{"id":6470,"date":"2008-08-23T07:18:08","date_gmt":"2008-08-23T07:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=6470"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=6470","title":{"rendered":"Bargain Summer Distaff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bless the bargain breeder, for they know that the world is not made up solely of Fusaichi Pegasus colts or Giant’s Causeway fillies.\u00a0 Yes, there are plenty of horses in the universe, both Sim and flesh-and-blood, who have bloodlines as precious as fine wines and vintage jewels.\u00a0 If you get them, and plenty of them, fantastic: you’re filling the place of bluebloods that the sport thrives on.\u00a0 But there are a lot of folks for whom saving up 2500 points would take a month of Mondays.\u00a0 For these people, they supply the Sim with combinations of lesser sires, out of Kentucky, out of the Western Hemisphere, out of the ordinary.\u00a0

I’m a proud bargain breeder.\u00a0 I’m pretty good at finding the combinations for cheap prices on a Saturday night.\u00a0 It takes a sick amount of patience, truth be told, and one usually comes up craps more often than one might hit the jackpot.\u00a0 But just as water seeks its own level, so do Sim horses: you might not get a slew of Grade I’s using Forestwood instead of Forestry, Admiral Indy instead of A.P. Indy, Awesome Of Course instead of Awesome Again, but not only do these more obscure pedigrees represent a large dose of reality in a world of fantasy, it’s a playground for mass creativity that can pay off handsomely in the risk-to-reward department.\u00a0 And this is how small Sim\u00a0outfits can win big races for good purses.

This is where the Bargain Bred Racing Series comes in.\u00a0 It is a restricted series of events, but this time, it’s restricted in a great way for all players.\u00a0 Owners are restricted to nominating scratch-bred\u00a0horses that cost under 100 BP or credits to breed, and if you can survive those minor prerequisites, you can nominate without breaking the bank.\u00a0 And above all else, it’s fun to take part in, because your imagination is forced to think outside the box to lesser-used sires and dam-sires and even dam’s dam-sires that might work as a combination for success.\u00a0 When one of these inexpensive creations can break 100 in an allowance or otherwise show just as much talent as a 1500-credit horse,\u00a0it’s every bit as satisfying as tasting success with a fancy-pedigreed horse.\u00a0 This racing series, with events scattered throughout the year, promotes successful, inexpensive breedings to create a level playing field for those\u00a0who think Best Of Luck deserves better luck, or With Distinction merits honors all his own as an underused\u00a0sire in a budget-line pedigree.

While the BTB gets its legs under itself for a Breeders Bowl push and the big-timers take aim on this weekend’s Travelers Stakes, this week the BBRS holds a mid-summer festival of restricted racing action, with three major races for bargain-bred horses in Iowa this week.\u00a0 There’s a turf race for older fillies, and a dirt race for the handicap division, both featured on the Iowa card this weekend.\u00a0 But the older fillies and mares on dirt get the spotlight here, with the $75,000 Bargain\u00a0Summer Distaff<\/STRONG><\/EM>, run over a mile and a sixteenth on the fast dirt here.\u00a0 This year is just the second running of the event, with last year’s race attracting a number of stakes winners in the inaugural edition, won by Shadowy Muff.\u00a0 Shadowy Muff, in fact, is back again this year to defend her title in the series, but this time she’s second-choice to an also-ran from last summer’s race.\u00a0 Gyron was seventh last year when the race was held in New York, but is one up on Shadowy Muff in one respect, and that is Gyron owns a stakes win outside of the BBRS, where Shadowy Muff does not have an open-company stakes win.\u00a0 The race is more wide upon than just those two, but it must be said that it does seem to boil down to a grudge match between a BBRS veteran and one who has stepped it up in open races.

