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2010

8/27/10 - GET STORMY Winner of the 2010 G2 Bernard Baruch S. & Winner of the 2010 G2 Fourstardave H. Congratulations from Custom Care Equine to all his connections including Breeder Mary A. Sullivan & Trainer Thomas Bush

Courtesy of the TDN

Get Stormy won for the seventh time in his last eight trips to the races, coming from just off the pace for an easy victory here. A two-time winner at the meet last year, including a first black-type badge in the Lure S., the flashy bay colt ran his winning streak to five in the May 22 Elkwood S. at Monmouth Park, but faltered to finish fourth over good Woodbine turf in the GII King Edward S. June 27. He rediscovered his winning ways last time out, recovering from a stumble at the start to wire the field in the GII Fourstardave H. Aug. 1. Content to concede the front end to National Kid (Brz) (Dodge) after getting away cleanly this time around, Get Stormy responded when asked the question by jockey Javier Castellano leaving the quarter pole and quickened up nicely to score by a comfortable margin. "He's the type of horse you can do whatever you want with him," Castelano said. "When I pushed the button, he took off. He had a lot left in the end. I was excited for him today because this was a mile and an eighth race. The question was if he could handle the distance, and he did."

8/19/10 - You Need Me, f. 3, Indian Charlie - Sunup by Smart Strike ran third in the Malvern Rose S at Presque Isle Downs. She broke well, captured the lead and gave away grudgingly in the stretch. She is a homebred for Michael W Jester and is trained by Jevon Crumley.
Lifetime: 13 2-2-2 $69,295

8/4/10 - Custom Care prepared SW KID KATE, f. 3, Lemon Drop Kid - Run Kate Run, by Cherokee Run graduated through her second allowance condition impressively at Saratoga. She is a homebred for Dell Ridge Farm and is trained by Chad C. Brown.
Lifetime:6-3-1-0, $121,929.

KID KATE won at first asking in the slop at Saratoga last July, then added the Junior Champion S. at Monmouth Park a month later. At 6-1 in the GI Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 9, she never really got going and finished ninth. . The 4-5 pick made good scaling back a panel here. She waited to make her run until the quarter pole, swept four wide to challenge the pacesetting Proclaim (Pulpit), and proved too good in the final furlong, drawing off to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Proclaim held for second.

8/1/10 - Custom Care conditioned GET STORMY SCORES IN THE FOURSTARDAVE at the Spa
Courtesy of the TDN

Get Stormy kicked off a four-race winning streak over this course last summer, taking an allowance test in July and the Lure S. in August. The bay made it three in a row in the GIII Bryan Station S. at Keeneland in October, and held on gamely in his final start of the year, annexing the GIII Commonwealth S. at Churchill Nov. 15 by a nose. Making his comeback after a six month vacation in the Elkwood S. at Monmouth May 22, he powered home a 3 1/2-length winner. The four-year-old shipped to Woodbine for his latest, the GII King Edward S. June 27, but failed to threaten and ran fourth as the favorite. The chalk once again with the return to the Spa, Get Stormy broke awkwardly, but got it together in a matter of strides and went right to the lead. He set a solid pace and had plenty in the tank when they hit the lane, holding Public Speaker safe in the drive to the wire. "He was really kind of
rattling down the backside, and I wasn't sure if he'd have enough left," trainer Tom Bush admitted. "The fractions were pretty legit. This horse is really something special." The ultimate goal for the winner will be the GI Breeders' Cup Mile.

Owned by Sullimar Stable, Get Stormy improved his career record to seven wins from 15 starts and earnings of $435,961.

7/30/10 - LOVE RIDGE, f. 3, Siphon (Brz) - All Mine, by Mining, $75,000 made her connections proud with a huge 8 1/2 length win in the ROANOKE S. at Philadelphia Park. She is owned by Leonard Liberto and Harry Stout and was bred by Michael Jester.,
Lifetime: 13-3-2-5, $113,560.

7/10/10 - BANROCK is back and at Monmouth. BANROCK, g. 7, Go for Gin—It’s a Gherkin, by Ends ran second in the Battlefield S. This marvelous gelding has stayed at the top of his game for thirty three starts. He enjoys time off at Custom Care.
Lifetime: 33 12 15 4 $822,140

6/20/10 - CAPTAIN CHEROKEE, c. 4, Sir Cherokee - Candytuft, by Dehere won an allowance race at CHURCHILL DOWNS zipping 6 furlongs in 1:09.28. He is owned by Stonestreet Stables LLC, was bred by Tom Evans, Macon WilmilEquines &Marjac Farms (Ky.) and is trained by Steven M. Asmussen.
Lifetime: 8-3-2-1, $134,320.

