A. P Wild

phil8841 · Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject: A. P Wild

I'm a long time lurker but very infrequent poster. But I thought I would share some news. My boss bought an interest in a 2 year old colt that will be racing at Les Bois in Idaho this year. Since he knows what a fan I am, I've been able to go along for the ride. I've been out to the track twice to watch "PeeWee" work (he's a bit small, so the name fits). It's been a lot of fun and we're looking forward to his race debut in June.

Anyway, PeeWee is by A.P. Warrior and out of Paradise Wild. Paradise was a two time Idaho Cup winner and a great race mare. PeeWee is her first foal and he seems to be taking after her. He's smallish, although he seems to be growing every week. And he's feisty (like she was). The best news is that he definitely wants to run.

This is the closest I'll ever come to racehorse ownership, so it's pretty exciting to me. Also a little scary because I've become quite attached to PeeWee and I know that there are risks involved no matter what. As the summer goes by, I hope to share more news as A. P Wild hits the track.
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docjocoy · Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 12:51 pm Post subject:

Good luck. You'll have a wild ride!

spex4me · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:14 pm Post subject:

Best of luck and do post about your experiences!
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Jessi P · Moderator Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 1269

Enjoy living vicariously! All the best to Pee Wee in his future endeavors on the racetrack. Post some pics if you can. Smile

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phil8841 · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 6:39 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the welcome. PeeWee is working 41/2 from the gate on Saturday morning, so that's the next step. Apparently in his last schooling trip at the gate, he took off like a rocket when the doors opened.

The current plan is for him to run in mid-June in the trials for a stakes race to be held on July 6. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps progressing well (and stays healthy).

I'll definitely try to get some pictures this weekend and post them when I can.
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phil8841 · Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:49 am Post subject:

I'm going to see if this will work. Here's a couple pictures of A. P Wild. They aren't great, but I hope to get better ones tomorrow.

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phil8841 · Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 9:19 am Post subject:

Here's a couple pics from this morning. He worked 4 furlongs in company. Not sure of the time yet, but it wasn't blazing. The training is working him pretty slow right now, so the jockey had a pretty good stranglehold on him this morning.

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phil8841 · Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 2:39 pm Post subject:

A. P Wild worked again today. 4 1/2 furlongs from the gate in 56.74. He worked in company and broke like a rocket. He was two lengths ahead about 4 jumps out of the gate.

Then the jock tried to slow him down to let the other horse catch up. The jock was standing straight up in the irons to slow him down. The other horse caught up and I guess Pee Wee was not a happy camper as they came around the turn. He ended up about a length behind at the wire.

The trainer has been trying to keep the works slow and keep the colt safe and sound, but he said he's just going to let him roll the next time (he has to have one more 4 1/2 gate work before he can start). He's just so fast out of the gate and the trainer doesn't want to teach him bad habits and keep making him mad (fighting the jockey) and using all his energy that way.

So, it was a bit of a learning experience today. Maybe more for the trainer than the horse, but it's still all systems go. When he finally runs, he'll definitely be out in front. The only question will be whether they can catch him. Smile

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phil8841 · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:18 am Post subject:

Today was Pee Wee's last work before the race next Saturday. He worked 4 1/2 from the gate with two other 2 year olds.

After last week, the trainer said he was just going to Pee Wee roll today and he did. He broke like a rocket and they let him run. He was about a length in front at the turn and one of the other horses got to about his neck as they came into the stretch and then Pee Wee took off again finishing about a length in front. He galloped out really well and never let the other horse get by him.

I don't know the time yet, but I'm pretty sure it was the bullet for the day. The jockey never had to ask him to do anything, but didn't throw the anchor out this time either. If he runs like that in the trial, I have to believe he's going to be hard to beat. Fingers crossed that he comes back good out of the work.
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phil8841 · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:42 pm Post subject:

Pee Wee's first race is tomorrow. It's a trial for a Stakes Race in July. He only has to beat one horse in his trial, so absent a major problem, this should mostly be just about see how he races.

My boss probably as other ideas, but all I'm really hoping for is that he gets to run his race and comes back safe and sound. Beyond that, I'll let the chips fall where they may (and if they fall in the winner's circle, I'll be okay with that).
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karenkarenn · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:48 pm Post subject:

2nd in a stakes. Not bad! esp against the winner was owned by Larry Williams. Not bad.
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wilf · Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:13 pm Post subject:

Nice start indeed!

phil8841 · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:32 am Post subject:

Yeah, he did pretty good. He definitely improved off his first start. In the trial, he busted out to a huge lead and just stopped down the stretch. This time, he paced himself better (I think the change in jockeys helped) and they used a tongue tie which seemed to help his breathing.

I wasn't at the race (I was out of the country on vacation) but apparently, he broke away at the top of the stretch and was looking like a winner. Then he seemed to get green and started gawking a bit (or so the jockey thought). He ended up getting nailed just before the wire. But, we were all pretty happy with second place given his improvement and the time for the race.

Then came the bad news. My boss got a call from the trainer and it appears that Pee Wee has a bone chip. The trainer watched a replay of the race, and the horse took a weird step down the stretch and it was right after that when he kind of stopped running. The speculation is that is where he chipped the bone and started pulling himself up a bit.

So, now he's headed for surgery soon to remove the chip. Since he's just a two year old, the plan is to turn him out for pretty much the rest of the year and bring him back at three. It's definitely disappointing because he's a good horse and was improving with everything start/work. But everyone is optimistic that he'll come back next year and get back on track (literally and figuratively).

Such are the ups and downs of horse racing, I guess.
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zinn21 · 3rd Year Sire Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 3306

Sorry to hear about the chip. Hopefully it is a chip that can be removed cleanly with minimal damage. Perhaps with the time off his muscles and bones will strengthen and he will come back better than ever..

BTW, I noticed in the Pics a big pile of wood shavings. Are all stalls done in wood shavings at Le Bois? Does the track pay for the shavings?

phil8841 · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:49 pm Post subject:

The stalls are done with wood shavings at Les Bois -- or at least all the ones for this particular trainer are. I've never really looked at the other stalls.

As for who pays for it, I have no idea. But I'll try and find out.
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