The hours are getting short. Both of my horses made it into the Classic and I am ecstatic. I even think that they both have a chance to win although super horse ERMINGTON PEGASUS may have something to say about that.

I was at the track nearly all day today finding things to do and staying with the horses. I know that I don’t NEED to be there but it just feels right somehow and I don’t want to feel like I’m missing out on something either. I was walking through the Stables when there was a loud argument over in another area of the stalls. Not one to bypass a loud discussion, I found my way over there. Lo and behold, there was good old Kaif telling anyone that would listen that he was sure that his filly TIRED WINGS was going to have no problem going up against the boys in the BB Sprint and he was sure that she would actually win the race! He had a beer in hand and I somehow thought that might have figured into the discussion and voice level.

There was a rather large bald man in a New York Giants jersey that was disagreeing with Kaif quite vociferously. He said something to the effect that no filly was going to be able to beat the colts at this level. Kaif retorted, “I was aiming my talented 3yo filly BUTTON to the Derby a couple years back and had no concerns about running her against the boys. She broke her maiden against the boys, won her entry allowance against the boys and won the Grade III Silver Fence derby against the boys as well! If they’re good enough, they run against the best I can find!”

I know a story when I smell one so I waited until the discussion died down a bit and asked Kaif if he would be willing to join me for dinner and talk about his talented filly. I recommended going to the Salt Creek Grill where I had dined with Given the other evening and had an incredible meal. Kaif told me in no uncertain terms that he pretty much gagged when he heard about my dinners this week. In his words, that was a total waste of beer money! He told me, “My trip to Monmouth is staying at a cheap motel and hanging out at dive bars that play good rock and roll. My meals are at a mom and pop diner for breakfast (or a waffle house or a cracker barrel… mmm, cracker barrel), a chinese buffet for lunch and whatever bar food I can scavenge while looking for some New Jersey Rock N Roll and hope the cook didn’t ash his cigarette in the fries. I’m not big on spending money on fancy things like hotels or fancy meals. I’d rather spend $39.99 at the Motel Six than $249 at the Embassy Suites or whatever. Ain’t gonna catch me spending my beer money on frivolity!”

I tried to explain that SnowChief would gladly pick up the tab for dinner but he insisted that he wouldn’t be party to that waste. LOL. We ended up at a dark little place outside the track called the Blew By-You that had a pretty good band and a surprisingly good burger and fries. It turned out to be a great evening. Here is what Kaif had to say about his filly:

PazJazz– Tired Wings has had a great run in her career so far. She is still getting no love at all from the odds makers. How do you feel about her chances?

Kaif-Honestly? I think she’ll win. I think she’s not only in the best current form, I think she has the best chance of improving. She’s undefeated at 6.5f or under (a perfect 8 for 8) and she just keeps getting faster. She’s already beaten the boys twice and now it’s time to beat the men. Not only would I not trade her for anyone else in the field, I wouldn’t trade her for any TWO others in the field. I had one concern – 25% chance of rain. Now that it’s dry, I think she’s going to roll. I’m not a big Sim bettor, but 15-1 is insane.

PazJazz-Who are your biggest challengers?

Kaif-I hate to leave anyone out. There’s no doubt this is a talented field. It’d be foolish to toss out Given’s horse (CASTERLY ROCK) since he’s won the last two. I think Ted’s horse (WESTERN ROMP TED) has a chance of duplicating his last big race in the Scottsdale. Stoners’ horse (POLISH REALITY) has been consistent all year long (until the Kingab Special disaster) and is one of the few other 6f specialists in the field. Both of Sdmf’s (DEATH ALLEY DRIVER & IN A SIMPLE RHYME) have been in good form (but both might also be better at 7f). Favored SKANONYMOUS has been really impressive lately winning three graded races in a row at 6f twice AND at a mile – best form of his career at 6yo and after more than 35 races. That’s impressive. I think I’m going to win, but picking a second choice out of that bunch? It’s tough.

PazJazz– After that first Stakes race at a mile plus, were you tempted to try her on the grass?

Kaif– I’m a firm believer in trying horses long and short, both surfaces, as an effort to find what the horse can succeed at. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find TIRED WINGS niche. Dirt sprinting. Also, once I found out she was good and decided to point her to the BB Sprint, I had no choice but to keep winning – there hasn’t been time for experimentation. She’s needed to win all of her races to get enough points to get in. Depending on the BB results she’s going to point to Del Penn Championship day (Right now it’s a tossup between the 5f ladies event or the 6f open race) and then looking at next year. If I think her form will hold up, it’ll be a matter of making sure I don’t need to win 5 weeks before the Breeders Bowl to get in. If she’s fortunate or good enough to lock up a spot with a G1 win early on, I might think about trying one of the shorter grass sprints to see how she handles it. But really, I’m pretty content in having a very good dirt 6f specialist with her.

PazJazz– Do your remember when you actually realized what a special horse you had?

Kaif– Actually, I do. Right after her first graded win, the G3 Warfare Farm Stakes on April 28th this year. I predicted on the Great Plains message board before the race that she was going to win – I thought she matched up pretty well with the field. After the race I posted, “I may have a monster.” She just moved away from anyone that got close to her so effortlessly, I was very impressed. It’s hard to sometimes see a Sim horse’s effort on the viewer – many times you can see things that aren’t there. But I thought then that I had a real good one. I didn’t seriously consider her a BB candidate then… that was after her next start, the BOB BARKER, where she ran a 106 and I began to harbor some suspicions that she was going to be my best 3yo ever.

PazJazz– Where did her amusing name come from?