Grade 2-placed Captain Cherokee, a half brother to two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner and 2007 champion male sprinter Midnight Lute, broke sharply, set a pressured pace and fought Silver Craft (Value Plus) the length of the stretch before prevailing by a neck.The third-place finisher in last year’s Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course, Captain Cherokee entered off a runner-up finish in an allowance race on May 28 at Churchill Downs in his 2010 debut.

5/22/10 - CUSTOM CARE got off to a fast start at the exciting new MONMOUTH meet as GET STORMY, c. 4, Stormy Atlantic - Foolish Gal, by Kiri’s Clown went wire to wire in the ELKWOOD S. After an awkward break, he rated on the lead and had plenty left in the stretch to finish strongly. He is owned by the Sullimar Stable and was bred by Mary A. Sullivan. His trainer is Tom Bush.
.Lifetime: 13-6-2-1, $328,586

Courtesy of the TDN

Get Stormy has been unstoppable since clearing his first-level condition on Saratoga's opening day last summer. The blaze-faced bay added the Lure S. over that course Aug. 29, then travelled to the Bluegrass State and picked up a pair of graded trophies, Keeneland' s GIII Bryan Station S. Oct. 18 and the GIII Commonwealth Turf S. at Churchill Nov. 15. He assumed his customary spot on the front end and went on to have his picture taken for the fifth straight time ."I thought they might put a little more pressure on him early," said winning trainer Bush said. "He's so handy on the turns--I knew when he charged away on the far turn that he was in good shape." Bush added, "The [GIII Monmouth S. [June 12] is a possibility. The [GI] United Nations [July 3] might be a little ambitious, but with this kind of horse, we have to think about those kinds of things."

5/2/10 - So N So, f. 3, Freud - So Far So Good, by Distinctive Pro racked up a second in the New York Stallion Park Avenue S at Belmont. . First out of the gate, she led until the half and held her second spot gamely to the wire . She is a homebred for Donald Newman and is trained by Thomas M. Bush.
Lifetime: 5-2-1-1,$98,500

4/12/10 - BANROCK - Named 2009 New York-bred Turf Male and Older Male of the Year. Congratulations to all his connections, especially Ruth Bedford and Kate Oconnell of Nyala Farm,owner/breeders and trainer Tom Bush.

4/1/10 - Custom Care prepared So N So f. 3, Freud - So Far So Good, by Distinctive Pro ran third in the LOTTSA TALC S. at Aqueduct. First out of the gate, she led until the stretch. but could not hold on in the final strides. She is a homebred for Donald Newman and is trained by Thomas M. Bush.
Lifetime: 4 2 0 1 $78,500

3/27/10 - Custom Care prepared Brady Baby, h. 5, Gone West - Indian Snow, by A.P. Indy ran thrid in the SIR SHACKLETON H.
Gulfstream Park for owner Dell Ridge Farm and breeder, Frank Justice (Ky.). The race went 7 furlongs in 1:22.17. Brady Baby was coming off a recent win at the same distance at Tampa Bay. Last year he was also stakes placed in the Jim Rasmussen Memorial S   at Prairie Meadows.

2/26/10 -Custom Care prepared SW ROYAL EXPRESS, c. 3, Royal Academy - Deposit Express (Deposit Ticket) ran second in the Sportsman's Paradise S. at Delta Downs. He is a homebred for Richard F Rudolph. Royal Express took the lead leaving the gate, and led until deep stretch. Recently he used his front running style to capture the BLACK GOLD S. at the Fair Grounds Race Course.
Lifetime: 8 3-3-0 $126,391

2/25/10 - PRINCESS HAYA, a Custom Care Equine prepared filly, was named 2009 Texas Horse of the Year and champion female at the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s annual meeting and awards banquet.

PRINCESS HAYA captured the Canadian S. G2 defeating 2008 Eclipse Award-winning turf female, Forever Together. PRINCESS HAYA, Street Cry(IRE) out of Sally Slew by Slew City Slew, is a homebred for Eileen H. Hartis and is trained by Michael Matz.

