the QuikSand Ranch – we’ll have a look at the career records for the charges in our stable now.


Our flag-bearer still, MIGHTY EMPEROR is a regular money finisher, but not a dominant player in the sprint class. A solid season from him, but he does not dominate the ranks of sprinters as I might have hoped he could.


TALL MEASURE had a decent 3yo campaign, topped off with a nice stakes win – but I don’t think he’s likely to be a major player in the older division next year. We’ll see how he rolls into his 4yo season, but he might end up still on our B team.


Our best filly, a nice sprinter, but might be in trouble against older company on a regular basis. We’ll keep her around, I expect, as there are chances for fillies we can’t see with our two fellas.


I’ll include our top prospect also – he will probably get the chance to run a full 3yo sprint campaign like TALL MEASURE did this past year.


So, I think I will now keep a sort of ranking of the best seasons by my various horses in the QuikSand Ranch IV stables. Here’s the revised list:


If this career goes on, this could be an interesting tally to watch, I guess.

January 2008

Once again – we look ahead to the main sprint races for the season – this time excluding the races open only to younger horses:


My general thinking is that MIGHTY EMPEROR remains our A list guy, and will get the chance to run in the primary events. I will slot in TALL MEASURE where I can, and LAUGHING EYES in the distaff events and other fill-ins as well.

So, in the near term, I will send MIGHTY EMPEROR in the Capricorn and Blaze of Glory, TALL MEASURE in the Early Sprinters, and perhaps LAUGHING EYES as a double entry somewhere as she aims for the May Flowers, which will be her next big event.



Our first race of the year, though, will be the Nedcanrun Stakes, a 5f sprint for three year olds. NO SECRETS was last year’s winner, while TALL MEASURE never got it together. We will hope for better with a double entry of OAKEN BUCKET and RECEPTOR, who also qualified based on his earnings.


So, OAKEN BUCKET can’t stay with the early speed, and despite a little push in the end, is really not a factor. 57 seconds and change is a nice clip in the light rain – a tough field. RECEPTOR was thoroughly outclassed, no surprise.


I have WILLOWMAKER in a claiming race – and have a look at the rest of the field for possible pickups. I decide to claim CHARMING BROWN, who is 1-for-1 lifetime, though only against maiden company. So, we head into this race with two things to watch, perhaps.


So, our claim is the winner, and my own horse didn’t do much at all. No worries there. CHARMING BROWN even suffered through some traffic problems – he might be worth a real look as we go onward from here.

Here is CHARMING BROWN’s record as he joins the stable:


I decide to quickly sell off WILLOWMAKER and RECEPTOR, just to save time and effort. Neither one fetches a real price, this is just a move of expediency. We will focus on OAKEN BUCKET and CHARMING BROWN for the 3yo campaign ahead.


The Capricorn Handicap is MIGHTY EMPEROR’s debut for the sprint season. He hit the board in this race last season, a fair omen for his year last year.


Looking good! My gelding makes his move into the turn and takes the lead, drops to the rail, and holds on in the final furlong. Good effort, and a nice start to the year. he drags a paycheck of over $38,000 for the win – and cements his spot as our “A” entry.


Three year old colt OAKEN BUCKET will get a second race in January, in the Vortex Stakes. I am worried that he might just be totally outclassed in the 3yo ranks – but these are his best chances to notch something, so we send him out. I hope the 6f distance is to his liking.


I want him on the lead, and he gets there – that’s a good sign. It’s a two horse race, and they battle nose and nose to the wire – I am actually surprised when the photo goes our way. Nice surprise, though.

February 2008


We are double entered into the Cashmein Stakes, a 7f sprint for three year olds. Our first chance to get our two young guns side by side, and another shot at some nice dough for the coffers. Off his stakes win, OAKEN BUCKET is rolling nicely, but the extra furlong might suit CHARMING BROWN better here. I give both a solid shot, as the field looks fairly weak to me. Eddie Coyle is on OAKEN BUCKET, no surprise.


My two gain an early lead on the backstretch, but in the end the field closes in – CHARMING BROWN makes a nice rally to get right even with the winners, all of whom get past OAKEN BUCKET in the final sixteenth or so. Tough finish, but a decent effort.


It looks like our double entries are working now – as we have both TALL MEASURE and LAUGHING EYES slotted into the Early Sprinters Stakes. This might be very good news for this career – and is good to see in this race, anyway.


Here, they get clipped by MISSOURIFREIGHT, but once again prove to be pretty comparable entries, running very close side by side again. Both run well and hit the board, not a bad showing.


In the 6f Blaze of Glory, MIGHTY EMPEROR will try to make it a winning streak. An old horse of mine, SHEERBRILLIANCE, is in this field, and has become an occasional stakes-caliber horse.