Here’s the field of nine:

Gyron<\/STRONG> [Our Emblem x Mr. Sparkles x Minneapple, trained by verywide<\/STRONG><\/EM> for Fastnfirm Stables] might seem like a curious one for a bargain race, especially considering her sire.\u00a0 But the rules state only that a breeding must be under 100 BP or credits at the time of being bred.\u00a0 The BBRS has been around enough to make the proper assessments, and besides, I know Our Emblem\u00a0was available\u00a0back in 2006 for a fairly good, low price.\u00a0 It’s a daring breeding strategy, to use some “name” sire\u00a0of any kind in part of the pedigree, and risking things by saving tons of BP in the other sections.\u00a0 But it worked here, combining a sire who is a son of Personal Ensign, with\u00a0a son of Deputy Minister and a graded-winning son of Riverman who specialized in routing.\u00a0 She finds the longer races more appealing, having won her lone open stakes race at a mile and five-eighths with a flourish.\u00a0 The mile and a sixteenth here, however, might be a bit short for her.\u00a0 Last year, she was beaten nine and a half lengths by Shadowy Muff and never seemed to respond to the race in general.\u00a0 She has won at a mile in allowances, but she wasn’t quite facing a bunch like this, where the competition might be a bit hungrier out of the limelight of all those big pedigrees.\u00a0 She’s going to be a closer here, and her speed figures are good for a stakes race; in fact, her last-out 106 is a comfortable best last-out number in the field, by 4 points.\u00a0 That 106 came when third in a stakes race going a quarter-mile further than she’ll run here, and the concern is that she might not find her stride quick enough for her best performance.\u00a0 But this filly seems to have some strong abilities at the higher end of the handicap division, and seems to like marathons, so going forward, this filly should be very solid in future endurance tests.\u00a0 Here, on class she deserves appreciation for her recent strong efforts, but the distance is something she may have to struggle with.

Splash The Gash<\/STRONG> [Popular x Bucksplasher x Waajib(IRE), trained by sunrisetb<\/EM><\/STRONG> for Sunrisetb Stables] makes her BBRS debut here, and this filly doesn’t inspire a terrible amount of confidence.\u00a0 This California-bred has tried three stakes races, and she’s only finished as close as eighth thirteen months ago, beaten nine lengths.\u00a0 Her last victory came back at the start of 2007, and her best speed figure has only managed to reach 88, most recently in April.\u00a0 This doesn’t bode all that well, even taking into account that the BBRS can produce results that you might not see in an open stakes event, including some lower speed figures.\u00a0 Even being a restricted stakes, you still have to have the horse to keep up, since you never know who’s going to show up.\u00a0 What keeps her in the mix a little, though, is a pedigree that specializes in the mile distance, with both her sire and dam-sire doing pretty strongly at or about that distance.\u00a0 So getting this stretch of ground isn’t too tough for her.\u00a0 She’ll prefer a pace to chase, and prefers a strong run from well out of it, but she’s been struggling lately overall, and doesn’t figure to be in the mix at the end.

Twazzo<\/STRONG> [Serazzo x Twining x Staff Writer, trained by txbred<\/EM><\/STRONG> for Knightmare Stables] is a Texas-bred filly for the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler of the BBRS, the person responsible for the creation, organization and operation of the event.\u00a0 He is owed a great debt of gratitude for bringing a portion of the Sim’s attention to bargain-bred horses, the type of which is often sneered at for a lack of pizazz in spite of a good majority of modern thoroughbreds coming, even in part, from more common origins than Distorted Humor or Empire Maker.\u00a0 The bad news is that\u00a0Knightmare’s filly, while talented, has yet to have the cachet of abilities akin to Knightmare’s good works involving the BBRS.\u00a0 Where more than half the field has run a 100 speed figure somewhere in their collective pasts, this one is still in full-on learning mode.\u00a0 This is her tenth start, and her best result has been a win versus other three-year-old fillies in the Queens BBRS race two back.\u00a0 It was a solid win at a mile and three-sixteenths, earning her a speed figure of 91, but this will be her debut against older fillies and mares, some of whom have certain credentials in open company.\u00a0 On the upside, though, is the brevity of her career, and the fact she’s cleared a lot of her allowance hurdles thus far.\u00a0 Her last effort, running second in an allowance at a mile and five-eighths, was respectable, earning her an 88, and her pedigree, which is solid for a bargain-bred, suggests a mile and a sixteenth might be right up her alley.\u00a0 Her sire is a full brother to the fine You And I (and a half-brother to Chaposa Springs), while\u00a0Twining was a fine one-turn router in New York (and a half himself to the fine filly Althea and the good turf mare Aquilegia) and Staff Writer, though unraced, was a talented sire in his own right.\u00a0 The concern isn’t really about being good enough, but more of a tactical one; with almost no speed in the field save for one with\u00a0potential and the occasional question mark, is this an ideal scenario for a closer as Twazzo has shown herself to be?\u00a0\u00a0

