Week 1 - Race Discussion

[markwales]

Hi everyone,

I've started this thread for everybody to discuss their chances in the week 1 races, maybe give us an insight into what your stables best chance of the week is, what your plans are post week 1, what your classic aspriations are for your stable etc etc

This all adds to the realism of the game, reading about the other stables, and actually becoming attached to your horses, and the other horses in the game.

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Mark.

[TheOldhamWhisper]

Here at Whispering Downs, we have a mixed bunch of youngsters - some very good looking early foals who will make their racecourse debuts very early in the season, a few backward types who will need careful nurturing to fulfil any potential they may have and one or two who may have a flourishing career on some sandy beach at a well known holiday resort in the northwest!

Our first runner of the season is a very nice filly who is the Rose of Oldham. She has progressed very well over the winter and has shown a liking for really fast ground. She lacks a bit in early speed and loses interest if we try to push her too far. She has real stamina in her bloodlines and later in the season we may test her at the longer distances but this week we will give her a runout at 7 furlongs (not her ideal trip, but she needs the experience). If the ground comes up on the firm side, she has a great chance of breaking her maiden at the first time of asking.

Stayzallday is a real mudlark and will be hoping the forcast rains will arrive in force - the heavier the better! A half-brother to Rose, he has the makings of a real stayer and will be looking to take a crack at the Ledger next year!

We are also sending our two best young sprinters into the foray in the last on the card. Early Promise isn't a 'true' sprinter and later in her career could turn into an 'Oaks' or 'Guineas' contender. She may not be ready to face such a strenuous outing this early and because she has shown some speed, sprint races may be the way to go this season. We have a relatively inexperienced jockey aboard, but he loves this horse and the filly seems to act well under his control, so he gets the ride ahead of some of our more well known jockeys. Shesagoer is a real handful at home, she is a solid sprinter who may get a mile but certainly no further! We are hoping the jockey booking plays a big part - he will have to be at the very top of his game just to get her to run in the direction she should be going!!

We will have a better idea where we are heading with the others when they develop a little, but we can say with full confidence that next year's 'Derby' winner will come from the Whispering Downs stable!!!

[mathare]

Will the Winners By Far stable live up to its name? Only time will tell and the season is starting with a cautious outing for some of the 2yo hopefuls.

Only four of the ten horses in training are going out on the road this week, although I think they might be better off running on the track so I'd better get them off the road sharpish. As this is a scary time for both the horses and the trainer we are sending the horses out in pairs and focusing on a small number of races.

The Stretchin' Out Maiden is our first target with Buck The Trend keeping The Mariner company there. I think both are in with a shout of this one. I'm looking for string performances from them both, which may be tough given the large field. The Mariner is definitely a promising miler and the muddy conditions will suit him down to the ground. Buck The Trend is hoping it doesn't get too muddy out there and is a consistent performer.

Race 10, Fillies Only Maiden is where you will see the gilrs represent the stable. Here you will see Flying Foxtrot and Friend Amine getting their first runs. It's hard to say how these will get on but I am expecting a big run from at least one of them. Hopefully they will make the early running and the better of the Whispering Downs runners, especially Shesagoer who I see as the main rival.

The remaining horses will stay at the stables and go through the normal workouts, readying them for some big races I have my eye on. I will give them a bit of time off to cheer their stablemates on though.

[markwales]

Week 1 - Big Race Preview

Race 7 - The 2yo Day One Listed Stakes - 5 Furlongs - Value £500

The first week see's a glut of maiden races to try and sort out the classic hopes, from the handicappers. The big race of the day see's 14 horses go to post. 9 Colts and 5 fillies take their chance at the weeks biggest prize.

The weather has been described as a Downpour, and so these mud lovers will be hoping for some deep stuff to get their young hooves stuck in to. The clerk of the course has advised that the best the ground could be on the day is Soft, but could also swing to Heavy going if the downpour worsens as the week leading up to the race progresses.

In a wide open betting race, the 2 market leaders are Old Blue Eyes and Pavlov Dream at 4-1, both have showed some good signs at home, with Old Blue Eyes praying for Heavy ground, and Pavlov Dream hoping that his keen attitude and love of the soft stuff will partially make up for his lack of genuine sprinting speed.