2/6/2010 - Custom Care prepared ROYAL EXPRESS, c. 3, Royal Academy - Deposit Express, by Deposit Ticket won the BLACK GOLD S. at the Fair Grounds Race Course. He is a homebred for Richard F. Rudolph. ROYAL EXPRESS spurted right to the lead early, cleared to the rail and kept clear throughout winning easily by over 3 lengths.
Lifetime: 7-3-2-0, $111,391

2009

12/05/09 - AQUEDUCT NOTES: TOM BUSH
Courtesy of the NYRA PRESS OFFICE

With winter around the corner, trainer Tom Bush is planning vacations for many of his turf horses, New York-bred standout Banrock, and talented 3-year-old Get Stormy among them.

“They’ll get on the van tomorrow and head to Camden Training Center [in South Carolina],” Bush said Saturday. “In few days they’ll be rolling in the mud down there, which will be great for them. Donna Freyer broke Banrock there when he was a baby and she’s had him every winter since.”

Nyala Farm’s Banrock returned from last year’s winter break to win the Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park by 4¾ lengths, one of four stakes victories for the gelding in 2009. Get Stormy raced in March at Tampa Bay Downs before returning to New York later in the spring. The colt kicked off a four-race win streak in an allowance contest at Saratoga Race Course on July 29, followed by three straight stakes wins in both New York and Kentucky.

“Camden is a nice place for horses in the winter,” Bush said. “They have a one mile dirt track and a turf course – it’s not like sending them to the farm, this is a training center.”

In all, Bush said 13 of his 38 horses would have the winter off, leaving him 25 horses in active training here in New York for the winter.

11/22/09 Mr. Vegas (Freud/Lhotse), chestnut gelding 2, bred by Berkshire Stud and started and conditioned at Custom Care Equine, won an open allowance race at Aqueduct going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Jumping two conditions and going into open company, Mr. Vegas was an easy winner to increase his earnings to $54,342 with two wins in three starts.

10/25/09 - BANROCK takes the Mohawk.

Banrock, fifth by seven lengths in the GI United Nations H. at Monmouth in July, returned to state-bred company in his last two and came away with wins, first in the West Point H. at Saratoga Aug. 16 and then in the Ashley T. Cole at Belmont Sept. 13.

Aiming for his third straight as the prohibitive favorite, Banrock sat off modest splits, then unleashed a resolute late rally to move his lifetime wins to an even dozen. "That was fantastic," said winning trainer Tom Bush. AToday, he really did get a dream trip.He had the great outside stalking trip and he got his soft course. He's just a wonderful horse. You know he's going to show up, he just needs a little racing luck, and he usually gets it done. We're very proud of him for sure. I really, really did want to win this race this year, I wanted to end it on a great note. We're thrilled to win this one. He may run one more time [this year], or he may go home. We'll just have to see how he does here for a couple of weeks

9/20/09 - PRINCESS HAYA, a Custom Care Equine prepared filly, got up in the last moments to capture the Canadian S. G2. PRINCESS HAYA, Street Cry(IRE) out of Sally Slew by Slew City Slew, is a homebred for Eileen H. Hartis and is trained by Michael Matz. She beat the heavily favored 2008 Eclipse Award-winning turf female, Forever Together after making a bold move along the hedge in the stretch and hanging on gamely to the wire. The time for the 1 1/8 mile race was an extremely quick 1:45.03 on firm going.

MR. VEGAS #1	Winner: Custom Care Prepared MR. VEGAS Owner: Andrews T & S Racing Trainer: Michael E. Hushion Jockey: Edgar Prado Breeder: Berkshire Stud MR VEGAS won at first asking after a horrible trip, with a bad break and then multiple checks before he spit horses and won going away. Watch this one!

8/29/09 - Dell Farm Homebred KID KATE raced off the pace, moved up quickly on the turn, made a four wide run to the front and splashed to a three and three quarters length win in the Junior Champion S at Monmouth Park. Scheduled to go a mile on the turf, the race was moved to the dirt but that did not deter KID KATE.

Good things come in small packages, and the rewards keep coming for Dell Ridge Farm, owner-breeder of the racy two-year-old filly Kid Kate. Trained by Chad Brown, Kid Kate won her debut by 23⁄4 lengths on July 31 at Saratoga Race Course under jockey Jose Lezcano, and she returned to the starting gate less than a month later to win Monmouth Park’s Junior Champion Stakes by 33⁄4 lengths on August 29 under jockey Elvis Trujillo. Both times, the Lemon Drop Kid filly came from off the pace to assume command and draw away in the stretch, exhibiting a professionalism belying her lack of experience.

