Sun, 5 Nov 1995
Hi Al,
I just got e-mail from Ken Shuffield, another TTBA member who
frequents the alt.sport.horseracing group. Some months back, he
watched (and bet on, and won with) one of the babies we sold last
year--that 2yo I've been talking about. I had seen that Sally
(Sally'sfirstchoice) ran the other day at Sam Houston. Ken had taped
the race and gave me a run down on it. The weather that day was
terrible--pouring rain which turned the track into slop. Sally drew
hole #1, which was a bad place to be in the slop. Ken said that the
rider stood up on him at the break, although he had broken well. Ken
also said that it seemed to him that the rider held him too long
before making the move--he was closing at the end, but not enough to
bring him in better than 4th. This gives me hope that he'll do
alright. He was nominated to run in the Groovy stakes Nov 18th, but
I have no idea whether they'll run him there. Keep your fingers
crossed for him!
Yesterday, we made the pilgrimage to Summers Mill farm in Belton. Drs. Ken and Linda Quirk, who own the operation, are some of our favorite people. They always keep a nice roster of stallions at the farm, and are always prominent in the world of Texas racing and breeding. The weather was terrible, and we retarded Ken's opening day foray in the woods, but I'm glad we went.
We were shown the new stallions for this year, with the exception of Devil's Diamond, a son of Devil's Bag, who should be there in 10 days or so. The first horse brought out for us was Diggin' In, a son of Mr. Prospector out of a Northern Dancer mare. This is his first year at stud. Next, they brought out a son of Fappiano, Fappiano Road. He also is standing his first year. Both were fairly nice horses. Bionic Prospect was the next out. He is a rather large son of Miswaki out of the Best Turn mare Bionic Babe. He is a MSW of $210,414 and stood last year at Fossil Creek Ranch in west Texas. The next two stallions were brought in from KY. To Freedom (Blue Ensign-Hindu Diplomate, by Diplomat Way) was Florida's undefeated juvenile champion and MGSW of $447,881. His first crop hit the groung this year. I like him alot, and he makes a nice outcross to many mares, as he is of the Ribot sire line (I love Ribot). We watched a video of some of his races, as he is a fast horse, no doubt about it. He does not possess the sterling pedigree which would have kept him in KY. Danzatore also is now at SMF. He seemed like such a gentleman. He is of the classic Northern Dancer- Raise A Native cross, and has produced some very nice runners. The last of the new stallions was Hyperborean. He also is an older horse, by Icecapade out of the Prince John mare La Queenie. He has been on a roll lately, having produced several stakes placed horses (in the past few weeks). We didn't pull out any of the horses tht have been there, but they include: Top Avenger, Walesa, Richman, Explosive Wagon, Triple Sec, Sunshine Today (full brother to Smile), Dmitri, Salt Dome, and Midway Circle.
I will always put in a plug for Ken and Linda because they treat people and horses SO well. The horses are always in great shape, and they make their customers feel comfortable. If anyone wants more info on their operation/horses, give them a call at (817) 939-7800.
Well, I'd better go corral the indians. Say hello to Jerry, and
let me know if you need anything.
Jill
The Running Horse (https://www.isd1.com/alauck)