Nos Boss at 7-1 is next in the market, the bookies must feel that this colts Consistency at home, as well as some decent early toe, should get him up with the pace and put him in the firing line at the winning post.

Eire Express and Don't Cross The Boss are together at 8-1 in the market, both have early pace, but Don't Cross The Boss' trainer is praying that the ground holds out as he doesn't want anything worse than Soft going, and if getting the ground it needs, the top class jockey on board will be looking for a good performance. Eire Express has shown some early 2yo speed, however looks very much like a middle distance classic prospect for the future assuming that the hidden potential in the horse is of classic standard. This race will show trainers much about the potential that their 2yo starlets could carry forward to the big prizes during the season, and also looking forward to the spring classics of season 2.

Lady Eleanor is the first filly to show in the market at 10-1, she has blistering speed, but will the approx 1½ lengths that the fillies have to give away to the colts prove too much to overhaul? She is joined in the market with Ripped Pocket and Aurorae, 2 more fillies looking to take on the colts in this opening day Listed race. Aurorae's love for Heavy ground as well as Attitude and Consistency in abundance could see her put in a good performance on her debut, Ripped Pocket looks to be out to gain some early racing experience as her figures suggest she may be a stayer in the making for her 3yo career.

Castle Chop and King Rebron have contrasting styles on the possible grounds. The Castle is desperate for Soft, The King is equally as desperate for Heavy, both could run well if the ground comes up to their liking.

Dingle Donkey holds an entry and 16-1 looks to be not much value. The colt from the BBF stable has some nice figures to work on, but looks outclassed here.

Olive Oyl at 16-1 is another that is looking to gain some racecourse experience points. The horse has great Temperament, and if getting heavy ground it could produce a shock at a big price!

Infinite Persuassion won't receive any experience points as he really doesn't like the 5f trip, only having a rating of 33 over the distance, with a minimum of 50 required to gain these points. It has a lovely temperament and attitude though, and if getting soft ground may sneak up the field and give a respectable performance.

The rag of the field is Hedley Lamarr at 50-1. Hedley will relish heavy going and wants the rains to continue, however she looks to be up against it in this tough race at an early stage of her career.

A cracking race to look forward to, with the winning trainer receiving the bragging rights of being the winner of Week 1's big race.

The betting market as mentioned earlier is wide open, and any one of 10 horses in my opinion can maybe get their heads in front if conditions suit. The ground will play a huge part in the outcome.......I can see the trainers praying and looking at the clouds as we speak!!!!!

[yerotsluap]

The Yerots Losing Nags stable will undoubtedly live up to its name throughout the course of the season but we are hopeful of a couple of decent runs in this first week, and we do have a few cracking looking 2yo.

We have six running in this first week of races and hopefully these six will give an indicator as to their potential. The four horses not running are doing so because the distance and projected going are nowhere near in their favour.

Our first runner of the season is in the third the Win2Win Maiden over 7f. In this race we have Ever The Optimist. Ideally we would prefer a longer trip but as long as the ground remains firm he should be in with a chance.

The next runner is Renaissance Prince in the fifth The Stretchin' Out Maiden over one mile. As with the previous runner a longer trip would be more ideal, but so long as the ground does not get much worse than soft he should be in with a shout of a placed finish.

In the sixth The Maiden's Mile we have Downpour making her first start. She should prove to be competent over the mile and has a great attitude. Providing we get the right ground myself and the jockey booked are quietly confident.

In the seventh The 2yo Day One Stakes over 5f we have two runners. For Don't Cross The Boss we are praying that the ground holds out as he doesn't want anything worse than soft going. If we get the right ground with a top class jockey on board he could run very well. Our second horse King Lebron would prefer the ground to be heavy and if he gets the ground he could provide a big price win.

Our final runner is Wake Beach in the final race of the day the Fillies Only Maiden over 5f. The filly will run well provided we get good ground and hopefully will be there or thereabouts providing the inexperience of the jockey doesn't show.

