1m1f Dubai Duty Free.

The long awaited day was nearly here. Take me Home had been in Dubai a couple of days already to get familiar with the surroundings and the track. The field of racers he was up against tomorrow was by far the best horses he had ever raced against. As i sat on the plane to Dubai the day before the race I started to think if we should maybe change tactics, and try to race more handy so we wouldnt be the normal 10-12 lenghts off the pace after a furlong or so. I decided to have small discussion with the jockey tomorrow and hear his thoughts.

Raceday was here. Cloudy but no rain and the going at Meydan was good. I had discussed a possible change of tactics with the jockey, but he strongly advised me against it. "No one can stand against Take Me Home`s Speed the last furlongs if we let him gradually into the race and not use to much strenght early" he said. I considered his reply and told him to think about it at least, cause it could be tough to gain to many lenghts in the final stage of the race against this bunch, but I left the final decision to him.

All was well in the paddock. Fit and primed to go. He came out of the gates as he usually does, one of the first to show. But even if I told him to consider to be better placed early, when they passed the 1 mile marker Take Me Home was in a bunch of 5 last in the field. Strong pace up front was at our advantage. Nothing much happened until they reached the 6f marker. With his nice cruising speed, Take Me Home was now placed in the middle of the field. The jockey started nudging him along as they passed 5f to finish. At the 3f pole he sat motionless again, Take Me Home was now approx 3-4 lenghts off the pace. I was thinking go go go, but the jockey still didnt move a muscle. At the 2f mark he had gained another lenght or so and was now 2-3 lenghts off the pace. The jockey showed him the whip and told him to go. Take Me Home gained speed in a second, just inside the final furlong Take Me Home was in the lead, but he wasnt pulling away. Had I mistaken his ability to stay further than a mile? With half a furlong left to go he was a head in front of second horse with the third horse another head back for that one again. Take Me Home's speed was about to run out. The third horse edged closer, the second horse edged closer and as they approached the line they were impossible to tell apart, they hit the line at the same time. Its a photo finish the cheer full commentator said. I looked empty at the screen for what seemed to be 2 hours.......... The results finally came thru Take Me Home had WON!!! Short head infront of second who was a head in front of the third according to the results. I have my doubts they have a good photographer at Meydan, in the photo you couldnt fit a needle in between the horses. But I couldnt care less, Take Me Home had won his, by far, biggest race in his career, The Dubai Duty Free 1m1f.

After that exciting race I think we will stick to the mile races from now on, yes it was stff competition and he might win another 1m1f against a worse field, but its not worth it. Take Me Home is a miler, and thats where we are gonna race him.


More to follow, still undecided about next assignement, hope you have enjoyed the journey so far.

Lockinge Stakes.

After our latest adventures I decided to go back home to a familiar place and distance. I entered Take Me Home for the 1m Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May. Having in mind that he struggled after many tough races as a 3yo. It was good to have almost 1 and a half months between the races, and the competition on Newbury was "easier" than in Dubai. Only real danger I could see upfront was the second horse from Dubai Duty Free, Pic Up Sticks, he was surely seeking revenge so the race would in no way be easy to win.

As the race was about to start all looked good in paddock, no weakness, no bad signs, fit and ready. Was an overcast day and the going was good. Take Me Home broke a little slower than usual, was mid pack after start but was once again restrained to the back of the field. But then something strange happened, already at 7f to when he was last the jockey nudged him along for a few strides, as usual the response from Take Me Home was immediate. 1 furlong later he was in the middle of the field, only 4-5 lenghts off the pace and 3-4 lenghts off its main rival Pic Up Sticks. With 4 furlongs to go the jockey was nudging him along again, only for a few secs, and Take Me Home gradually gained on the leaders. As they entered the last 2 furlongs Take Me Home was in the lead, half a lenght up on Pic Up Sticks. The jockey gave him signal to go for it and as they entered the final furlong the lead was almost 1 lenght. This time Take Me Home showed no signs of getting tired and just edged a little further away and winning the Lockinge Stakes.


Im still undecided where to go next, maybe the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.


Will update again later if anybody is even following this still

Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.

As the summer is approaching and we entered June I decided to let Take Me Home race in the Queen Anne Stakes. Once again its main rival was going to be Pic Up Stick who he had now beaten twice in a row in Dubai and in the Lockinge Stakes.

Once again the going was good, no rain in the air, and all looked well as the horse entered the paddock. Despite beeing beaten twice by Take Me Home, Pic Up Sticks started the race as a favoruite.
Take Me Home dwelt and was last from the word go. Jockey nudged him along already at the 7f marker, and he gradually raced into mid field position. Nothing much happened before he was told to go for it at the 3f pole and quickly picked up speed. As they entered the final furlong he was in the lead almost a lenght clear of Pic Up Sticks. Edged slowly but surely clearer and won the Queen Anne Stakes 1 3/4 lenghts clear of the once more beaten Pic Up Sticks.

