Mid Year Update

Half the year is done; it’s time to check in again with Average Joe and Project Runway.  They’ve had half the year to accumulate points and winnings.  As a reminder the goal is for each to make $500k and 50 points in one year of racing.  Can they make it?  The halfway mark is an excellent spot to check.

Average Joe is…lucky.  Very lucky.  He is in the 3 year old bracket and as such doesn’t have as much competition as Project Runway.  Most of the horses racing are not 3 year olds and so the races he’s been in haven’t been full.  As has been said they’ve actually been emptier than the ones his stablemate had been run in.  They’ve been so empty in fact that Joe has placed 1^st twice by being the only entry in the race!  He has yet to actually beat a single horse and has gotten all his points and purse by coming in last.  That said he has gotten his points and purse.  Average Joe has manage to reach his goal thanks to being raced way too much and lacking competition.

Average Joe’s: Progress: $535,500/$500,000 and 67/50 points  GOAL MET

Project Runway is over that magical 3 year old age and competing against horses of all ages.  As such she hasn’t had nearly as much success as Average Joe.  Just like Joe, Runway has yet to actually cross the finish line ahead of a horse.  She is always dead last.  The races she is in are also fuller and often outside the distance she’s comfortable with, which has caught up to her this month.  Project Runway was pulled up during the Apinti Distaff and will be out for at least a few months.  She is already quite a bit behind Joe, especially in purse earnings, and this only makes it that much likelier that she will not meet her goal.  Issalyn should take a hard look at how she’s running this poor mare.  This really is borderline abuse!

Project Runway’s Progress: $179,520/$500,000 and 31/50 points  INJURED

Two Months Of Success

The rosie light of a new week dawns on our two lovely 6 potential ponies. They are eager and chomping at the bit to greet the March races and show off to the crowds. We missed a follow up report for January.

Average Joe, the chocolate custom wonder, has already pulled in 21 points and $130,050 in lifetime earnings. Well on his way to his total goal. If he keeps on this path of winning at least $22,950 in each race he will actually surpass his $500k goal. Yah Joey! He did suffer a minor injury in the Chervil Sprint but Issa kissed his boo-boo and sent him off to his second January race where he actually managed to gain 13 points on his PR (54 to 67). He is proving to be a plucky young man! In February Joey raced twice with a 2nd and a 3rd. Who cares if he placed 24 lengths back in the first one, at least he crossed the line for his pay check. Who wants all that dirt kicked in your face anyways? I don't blame him for hanging back a tiny bit.

Project Runway, our sweet petite filly, hasn't done as well as Joey but she is still my favorite sparkling chestnut. Runway had a rough first two races, mostly user error considering both her first races were too long. Can't blame a girl for being upset and refusing to perform. You can't poo-poo two 4th places when she could barely stand the distance. Her next races in February left her in quite the tizzy she didn't know which way was which but races her little heart out and gave a valiant effort with a 4th and 5th. Those other fillies just need to stay AWAY from her races. She ended her 2nd month of races with 9 points and $33,660 a small start to her goal of 500k but she is just waiting for the right moment to truly shine. Never count a good girl out!

January Meet Report

The January meet overall went exactly as expected for the two sad horses Zadie Creek Stables has seen fit to race this year.  Both were entered in two races for the meet and both came in dead last in all of them.  The races were not very full so both got money and points by default.  They will be in trouble if the races ever fill up though; they just can’t compete with the real racehorses!

Average Joe has come back from the meet in better shape than his stablemate.  Oddly enough the races he was entered in only had two other horses in each so he was able to place 3^rd in both of them.  He earned a decent amount of points and purse as a result, but he can’t be this lucky every meet.  The goal set for him is very unrealistic.  But let it not be said that he doesn’t give it his all!  Joe doesn’t have much natural talent but he does have a lot of try in him.

His first race was the Chervil Sprint at Montgomery Park, where he crossed the finish line very solidly last, 26 lengths 2^nd place runner Hide The Hootch of Salt River Stables.  He ran a PR of 54 which is quite impressive considering horses of higher potential have run much lower, and without suffering minor injuries as he did.  Issalyn better pray “minor” is the worst he ever gets because if this horse misses a couple meets he will never meet his goals.

Joe’s second race was the Fences Dash over at Olive Pink Racing Club.  Poor horse really had to endure a lot of traveling between these two races as one is in the Eastern division and the other is a Western division race.  Here his performance was even better, and the 2^nd place horse was not nearly as good.  Joe was still last but crossed the finish line only five and a half lengths behind Steadfast of Turning Colors Farm.  He ran a PR of 67 in this race.  Again might be a good claims horse but shouldn’t be getting money and points in graded races like this one!

Average Joe’s: Progress: $45,900/$500,000 and 8/50 points

Project Runway was not as lucky as Average Joe.  She came home with less money and fewer points because the races she ran in were just a little fuller.  Runway was racing against three other horses in her two races and as such came in 4^th place in both.  She’s off to a rocky start and there’s no guarantee that she’ll even manage as well as she did this meet in the future!  Issalyn is expecting far too much from her…

Runway first ran in the Sunchales Distaff at Hipodromo Riachuelo, placing 4^th behind Privacy Statement of Thistle Bee Stables.  Surprisingly (or perhaps sadly would be a better word) she ran a PR of 50 yet crossed the finish line only three and a half lengths behind Privacy Statement.  As poorly as that horse was running Joe could have beaten her if he put in the performance of his second race in.  The two fillies were over 22 lengths behind the rest of the field, quite the sight.

