Francua Chronicles: Highs and Lows of 2020

I have not been able to do one of these articles in some time, but I figured after the Equinics was as good a time as any to give an update on the state of my barn. To this point I have logged just about three years’ worth of game play with the current year being my most successful. I have reached some great milestones this year including my first ever G1 winner(s), a couple of colts on the derby path, along with some Equinics entries. Outside of that this year has been especially kind to me in terms of stakes races and up where I am currently sporting a record of 159-28-20-17 (17.6% Win, 40.9% ITM).

Equinics Results

Being my first year ever as part of the Equinics I was super excited. I had a level of confidence in my entries that I do not think I ever had going into any race this year. That should have been my first indication that I may be in over my head.  While the Equinics was a great and fun experience it turned out to be an utter disaster for me personally. I had a total of four horses go this past Sunday with the best of the bunch finishing 7^th. To make the day worse I had three other non-Equinics graded horses go that day all of which flopped giving me a big old graded goose egg for the day. In terms of big letdowns in the game, Sunday was by far the worst one for me. I do not want to give the wrong impression, despite the big letdown I am still as enthusiastic as ever about the game and in all truth was happy that both my residencies ESR and Hoosier thought enough of my crops to get a total of 4 horses into the Equinics starting gate.

Graded Winners

As previously mentioned this year has been very kind to me. I have had a slew of talented 3 and 4 year-olds.  On the flip side I have been really slow with 2 year olds this season mainly because I got a late start in running most of them. Without further adieu here are my most talented:

OCTANE ENFORCER (INTO MISCHEIF x STREET CRY)

(9-5-1-2)

She will go down as my first ever G1 winner and kind of surprised me in doing so. Coming out of her stakes win back in February I remember being extremely unsure about how good she was, but as in most cases figured I would throw shit against a wall and hope it sticks. Stick it did, as she would go on to win the California Oaks then finish 2^nd in the Bluegrass Oaks. Her last race came in the G1 Sister Hen on an off track and she finished 7^th but my confidence in her at this point is unwavering. She’s set to come back in a bout a week’s time to run in the G1 Birmingham Stakes.

STARKIST (SEA THE STARS x MONTJEU)

(9-5-1-0)

I remember posting her in chat earlier in the year and multiple people asking me what the hell I was thinking running her at 6 furlongs. Admittedly I am not the best with turfers and do not have a great knowledgebase on turf pedigrees. When others suggested to stretch her to routes I obliged without hesitation and I will be damned they were right! Her first two runs at a mile she romped the competition winning the G3 Si’ Senorita and the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas. She was one of my Equinics runners this past weekend and the one I had the most hope for.  While she did finish the best out of my bunch it was not saying much.As you may expect I came away disappointed but determined to get her back to the winner’s circle.  She’s set up to run in the G2 Irish Lassie and will get an opportunity to stretch her legs further going 9F.

FIERCELY FROSTED (FROSTED x DYNAFORMER)

Record (9-4-2-0)

After his G2 Fountain of Ute victory I was so high on this horse and thought he was a shoe in to make the Bluegrass Derby. Again, my confidence should have been a red flag to temper my expectations but it wasn’t and I watched in dismay as he faded from 4^th to 10^th in the Florida Derby missing an opportunity to get into the Bluegrass Derby. Since that heartbreaking day in March, he’s gone on to run three more times finishing 2^nd in the G2 Captain Hook, 10^th in the G1 New Yorker, and he gave turf a try in a decent effort at the Upper California Derby finishing 5^th. His next run is going to be on turf in the G3 The Cant Breeder’s Cup.

TWIRLING ENFORCER (TWIRLING CANDY x A.P. INDY)

Record (6-3-2-0)

He’s a quick off the blocks type of horse and if he doesn’t get the lead early he’s not really keen on passing anyone. That seemed to be the story in the Equinics where he was beat out of the shoot by another horse and faded badly to finish 11^th. Outside of that performance he has been a wonderful surprise earing G2 honors in the Trial by Night Stakes. Not sure what the plan is for him yet going forward but as lightly raced as he is to this point I will probably get him going in a few competitive spots before year’s end.

HEART OF THE NILE (PIONEEROF THE NILE x HARD SPUN)

Record (8-4-0-1)

Sometimes you can just tell in a horse’s first race that they are special. In her debut race she opened up 7 lengths on the field and ran away with ease at 7 furlongs. I had never seen a horse do that in a sprint before leading me to believe she was destined for some form of greatness. She proved me right in the G2 Manhattan wiring the field with a 103 speed fig. I gave her a bump up to G1 company most recently and she got smoked finishing 8^th by 4. No immediate plan for her right now.

AWESOME ALLURE (AWESOME AGAIN x SEEKING THE GOLD)

Record (18-7-1-2)

I made the switch to turf exclusively for her back in late 2019 and she has been a better horse for it since rattling off five wins in the last year. The most important of those 5 wins include  a victory in the G3 Board Game Distaff. She was another who got a bid into the Equinics but didn’t quite fire the way I had hoped.

KNIGHT OF CAMELOT (CAMELOT x ZABEEL)

Record(19-6-2-2)

The most recent in the stable to earn graded honors he took down the G3 Norway Cup about 2 weeks ago. However, he did come up hurt out of the race which has not been a good indicator of future success for my horses.

GARGANTUAN GRAY (GRAYDAR x BIG BROWN)

Record (18-5-5-2)

She has been a really fun horse to watch develop over the last couple years. She’s one of those gritty types of horses who has never really disappointed me with her effort. She won the G3 Blackhawk Cup back in June and has not run since. I am still looking for the ideal spot for her to hopefully build some momentum.

MICRO MANIAC (MICROMANAGE x STORM BIRD)

Record (11-5-1-2)

She has been a great addition to the stable. I bred her with intent of running locals but she has already surpassed those expectations winning the G3 Leopard Stakes. However, she has been blown out in her last two graded runs which includes her Equinics performance.

End of an Era

The next two horses were my first ever graded winners and sadly I believe the time has come where graded races just are not in the cards anymore. That doesn’t mean they can’t be productive and earn me BPs, but the glory days seem to be well past them.

TURN EM’ LOOSE (CARAVAGGIO x WRITTEN TYCOON)

Record (19-6-0-3)

I had hope coming into this year when he started the year off with an impressive stakes win. However, 5 attempts at graded company and a diminishing performance has only shown me that his days of closing deep stretch against the cream of the crop are long behind him. I’m hoping I can run him in allowance events and earn some BPs. Maybe he will find his legs again for one more run but it doesn’t look good.

ESPIRI (IRONICUS x CHARM SPIRIT)

Record(19-6-2-2)

A gift horse from the late great Oldmoonfarms. When I first started Oldmoonfarms was one of the first people to reach out and help. He and Bizalls got me started by flooding me with a plethora of horses to keep me busy which included this guy. I remember the day ESPIRI broke his maiden I had received a PM from Oldmoonfarms expressing just as much excitement as I had about ESPIRI winning his first race. Of course ESPIRI went on to become my second graded winner (otherwise this story would be pointless) when he won the G3 Movie Cup. After that he came up injured in his next graded attempt and was never the same as he struggled to find the money in lesser competition. He will continue to run at the allowance level till the age of 5 but like his stablemate above I do not see a resurgence to graded in his future.

With four months remaining in the year I am hoping to add a few more names to this list but I will end it here for the time being. In closing, the game is still just as much fun today as it was when I first joined and had no clue what I was doing.