[Thierry Henry]

The Va Va Voom stable are quietly confident about the first weeks racing. We have gathered a stable full of youngsters from around the world, and we have got five of our horses in action this week, with the rest being held back for future races, and they will be hopefully doing some hard work at home!

We have a very exciting prospect in the first race, The Kick Off Maiden over 5 furlongs, as our French bred colt Robert Pires takes on three opponents in what looks a trappy opener to the card. Robert will relish a firm surface, and has a serious turn of foot that will hopefully enable him to kick clear of the rest in the final furlong.

We have an intriguing entry in the second race, as one of our Scandinavian horses runs in the Pro Losers Maiden over 5 furlongs. Freddy Ljungberg is a filly who was bred in Sweden, and is something of an unknown quantity, but looks to have all the qualities needed to become a good racehorse. At home, Freddy is a bit of a poser, and will often refuse to work if she has not been groomed, but if she is happy with the job, she often leaves the other horses trailing in his wake. She needs it soft underfoot, so the forecasted showers should play into her hands.

The stable has two entries in the fifth race, The Stretchin' Out Maiden over a mile. The first of our entries is a home bred colt, David Seaman. David needs it soft underfoot, and really seems to get a mile well, so it will be no surprise to see him involved in the finish, staying on strongly. He has been known to flash his tail at times, which is rather longer that we would like it to be, but he simply refuses to let us trim it! Our second entry is one of our Dutch bred newcomers, Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis is a versatile performer, who goes well on any surface, and actually stays a lot further than a mile, so it will be interesting to see how he performs. Dennis likes to run his races just off the pace, in the 'hole' between the front runners and the midfield, and if he is up there towards the end, anything could happen. His running style is technically perfect, and we have high hopes for him in the future.

Our final entry this week is in the sixth race, The Maidens Mile and our entry is another French breed. Patrick Vieira is a big filly, who really imposes herself on the track. She won't stand any nonsense from her stable mates, and will relish the race if it gets a bit bumpy out there. Patrick likes a soft surface and should stay the mile well.

[markwales]

Excellent stuff on this thread chaps....it's what makes the game what it is.

A great read.

Thanks for taking the time to post, I'm sure it'll be a weekly thing for most of us.

Cheers,
Mark.

[piggy]

a quick report from pss, in common with the rest of you i'm sure this week has been really hectic what with last minute preparations etc. most of our runners are just there for the experience this week with the possible exception of scarborough streak in race 7, she has been working well at home and we have high hopes for her, of the other runners keep an eye out for race conditions in race 6 if the going is soft castle chop would have a decent ew chance.

[John]

1st April 2004... wow...! We've been going a while Mark. :D

How things have developed since Season 1 Week 1 amazes me.

[vegyjones]

Yes... If we all knew each other....

It'd be all down the pub to cleebrate some excellent performances from the man himself, Oldham, Worky, all the players... even the late joiners like me :laugh

In fact, Nippers a kipping... so I mighgt just have a cold Carling from the Fridge in your homour Mark! :D :wink

[markwales]

The Stretchin' Out Maiden is our first target with Buck The Trend keeping The Mariner company there. I think both are in with a shout of this one. I'm looking for string performances from them both, which may be tough given the large field. The Mariner is definitely a promising miler and the muddy conditions will suit him down to the ground. Buck The Trend is hoping it doesn't get too muddy out there and is a consistent performer.


Thanks for bringing this to the top John.....this quote from Mat made me chuckle.

A dual Breeders Cup and Hall Of Famer, before his first race, described as a consistent perfromer :D:D

[John]

You're welcome Mark, can you remember the exact date it started? I.e. the date that you thought... "I'm going to start a racing simulator" and then you posted that thread inviting people to join.

I remember that, not knowing what it was really about, not knowing how to play the game or anything, but getting a buzz out of the fact that it could be a little bit of fun and certainly an addictive way of spending free time nurturing a stable!

Mystic Mat was correct indeed. Two fantastic horses out of that discussion.

[markwales]

I can't remember the exact date, but it was early March 04.

I do remember getting caught building the sim engine in excel at work by my boss though :D Fortunately she didn't really have a clue what I was doing, so I blagged my way out of it.