Circular Quay And Me

[Mister Sanderson]

This is a summary on my time with Circular Quay in Lexington, KY at Keeneland last fall. Thanks to Gene, (aka Deltasports) I got a taste of what training and barnwork was like working as a hotwalker/day foreman/grunt for the Pletcher barn at the fall Keeneland meet in Lexington, Ky. First of all, I wanna tell you, its 7 days a week work for s**t pay. However, I really enjoyed my brief 3 week experience and walked away from the barn (I beleive) with a job done well and a good relationship with co-workers, horses, and bosses. I had just left a previous job and wanted to see what it was like in racing before I ventured back into a suit job (it had always been a dream of mine to own and/or train horses; delta put in a good word on good faith, and WHAM! there I am swinging my legs of the side of the Pletcher barn).
I showed up a day early as instructed, waited 3 hours for anyone to show up. My foreman Jenni finally showed with an exercise rider. On my 1st day before the horses were even brought in, myself and a groom who wandered in the barn looking for work basically put a mess of a barn together. He claimed he groomed many of the greats including Cozzene. It was to be my first time with horses outside of betting on them. Kinda like that line from CADDYSHACK II, when Jackie Mason says he's been around horses his whole life, and his daughter responded with "betting on them, not riding them."
Finally the horses arrived the next day; I was a bit in awe. I would guess the cheapest horse in the barn still cost $150000. In came Ravel, Sam P., Meritocracy, Ramazutti (a barn favorite, a gentle old pro), Audacious Chloe, Cotton Blossom, Spun Sugar, and many many more.... I was kind of in awe because I knew the $$$ and talent that surrounded me, and trust me, I might have been the only one who knew. To the rest of them, even the foreman etc.., they were pets and part of the MACHINE.

The one that caught my eye the most was Circular Quay. He already had proven himself as a good one winning at CD and SAR in stakes and was at Kee to run in the big 2yo prep to the Bred Cup Juv (Cant remember the prep name). But what caught my eye was his nature and look. Just about every 2yo I would walk by or try and pet would act green or take a nip at me (I guess they could smell the fear or uncertainty of my precense). However, not him. First of all, he's not big, maybe a little over 15 hands, and not bulky either; in fact, his female counterpart, Cottom Blossom, is a fairly large, rangey, muscular type with a slightly more aggresive manner. But Circular Quay is small and nimble, yet athletic and sleek-looking. He is one of the most beautiful creatures to see. A true chestnut, with a white stripe directly down his head. His presence is of total confidence and ease. Not once in the three weeks I was there did he ever act skiddish, or unsure. He let me pet on him anywhere and made me actually feel comfortable doing that, whereas I was almost flat-out scared of Sam P. for example who might let me pet him and the next time want a piece of my ear.
As the day foreman, it was my job to watch over the barn for 4 hours during the day and make sure all was OK. Sweep out shedrow and make sure they had water was my job title. I hung out with Circular Quay all the time. I would just hop up on the side of the barn wall face him directly and BS to him about sports, the races, and various goings around the barn. I think he actually liked me being around him, as if I amused him. During my time there, we stalled more than 30 horses, and he was truly one-of-a-kind, totally unlike the others there. If you listen to what Pletcher says when speaking of him, it rings of charcter, and THAT, I am sure he has an abundance of. I've got a feeling this one is going to respond when the lights and cameras are on, because he's got that IT quality. At least to me he does.a:

[cashcall]

Good stuff.Thanks for sharing.


bc(

[deltasports]

