More pics

These were taken by co-owner Dean at NC's "winter residence"

Which one is Northern Cotton ?

I'll give you a hint, she has 4 legs and a tail....hmmm need more hints? OK, that's our favourite horse with Lefty the cat who , coincidentally,  is on the left side of the picture.

Whooooooa....it's been a while

Northern Cotton is currently on a farm near Starbuck , and while she's not sipping on a latte . she is  taking a break . Her life has been pretty hectic since we purchased her in April . She's traveled  from Florida to Winnipeg , trained hard,  and raced 3 times. She needs a holiday and time to just be a horse .

We hope to bring her to Phoenix in late December or early January, get her back in shape and race her a couple of times down there.  We'll then make a decision, based on how she does down there, as to where she will race for the spring and summer. 

The Circle of Winning

Well here we are in the Winner's Circle. I'll skip family and friends for now and just identify the owners and handlers

Trainer Rob is at the far right with jockey Gustavo Ortiz on NC . His groom (will get his name soon)  is hanging on to Cotton. Bill, the one who selected Cotton and bought her at an auction is in the blue shirt with white stripes. Skip to Dean ( yellowish shirt) who is no doubt telling Jocelyne that he was the one that actually selected Cotton ( just kidding Dean) . You probably recognize the guy in the white shorts.  Skip to Larry in the blue shirt ( owner of Oscar's Deli, great food !)  and then Michel in the green cap. Michel is pondering his next interview for Radio-Canada and how he was the one that actually selected Cotton...

More of those to come ?

More random thoughts

This should be easy as most of my thoughts are pretty random

• Woke up to my third race morning and there's always something special about it . Not quite Christmas , just a feeling of excitement.
• Darn, still only 11 AM, I do more organizing in my office
• We have lunch at home and head out . We arrive at 12:30 and there's already lots of people at the track. It's the last racing day of the season plus it's beautiful out so everyone is coming out.
• I go watch her in the paddock . She looks like a pro , not as goofy as she looked  in her first race but feisty enough to show she means business.
• The favourite is #4 , not sure why as she's never run a race. NC is second favourite running as #5 . Apparently the trainer of #4 has been making lots of noise about his horse beating ours. We put his quotes up in NC's stall as motivation.
• I get in the wagering line up  and I hear people betting on #4, I snicker silently. 
• Mitch Bourbonniere is there with his son Joseph. Mitch is Maurice Bourbonniere's son . Maurice and my Dad were great friends and often went to the track together. I'm glad Mitch is here today.
• Co-owner Michel Simard tells me " I have a good feeling about the race"...I start worrying.
• As usual the race comes all too quickly and they're off. She breaks well but #4 breaks even better. I think I see #3 (blue) take the lead until my son Martin says that's NC, #5 (green) . As a Bomber fan you'd think I'd know the difference between blue and green, but for once I'm cheering green !
• They head into the turn and I can tell NC is not going to let up as she did in her first 2 races . They head into the stretch and I know she's got it. She wins with ease (almost 5 lengths) . I swear she could have run another mile .
• Hard to remember what happened next. Joc had run to the front while NC was coming down the stretch and then came running back to me for a hug. Sister-in-law Colette was just as excited as we were....maybe she bet a grand on NC ? Was great to walk to and enter the Winner's Circle. I've seen so many others do that before me. 
• We get our picture taken. Oh crap, I wanted Martin to join us in the circle, too much excitement ....la prochaine fois Martin.
• Joc and I wanted to go see NC but they had to hose her down and take her back to the barn for a vet check ( the horse...not Joc)  .You knew it was coming didn't you...
• I bet the next race and cash in a $245 quinella and then make $170 on a Win bet in the sixth. Horse racing seems so easy on certain days. And then there's most days...
• We have a couple of drinks at my sister's , then head to Cafe  22 for supper, where, once again, they have no pasta. 
• Rather sad to see the racing season end, what are we going to do with NC over the winter ?   

Here's the replay

Check out the replay at  http://www.assiniboiadowns.com/race-replays.cfm

Pick September 25 and race 1 and enjoy the thrill

She's a winner !

     Northern Cotton of the Quest D'or Stables broke her maiden ( I know, it sounds painful ) by easily  winning her first race .  She broke well, stayed behind the leader for a bit , edged out in front  in the backstretch and easily took control of the race winning by almost 5 lengths . She beat #4  the favourite ( who had never run a race) very convincingly and appeared to have plenty in the tank when the race was over.
     Great way to end the season and a great birthday present for Jocelyne. Now we have to figure out what to do with her over the winter ! More thoughts this week after I calm down...

