While I was scanning headlines tonight I came across this little item… Boboman Retired, will stand at Walmac Farm.

The eight-year-old Kingmambo horse out of Slewvera, by Seattle Slew, was bred in Kentucky by Wertheimer & Frere. A winner at two, he raced in the United States for Racing Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and won the 2006 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G1) in his stakes debut.

Boboman also ran third to Lava Man on the main track in the 2007 Santa Anita Handicap (G1). Overall, he won four of 17 starts with five third-place finishes and earnings of $444,363.

First off, he wasn’t already retired? When was the last time he raced? But moving on to the real reason I bring him up, he was a crucial sign post for me on the road to spotting and loving horses poised to make a jump in class.

Right after the Breeders’ Cup 2006 was when I had the fever, all I wanted to do was handicap. Swifty and I devised a plan where we would pick a race or two every weekend and give ourselves a fake $50 per race to wager with as “practice” (this was before we discovered ADW accounts). The 2006 Hollywood Turf Cup was one of those races (past performance).

Part of our plan was that we kept a spreadsheet with our picks and reasoning. I distinctly remember being on the phone discussing this race. One of the first things out of both of our mouths was that we didn’t get Boboman’s odds (9-1) considering this was a G1, his first stakes race and that horses like Artiste Royal, TH Approval, Cosmonaut and Meteor Storm were proven in graded company. Sure, he was coming off two wins but WTF?

My notes & wager where:

Artiste Royal closer close on TH Approval’s heels every race.

$16 WPS Artiste Royal (wow, I’ve come a long way!) and $2 on long shot Mighty Mysterious.

And Swifty’s notes & wager were:

TH Approval horse to beat but Symphony Sid & Boboman wild cards

$50 Place TH Approval (not sure what’s worse, the place bet or noting Boboman and not (fake) wagering… he’s also come a long way!)

No replay over at YouTube but he sat off a moderate pace and then came on strong to win by a length… and he did it with relative visual ease (chart – full card). Swifty and I immediately got on the phone after the race and in unison said “Boboman” in that “duuuh” tone when you overlook something that you shouldn’t have. We also went on to discuss class jumps and how our classy safe picks had bombed. For awhile “Boboman” was our shorthand for horse poised to make a jump in class.

Learning this lesson has served me well over the past few years as finding a horse poised to make a jump is one my favorite angles. Thank you Boboman, have a great retirement!