This is a summary on my time with Circular Quay in Lexington, KY at Keeneland last fall. Thanks to Gene, (aka Deltasports) I got a taste of what training and barnwork was like working as a hotwalker/day foreman/grunt for the Pletcher barn at the fall Keeneland meet in Lexington, Ky. First of all, I wanna tell you, its 7 days a week work for s**t pay. However, I really enjoyed my brief 3 week experience and walked away from the barn (I beleive) with a job done well and a good relationship with co-workers, horses, and bosses. I had just left a previous job and wanted to see what it was like in racing before I ventured back into a suit job (it had always been a dream of mine to own and/or train horses; delta put in a good word on good faith, and WHAM! there I am swinging my legs of the side of the Pletcher barn).
I showed up a day early as instructed, waited 3 hours for anyone to show up. My foreman Jenni finally showed with an exercise rider. On my 1st day before the horses were even brought in, myself and a groom who wandered in the barn looking for work basically put a mess of a barn together. He claimed he groomed many of the greats including Cozzene. It was to be my first time with horses outside of betting on them. Kinda like that line from CADDYSHACK II, when Jackie Mason says he's been around horses his whole life, and his daughter responded with "betting on them, not riding them."
Finally the horses arrived the next day; I was a bit in awe. I would guess the cheapest horse in the barn still cost $150000. In came Ravel, Sam P., Meritocracy, Ramazutti (a barn favorite, a gentle old pro), Audacious Chloe, Cotton Blossom, Spun Sugar, and many many more.... I was kind of in awe because I knew the $$$ and talent that surrounded me, and trust me, I might have been the only one who knew. To the rest of them, even the foreman etc.., they were pets and part of the MACHINE.

The one that caught my eye the most was Circular Quay. He already had proven himself as a good one winning at CD and SAR in stakes and was at Kee to run in the big 2yo prep to the Bred Cup Juv (Cant remember the prep name). But what caught my eye was his nature and look. Just about every 2yo I would walk by or try and pet would act green or take a nip at me (I guess they could smell the fear or uncertainty of my precense). However, not him. First of all, he's not big, maybe a little over 15 hands, and not bulky either; in fact, his female counterpart, Cottom Blossom, is a fairly large, rangey, muscular type with a slightly more aggresive manner. But Circular Quay is small and nimble, yet athletic and sleek-looking. He is one of the most beautiful creatures to see. A true chestnut, with a white stripe directly down his head. His presence is of total confidence and ease. Not once in the three weeks I was there did he ever act skiddish, or unsure. He let me pet on him anywhere and made me actually feel comfortable doing that, whereas I was almost flat-out scared of Sam P. for example who might let me pet him and the next time want a piece of my ear.
As the day foreman, it was my job to watch over the barn for 4 hours during the day and make sure all was OK. Sweep out shedrow and make sure they had water was my job title. I hung out with Circular Quay all the time. I would just hop up on the side of the barn wall face him directly and BS to him about sports, the races, and various goings around the barn. I think he actually liked me being around him, as if I amused him. During my time there, we stalled more than 30 horses, and he was truly one-of-a-kind, totally unlike the others there. If you listen to what Pletcher says when speaking of him, it rings of charcter, and THAT, I am sure he has an abundance of. I've got a feeling this one is going to respond when the lights and cameras are on, because he's got that IT quality. At least to me he does.a:
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TODD TOLD ME THAT THE NEXT TIME I REFER SOMEONE, TO MAKE SURE HE OR SHE STAYS AT LEAST AS LONG AS THE MEET RUNS!!!IF YOU REMEMBER I TOLD YOU IT WASN'T GOING TO BE EASY & THE PAY ISNT GOING TO BE GOOD.TODD STARTED THE SAME WAY YOU DID..MOST ALL NEWBES THAT ARE GOOD TRAINERS TODAY STARTED THAT WAY....!!!!!!

[Dr. K]

Excellent summary Mr. S and what a wonderful experience. IMHO, you have made friends with the next Kentucky Derby winner! tu?

[Mister Stigg]

Thanks for sharing that experience Mr. S. I bet it was awesome being around all those well known, nice horses. Sounded to me like you were being grateful to Delta. I'm not really sure why he felt the need to try to bust your bubble. :confused: Maybe the fd' made him do it?

[mister zesterhouse]

CQ clearly likes the CD strip--he took the long route in the Juvenile while SS took the short. Straight exacta in the Wood looks Good-->Nobiz-CQ.