Running this Sunday !

Race #1 on Sunday Sept. 25 ( oh, that's somebody's birthday as well !!! ) .  We'd love to see her run a strong race and set the tone for next year as a 3 year old. If she wins , that's a bonus .

See you there!

Oh yes, the birthday person...the birthday girl...the girl who has had quite a few birthdays. The girl who has had more birthdays than me . She will be there as well!

Resting up

I've been a bit negligent in posting, then again all is quiet on the western stables.  Bill is gone to Copenhagen and the owners will probably get together when he returns.

We will run her again sometime in September and then figure what to do with her once the ASD season closes at the end of the month.

Both NC's biggest and smallest fan !

Check out the sign Emma ( daughter of one of my coworkers ) made for the race .

Great job Emma, thanks !

A better race

She finished fourth and ran a much better race than last time and that was very encouraging. She was in a tough field especially with Balooga Bull in there. He's probably the best 2 year old to come out of Assiniboia Downs in a long time.
She was in post position 1 and got off to a bad start.  Looked like she slipped towards the rail and lost some ground. She then showed a lot of speed and almost caught up to Balooga Bull who had taken the early lead.  She was forced towards the rail and that seemed to intimidate her a bit. She slipped to third in the turn and couldn't hold it in the stretch finally finishing fourth .Baloogo Bull won by 8 and a half lengths in a time of 1:11.2 , very fast for 2 year olds in a six furlong race.
What's next  for NC ?

She's running again

  Saturday , 3rd race, Osiris Stakes , post position #1 . She'll be running against the boys and she's the only filly in the field . I'm getting giddy/anxious/nervous already...

New wardrobe

Because Northern Cotton  will be running in some stake races she needs some silks. For most races horses will wear a color corresponding to their post position . For example, number 1 will wear red, number 2 white, number 3 blue,etc... In a stakes race the horse will wear the stable colors. Here's the design we've picked : black with gold stripes down the sleeves and on the back will be a pot of gold with a black Q on the pot. Nice representation of  the 'Quest d'Or Stables' and it should look  pretty cool .
I'm sure all the other horses will be wearing that next year...

More visitors to the stable

Here's my sister Janet with her partner Ron. Why is Janet trying to punch my horse?

Why yes, I do work with horses...

I was watching a yearling auction  live over the Web from Saratoga  NY . Horses were going for 100 grand . That's a lot of money to invest in an animal that may decide "you know...racing is not my thing" .  I did enjoy the gentleman in the nice suit shoveling whatever "droppings"...ummm...dropped and disposing them in a very dignified manner.

Another workout, great ! You said what time ?!?!?!

Bill wanted to know if anyone wanted to join him to see Northern Cotton workout at 6:30 AM.  I wouldn't wake up at that hour to see a Playboy playmate workout, let alone a horse. That reminds me, there was a Miss Northern Cotton in the July 1994 Playboy edition....sorry, my mind was wandering... 

She did very well and we're looking forward to the next race. It's coming up soon , I'll post more details when we're certain .

Revenue rolling in...

By NC finishing fifth we get a cut of the $12,000 purse and it looks like we made around $300   Let's  see, divide that by 6 owners, and I can buy a 24 of beer !  And who said horse racing wasn't profitable...

Some random thoughts on race day

 

