HicCups first, then Cups

Many owners have responded to the slightly disappointed tone of my blog entry below with some wise words of logic and encouragement

Mick and Wendy wrote-
Many a very good horse does not get to the track until a 3 year old. Good news is 95% of the time horses just grow out of shin soreness, and other than that KW has made it through 2 full preparations without any other problems. So the signs are that he has some ability and is generally a good sound type. Here's hoping next time in we get to meet and have a beer at the track.

Eddie says-
Agreed.Just look at the race record of Might & Power on which bloodlines and genetic crosses KW’s mating was developed.

and Warren replied-

In the past I think have had only 2 out of 16 or 17 (or so) previous horses race as 2YO's (both won but one of them ended up with bone chips and had years in the paddock after two wins at 3 and after a lot of tlc won again at 6 - albeit by that time in the backblocks where I was living at the time) so I am patience personified! Just about all the rest of them commenced racing at three years after two or three preps. I don't know sometimes how people get some 2YO's into the top races - must take a lot of pushing - and I suppose who can blame them with the money out there for the very best??).

And Eddie, you would be pleased to know that I ran into Denis Roberts (Trevannah Stud Principal) one evening at Woolworths in Scone (doing the grocery shopping - both of us were!) and mentioned the then unnamed KW to him because I knew he had been in a Trevannah draft at the sales. His face absolutely lit up and he said he always, always rated him highly. He said he always had the natural athlete thing going and that we were sure to have a lot of fun with him. His words were "he is a racehorse". Enough said.

Haven't gone deeply into the pedigree yet and appreciate the background as to what you did with the mating plan. The bloke who owns Tesio Power is our NZ correspondent for Turf Monthly so I will get him to do a comparison of both and send it to me. I will pass it on to you.

I can wait for quite a while yet-

Khamsin may be Arabic for 'fifty' but it could also be Aussie for 'heartbreaker'. Just when the owners were starting to think about what hat to wear for his first start in only a few weeks we got the following news-

11/07/08 After galloping on Thursday morning the horse pulled up shin sore; was quite excited about him as his work the last week has been really good; we have been fighting shin soreness with him sometime now and it doesn't look like we are winning. Will go to Carramar Park today for 4 to 6 weeks which may turn out
for the best as he has had an interrupted preparation.
Regards, Gerald Ryan

That's another win he owes us.

Invincible Spirit Adds UK Stakes Success

Invincible Spirit (Green Desert-Rafha, by Kris) added a juvenile stakes-success when 2YO colt Light The Fire (Invincible Spirit-Rouge Noir, by Sain Ballado) won the £30,000 (A$62,000) Listed Dragon Stakes (5 furlongs) at Sandown Park for 2YOs. Ridden by Jimmy Fortune for Brian Meehan, Light The Fire beat off a spirited challenge by fillies April Pride (Falbrav-Hasta, by Theatrical) & Moss Likely (Clodovil-Lichen, by Lycius). Source: Racing and Breeding Magazine

First Start Imminent

Gerald feels Khamsin Warrior does not need another trial before his first start. Graham inspected KW this morning after the Rosehill Trials and says he looks fit and composed for his assault on the track.

Geoff visited too, at 6am, and caught him as he was being led 'off to work' on the track. He appears to have beefed up a bit in the last few weeks but some of that may be fat, courtesy of his recent few weeks of recuperation without too much exercise. Another few weeks will see that go and he should be race fit for start number one.

Gerald will give him a serious jumpout on Tuesday of next week and then enter him for a suitable race at Canterbury if he comes through OK.

Another K(h)amsin

Kamsin too strong in German Derby
GERMANY - Kamsin made all the pace on soft ground in the Gr 1 German Derby and had plenty of power in reserve for a comfortable victory in the classic at Hamburg.
Trained by Peter Schiergen, Kamsin cruised across the finish line three lengths in front of stablemate Ostland, who beat British-based Top Lock by a half-length for second in the 16-runner field.
Kamsin covered the 2400 metres in 2:39.29, providing Schiergen with his third victory in the race. A five-time champion jockey and three-time leading trainer in Germany, Schiergen won the German Derby in 2001 with Boreal and with Schiaparelli in 2006.
In a departure from original plans, Kamsin was sent to the front early by jockey Andrasch Starke and had too much in reserve for Ostland and Gr 2 King Edward VII Stakes third-place finisher Top Lock.

Source: Turf Monthly

You can see Kamsin's German Derby victory courtesy of youtube.com by clicking here: Kamsin wins Deutsches Derby

Good News

1.7.08 Gerald's progress report this morning means the new (financial) year has started with good news for owners. See below-

"Back working full time now; taken us a long time to get him over his cold; will probably jump out in 2 weeks prior to trialing again; has done extremely well during his easy time" Regards, Gerald Ryan

Let's hope this is an omen, not just for a start soon but also for some prizemoney to accompany it.

Invincible Spirit Adds UK Black-Type

In the UK, Invincible Spirit (Green Desert-Rafha, by Kris) added a juvenile black-type success when Irish-bred daughter Baileys Cacao (Invincible Spirit-Baileys Cream, by Mister Baileys) scored a 2-lengths victory in the Listed Empress Stakes (6 furlongs) for 2YO fillies at Newmarket. Baileys Cacao (ridden by Richard Hughes for trainer Richard Hannon) defeated fellow Irish-bred Select (Choisir-Intercession, by Bluebird) & Aunt Nicola (Reel Buddy-Night Gypsy, by Mind Games). Source: www.breedingracing.com