Light Is On<\/STRONG> [Mr. Light(ARG) x Sumayr(IRE) x Generous(IRE), trained by lgbost2yol <\/EM><\/STRONG>for Lgbost Stables] is an Argentine-bred filly who was bred back in the early days of Mr. Light’s one season at stud, having passed away in 2006.\u00a0 He was available for a song, in spite of setting the world record for a turf mile over Gulfstream’s turf course.\u00a0 Pairing him up with a son of the late Ela-Mana-Mou(IRE) and the talented turf star Generous(IRE) indicated the turf was perhaps the intent.\u00a0 Instead, it produced a solid dirt router who has been able to perform between ten and fourteen furlongs.\u00a0 She was fifth last time in an open stakes marathon, but had won three of four going long prior to that effort.\u00a0 Her speed figures going from a mile and a quarter to a mile and three quarters range from the mid-to-upper 90s, with one 100 speed figure three races back.\u00a0 The interesting thing is that here, too, is a case that a mile and a sixteenth might not be near enough ground for the best performance.\u00a0 Her last run at the distance was her maiden win, which was a fair effort as one might imagine, and for sure she’s better than that.\u00a0 But she’d love another three furlongs to run at, ideally, and she’s a very deep closer from way back in the field, and the race theoretically doesn’t exactly favor that approach.\u00a0 Watch her back again coming out of it going longer, but a minor share isn’t impossible.

Infrared Dancer<\/STRONG> [Fusaichi Ole x West Quest x Panoramic(GB), trained by mlotjb3<\/STRONG><\/EM> for Kamikaze Stables].\u00a0 This is where I always have trouble.\u00a0 I can either point out that a filly with just one start under her belt and a speed figure of 60 in her debut at seven furlongs isn’t likely to do much damage against mid-level maiden claimers at this distance, never mind stakes fillies.\u00a0 Or I can try and give some solace to her connections who should be congratulated for taking part in the BBRS and for breeding inexpensively and adding to the Sim horse pool some realistic bloodlines.\u00a0 Since this filly debuted at 131.30-1 and was outrun in her MSW debut, I’ll say that she could be a pace influence if she’s sent to the front just for the hell of it and give the closers something to aim for, and spend some time on her obscure pedigree.\u00a0 Fusaichi Ole is a Japanese son of Sunday Silence who retired just $25,000 shy of being a millionaire, and whose dam was the talented Canadian and American graded winner Triple Wow.\u00a0 West Quest was a Canadian-based son of Gone West and an\u00a0allowance horse who retired to stud in Tasmania, the lucky devil, before moving on to the current home base of Australia.\u00a0 Panoramic(GB) was a group winner in France who sired millionairess Tuzla to a string of graded wins in the 1990s, including a Grade I.\u00a0 I would recommend to her connections that she should be taken to the grass as soon as possible for at least one turf try at any level, but give her at least six starts before determining her future, because who’s to say turf routing (West Quest is out of a Green Dancer mare, and\u00a0otherwise has some decent turf influences in her pedigree) might not wake her up a little?\u00a0 Good luck to you with her…but she’s in over her head here.