• Some of the owners met Friday morning for breakfast. We finalize that NC will run Saturday, second race . Bill figures that she's good in the outside spot as there is no one on her right to bump in to . She's also the last to load in the gate which is good. I order the Western omelet...yum
• No issues for me  falling asleep  Friday night . I hope Northern Cotton is sleeping well.
• It's race day ! Every hour I announce how much time left before post time. Joc is getting the rolling pin out. 
• We eat our hamburgers ( made on the BBQ by moi ) and head to the track. For the first time I'm feeling a bit nervous. 
• We get to the track at about 6:50  and wow, there's lots of cars already  . More people to admire us as we strut to the winner's circle ?
• I see a bridal party. Looks like a marriage will take place in the winner's circle. Sure  enough I check the program and the fourth race is a "Go to the Post" wedding race. OK, I promise not to make any 'nag' jokes.  
• Our friends and family are already there. It's great to see them and I'm happy they came. However there's a part of me that just wants to be alone, kind of take in the moment by myself. It would have been nice if her race came later on in the night.
• I feel a certain amount of pressure that she needs to do well. As if I'm being judged by how she does.
• I don't study the first race at all. I make my 2 standard bets and don't try anything else. Did I win....HA !
• I make my bets early for race 2 . The guy at the track who comments on every horse  says that "there's a lot of money on Northern Cotton"  
• This is unlike any race I've ever waited for. I don't even care about my bets
• Time is just flying by , 2 minutes to post already !
• And they're off ! Not a bad start...she's in fifth but definitely in the race...she's coming up as they head into the turn...I kind of lose her in the turn...they're coming down the stretch and she ain't gonna do it....fifth place
• Disappointment is my first feeling...as if grey reality has set in. I can see that people aren't quite sure what to say, even though I warned everyone that she could well finish last . 
• I talk to Bill. He has some good insights in to what happened. She ran like a green horse . I learn later that Cotton came through fine, no injuries or health issues.  We'll get 'em next time.
• We invite friends over to our place for some drinks. Great way to wind up the evening  as we sit outside on the warm summer bugless night . Fantastic day...

OK, it's a start

Fifth place...

She came out the gate OK and seemed to be making headway approaching the turn. Jockey Janine Stianson said after the race that on 2 occasions she was getting dirt in her face( the horse not Janine)  and she had to hold her up . She then had trouble getting her going again. Going down the stretch she kept turning her head towards the grandstand( the horse not J...OK no more of that joke) . Maybe she was looking for us...

A Bill said, she ran like a rookie. She was the only horse that had never run a race and it showed.

Check out this link if you want to see a replay . Pick July 30, Race 2 , she's number 7 ( outside position) 

http://www.assiniboiadowns.com/race-replays.cfm

 She'll do better in her next race . And hey, Secretariat finished fourth his first time out...

I told you not to turn left at Albuquerque

So Michel Simard and I are meeting some of the other owners for breakfast on  Friday morning.  We enter the stable grounds and decide to drive to Rob's stable . We figure that with Michel's pick up truck we'll fit right in . So I tell Michel to hang a left and we find ourselves on a bumpy potholed filled road . No, it wasn't Portage Ave , it was exactly the type of road Michel's pick up truck should be driving at the Assiniboia Down's stable area.  I see a jockey on a horse and I give a friendly wave...no response. As we keep driving we notice angry glares from whomever we pass. It dawns on us that we shouldn't be driving this road at this time as trainers are taking their horses out for workouts.  More angry glares as I slump in my seat leaving Michel as the only visible person in the truck.

Yes , another honest yet rookie mistake , as Bill explained the nuances of stable road driving.  It seems that horses take priority, as well they should.

It's post time !

Saturday July 30

Second race

Number 7

Time for her to show us what's she's got...

Last workout before she runs ?

It's looking like she may run sometime on the last weekend of July . She ran well Saturday morning ( July 23) and looked great breezing down the stretch . We'll know for sure later this week...stay tuned !

Some info on Northern Cotton's trainer , Rob Atras

Rob is also a co-owner, check out this story in the Winnipeg FP

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/horseracing/hey-atras-were-you-born-in-a-barn-123602934.html

Is it possible....yes ! more pictures !

These were taken by my son Martin , a very talented phorseographer

Ummm Joc...I think there's something odd about our daughter

Beautiful shot

Pictures from a workout...

Here are some early Saturday morning pictures

Joc appears to be wearing her "lucky bunny" hat

I love this shot !

Jockey David Lopez aboard

Proof that she's for real !

We brought our camcorder to her latest workout . Jocelyne was able to record a good chunk of it. It's a little wobbly at first ( the video, not the horse) . She  looks great as she's coming around the turn ( the horse, not Joc...OK I'm done with that joke)  .
Enjoy !

Official Owner

Another workout on Thursday and all went well.  She's getting some positive comments from others at the track ( other people not horses...well, maybe horses too )  so that's always encouraging.

I received  my official "horse owner" badge  complete with my  picture...and I look pretty good too. At least that's what Northern Cotton said when I showed it to her...I can now do the "badge wave" as I drive up to the security gates . Even more I can now mingle  with  multimillion dollar horse owners and say "Why yes, I'm an owner too ! "

Rob will work her out again this week and then we'll get serious about picking a race for her.

There's a new stable in town

And the name is  Quest D'or Stables !