I will probably let him race 3 or 4 more races as a 4yo, but I dont know if he will be raced as a 5yo or if I will retire him to stud, as I cant wait to start breeding of him. Suggestions? Race further or retire?


Next race will either be at Goodwood to try and win the only race he has ever lost The Sussex Stakes, or we will wait until August and race him in France in Prix Jacques Le Marois.

Sussex Stakes.

We decided to stay at home, and try to seek revenge in the Sussex Stakes. Up against Pic Up Sticks again and a few other good Gr1 horses.

Horse entered the paddock in good shape, the going was G/F. Broke well as usual and restrained to be among the last as the passed the 7f marker. He was alooooooong way off the of the pace and I was worried. As they passed 5f to go he had gradually made his way up to mid field without the jockey asking him any questions, but still a good 7-8 lenghts off the pace. I was beginning to fear we would suffer another loss at the Sussex again. Jockey nudged him along between 5 and 4f marker and he got a little closer. 2.5f left to go and he was getting marching order, but didnt respond straight away as he use to. Entering the final furlong there was almost 2 lengths between Take Me Home and the leading Pic Up Sticks, a loss was unavoidble. He edged a little closer as they travelled the last furlong, but was a beaten second 1 1/4 lengths behind Pic Up Sticks..... We had lost at The Sussex again, I was gutted.

I never thought the horse was a monster, but this defeat was a bitter one and brought back the memories of his run here as a 3yo. What next? I had planned a couple more races for him the rest of the year, but now im not sure. Will he race again? Will he be retired? I dont know..........

Might be continued.....

Tom horse's reach they peak at 5, so i'd race him till the end of that season.

Short update.

Decided to go ahead with the 2 last races I had planned for the season. Sent him to America to run in the Woodbine Mile and BC mile turf.

He won both with the usual hold up tactic. The Woodbine mile he just got up after an insane last 3 furlong sprint to win by 1/4 length. The BC mile he won by 1/2 length after a similar finish as in the Woodbine.

I think I will retire him as I only like to race them in these though races for 3 season. He might get a little better at 5, but I hope he will produce good yearlings as well when I start breeding.
Thanks to the ones who commented and gave me advice, I will continue this thread later and try the ultimate 3yo miler test again if I get another candidate. Under you can find a photo of the short but pretty successful career.

Excellent thread and storyline, hope you keep us informed about his stud dutues and find another interesting horse like him.

Bill

Thank you! As I like to just "storm" thru the seasons I have few or no good horses, I hope to be back soon with a new good one to take on the 3yo challenge again

Make sure u breed him with quick horses like sprinters because u should be able to get fast horses of him. Hope u got good mares for him to go to. Make him the king of u breeding operation.

Great story. Shame he didn't have a final go at the Sussex stakes at 5 though!

Yeah, that was the only reason I considered letting him race another season, but after weighting back and forth I decided to retire him.

I am about to let his first 2yo bred horses go off in the maidens, a few of them really promising so maybe a new "story" will unfold really soon

The 2yo`s after Take Me Home.


After a couple of mediocre breeding seasons for Take Me Home, this year had 10 2yo's with Take Me Home as a father. So far it seems it can be the breakthrough when it comes to Take Me Home's breeding career. After they had all dipped their feet in maidens 8 out of 10 came out as winners, beeing rated from 84 to 99 for their efforts. Next task for them all where in different Listed races, and out of 8, 4 came out as winners. A couple of them in really convincing ways.

The racing season as 2yo's is coming to an end soon, but all the 4 Listed race winners have been impressing enough to have a go at a Gr3 or Gr2 race before the year ends. If they continue to impress me like they have done until now, we might just have a new candidate for the ultimate 3yo miler challenge

Stay tuned

dont get me wrong im enjoying this post, but why are you only doing the 1mile challenge?im sure you could adapt your breeding and maybe get a derby winner or something ?

I have a tendency to rush trough seasons if nothing good comes around, and even when I have good horses, i still rush On this particular save im only doing milers yes, but I have exported a few good horses from the save, so from what I understand I can transfer those horses back into another new save and breed of them there? Maybe a derby winner in the next save?

I kinda liked the challenge wit a 3yo maiden, so im gonna do that and hopefully succeed before this thread gets too long and boring

That is correct, you can import them into a new game. There is also something you can do related to the TTF files, I am quite sure AKHC would be the best person to explain this or re-direct you to a post he may of made regards this, as I haven't delved into those realms yet. He is most likely the King of breeding as he has countless files and horses and I am sure his experience would make worth while reading.