Tap Dancer Semvi<\/STRONG> [Fred Astaire x Groom Dancer x Tap On Wood, trained by popsracing<\/EM><\/STRONG> for Knightmare Stables]\u00a0is a veteran mare who is Knightmare’s second opportunity to sneak off with a race in the series of which he was the creator.\u00a0 Interestingly, Knightmare did not breed this filly,\u00a0but claimed her for $5,000 last October.\u00a0 Nevertheless, her form has improved considerably off the claim, and the early poise she had when hitting the board in stakes races at the end of 2006 has been somewhat renewed.\u00a0 In eight starts for Knightmare, this filly was a fast closing second in the BBRS Cemetery Winter Distaff at a mile and an eighth, and she also closed to finish second, beaten three-quarters of a length going a mile in March’s Death Valley Distaff.\u00a0 She likes to come from well out of it, and has enough late run to make a strong effort at this level, in the BBRS.\u00a0 She’s done it before.\u00a0 She also has a speed figure of 100 in an open-company stakes race, when she was fourth in April in a nine-furlong handicap in Arizona.\u00a0 The distance is a decent fit, and she’s got a good chance to break through here, although it must be said that she last won last October, in the last two starts she made before being claimed.\u00a0 Stepping up in class hasn’t been entirely helpful.\u00a0 But at this particular level, she’s earned her keep, and the potential here is quite solid for a good run.\u00a0 The pedigree suits the distance, though sire Fred Astaire (the horse, not…well, you know) was third in the Breeders Cup Mile on the grass and he is by Nijinsky II out of champion mare Late Bloomer.\u00a0 Groom Dancer was a multiple group winner going a distance of ground on turf in France, and Tap On Wood won the 1979 2,000 Guineas.\u00a0 Lots of turf potential, trumped a little by just a touch of Tom Fool in his sire, and poof!\u00a0 There goes a dirt horse.\u00a0 She shouldn’t have much issue with the distance, it’s just a matter of whether she can chase not much pace and recall her open-company stakes effort to finally cross over in this series.

Shadowy Muff<\/STRONG> [Shadow In The Dark x Al Mufti x Bucksplasher, trained by\u00a0deadman<\/EM><\/STRONG> for It’s pretty much over at this point…] represents a stable group for whom I don’t understand why it’s pretty much over, but this filly isn’t conceding anything in the BBRS.\u00a0 She’s raced in the series 11 times, and won three races: the ’07 Broadway Sprint, last year’s edition of the Bargain Summer Distaff, and the Death Valley Sprint from March.\u00a0 Her abilities run the gamut from seven furlongs through a mile and a sixteenth, but she seems to shine in a series like this, maybe proving in her own fashion that state-bred racing (whenever it gets here, should it ever) can give a boost to certain horses that open-company races cannot.\u00a0 She earned a 98 for her Death Valley Distaff win, a 102 last year in this race, and a 99 last year in the Broadway, which as far as speed figures go is pretty decent, but in this series seems to be very strong.\u00a0 She seems stronger in sprints than in these middle distance events, and her speed figures tend to dip just a little bit in open company, but not by much: a sixth in a stakes last fall got her a high in an non-restricted race of 99.\u00a0 She could very well be at or near the front in this race, much like she was here last year when she stalked patiently, led by more than four lengths, then coasted home easily.\u00a0 But if she decided to make a late run instead, she’s certainly capable of that, too.\u00a0 She’s BBRS battle-ready, though whether something like that can translate to being tough enough for races outside the series remains to be seen anymore.\u00a0 She’s the class of the field by virtue of her series successes, though, which counts greatly.\u00a0 It’s just a matter of the lack of experience and major recent success in open races can compensate for those in her who are less versed in the series but can hold their own in non-restricted events.\u00a0 As for the pedigree, Shadow In The Dark has a regal pedigree (Seattle Slew x Mr. Prospector) if not a lot of practical experience.\u00a0 Al Mufti is a stakes-placed bridesmaid overseas and is standing in South Africa.\u00a0 And Bucksplasher could carry his speed and stamina a distance of ground, as a quality 3-year-old in mile races.\u00a0 Certainly she’s running to her pedigree and has done well in the BBRS, so a repeat here is not unforeseen.