Nice story. The movie that it brings to my mind is Naked Gun: Frank Drebin turned loose w/billionaires Tabor, Melnyk, Jones bloodstock, unbeknownst to them of course, feeding chili dogs to Ravel (some unknown, never raced before son of the overrated FuPeg), tacos to English Channel and spaghetti to Friendly Island. tu?

[RockHard10]

Great story!

[Mister Sanderson]

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TODD TOLD ME THAT THE NEXT TIME I REFER SOMEONE, TO MAKE SURE HE OR SHE STAYS AT LEAST AS LONG AS THE MEET RUNS!!!IF YOU REMEMBER I TOLD YOU IT WASN'T GOING TO BE EASY & THE PAY ISNT GOING TO BE GOOD.TODD STARTED THE SAME WAY YOU DID..MOST ALL NEWBES THAT ARE GOOD TRAINERS TODAY STARTED THAT WAY....!!!!!!
..........some things are meant to be discussed in private by nature. Most of us from the real world know this. Since you decided to bring this out as insulting rather than complimentary, I will divulge the readers. I was hired for a 4 week stint at the fall 06 Keeneland meet. I basically put the barn together myself. When the horses arrived they were short 10 grooms and 15 hotwalkers. They had done a rather poor job preparing. I was offered a professional job the first week I was there waorking for a company that wanted me immediately, and I was to relocate as well. So, they said they could wait 2 weeks for me and that was all, training class was to begin then in Atlanta. So instead of putting in my final week then, I stayed an extra week because I felt obligated to honor my time there for as long as I possibly could. I worked as hard as I could there; I had blisters for 3 weeks after I left from all the buckets and buckets of water I carried. I never complained and always showed respect, and YES I left going into the last week at Keeneland. As a result, I had a 4 hour commute my first week at my job to and from work because I lost that week that I should've found an apartment/home because I wanted to stick it out with TP. Also, if you took it as complaining about money, I must've written it wrong.... I asked 4 other people from the site if When they read it, Did it seem like I was complaing about money. They all said NO, it just read like I was stating a fact. And that was a fact, I wasn't there for money, and never meant to incinuate that I was.
To me, it just comes down to class. I was raised to do everything you can not to embarrase, degridate, or humiliate anyone. That there is a time and place to discuss personal issues. I seriously doubt Pletcher ever said that to you. I know for a fact that he had only met you one time before the Kee meet (he told me over the phone). Why in the world would a busy man like Pletcher want to talk about me? He never even met me (in person). And I did a good job. Regardless, I hope you feel better about yourself because you TRIED to make me look bad.

[deltasports]

THE CONVERSATION WITH TODD & MYSELF TOOK PLACE ON THE 3RD FLOOR DINING ROOM AT TAMPA BAY DOWNS ON FEB 17TH AT 2PM WHICH WAS THE SATURDAY THAT HE BROUGHT "ANY GIVEN SATURDAY" THERE FOR THE "SAM F. DAVIS STAKES".ANGEL CORDERO WAS TO MY LEFT AND SATISH SANAN WAS IN BACK OF ME AND I APOLOGIZED TO TODD FOR MY RAVING ENDORSEMENT TO HIM ON YOUR BEHALF..YOU HAVE HIS PHONE #>.CALL HIM UP..HE JUST LAUGHED & PASSED IT OFF..AND YES,THATS THE FIRST TIME LAST YEAR HE SAW ME IN 2006..ASK HIM ABOUT 2005,2004 & etc...maybe he didnt want you to know our relationship so u wouldnt expect any favoritism...

[Mister Sanderson]

Circular Quay looks like he's in. I totally expect him to earn a check. He ran a credible Derby, and will show up. I just don't think he's quite good enough to win one of these. But with a smaller field, I do expect an improved effort.

Mr. Pletcher must've seen something in him that said fresh after the Derby, so I wouldn't totally remove him from the WIN discussion, but thinking more like 3rd (which is awesome). That "no triple crown wins"/"can't win the big one" jazz is media-created feces.... we all know how good Pletcher is.... just like the Frankel can't win the Breeders Cup s**t years ago that NBC shoved down our throats... So much luck and timing goes into winning a Derby, it's run once a year, ONCE!!!