Bill can neither spell nor pronounce it  and yes it only has one horse but  it  will be a name on everyone's lips ( for all the right reasons we hope )  .

Northern Cotton ( of the Quest d'Or Stables ! )  is still working out and making progress.  Exciting times ahead...

Decisions, decisions...

This horse ownership thing is harder than it seems. As an ownership group we , with the sage counsel of trainer Rob , will have to decide  on a few things. Do we run her this year ? If so , when ?  How will we know that she's ready ? Maybe we don't know until we race her . Maybe she does great, maybe she doesn't come out of the gate . What  if she does well, what do we do with her during the winter ? And we haven't even reached year 3 ! Keep in mind that the toughest horse decision I previously made  was "do I bet on the black horse or the brown horse ? "

Soon she'll be doing workouts with  other horses, stay tuned .

You've begged, you've pleaded, you've bribed me...but despite that, I'm going to do more posting

We went to see Northern Cotton last Sunday morning .  Or better known as 'Cotton'. Or better known as 'NC'.

She looks great , a little taller than last time I saw her . She's  feisty and is not one to be pushed around . On the track she wants to go hard  and show us what she can do. Here's a few photos  courtesy of co-owner Dean :

The owners met as a group for the first time with the exception of Rob who was away in Saskatoon . Much deliberation and deep thinking was going on....and that was just deciding what to have for breakfast . Looks like we make a good group , we tossed a few suggestions regarding  a stable name . Not quite the drama as picking the new NHL  hockey team name but hopefully we'll have an announcement soon !

Progress

Training is ongoing and all signs are positive. Rob took her out of the gate last week and let her run down the lane a little bit. She had her knees x-rayed to make sure they were mature enough to work her harder and all looks good . By the way, I had my knees x-rayed and they look very mature...

Slow but steady wins the race...right ?

You want me to prove I'm honest !?!?

One of the requirements for being a horse owner at ASD is to present  a criminal  record check, presumably with no records to check .  I went twice to the Winnipeg Police  Dept and on both occasions found myself in a long lineup (no pun intended) . In fact the second time , I had ticket 71 (again, no pun intended) and they were serving ticket 50...I left . So I've sent in the request by mail, and now Canada Post is threatening to strike. I was hoping my honest looking face would be a suitable replacement for the records check but apparently not.

Horsebites...

She had her teeth filed earlier this week and didn't like it. Who can blame her ! 

So far so good with her training. She practiced going into the starting gate and did just fine. Now if she can get out we'll be in business.

I have to get my ownership form filled out so we can get setup as a stable. It  looks like it hasn't been changed since 1934. If a form doesn't  ask for an email address...you know it's old. 

I know at some point she'll  run in a real race but right now that seems a bit blurry. Something like training camp for hockey  teams, where everyone thinks they can win the Stanley Cup...until reality settles in . 

I dub thee...

It is now official, the name of our horse is "Northern Cotton"  (Le Coton du Nord ! )

She still needs a barn name , something short, cute and informal . Something like calling Queen Elizabeth "Liz" .

Workin' out !

We discovered that Saturday morning in the stables area is a great place to be . It's even better when the sun is out and the temperature is mild. Seeing our horse run around the track was fantastic.  She looked great ( she looks better live than than in pictures) and  jockey Allison had to hold her back because she really wanted to go . We chatted with trainer Rob afterwards and , so far, everything is going very well. She's not as jittery as she was before , probably because she's used to the place and to Rob.

We should get the name approval this week though we still don't know which of our selections will be picked . I went into the commission office to get an ownership form and I came out with about 5 of them of different colours. Not to worry as Bill will take care of most of them ( partnership, authorized agent,etc...) . I just have to worry about the big decisions...when I have to make one I'll let you know.

No Timmy for you !

 We woke up at 7:45 on a Saturday morning to take a  look at our horse workout. I  didn't realize there was a training track north of the real track at ASD. There's also a cafeteria, appropriately referenced as "The  Kitchen" and the office of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission, amongst other offices . We made a serious  'faux pas' in The Kitchen when Michel and I brought in our Tim Horton's coffee cups and sat down with Joc at a table . Chef Barrie politely, yet firmly, informed us that he did not appreciate seeing 'foreign coffee' in his kitchen. We apologized for our rookie mistake and Michel left him a toonie for good measure.

I shudder to think what would have happened had we brought in a  latte...

