We won the wrong race!
A nice job by Jordan Blair getting Patrick's Day to the winner's circle in his first try on the weeds. While Patrick's Day is statistically bred more for dirt than turf, his brother Wilcox Inn was an outstanding turf performer who butted heads a number of times with Paddy O'Prado...with Paddy usually coming out on top.
The good:
Ice got beat by three lengths from second place and two million dollars.
The bad:
This was the fifth race in a row with Ice moving backward. While his race against the best horses in the world was okay, his effort last summer would have been a winning one yesterday. Last year Ice's potential stallion value was sky high and today that value has badly declined pending what happens in the remainder of his racing career.
I take our mutual desire to maximize the financial results of our partnerships very seriously and I will be evaluating what can be done to move Ice forward in that regard.
In the category of, "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln," I have to say that we had a sensational group of folks here in Dubai for the races. We were treated to spectacular hospitality and had a very good time enjoying each other's company. It was truly another example of, "Buy a horse and see the world."
As I often say, the reason winning big races is so special is because it is so hard to do. We surely win our share but it never seems enough after days like the World Cup.
And after a week with our four year old star we now head to Charleston and Elloree this week to check out our two year olds at the breeze show/luncheon at Frank Smith's training center. The forecast calls for rain but we will get a good look either way. Inside this new crop are some winners and you can hold me to that promise :).
What a horsey March this has turned out to be!
Jerry