Kaif– There was an unheralded rock band in the late ’80s early ’90s by the name of The Four Horsemen. One of my favorite bands ever. Straight up rock n roll with the simplicity of AC/DC but the country edge of Skynyrd. Add in a little bit of Thorogood, 12 songs about drinking and women and rock and roll, and their first album Nobody Said it was Easy is STILL one of my favorite records ever made. The third song on the album is a song called Tired Wings. I had a new 2yo, I needed a name… it came together. (Here’s a link to the video for Tired Wings on youtube. Other than being a rock video, it’s safe viewing for everyone. http://youtube.com/watch?v=gaIvoi6Esks Dang I like this song)

PazJazz– Why Pollard’s Vision as Sire? TW has by far been his most successful offspring.

Kaif– Unfortunately, it’s kind of embarrassing. Last year, I had a crappy, slow, well-bred 4yo colt named BLIND WITH ROPE (Danzig x Kingmambo x Seattle Slew). One for sixteen lifetime, one speed figure over 84. I hated him. I didn’t want him sitting in my stupid barn the rest of the year sitting there taking up space running 10th in crappy N1X allowances all year long. I didn’t want to burn BPs on the sex change AND the early breeding (since he was just four). So I had to use credits. I sure didn’t want to spend a LOT of money on the stupid thing, so I was going to have to use a sire available late in the week. I picked a juvy sire available on a Saturday that was of the Mr.P line to go along with Danzig (ND line) in the soon to be DS spot, and got lucky. Pollard’s Vision is a pretty crummy sire in the Sim. He’s got nothing other than TIRED WINGS. The he-mare Stunk with a capital S. Shoot, I hated Pollard’s Vision when he was on the track in real life. I really bred the stupid horse just to get BLIND WITH ROPE out of my stable and I knew going in if the offspring stunk I could throw it in a claimer because who the heck would want a piece of crap Pollard’s Vision?

The secret to my success. Breed a bad sire to a slow dam and get lucky.

PazJazz I am having a great experience as a first time BB owner. What have your BB experiences been like?

Kaif– This is actually my second Breeders Bowl. I ran second in the mile back in 2005 with I AM SCHEMING. Couldn’t catch the front runner that day but held on for second by a neck. That was pretty cool. That year I was actually in New York most of the week leading up to the races to attend the actual Breeders Cup, so I didn’t even watch the race until I got back home on Monday. I’m a bit more excited this year – with “SCHEMING” I knew I was running against horses with better speed figs than I’d had and I knew his best distance wasn’t a mile, so I was just taking a stab. This year has been much more fun. I’ve got what I think is one of the primary contenders and am really looking forward to the race.

PazJazz– There is a lot of evidence of young horses that show great early success that “crash and burn” after their three year old season. What are your thoughts on “Wing” that way?

Kaif It’s always a concern. However, she’s very lightly raced, only ran four times as a two year old, and has never run on less than four weeks rest. She’ll get another 10 week vacation sometime soon, probably right after the Del Penn races (but it depends on what the calendar looks like – I’ll know for sure once the 2008 Graded Stakes calendar is revealed), so I’m doing everything I can to keep her from too much wear and tear. I’ve had some horses run great as three year olds that have carried their ability to five. I’ve had others that hit a wall. I figure I’ve done everything in my power to keep her from getting too beat up, so I guess it’s in the hands of the Sim Gods. I think it’s a good sign that she started to peak midway through her three year old season. I’d be very excited if I’m able to campaign her at a top level for a long, long time.

PazJazz – You are sometimes known as being a bit “irreverent” around the stables. Do some of the long time BB owners seem a bit stuffy to you?

Kaif– That’s a funny question. I’m not sure ‘stuffy’ is the right word. Believe it or not, I actually get along with quite a few people really well. But there’s no doubt that there are some people out there that don’t like me. That’s great. There’s some people out there that I don’t like. That’s great too. While friendly competition is fun, competition where you don’t always like your opponent is even more fun. There are people that I want to beat because I like them, because I don’t like them, because they bred to one of my mares before I got to, because they said something I didn’t like on the message board… that’s part of competing in an international flavored game. I think my quote to Itch in the BB Sprint interview said it best: ” Regrets: Only one. I wish this was a sixteen horse field so I could beat Lenny and Super as well!”

PazJazz – Anything else that you can think of that may be of interest to our readers?

Kaif– Hmm. I’m not sure any of the above will be of interest, so adding anything else might be pure self-indulgence. Fortunately, being concerned about self-indulgence has never stopped me before, so I’ll add a couple of thoughts. 1- Be active. There seems to be one consistent factor among many of the top players in the game, and that is that they are active in the game. They’re either in residencies or post on the main board or hang out in chat or write for the Black Type Bugler… All of these things make what is a great game even better. 2- Don’t be afraid to adopt your own style. Some people are hyper aggressive with two year olds. Others use non-graded races as preps for big races. Other people attack Rodots and win there. Others claim and move up through the starter ranks. Others claim and keep them in claimers. Others claim to find marathoners. Others use the auction. Others breed a lot of random breds and bargain breds. Find what you like to do, and do it. Don’t be afraid to experiment, don’t be afraid to try what others are doing if you see they’re successful at it, but find what you like and play that way. There are a million different ways to achieve success (and hopefully more once state bred racing comes into fruition), so find one that fits your style.

It was certainly another evening to remember and I’ve had a few this week! He actually talked the band into playing the song “Tired Wings”. That was pretty cool! I will be watching with great interest to see if this filly can make his prophecy come true. I won’t have to wait long…tomorrow is Race Day! See you at the track!

Good luck to all!