Dell Ridge Farm’s good fortune could have been someone else’s. Kid Kate was entered in the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale, consigned by Paramount Sales, but failed to meet her reserve and was bought back for $55,000. Desmond Ryan, farm manager for Dell Ridge Farm, said the timing might not have been ideal for her.

“The sale might have been a little bit early for her,” he said. “She just needed another month or so. We felt like we couldn’t take her into the sale ring and give her away because we liked her. We decided we’d hold on to her if she didn’t make her reserve. “We felt we were being very fair putting a $60,000 reserve on her, and if she didn’t make that …we felt it would be worth taking a chance with her.”

Dell Ridge had reason for optimism; they had owned the filly’s grandam and dam, and knew the family well. Kid Kate’s dam, the Cherokee Run mare Run Kate Run, had exhibited promise while in training with Eddie Kenneally, but she suffered an injury two weeks before her prospective first start and was retired to the farm’s broodmare band. Her first foal, Meetmeatthechapel, by Chapel Royal, is a winner. She has a yearling colt by Forest Grove, a filly at her side by Bandini, and is in foal to multiple Grade 1 winner Shakespeare.

Paramount Sales is consigning the Forest Grove colt to Keeneland September as hip number 2480, and he now has an impressive update to the catalog as a result of Kid Kate’s stylish victories. For Kid Kate, the future seems very bright, and Dell Ridge is excited to try different things with her. “We would like to try her on the turf. Chad’s done a great job with her so far, and he’s the trainer. He confers with us, but we let him do his own thing, and he’s done a great job with her,” Ryan said. “She tries; she’s an overachiever. She might not be the biggest filly in the world, but she trains every week and puts her heart into it every time she runs. She’s been sound as a pound.”

8/24/09 - Homebreds So N So wins 6f Monday Spa stakes
Courtesy of www.nybreds.com
by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

SO N SO

Custom Care Equine prepared homebred SO N SO and SILVERCUP BABY captured Saratoga's six-furlong Lucy Scribner Stakes (for New York-bred juvenile fillies).

Still never headed but certainly challenged in her second outing and second victory, Donald Newman's homebred So N So was odds-on (.35-to-1) among five wagering interests and six starters -- all coming off maiden-breaking wins -- in the Lucy Scribner and was pressed throughout by Mineralogist. Breaking on top in her second outing under jockey Alan Garcia, the cat-quick Freud filly ran an ambitious opening quarter in 22.33 that was even faster than the Union Avenue's first split, but Mineralogist -- half of an entry that was the 3.70-to-1 second choice -- was right on her heels. After a half-mile in 45.70, the two were only a half-length apart, but in the upper stretch So N So suddenly switched back to her left lead in response to Garcia's right-handed urging and drifted in as a result, causing Mineralogist to alter course. At the wire, the two were three-quarters of a length apart in the impressive time (for two-year-old fillies) of 1:10.63, as a pre-Labor Day stakes for distaff juveniles turned out to be surprisingly formful for that type of event.

Owned and bred by Donald Newman of Roslyn, So N So was foaled at JoAnne Halleck-Finley's Fawnridge Farm in East Nassau and is the 15th stakes winner sired by Freud and that stallion's fifth 2009 stakes winner -- following another juvenile filly, Ontario Debutante winner Franny Freud, by nine days. The precocious chestnut is out of Newman's New York homebred So Far So Good, a late-developing Aqueduct two-turn allowance-winning half-sister to multiple graded turf winner First and Only ($525,532), whom Newman also bred and raced. Another of Newman's New York homebred winners, Sweet Rebecca N ($189,232), is out of a half-sister to So Far So Good. Newman had purchased the dam of So Far So Good (and the maternal granddam of So N So), Lovelier by Far, for $40,000 at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 1983 July yearling sale.

8/23/09 8th Race - Saratoga - Allowance - New York Bred - Fillies and Mares - 3 Yar Olds and Up - NW1X - 5 1/2 Furlongs Turf - Purse $48,000
ELEGANT BESS #10	Winner: custom care prepared ELEGANT BESS Owner: Thomas Moran Trainer: Philip M. Serpe Jockey: Rajiv Maragh Breeder: Robert F. Barney & Thomas Moran

8/16/09 - In a nail biter, BANROCK, g. 6, Go for Gin—It’s a Gherkin, by Ends Well got up to score in the West Point H. at Saratoga. A homebred for the Nyala Farm of Connecticut residents Kathleen O'Connell and Ruth Bedford, Banrock is a half-brother to Nyala Farm's New York homebred Finlandia ($326,015), who won mile and an eighth turf stakes at Saratoga and Belmont also under Kent Desormeaux's guidance and Bush's care during the summer-fall of 2006.

by Ashley Herriman (Courtesy NYRA Press)

Photo: Beth Arkin

BANROCK #7

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- After making his last two starts in open company, Ruth Bedford's BANROCK returned to his New York roots Sunday to win the 30th running of the $110,000 West Point Handicap at Saratoga Race Course, becoming the second horse in the race's history to win consecutive runnings. 

