If you happened to read the last post that had a similar picture to this one, you should have an idea of what this one is about. Following his third consecutive win in the Red Bank Handicap held at Monmouth Park, Royal Kiwi was entered in the Oceanport Handicap also held at Monmouth. 

What do A Bus, Smart Money, Princess Royale, Color of Fame, Daredevil, Southern Charm, Braveheart, and Star Studded have in common? Yes, they are all a part of the top 25 overall earnings list. But, that's not the answer that I was looking for. What if we add to the list the names of Fine Memories, Chatterbox, Vampirical, Blushing Approval, Nightwing, Missmelodramatic, Sir Empire, Case Closed, She's A Prize, Flow Diagram, Camena's Thunder, Led Astray, Faldo, Isca's Revenge, Retribution, Malvern Hill, Point Taken, A View to a Kill, Final Problem, and Two Thousand? Yes, that's a whole lot of total wins and money earned. But again, that's not the answer that I was looking for.

When I first joined Photo Finish, I took the $200,000 that was allotted to new stables and jumped into the fray known as the year end auction. One of the five horses I picked up in my first auction, was a Lemon Drop Kid x Pompeii filly by the name of Lava Drop. The big gray filly, acquired for the bargain price of $29,000, was our stable's first star. Over her stellar four-year racing career, Lava Drop won fifteen times from thirty-seven starts earning over $2.6 million. Her efforts kept the stable afloat in our inaugural season.

Back in week twenty-two, Royal Kiwi cruised across the finish line of the Red Bank Handicap to no fanfare. Looking at it objectively, should this victory have been noticed? It was a comfortable, three-length win by the 1:2 favorite. The other three horses in that field have a combined total of six victories to their name in sixty-five career starts. They have two PSR's of above 100...as a group! So, a heavy favorite easily won a race that he was supposed to win. What's the big deal?

Geezer Brigade not ready to be put out to pasture.

It's been a while since I broke down how the older contingent of my stable was doing. The eight 6 and 7YO's are still chugging right along. Through thirty-eight starts, they have failed to cash only twice. Their record stands at 38:9-12-6-9, $1,585,000. Their average PSR for the year stands at 95.183. You’ve got to love the geezers.

Something that's never been done before?*

Just this past week, Royal Kiwi won his third straight race on the year. While that’s nice, it really isn’t all that special. Many horses will do that every year, let alone it being “something that’s never been done before”. Here’s the kicker though, he was the defending champion in all three races.

As a 5YO, Royal Kiwi won the Red Bank Handicap and Oceanport Handicap at Monmouth Park. Both wins were accomplished in track record times, which still stand. The third win came in the Keeneland Turf Mile. He just missed a third track record by .02 seconds. His PSR’s for the three wins were 100, 116, and 108.

To start off his 6YO campaign, Royal Kiwi attempted to defend yet another title. In the Canadian Turf Handicap, he finished second by a quarter of a length. After the close miss and 101 PSR, he finished third in his next race with a 108 PSR. Then came the current win streak with PSR’s of 97, 111, and 104.

Royal Kiwi has one more race on his schedule for the 2013 season; the Dahlia Handicap at Hollywood Park (no, he won’t be defending). Depending on how that race goes will determine what he’ll be doing as a 7YO…going to the breeding shed or continuing on the track. If it’s the latter, I can make a pretty good guess on at least three of his races for next year.





* I’m just assuming that it’s never been done before. Someone may come up with another example, but this seemed like a safe assumption.
** It's been pointed out that Regal Son has also done this. Still, that's pretty good company for Royal Kiwi to keep.

Ok, here are the current BC Classic rankings. As an added bonus, I'm also going to include the top 20 times run at the Classic distance (and surface) for the year.

It's time to update the rankings again...

The Belmont "Controversy"

“I am very happy with Detonates 2nd place in the Belmont. Not sure I agree with the 11 length victory considering Gradient needed photos to win the first two, but it is what it is I guess.”


“So wait, he was losing with 3-4F left and he managed to win by 11 and crush Two Thousand, who had the lead at that point by 23 lengths?? Did he have a rocket strapped to his a**? Maybe an extra gas tank? And on a heavy track no less.”

These are two comments made on the forum about the Belmont Stakes from Doug of Underworld Stables. Now, I’m not going to use these quotes to bash someone. Besides, with a name like Doug, he’s got to be a good guy. The quotes did inspire me to take a deeper look at the race and do a kind of wrap up. Knowing me, it could get pretty lengthy. We’ll see how it goes.

A few weeks have gone by since the initial posting of the BC rankings, so it's time for the updated standings. I've decided to post all the rankings within one post, so as not to push too much off of the front page.