Vacare/Oracle
 

Everyone will get a chance to buy this one now. Any speculations as to how much she'll bring? And what will the reserve be? No BC try this year.

Vacare is cataloged in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed sale to be held on November 5, the day after the Breeders' Cup.

"She would have to be a prime prospect for a potential buyer," Block continued. "She's fresh, isn't overraced, and with several of the top females in the division likely to retire, she could quickly become one of the new stars. Mr. Lothenbach will set a reserve, and if it is not met, it will be a pleasure for us to campaign her next year."

Yeah the response I got from one guy was that noone wanted to buy a grass horse for that much. The reponse I got from one trainer was "Babe, I don't want no grass horses". ****ing idiots. Block is one of the nicest guys I ever spoke to on the phone. You tell him if you see him that noone was screaming harder than I was for her to win, and that he deserves it.

will do. He truly is a great guy and one of the hardest working trainers in Chicago. Also has a degree from U of I Champaign. Honest as the day is long. A true family guy from a true horse family. Believe that is why he chooses to continue to be based in Chicago.
Any ideas on price?

3 million bare minimum

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh i beg to differ my friend, very much beg to differ:D

my guess is that she won't sell -- won't meet the reserve which has got to be a pretty penny

She deceptively well-bred. She hails from the really active Image Intensifier family... that of Serena's Song and Wander Mom.

Don't get me started. He is also the guy that said "Mystery Giver would never see a claiming race" but the horse comes back in a 40k claimer.....For a horse that has done so much, this was a disgrace to himself, his family, and his occupation

I hope not so we can see her at Arlington next year, she would most definetly run in the Beverly D if kept sound

your a dream come true

Give me a break... It's a racehorse not a pet or one of his children! He wasn't offering him for slaughter.

So you don't think he should do right by the horse? Why risk him for a tag? Why EVEN take that risk for a 'part of his family'.

cry me a river

that's my point HE IS NOT PART OF HIS FAMILY. He's an animal and not a pet but a racehorse. You going to do right by a car that treated you well and not trade it in?
So should Jimmy M. buy a farm so he can do right by Major?

You are out of your element here dude.
Shes not just a broodmare prospect.
What she is is a THREE year old grade one winning undefeated mare who still has racing value.
You haven't figured that into the equation.
Shes also got a strong bottom line and she can be bred to just about any premier commerical stallion because of her pedigree. You could take her to Ap Indy, Storm Cat, Distorted Humor, any of those.
Shes three million easily.

oh no oracle, i understand that very well -- i just wonder what mr. lothenbach's reserve is going to be -- knowing the potential value of the remainder of her racing career (having a great shot at the beverly d, FM Turf next year) and then the value of her progeny.

i have no doubt that she's going to bring in lots of money, but will it be enough to meet the reserve he chooses? that was what i was thinking, that perhaps nobody out there will pay what he wants for her. he didn't sell her for an offer of $500,000 after her maiden win, so what will he want for her now?

Well he would have taken 600 I suspect.
So maybe it won't be as high as you think.

well you know more than i do about this, perhaps part of it is wishful thinking on my part that she will stay in chicago with block -- i just assumed that he would expect a LOT of cash for her all things considered.

on a sidenote: what makes you say that you suspect that he would have taken 600? is that just an arbitrary thought on your part?

strictly arbitrary.

I can't even respond to Oracle's Lebowski quote on the above but to you my friend. I GUARANTEE YOU THAT Major Rhythm will get retired to a retired race farm and Mess will take care of that horse until he passes. I GUARANTEE. Block has said numerous times that MG is part of his family and HE HAS THE ABILITY to have him around the rest of his horse life because he has farms all over the god damn place.

What does running him for 50k accomplish, except risking the possiblity of injuring himself again, and then having to put him down. He has a healthy horse that has brought himself and his family alot of joy, wealth, and prestige, you need to respect that IMO

Major will probably be retired before hitting the claiming ranks and probably to Beam's farm in Oklahoma but I believe you casting judgment on what CB did with MG is out of line. He has never run an unfit horse, unlike a lot in Chi., and MG was coming off an injury after an extended period of recooperation. And who paid for all those vet bills and took the time to get him ready?
I know of only one farm the Blocks own so where are all the rest, "all over the place"?

Dude, Scav, if you feel that strongly about it then why didn't you claim him or buy him for 40 when you had the chance to give him the life he deserves?

i can't see it...her bottom line is obscure...i don't see her as a great breeding propect...