Bounding along in midpack through early fractions of 23.21 and 47.83 set by Mission Approved, Banrock rallied from the outside on the turn and gained steadily through the stretch to win by a neck over Pennington.  His final time for 1 1/8th miles was 1:47.48.

"We definitely had to make up some ground turning for home with the way the turf is," said trainer Tom Bush.  "The speed is starting to hold more and more every day, so I was worried about it.  But when he can get outside, that's when he's awful tough - if he gets a little pace in front of him and he can sit off the pace, that's when he runs his best."

Banrock made his last two starts at Monmouth Park, running second in the Monmouth Stakes and fifth in the Grade 1 United Nations, both behind Presious Passion.  Bush said he had wanted to try the horse in open company while he was still fresh early in the year, but would take back running in the United Nations if he could.

"It was a bad choice on my part to run him at a mile and three-eighths [in the United Nations] especially at Monmouth with the pace scenario and the speed-favoring nature of the track," Bush said.

"He loves Saratoga for sure [and] when he got up here, he really picked up mentally and we were pretty confident he was going to show up today."

With the exception of his two most recent starts, 6-year-old Banrock has spent his entire career running in New York and Sunday's West Point win marked his sixth New York-bred stakes triumph.

"I have total admiration for this horse," said jockey Kent Desormeaux, who has been aboard the gelding for all of his stakes wins.  "He has been one of my success stories since coming to New York. Every time I see him, I start smiling. He's a winning machine. I just punch my lottery ticket with Banrock. He's always there."

Sent off as the heavy favorite, Banrock paid 3.80 for a $2 win bet to his backers in the crowd of 52,435 and earned $66,000 for the win to lift his lifetime earnings to $643,213.  Extra Zip, My Man Lars, Hangingbyathread, Kutais, North Country, Mission Approved, Solvent and Dantastic completed the order of finish. 

Bush said he was unsure when or where Banrock would make his next start. 

"We'll have to sit back and take a look at it, but he's been good to us, so we've got to take care of him," Bush said.  "We want to win it again, we hope to have him around for a couple more years."  

Lifetime: 28-10-4-4, $643,213.

08/10/09 - 1st Race - Saratoga - Allowance Optional Claiming - New York Bred - Fillies and Mares - 3 Year Olds and Up - NW2X - 1 Mile Turf - Purse $51,000
SOAVE #6	Winner: SOAVE Owner: Empire Equines LLC Trainer: Thomas M. Bush Jockey: Kent Desormeaux Breeder: Empire Equines, LLC
8th Race - Saratoga - Allowance Optional Claiming - New York Bred - 3 Year Olds and Up - NW2X - 6 1/2 Furlongs - Purse $50,000
MULTIDUDE #9	Winner: MULTIDUDE Owner: Flying Zee Stable Trainer: Carlos F. Martin Jockey: John Velazquez Breeder: Flying Zee Stables

8/1/09 - Late July and early August has been a busy time for Custom Care grads. LETTER OF THE LAW won the Turf Starlet Stakes at Penn National on 8/1. So far there are two maiden winners at Saratoga. On 7/31 KID KATE won a MSW for 2 yr old fiiilies and on 8/2 MYTHICAL YARN won a MSW for fillies 3 and up.

LETTER OF THE LAW, f, 2, Stormy Atlantic-- Feather Boa, by Saint Ballado is owned by The Elkstone Group and was bred by-Glencrest Farm LLC (KY).
Lifetime : 4-2-0-1, $71,347.
Letter of the Law won her maiden at second asking over the Presque Isle Tapeta May 29, but did not fare well in Woodbine's My Dear S. last time June 28. Trying the grass for the first time, the bay established an early advantage beneath Harry Vega and strode home a comfortable winner

Fjying Zee homebred MYTHICAL YARN, f. 3,Johannesburg - Key Definition, by Gentlemen (Arg).Flying Zee Stable; B—Flying Zee Stables (N.Y.) won her second start. Stretching out to 11⁄16 miles, Mythical Yarn prompted the pace on the outside, bid for the lead in midstretch, and wrested command in the closing stages to prevail. The chestnut filly by Central Kentucky-based sire Johannesburg entered off a runner-up finish in a seven-furlong maiden special weight turf race on June 28 at Belmont Park in her career debut. She was chosen a Thoroughbred Times Today Notable Maiden Winner.
Lifetime: . 2-1-1-0, $35,200.

