Hard Spun Foals

[Happy Endings]

Shooting the Breeze had a nice workout yesterday. Four furlongs in 48.35. He is entered in an allowance race at Gulfstream on Saturday.

video: https://www.xbtv.com/video/workout/shoo ... 18th-2020/

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Green Light Go worked this morning. Will post video when available later today.

This is just an excerpt: https://twitter.com/LeahEngland8/status ... 74178?s=20

Full work: https://www.xbtv.com/video/green-light- ... 19th-2020/

[Happy Endings]

No big wins today, but Antoinette finished 3rd in the Fairgrounds Oaks and earned 20 points toward the Kentucky Oaks. Silver State finished 7th in the Louisiana Derby. Interesting to note that Hard Spun is the broodmare sire of the winner, Wells Bayou.

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We may be in for a bit of a lull in action as various racetracks suspend racing. So I am going to start looking for replays of some memorable stakes wins by Hard Spun babies .

I am going to start with Zo Impressive in the 2012 G1 Mother Goose Stakes.

Race: Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park
Winner: Zo Impressive (94 Beyer)
Jockey: Rajiv Maragh
Trainer: Tom Albertrani
Fast Fact: Zo Impressive got her first stakes win with the victory.

video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4p688zdDk0

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Next up is Questing. This is her allowance win on June 24, 2012, in race #1 at Belmont Park. She completed the mile in 1:34.14. This is the race that hinted at what was to come for this brilliant filly.

video: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/replays

Luckily the replays go back to 2012...just! Search for June 24, race #1.

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The next logical race to share is Questing's G1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, race #10 on July 21, 2012. Straight from an AOC to G1 competition. Easy peasy. This was a first G1 win for both her and her jockey, Irad Ortiz, Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQQt7m7bi-E

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Next is Questing's freakishly good win in the G1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, Saturday, August 18, 2012. Time was 2:01.29, fastest Alabama since Go For Wand in 1990. She earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. She is Hard Spun's only multiple G1 winner on the dirt so far. Zo Impressive finished 4th, came out of the race with a condylar fracture in her right front, and was retired.

https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/replays (this is a longer video and has footage of the winner's circle)
or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwQ4qSZmQE

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Meanwhile, down under, in Albury, New South Wales, Australia, Spunlago won the Listed Albury Cup on March 20. This was his first stakes win, and 79th stakes winner for Hard Spun. He's 8 years old and his record is : 56-13:5:5

video: https://racing.racingnsw.com.au/FreeFie ... FullReplay

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Next up is Hard Not To Like, who, like Questing and Zo Impressive, is a member of Hard Spun's first crop of foals. Unlike them, she did her best running on the grass. At 2 in 2011 she beat males in the Cup and Saucer Stakes at Woodbine. Her next stakes win was in the G3 Marshua's River Stakes in 2013 as a 4 year old at Gulfstream Park. She later won the G1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland, the G1 Gamely at Santa Anita, and the G1 Diana at Saratoga, beating Tepin at the wire and setting a new course record.

Here is a nice video recap of her career: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Ha ... &FORM=VIRE

The only place I could find a replay of the Cup and Saucer was here: https://www.tvg.com/results
The video is rather fuzzy. It's race #8 on October 15, 2011 at Woodbine.

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Here is a replay of Hard Not To Like's win in the G3 Marshua's River Stakes on January 5, 2013. This was her first graded stakes win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TMyT1wFsBs

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Video of Hard Not To Like's win in the G1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland on April 12, 2014. This was Hard Spun's second G1 winner that week. WIcked Strong had just won the G1 Wood Memorial a few days earlier, but we will get to that...

http://site-721961.bcvp0rtal.com/detail ... kes-replay

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Then there was Hard Not To Like's win in the G1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita on May 25, 2015. This filly got around! She earned a BSF of 93 for the win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIeBEYR5_9k

And since the YouTube video goes right on to her next triumph, might as well mention Hard Not To Like's win in the G1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga on July 25, 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBg8yRA55rs

Interview with John Valezquez after the race:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsCxm_i ... index=2646

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Another star of Hard Spun's first crop of foals is Big John B. He got off to a slow start, but caught on fire in 2014 as a 5 year old. After being claimed for $50,000 on April 11. He won his next 3 at Churchill Downs, Santa Anita, and Del Mar, respectively, which prompted his new connections to enter him in the G2 Del Mar Handicap on August 23. Suddenly he was a G2 winner and he did it easily.

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlFryGRRLcU

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Malpais is entered for a tag in race #9 at Oaklawn Park next Friday, April 10. Hard Spun hated that track and none of his babies have done anything there.

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Perhaps Big John B's most surprising victory was his win in the G3 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar in 2015. This is a dirt race and one of the commentators on TVG pronounced him a toss out as they were loading into the gate. Heh-heh! He received the second highest Equibase speed number of his career in this race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy4jvhDK6_I

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In his next race in 2015 Big John B successfully defended his 2014 win in the G2 Del Mar Handicap.

video: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Bi ... &FORM=VIRE

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Big John B's last stakes win was the G3 Toyko City Cup at 1 1/2 miles on the dirt at Santa Anita, April 3, 2016. He was a tough campaigner and finished his career with a record of 45-15-7-5. Have long wondered where he ended up. I hope he is in a good place. If anyone knows, please post here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ79f3Qg_iI

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Another multiple stakes winner in Hard Spun's first crop was FREE AS A BIRD. She specialized in sprints on the grass. She had her best year as a 5-year-old, reeling off 6 stakes in a row, starting on May 11 at Belmont Park in the License Fee Stakes, which was race #7 that day.

https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/replays

[Happy Endings]

Here's some current news! ROCKETRY worked today at Palm Meadows. 7 furlongs in 1:24.35! Great work!

video: https://www.xbtv.com/video/recent/rocke ... 12th-2020/

[Happy Endings]

Oh, wow, and ROCKETRY just had a birthday on Friday!

https://twitter.com/Centennial_Farm/sta ... 98304?s=20