SHEERBRILLIANCE actually get to the lead, but is swallowed up as MIGHTY EMPEROR roars past his outside, and then holds on to claim his second straight win to start the year. Nice effort, running from just off the pace – turning into his most effective style, it seems.

March 2008

Regrettably, the 3yo calendar for March is no good for us – the stakes races are at longer distances, and everything else is a claimer, which I don’t want. So we will keep our young colts on the bench this month.


Well, since we have been having some good fortune with double entries lately, I decide to pile on, and go for a triple entry in the Agility Handicap. It’s our only sprint stakes race in March – so we might as well try to get everyone in. It’s well-timed as a tune-up for the big April race, the $125,000 Gossamer Wings. And our horses who don’t get in here, we will try to get them into the early April Dark Star Stakes instead for their tune up.

MIGHTY EMPEROR is the only one who draws into the Agility field, so we will try the other two later on. Anyway – here’s his next race, a shot at a solid paycheck once again.


A tough loss – my guy made his rally, but came up just short and was nosed out. I don’t know what the difference is between this year and last, but MIGHTY EMPEROR seems to be rolling right along this year, and is in fine shape for the Gossamer Wings, I think.


That’s all we have for March – as we prepare for the big month of April coming up.

April 2008


LAUGHING EYES draws into the field for the Dark Star Handicap, bad news for TALL MEASURE who is left out. I decide to enter TALL MEASURE in a turf allowance race the next day – see how he does there before deciding whether to try him alongside EMPEROR in the Gossamer Wings.


SHEERBRILLIANCE is becoming a regular on the sprint stakes circuit, a quick-footed horse who generally cannot seal the deal. LAUGHING EYES outruns him, but then get nabbed by the closers in the race, and settles for third.


TALL MEASURE makes a nice showing in his turf allowance race, getting a solid impressive win:


And that settles it – he will be double-entered into the Gossamer Wings, and will get a shot at the biggest sprint-distance paycheck of the year. He may turn out to be particularly well suited to the turn – this was his first win over the grass surface, but in only two tries.


We get to see OAKEN BUCKET run again, in the Scipio's Legion Stakes for $100,000, a turf stakes race. A great spot – unfortunately, CHARMING BROWN did not have the necessary earnings to get into the race field. That will set up a gambit for us soon. Anyway – OAKEN BUCKET and his rival SUPER CHIEF look like the top contenders for this big prize, so this is a real chance for a huge score!


BUCKET had command on the front end the whole way, and SUPER CHIEF rallied to push him right at the end. This time, I thought we had it, but the photo went the other way, and BUCKET settles for the silver. Disappointing. This looks like a good rivalry developing between those two. I hope SUPER CHIEF keeps showing up in the 3yo races we run in.



We decide to send out CHARMING BROWN in a $50k claiming race – it’s his best chance to get some earnings to qualify for bigger races, and I just hope he doesn’t get grabbed away. The 1m distance is beyond my usual range, but it’s the fit, more than the money here – we’re not breaking our principles to run this race, I don’t think.


He gets the win, after tracking behind WILLOWMAKER most of the way and then holding off the approaching field.

However, his talent is too obvious, and he gets claimed away for the $50K price tag. I’m disappointed, but I don’t see another way to get him ready for the bigger races if I don’t run him in the claimers. It was a risk we had to take. Tough luck.


To wrap up April, we do indeed get two entries into the Gossamer Wings Handicap – the biggest purse we run for all season. TALL MEASURE looked sharp in his turn course tune up race, and MIGHTY EMPEROR has been running very well this year also – we have a shot to take down a nice prize here, I think. ON THE CREST has early speed and will be tough, and is proven over the turf – she is probably the favorite in my eyes. We will be plenty crowded on the front end of this race, I think.


It looks like TALL MEASURE might have found his calling, as he once again blazes along the turf course and looks excellent in this win. Great effort by him – EMPEROR made a little run to gain some ground, but TALL MEASURE was unthreatened here, and takes down his biggest win of his career.

This might be great – if TALL MEASURE is a confirmed turfer, we can keep our guys fairly separated and cover all the main races. There are two more turf sprint stakes this year, so I will plan to send out TALL MEASURE in each of them, and then weave him in and out as needed elsewhere. And, for the record, TALL MEASURE no has won $166,680 this year – so he is closing in on our stable record for season earnings. Quite a big race, indeed.


Incidenatlly, we are out of the woods with money issues – our cash balance is around $437,000, so we are in fine shape going forward.

Looks like somebody had some Friday time to kill. Enjoyable read QS, as always.

Many thanks, glad someone is reading. Your diagnosis is correct, too, of course.

Two people reading ;).