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#1
06-01-2023, 10:21 AM
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I’m Not Alright…You Need to Worry about my Mental Health…
Grade 1-placed winner Loggins , a 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper, has been retired, according to BSW/Crow Bloodstock.
Retired from what? Sitting at the farm for the past 8 months? Bred in Kentucky by Shirley and P.L. Blake's Pop-A-Top out of their homebred grade 3 winner Beyond Blame , Loggins was a standout at Fasig-Tipton's 2021 Saratoga Sale, its select yearling sale in New York. He was purchased for $460,000 for the Brad Cox Colts Group out of Denali Stud's consignment. Well, he made less than half that back on the racetrack, but I’m sure the balance was made up for in the excitement & emotion he stirred up in his 2 career starts. "When we bought Loggins in Saratoga, Brad Cox and I thought he was the best physical in the sale," said bloodstock agent Liz Crow. Why are you telling us this? I presume you are planning to schedule an appointment with you optometrist soon? You might want to also contact your lawyer in case Brad Cox hits you with a civil suit for slander… "We relooked at our list the evening before the sale and felt he was a must-have. He had athleticism, power, and was very mentally tough." This is my favorite… “Mentally tough”? Not “physically tough”? To be fair, I guess a horse has to be mentally tough to survive a stay at the Black Hole of WinStar Farm… Loggins showed his competitiveness immediately, winning his debut Sept. 17 at Churchill Downs by 8 1/2 lengths and earning a 100 Equibase Speed Figure. He stopped the timer after running 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.87. Stopped the timer in 1:15.87… So what is that, about 40% of his total racing career? Anyways, who cares about the Equibase Speed Figure? What about his Crow Mental Health Figure for the race? Trainer Brad Cox put the colt into graded stakes company in his next start, where he faced future 2-year-old champion colt Forte in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. Loggins captured the lead late down the backstretch and held it through the second turn. As he entered the stretch, Forte loomed on the outside to challenge, and they battled head and head, stride for stride to the wire with Loggins finishing a neck behind Forte. Both colts earned a 102 ESF for their performances. I know how to bolster this colt’s stallion resume…they ought to sue the connections of Forte since Forte only ran in the Breeders’ Futurity because his positive test in the Hopeful somehow precluded him from running in the Champagne, which was his intended next race… "Loggins was a beautiful yearling. I was quickly drawn to him given the fact we had trained the mare," said Cox. "He was a precocious, fast 2-year-old that showed brilliance from day one. Brilliant from Day One, eh? Must have been bliss those other 149 days of his racing & training career… His race in the Breeders' Futurity may have been one of the most impressive races by a 2-year-old that season. Hold on there… Not from a mental health standpoint it wasn’t… You could see the depression come over the colt as he and Forte awaited the stewards inquiry decision: Forte, head held high, dragging his handlers around…Loggins, head down, stumbling, looking like he wanted to lie down… No, methinks his Cox Mental Health Figure dropped a few points from his maiden win… "We were looking forward to running him in the classics after that performance. Unfortunately, he had a setback he could not come back from," he continued. I guess you shoulda looked forward to running him in the BC Juvenile first… "He was cut out to be special." So who’s to blame for his abject failure to have a true racing career? The trainer? The bloodstock psychoanalyst? Or the lack of access to proper mental health care in this country? Loggins was raced by Spendthrift Farm, Steve Landers Racing, Martin S. Schwartz, Michael Dubb, Ten Strike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, Big Easy Racing, and Winners Win. Took like a 100 guys to run this horse twice? How many of them does it take to change a lightbulb? Beyond Blame, an 8-year-old daughter of Blame , won the Regret Stakes (G3T) on her way to earning $238,630. Made more than her son…must have been both mentally & physically tough? She is out of the Forest Wildcat winner and multiple stakes producer Quippery , who is a half sister to grade 2-placed, grade 3 winner Bellera and grade 3 winner Life Imitates Art . The immediate family produced multiple grade 1 winner and sire Street Boss and multiple grade 1 winner Jack Christopher. Family Street Boss & Jack Christopher? They combined to run less than 20 times…or in Loggins terms nearly 10 campaigns… Stud plans for Loggins are pending. Well, given his race record, I wouldn’t plan beyond the first 2 matings… 
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#3
06-13-2023, 10:24 AM
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Loggins to Hill 'n' Dale
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That said, he is a phenomenal sire of female sprinters (Goodnight Olive, Judy the Beauty, Paulassilverlining, Guarana). Quote:
Even so, Ghostzapper has been an inconsistent sire; he’s cracked the leading sire top ten 10 only twice since 2014, one year on the back of Shaman Ghost’s Pegasus Faux Cup earnings (when it was $12 million) & the other when Mystic Guide walloped Chuwa Warrior & Sleepy Eyes Todd in a weak renewal of the Dubai World Cup. Quote:
Better late than never, right? Quote:
And if you are so certain that he was a Grade 1 talent than there’s no reason to regret that he didn’t accomplish more on the racetrack…but we both know that’s not true. Quote:
Even that was difficult as he spent most of the time at the Black Hole @WinStar. Quote:
Remember, as George Costanza said: it’s not a lie if you believe it… Quote:
What do we need races like the the 3yo classics, the Met Mile, etc. for then? Meanwhile, I won’t delve into Maclean’s Music’s stud career but sufficed it to say, his top runners aside from champion Jackie’s Warrior were one hit wonder Cloud Computing & flash in the pan Drain the Clock… Quote:
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Some physical. I know, I know; there’s no way to know that a horse is going to get hurt (“it’s too bad”) with all the “stepped in a hole”& “it’s part of the game” & whatnot. Certainly can’t make any predictions based on a horse’s physical attributes. Quote:
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At any rate, apparently Liz Crow (who refuses to eat crow on this horse) also was going to buy Loggins regardless of future earnings on the racetrack. Horse didn’t even make half his purchase price back. I’m sure they’ll mention this later in the article. Quote:
You want a talking horse? Go grab some peanut butter. Quote:
I guess considering his subsequent fragility, I presume he was “under wraps” in more ways then one. Bubble and whatnot… Quote:
Conspiracies aside (save that for “must-haves” at the yearling sales), is that how low we have to stoop to advertise a stallion? "Overpriced at the sales & favored in a race that he lost"…Sign me up. Quote:
“Forte beat Loggins.” or "Forte showed more heart than Loggins." Quote:
4 made it to the race. None of them won. They didn’t win the Preakness or Belmont, either. Quote:
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#5
06-13-2023, 11:33 AM
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What does Lauren Stich have to say?
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#6
06-13-2023, 11:43 AM
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#7
06-13-2023, 11:26 AM
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Isn’t Preakness winner Rombauer still in training? What more does he have to prove? I realize the Preakness win is probably dragging him down a bit but he finished a solid 2nd in the G1 American Pharoah in only his third start. Isn’t that enough?
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#8
06-14-2023, 11:59 AM
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__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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