Training Camp Begins

She started working out this week . On Friday she jogged 1 mile and then galloped for 1 mile and a half . According to Bill, she  looked like a pro. I can't wait to see her run, maybe next Saturday .

We need to fill out our ownership forms this week . I think being an owner gives me the right to visit the stables , get free admission at any North American race track, smoke fat cigars and wear outrageous hats. I'll be sure to exercise 3 of those 4 rights...

A Breed Apart

One thing I'm quickly learning is that in horse racing, breeding and past performance of the parents and grand-parents,etc... plays a huge role in buying a horse. When Bill( our horse purchaser) went down to the auction in Florida he was armed with information on the breeding line of hundreds of horses. This information is critical in both choosing a horse as well as the price the horse will eventually sell for. Of course Bill also had to make sure the horse had 4 legs and a tail...we trust him . Here's some pictures of a couple of our filly's relatives .

This is her grand-mother "Happy Tune" on her sire's ( father's ) side

She was sold in November 2007 for almost $2,000,000

Here is a picture of her father High Cotton , I love this image. He was sold for stud ( any male's dream) for over $400,000 .







Of course we all know that just because the parents and uncles and aunts were winners it doesn't necessarily follow the offspring will be ( are you listening Alain, Martin and Eric ? ) . It is an important  prerequisite though.

We finally meet !

Joc and I  drove down to Assiniboia Downs to meet both filly and trainer. She did seem a bit shy and jumpy ( the horse not the trainer ! )  but I sensed some intelligence, as if she was waiting a bit to see what kind of people we were before warming up to us . She had been through a long journey, Florida to Kentucky to Toronto to Winnipeg , about 45 hours. So she was probably undergoing some trailer lag. .As well,   her neighbour , Noble Causeway, has got to be one of the goofiest horses I've ever seen. I think our horse will ask for a new stall ! Trainer Rob Attras is going to take it easy with her for a couple of days , maybe start some light running later in the week. It's odd that I've been to the track since I was a kid but had never been in the stables area, its' like a different world. Here's a pic of her  with Joc and Rob:

Joc is the one on the left !

 

The horse whisperer I ain't

Final name selection

Here are the final selections for our filly's name

1) Northern Cotton
2) Cotton Gin
3) Cotton Quest
4) High Road To Gold
5) Straw to Gold


We should know soon

 Bill indicated that the filly was a bit shy and acts as if her previous handling was not as gentle as it could have been .  She'll be with a gentle groom and hopefully that will help

"Horsie" is fine but I need a real name

Still no name picked though we have no shortage of suggestions. Most are combinations of her 2 parents' names ,  High Cotton (sire)  and My Golden Quest (dam) .  The leading candidate so far is Northern Cotton  , though there may be an issue with a toilet paper product of the same name. I haven't found any reference to it on the web, maybe it's only sold north of Churchill...

The name selection process involves sending 5 names to the Jockey Club in  order of preference .The first name that passes their criteria test  will be it !

She's here !

She arrived safe and sound Saturday afternoon and is at her new home at Assiniboia Downs .

She's arriving tomorrow

She left Florida last week for a few days  Kentucky.  Scheduled to arrive in Winnipeg late Saturday !

How did I wind up buying part of a horse ?

My father and I always joked about buying a thoroughbred . Being fairly unsuccessful at picking winners at the race track we shuddered at what kind of a horse we'd actually wind up buying . So we tucked  the dream away and focused on our betting , which usually involved staring thoughtfully at the program for long periods of time and then picking a horse because the name "sounded good" .  By the way, we never bet on favorites, grey horses or any horse that won their last time out.  Don't ask me how our strategy worked out.

My father passed away in June of 2010  and I lost my racing partner. At the same time I had introduced my sons and some of my  friends , much to their chagrin, to  the wonderful sport of horse racing. One of  them, Michel, had a contact named Bill  who was going to a horse auction in Florida with a particular filly in mind.  Bill  asked if Michel and me were interested in sharing the cost , along with 3 others and we both said yes.  He grabbed her at a good price and I'm now the proud part owner of a 2 year old filly called ...ummm....she's not quite named yet..

And here she is :

 

I'm not sure I can see the part I  own

I want to document and share this experience. Maybe it'll be a quick story, race her once and  find out she can't run...maybe it'll be a glorious tale of winning race after race , allowing me the chance to brag about a wise decision I more or less lucked out on. I'm guessing it will be somewhere in between leaning towards the former . Who cares, I own part of a  horse so come along for the ride....