Her second race was the Heritage Distaff over at Gallive Racecourse.  Again with shipping the horses all over the world, really Issalyn?  Project Runway performed very poorly in this race, coming in 4^th place 13 lengths behind On Your Left.  She only ran a PR of 38.  That’s not too surprising considering both races were 12F races, 2F out of her comfort zone.  The poor girl was run too long, twice over.  No wonder she couldn’t put in a better performance!  Could more be asked of her?

Project Runway’s Progress: $18,360/$500,000 and 6/50 points

The Impossible Project

The Project

Issalyn of Zadie Creek Stables purchased two horses to race for year thirteen that are quite unique. They have absolutely no business being on the track. Both have maxed stats at 6, and are the nightmare of every breeder. She plans of each horse getting 50 points and $500k in winnings in only one year. Best of luck to Average Joe and Project Runway, but these two horses need much than luck.

The Horses

Average Joe is a three year old custom colt.  He is a beautiful stallion, and I love his bold look. He is suited for both dirt and turf tracks, but that still will not help him much. He has a total whopping potential of 6. With all stats maxed at 1, this guy is dumb as a post. His stat genes are awesome but genetics don't make him run. He has a bright future as a pony horse that leads racers to the gate.

Project Runway is a four year old non-custom filly. Now this filly is beautiful! A pretty chestnut, with an adorable snip and stripe this girl will look great as she walks across the finish. She sure is pretty, but she's dumb as a rock. The only thing she should be running to is the breeding shed with those stat genes. Hopefully her pretty coat doesn't get covered from the mud the other horses will be kicking up.

The Verdict


Issalyn is as nutty as a bag of mixed nuts. I really think these horses can win, but only if all the other horses in the race get injured. Otherwise it is impossible that one of these horses will win, especially against this tough competition. Unless Issalyn can enter empty races every meet this isn't happening. I'm not going to wait around the winners circle anytime soon for these two.

Two Hopeful Prospect

The Project

Issalyn of Zadie Creek Stables, our fearless leader at Flying For Home, has undertaken a mission to show that even the lowest of low horse can earn money and points in our beloved game. She will be racing them this Friday for the first time in their quest for 50 points and $500,000 in purse money, to be earned in a years time.

  The Horses

Average Joe, is a big 100% Custom three year old chocolate bay stallion. He has a overall potential of 6 with far below average peer comparisons across the board. He has shown a lot of pep and energy on the training track. He is currently working on his surface preferences with a slight favoring to turf at the 8 furlong distance.
He is already showing a lot of consistency and courage in his pre racing efforts. His stat genes are proving to be excellent across the board which will surely give him wings in his first race, Fences Dash GIII.

Project Runway, is a dainty 4 year old dainty chesnut mare with big glowing white front stockings.
She also has a overall potential of 6 with far below average peer comparisons across the board. She has dual surface preferences at the 7-10 distances. This little
filly is already showing outstanding early speed with a great winning attitude. Her first race will be the Heritage Distaff GII today.

The Verdict
These two maiden horses will go down in the history books as being the little duds that could.
They will be shown to future players as an example of what any horse can achieve. Their future is
bright and I can't wait to see how the chips fall at the end of the year.

Rosie Raven Signing Off. 

Two Hopeless Prospects; One Impossible Goal

The Project

Zadie Creek Stables has acquired two new horses this year that are, for lack of a better way of putting it, slow plugs that could be out-run by most yearlings.  They are the worst racehorses to ever stumble onto the track and yet the stable’s manager Issalyn insists they can do as well as any allowance horse when it comes to earning points and money.  She claims that in one year of racing they will have earned 50 points and $500k in purse money each.  The two horses in question, Average Joe and Project Runway, will begin racing this meet.

The Horses

Average Joe is a 3yo custom colt trained to race well on both surfaces.  He’s a plain bay horse, not much to look at on or off the track.  The versatility won’t help him much however as he only seems to have one speed: snail.  Early in the race, middle of the race, late in the race…this colt has no speed to give.  There’s nothing special about the distance he can run either; this colt is a typical miler.  He’s also proven rather fussy and flighty on the track, not listening to his jockey and shying at the slightest hint of trouble.  The heart of a champion does not reside in this sad colt.

Project Runway is a 4yo non-custom filly trained to race on both surfaces equally well.  Sadly she is no better than Average Joe, fussing about on the track and running at the same pathetic speed the entire time.  She falls asleep in the starting gate and takes half the race to get up to her top speed-which again is far too slow.  This filly will limp across the finish line about 20 or more lengths behind the rest of the field.  Another miler, there is nothing to set this filly apart from the others aside from how fantastically bad she is.

The Verdict

It will take a miracle for those horses to get even halfway towards the goal set by Issalyn.  About the only way they stand a chance is to enter the emptiest of races for mooch wins because against real racehorses, even claims level horses, they can’t win.  They won’t even place in the money.  I don’t know why Issalyn is torturing herself, the staff at Zadie Creek Stables, and those poor horses in this manner.  Hopefully those two aren’t scarred for life at the end of year and can be turned into good OTTB pleasure/trail horses.