Rendezvous Rate<\/STRONG> [Diamond Green(FR) x\u00a0Stutz Blackhawk x Dashing Blade(GB), trained by foxon6<\/STRONG><\/EM> for Foxon Stables] is another BBRS vet, with appearances in five stakes, with two victories.\u00a0 And she’s a nice filly racing against her own kind, winning both the Bargain Oaks and its prep, the Ozark Diamond.\u00a0 She has some tactical speed, but usually prefers to come from off the pace, and it fits alright here, in spite of a lack of initiative-taking candidates.\u00a0 The middle distances suit her, and while she too doesn’t have the tendencies to experience success outside the series, this can be overlooked in a still developing 3-year-old.\u00a0 The speed figures are a little concerning, hovering as they are in the mid-90s, with her best being a 96 in an open allowance two back, against colts.\u00a0 What bothers me here is making her debut against older fillies who have more experience and the capacity to get better results because of their greater experiences.\u00a0 A 100 may not be a requirement here, but the ability to prove you can hit that barrier with a degree of regularity to contend is always a plus.\u00a0 Youth is on her side, though, and having her two BBRS wins come by a combined three and three-quarter lengths should give her confidence enough to fit snugly alongside the relative heavy hitters here.\u00a0 Her sire was a capable grass miler both in North America and in Europe, and the DDS was a group winner from seven to ten furlongs; DS Stutz Blackhawk was a solid iron horse in the Midwest and could sire horses who won going a great distance of ground as well as general routers.\u00a0 The ability is there in the pedigree at the middle distances, and the rest should come down the line, but she may very well be a touch green facing her elders for the very first time.\u00a0 Or she may score with a bump in the speed figure; them 3-year-olds are fickle.

Rundo<\/STRONG> [Wando x Sort x Hermitage, trained by runvus1<\/EM><\/STRONG> for Hawkz Racing Stables] has some clear advantages here.\u00a0 She’s not new to the BBRS, having been second in the Bargain Oaks last year and in the spring she was fifth after setting the pace in the Death Valley.\u00a0 And she can hold her own against some decent allowance fillies, having broken 100 three times, most recently in a wire-to-wire allowance score last out.\u00a0 She’ll be on the lead, and while odds are against her being alone up front, she’s got possibilities to withstand pressure, depending on who’s helping her out.\u00a0 The interesting stat, though, is she’s 5-for-12 at a mile (including the series stakes wins)\u00a0but 0-for-3 at a mile and a sixteenth.\u00a0 She may require more restraint or more fortitude to keep her in the mix in the stretch.\u00a0 I like her sire, Wando, who was very talented a few years ago in Canada and won their Triple Crown in 2003.\u00a0 He’s done well for me, and can certainly sire a horse to handle a distance of ground.\u00a0 Sort has class oozing everywhere, as a half-brother to Nureyev, and a half to the dam of Sadler’s Wells and\u00a0Fairy King as well as the dam of Numerous—it’s a very talented female family all over.\u00a0 And, very curiously, Hermitage, the DDS, is technically a nephew of Sort, as his granddam is the dam of Sort.\u00a0 There will be a test on this later.\u00a0 It’s a pedigree with a lot of Northern Dancer, and more contorted family relationships than the Kardashians.\u00a0 This should mean there’s a preference for distance, but there’s, as we can tell, a certain limit.\u00a0 Might this be a sixteenth past her breaking point?\u00a0 She’s fast, but she’ll need to reserve some speed here for the late charges of the favorites.\u00a0 Otherwise, this is a likable filly with a lot of upside to her.

My selections:

1. Shadowy Muff
2. Rundo
3. Gyron
4. Tap Dancer Semvi
5. Light Is On
<\/STRONG>
Good luck to all, and thank Knightmare for the BBRS and all the entrants and connections for their willingness to, whether in breeding or finding talent on the cheap that can run, think outside the box in the Sim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener On The Other Side Of The Budget<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}