3YO filly not showing up on race day...suggestions, advice..

[OK Agent]

I'll give this a shot, I read that you forgot to ask "why the trainer doesn't use the whip in the mornings"

One morning, my jock forgot to bring her whip, and was supposed to work a horse for one of her barns. This mare was a maiden with simular attributes as yours, didn't show a lot of promise but the trainer wouldn't give up on her. She works that morning 3f in 34 and change. Wow, she never done that before with a whip. So we enter her a few days later and entered her with "no whip". During the post parade the announcer says and here is #7 ......... racing today "without a whip" and this 0 for 15 mare runs 2nd this day, and goes on to win MSW and a Alw/1x in her next 2 starts with the announcer saying each time entered without a whip.

Don't know if this will help, but it's an idea.

[LSB]

Pie, you have my sympathies. We're currently racing a filly that sounds like a variation on yours. In the morning, she happily works like a fiend ( 4f in 46.4, etc.). In the afternoon, she breaks great, goes right to the front, leads for a half and then loses interest. She's had three races so far, and they've all looked alike.

It's not a fitness issue (I've seen her work 5f and gallop out the sixth in 1:11--easily--in the morning and her races have been at 6f). It's not a soundness issue. She comes off the track in the morning looking like she wants to go around again. We've scoped her after every race and some workouts. Her 2nd race we added a tongue tie. 3rd race, we tried figure-eight noseband and blinkers. Two inside posts and one outside post. Tried to hold her back off the pace, she fought the jockey and went to the front anyway.

We've changed jockeys, changed her bedding, changed her routine. We've scanned her body. We've given her time off and brought her back. We've worked her fast and slow in the mornings. By herself, and behind other horses. Next race we're hoping to try a longer distance. Then grass. After that, we're just about out of ideas. The talent is there, but she has yet to figure out how the race is supposed to go. It's very frustrating.

[BenB]

I,ve made my input on stablewatch.
If my filly was ridden by a jock, that was using his whip, she started ducking real bad or just lowered her pace not to mention gooiing back instead of gooiing faster.
Most fillies needs a different approach, than the colts or geldings.
All her good races she ran with a jock who wasn,t even having a whip on board. We got many askings to answer by stewards etc.

[BenB]

I,ve made a mistake in my last post.
I should be. The times my filly was ridden, by a jock carrying and using whip etc.
Without a whip, she was utmost genuine and always trying for the best she could, just ridden hands and on the outside of the field, giving plenty
space for galoping.

[BenB]

LSB I know what it is how frustating it can be and specially when the talent is there.
Iam now in the problems right now with our filly.

[kezeli]

How about takeing the tonghue tie off?? If she works mornings with out it I would think that may in and of itself be the problem!!

[austique]

Totally right kezeli! You might check to see if she's been training with a rubber band in the morning and then switching to a cloth tounge tie in the afternoon. I've seen some horses that don't like the restrictiveness of the cloth tie and I used to to yeall at my brother for getting them too tight and made him swtich to solely rubber bands. Cause I'm all powerful ya know

[kezeli]

I don't know that I would feel comfertable with a rubber band at all, what if she aspirates it!!!!

[austique]

The rubber band is just as stable as a cloth tounge tie, but given that it has a little stretch its not as constricting. Using a rubber band (and I'm talking about the ones jockeys use on their helmets) is no more dangerous than a cloth tounge tie.

[Ramona]

Had a filly that had a mind and a running style of her own. She would barge out of the gate with the rest of them and you would think whoppie...then she would take herself back to dead a*s last and I don't care how much the jock sticked her, she wouldn't make a move until she entered the turn to come home. I saw her 8 wide and kick a gear for the win. She had developed her own running style, but not easy on the owner when you were believing all along she wasn't going to get there. She fooled us 1 time by wiring a mile. She didn't gawk or have fear of other horses either, but we had blinkers on her. She seemed to concentrate better at task. She was a peculiar one for sure. Maybe she needs to develop her running style. It would pi** her off when the jockey sticked her before she was ready to turn on, but responded to the stick in the stretch.

[daraabah]

Has anybody else noticed that everyones similar experiences have been with FILLIES. I had one aswell, measured with a large heart score, went into work and sulked the whole time, changed trainers, fiddled with her routine, feed, water, gear etc., She also resented the whip but also had no experience of it (used 'join up' techniques to break and train).

Finally ended up retiring her from racing and looking to send her off to stud this year...

My experience is that fillies most definitely have a mind of their own.....

Good luck with her

Daraabah

[rds]

This is really a great topic! I have, BTW, had similar problems with colts and geldings, but it does seem that fillies are more the "moody" type.

Think about this - A horse can only go as fast as their talent lets them. So if they have talent in the morning, then at least you know they have talent! The trick is to get them to use that talent in the afternoons or evening.

I think Madelyn is on the right track. I have had this discussion several times with trainers. I have run track myself. One of the cardinal rules is to train in the same condistions you race! Now we train horses in the morning and race in the afternoon. The temps can be different, and certainly their routines are defined by their training.

If you can, find a training center where you can change her routine. Train her at noon, 2:00 PM, maybe 7:00PM. Do this for a couple weeks, and then go back racing. If you do this, let me know how it goes!

I fully intend to try this myself when I get my 2 mile gallop set up on my NEW FARM in NM. (see the other post)

[wilf]

Just as a matter of interest do they add medications for the race as many fillies are put to sleep by lasix or corticosteroids like solu delta cortef?. Also quite frankly as far as equipment is concerned less is more and with several of my fillies at the track I just put a green bug girl rider on their backs and they run off with them. In fact it happened to me only yesterday with a very squirrelly Eastern Echo mare and an inexprienced girl, they won easily paying $68, my instructions were " do what you like"! race 8 fort erie. all the best. wilf.

[Bryan M]

We have had a same experience with a filly. Good in the morning, nothing in the afternoon. After 3 terrible trips we brought her home. Her coat was not as "bright" as I thought it should be and the filly seemed a little light. We got her home and she just picked at her grain. After 2 days of this... on the third we treated her for ulcers and it was like we flipped a switch. She ATTACKED her grain, grew an inch and filled out, (not fattened)

Am I dissappointed that our trainer had not figured this out, of course!! But I don't think she displayed severe symptoms while at the training track. But the change in routine and the hour shipping from training facility to the race track was probably enough to make her feel pretty bad those afternoons.

FYI

[Tucumcari]

Just as a matter of interest do they add medications for the race as many fillies are put to sleep by lasix or corticosteroids like solu delta cortef?. Also quite frankly as far as equipment is concerned less is more and with several of my fillies at the track I just put a green bug girl rider on their backs and they run off with them. In fact it happened to me only yesterday with a very squirrelly Eastern Echo mare and an inexprienced girl, they won easily paying $68, my instructions were " do what you like"! race 8 fort erie. all the best. wilf.

Amen Wilf!!!
Nothing like letting a female "get her own way," even if it really was your idea... Don't tell her though...