I did use "deceptively well-bred" because her first two dams arent all that exciting, but this is a family that has been becoming more and more active.

Under the 3rd dam you have Serena's Song and all her top class offspring. But you also have more mares producing blacktype runners on a very frequent basis. One or two a year become stakes winners with a few more getting blacktype... its a family I follow closely.

The family is also being bred up for the first time in a while.

She's by Lear Fan who's a very underrated broodmare sire out of a young Valid Appeal mare... no secret he's a top broodmare sire. Second dam is by Storm Bird and her daughters are really starting to produce.

We usually agree on pedigrees, but not this time. :D No matter how you cut it, far from "obscure".

The fact that she can be bred to any leading sire line is a plus as well.
When you consider the talent she showed at age three, you have to consider what she is capable of at age 4 as far as racing goes.
Shes gonna go for a nice sum.

a lot of familys have some black type. her bottom line , yes it is mundane, is far from the great families many mares are from...her family just does not compare well with many, many mares from much better families...i don't see her as a broodmare prospect...indeed i view Serenas Song as the aberration in a mediocre family...i recommend buyers pass this one...

Yeah, I barely have $400 let alont 40k comedy guy......if I ever get real rich I plan on doing that as my charity work for the year. there are many horses that don't belong on the track....

I had to bust your balls a bit dude. LOL!!!

He has one in Ocala and I think he has one near Barrington, I could be wrong about the Barrington.

I think CB is a hell of a trainer, don't get me wrong with that. I understand about vet bills but protect him and run him in one of the many optional claiming or something of that nature. Someone could have easily dropped on him on a fly and then he gets hurt again and he is first in line in DeKalb, not cool if this were to happen. He was quoted numerous times that MG would never run for a tag after the injury and he went and did it. It is disrespectful to the horse that did so much for his family IMO.

The better racemares from this family produce very solidly and she's one of the better racemares. We'll just agree to disagree... I like her... then again, you're right, its no Courtly Dee clan... :cool:

ah well, i guess we'll have to mud wrestle to decide this one :D

Deal... got the mud?

Courtly Dee...now THAT was a dam.

I always loved Native Courier.

Native Courier... half the reason for the great Green Desert. Courtly Dee family is my favorite in the studbook... them and the Raise the Standard clan.

Scavs
The Blocks have 2 farms one in Morriston, FL and the family farm in Philo, IL (just south of Champaign).

As far as saying he would never run him for a tag (numerous times) I'd like to see it. What he did say following the injury was, Trainer Chris Block said Tuesday that Mystery Giver will undergo an ultrasound examination Friday or Saturday.

"We can't get a very good read until then," said Block, who trains Mystery Giver for Team Block, the family stable that includes himself and his parents, David and Patricia. "The horse came back with a lot of filling and swelling. I'm sure that it's very, very iffy that he'll ever get to run again."

Mystery Giver is one of the most productive Illinois-breds of all time, having accumulated $1,165,900 in career earnings from 33 starts, all but one on turf. A 6-year-old Dynaformer gelding out of Ioya, his brightest moments have come at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where earlier this year he won the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Handicap.

Block said Mystery Giver will be given "the proper amount of time and rest" after being evaluated.

"Because he's a gelding, we may try to bring him back to the races if I can get him back to 100 percent," Block said. "But usually with this type of injury, horses don't come back all the way. If he doesn't, obviously we won't push him, because he's been so good to us."

And that doesn't sound like a non-caring trainer or man for that matter.

Dell,

I am not going to go nuts and try and find it, although I would like to. I wouldn't be mentioning it if I didn't read it somewhere. I just don't think he is doing right by the horse. If it were me, he would be chilling with a horse alcoholic drink and enjoying the sun and sandpits......

OK I will put this to rest. I obviously think he's a class act and THE best Chicago has right now. Before posting what I did I tried to find his statement that the horse would NEVER run for a tag but couldn't. He also is a guy who ALWAYS stops and speaks with anyone (even when they're drunk and he's on his way for a winner's circle photo). I'll agree to disagree but still maintain this guy is all class and he is not you so I think casting judgment is wrong and out of line but it's your right. Go on the backside and compare his stalls and their cleanliness to others and you'll start to understand what I'm talking about. I'm finished now.

Again, I am not debating him as a person or his horseman skills, I couldn't agree more with you regarding his niceness and that all his horses look extremely well taken care of when they step on the track. What I am debating is the management of this specific horse, and what I percieve as a lack of respect for this specific animal