Im rooting for Circular Quay to win, but for the sport, I've gotta be pulling for Street Sense. With Hockey, Tennis, and Other Sports faltering, it would be a great boost to the sport, though still having no delusions that Racing will ever be anything other than a niche sport. hh)

[Jay bohn]

I was talking to my cousin the other day about Pletcher being 0 for 16 or whatever with his Derby record . I remember D Wayne got off to similar start in his Derby career, Mr. Pletcher will get his share of Derby winners he's still young

[Dr. K]

CQ has my attention again in the Preakness. His stock dropped for me in the Derby due to the 8 week lay-off thing, but now he should still be fresh and ready to fire a good one. This race looks to set up for a closer and I can possibly see a little stretch duel with he and SS down the lane. Regardless, will have him in the exotics.

[manassas]

Great artical mr Sanderson i never worked for a stable but my part time job for over 30 years was selling programs at ARL Haw washington park Sportsmans and Balmoral got to meet many of the trainers and jockeys movie stars and class peple I always loved that job and being close to the raceing scine.

[deltasports]

Then U Should Know The Former Racing Secretary At Arlington (frank Gabriel)>>>his Father Died Without Paying Me The Money He Owed..10k..he (FRANK) Is Now The Director Of Racing At Dubai..
Also I Ran A Horse At Sportsman ParK In 1965 & Broke The Track Record For A Flat Mile And After 5 Minutes Up On The Tote Board They Took It Down And Put Up 1:40 ..i Raised Hell Beacused Even The 2 Clockers Caught Him In 1:38..the Stewards Told Me That A Claimer Couldn't Ran That Fast..for Those That Remember Hal Bishop,steve Ippiloto And Vanberg..they Were There That Day.i Guess That Because I Was An Invader From Maryland Thats What They Did to me..
I Still Have A Bad Taste About Those Two Things That Happened In 1965.THE ONLY GOOD THING IS..MY GOOD FRIEND "BILL THAYER" LONG TIME VICE PRESIDENT OF ARLINGTON PARK..ONE OF THE BEST..A HORSEMAN FOR THE HORSEMEN..

[deltasports]

IF CURLIN DIDN'T STUMBLE COMING OUT OF THE GATE ,HE WOULD HAVE WON BY OPEN DAYLIGHT INSTEAD OF A HEAD & GOING AWAY.

I EMAILED A FEW PEOPLE ON HERE ABOUT WHAT NICK ZITO TOLD ME THURSDAY AM..HE SAID THAT C.WEST WOULD BE NO WORSE THAN 4TH & HE GUARANTEED IT..A FEW DAYS AGO HE WORKED C.WEST WITH HESANOLDSALT,THE OLDER HORSE THAT RAN 2ND TO INVASOR AT BELMONT PARK AND THEN SHIPPED TO PIMLICO..HE SAID TO PLAY SUPERFECTAS & PUT C.WEST IN THE 4TH SLOT..THE REASON I DIDNT OPEN POST THAT INFO ON HERE WAS TOO MANY PEOPLE WOULD LAUGH, & NOT USE HIM..I GAVE THE INFO TO ALL THE TELLERS IN THE SPORTS GALLERY,THE MANAGER & THE OWNER OF THE RACE TRACK.>>THE SUPER PAID $340 FOR A $1 AND THE RUNNING TIME WAS 1:53.2/5...TRACK RECORD WAS 1:52.3/5.I LIKE TO SEE & HEAR WHAT ALL THE NAYSAYERS ARE GOING TO SAY..hh) hh) hh) $) $) $)

[gestalt]

Curlin is the "monster", but why Alberato for the jock- and did you know Circular Quay was off? The Derby sure knocked off the pretenders, insiders have a field day with these races. I am in awe of Curlin's performance-start to finish.