Nutty News Day

Tiznow, awaiting his date with Pepper’s Pride (jeandiva)

Seems like a bit of a nutty news day today. Storm Cat will be starting a new career as a Quarter Horse stallion. While it may seem like an odd drop in class, apparently it’s not unheard of.

Storm Cat, 28, is not the first Thoroughbred stallion to sire foals from Quarter Horse mares. Leading sire Alydar did so when he stood at Calumet Farm near Lexington.

“I was told that Hennessy (by Storm Cat) had two stakes winners out of five Quarter Horse mares,” Waldman said about the deceased stallion.

And taking a jump in class in the shed is the recently retired and undefeated record holder Pepper’s Pride, who’s booked to the talented Tiznow. The internets had something to say about both of these news items!

Filed under “this should happen more often” it was announced again that Proud Spell would be returning to training! Since it happens so infrequently I found it just as exciting the second time it was announced as the first!

From the “Hey, wasn’t I just whining for something like this” department, it was announced that CHRB is launching what looks to be an expansive and potentially thorough pilot study of the synthetics surfaces.

“The plan is to have a team to collect data on a daily basis,” Breed said of the pilot study, which he said would involve CHRB investigative staff, track stewards and racetrack maintenance personnel. He said the collection has already started.

“The idea is to find out what the tracks are doing throughout the year,” Breed said.

A soils scientist/engineer, working with veterinarians and in cooperation with horsemen and racing associations, will test the racing surfaces. Synthesizing the results with current research and studies of tracks in other jurisdictions, standards that can be measured and compared would be developed.

A track steward in charge of safey [sic] would be responsible for seeing that the standards, once developed, are enforced.

According to a staff report, the pilot study will address areas of concern such as permeability, absorption of impact at various temperatures, and the effects of climate change and organic contamination.

I wonder if they knew of the dog that did not bark?

And from the “ghosts of Derby’s past” department, Peruvian mystery horse Tomcito from the 2008 derby trail showed up on the work tab yesterday at Palm Meadows Training Center! Ok, I read it today so it seemed like a news item from today.

You may remember that Tomcito did not have enough earnings to make the Derby and had drop out of the Belmont due to congestion. Since then it’s been nothing but silencio hasta ahora.

Albeit, none of these stories are as nutty as a commercial flight landing in the Hudson River around 48th street with only one injury… now THAT’S nutty!

Update: Tomcito worked again today, just three days from his first work in several months. You guessed it, nutty!