Claiming tales – the final chapter

Claiming tales – the final chapter

We left off with Thepromonroe’s narrow loss in the 1999 Hollie Hughes Handicap.  He finished his 1999 campaign in a NW3X allowance at Belmont Park in May.  He blazed the half mile in 43:3/5, but tired in the stretch and finished out of the money.  We decided to put him on the farm for an extended rest, hoping for yet another Hollie Hughes attempt in 2000.

Old Yorkville had a couple of claimers after that through the summer of 1999,  but they were nothing of note and I can’t even recall their names.  In October we claimed My Golden Dream, a distance running filly,  for $25k.  She won first out for us at $35k at Aqueduct in a one-turn mile.  Out of curiosity, our trainer consulted a bloodstock agent and was told that My Golden Dream may have some value as a broodmare if she won again for at least $35k or higher.  We took a couple shots in higher claimers but My Golden Dream was not cooperating.  She descended the claiming ladder until finally winning at $12k and being claimed in March, 2000.

Meanwhile, Thepromonroe returned to the races on December 11, winning a $20k claimer at the Big A.  Unfortunately, our trainer concluded that Thepro’s best days were behind him, so we ran him back for $19k in a claimer.  He finished 3rd at 6-5 and was claimed.  We followed him and saw him working out in February for the Hollie Hughes (we guessed), but Thepro never raced again.

We then claimed Tycoon Todd out of a sprint claimer, but he didn’t do much for us on the dirt.  He did show some prior ability on the turf(all 3 lifetime wins were on the weeds),  so we pointed him for a state-bred stakes race on turf.  Meanwhile, we claimed Thunder Breeze for $18k (a price that seemed to be lucky for us), another sprinter and white as a ghost.  On May 14, both horses were racing.  Thunder Breeze won first out for us at Belmont by a very short head in a $25k claimer.  In the feature, the West Point Handicap for NY breds, Tycoon Todd ran a dismal, next to last place finish and was subsequently claimed for a price lower than we paid.  Two weeks later,  Thunder Breeze won again in another photo finish and was claimed.  Edgar Prado was up that day and it was Prado’s 4000th career win, highlighted on the winner’s photo.

Our next claim of note was for $50k, a distance running colt named Sky Approval.  One prior he had run an excellent 3rd in a stakes race at the Big A.  At that time, there was a series of stakes races through the winter over the inner dirt track, and we thought that we had a runner who might do some damage for us.  One of the other owners in the same trainer’s barn thought we had made an excellent claim, but we soon found out otherwise.

First out, in the Grade 3 Queens County Handicap, on a bitterly cold day at Aqueduct, Sky Approval ran an uninspired next to last.  Robbie Davis was supposed to ride,  but he was either hurt or unwilling to freeze his ass off.  The trainer had some time finding a jock, finally settling on Rudy Rodriguez.  Our dreams of dominating the inner track stakes season crashed mightily.  Down the claiming ladder went Sky Approval, until he finally won in a $35k claimer in January 2001 with Aaron Gryder up,  and was thankfully claimed away.  My partner Joe and I were at the track that day, and Joe had pretty much given up on Sky Approval.  As we watched the stretch drive, he asked me “where is he,  last again ?” as Gryder got through on the rail to get up for the win.
Next runner of note is Luther Rose.  We claimed Luther for $20k, and on May 2, 2001 Luther Rose won what would be my and my mother’s last winner as thoroughbred owners.  He was also claimed for $25k, with Aaron Gryder up.  In the winner’s circle Gryder says to us “that’s the way to do it, claim, win one or two and get claimed”.   Luther Rose won 3 or 4 more races for his new trainer through the summer.

Next move was one of our biggest mistakes.  We jumped right away and claimed a Florida shipper by the name of Funinthesun for $40k.  This horse did nothing for us, finally breaking down and being euthanized in his last race for us.  We did collect the insurance money, but it was the last time that insurance agent would do business with us.

The last horse I had ownership in was a nice 3 year old we claimed by the name of Answer Man.  The trainer took him up to Saratoga, and we were optimistic we might finally get a winner’s photo at the Spa.  The trainer surprised us a bit by getting Don Meche (a Louisiana jock who none of us had ever heard of) to ride – he turned out to be a really nice guy to talk to in the paddock.  But Answer Man had drawn a wide post, and losing ground contributed to a 4th place finish.

Shortly after that, the Old Yorkville partners decided to take a loan of $65k to further the stable, and were hoping to bring in some new partners to spread the risk a bit.  I and my mom balked at what would might be an $8,000 each liability, and we both ended our involvement in thoroughbred racing.   The new partnership was not successful, and I was satisfied that I had made the right decision, despite missing the game oh so much.

Thoroughbred ownership provided some of the biggest thrills and some of the biggest disappointments I’ve known.  There’s few things that compare to watching your horse cross the finish line in first.  I was lucky enough to know that feeling twenty-four times; I wish all of them had been in person.

I’d like to thank the Blacktype Bugler for allowing me this stroll down memory lane, and hope that all who read these articles enjoyed them as much as I did writing them.  And may all your entries, whether real or SIM,  be winning ones.

If you missed my prior articles, they can be found at the following links.

Claiming tales ch.1        http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=18140

Claiming tales ch.2       http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=18392

Claiming tales ch.3     http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=19225

Claiming tales ch.4     http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=19639