7/17/09 - Custom Care prepared OUR GOLDEN DREAM, f, 3, by Medaglia d'Oro - Adorahy by Rahy added black type to her name, coming 4 wide into the stretch and edging away to win the Dam Little S on the turf at Belmont. She is owned by John Confort and Albert Weiss and was bred by Gallagher’s Stud (N.Y.). She is trained by Thomas M. Bush.
Lifetime: 7-2-1-0, $76,504.

Our Golden Dream wins Belmont's Dam Little S. while beating open SWs
Courtesy of www.nybreds.com
by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

OUR GOLDEN DREAM

Confirming her class, John Confort's and Albert Weis's royally-bred OUR GOLDEN DREAM rallied to her first stakes victory in Belmont's turf mile Dam Little Stakes for New York-bred three-year-old fillies on late Friday afternoon, July 17, beating six rivals that included two open stakes winners. The daughter of North America's leading second-crop sire and out of what is now a multiple stakes producer had been overlooked by the wagering public even though she was coming off a front-running allowance win on a soft Belmont lawn 33 days earlier. That had been her first outing under jockey Alan Garcia, who was back on board for the Dam Little and obviously knew what to do with his May-foaled mount, who was the 12.10-to-1 sixth choice among seven starters.

Although she had led throughout a month earlier, Our Golden Dream was allowed to cruise in fourth place for three-quarters of a mile, as 2009 dirt-and-turf stakes winner Mother Russia -- the 3.25-to-1 third choice -- gained a five-length lead off ambitious early splits of 23.50 and 23.34. The pacesetter's velocity dropped off suddenly thereafter, and 12-to-1 fifth choice Princess Maura quickly grabbed a brief lead on the turn while completing the third quarter-mile split in 24.38 but then faltered in the upper stretch. Our Golden Dream, who had advanced four-wide into the stretch while racing abreast with 3.80-to-1 fourth choice Soave, gained command approaching the eighth-mile pole and drew clear while covering her final individual quarter-mile in about 23-1/5 seconds. A late charge by 2.35-to-1 favorite My Magic Moment, who had not accelerated quickly enough to stay within striking distance of the winner at mid-stretch, cut Our Golden Dream's margin to three-quarters of a length at the wire off a winning time of 1:34.97.

My Magic Moment, a graded-placed stakes winner outside of state-bred company while competing on Belmont's Widener weeds as a juvenile, placed a length and a half ahead of third-place finisher Luna Charm, who edged 2008 Grade 2 winner Doremifasollatido in the latter's turf debut. For a twilight Friday restricted stakes contested by sophomore fillies, the Dam Little hosted a surprisingly formidable field. Our Golden Dream was the youngest starter in that field, being the only May foal competing.

Victory in the Dam Little -- named for J. Senta's three-year-old filly of 1982 who twice won against older state-bred rivals in NYRA stakes competition -- boosted Our Golden Dream's earnings into six figures at $117,154 and improved her record to three turf wins and one second in eight starts. Following the bay filly's June victory under Garcia at Belmont, winning trainer Thomas Bush had given her solid half-mile and five-furlong workouts on July 1 and July 9 respectively on Belmont's main track.

Our Golden Dream had been purchased by her owners -- longtime partners Confort of New York City and Weis of Sands Point -- for $265,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2007 Saratoga New York-bred preferred yearling sale, to which she had been consigned by her breeder, Marlene Brody's Gallagher's Stud in Ghent. Other New York-bred winners raced by Confort and Weis have included stakes-winning half-siblings Haggs Castle ($296,262) and Winter Dreams. Our Golden Dream is by leading 2009 North American second-crop sire Medaglia d'Oro and is the fifth offspring, fifth winner, and second stakes winner produced from Gallagher's Stud's New York homebred winner, Adorahy, being a half-sister to open stakes winner Icabad Crane ($275,895). Dam Adorahy is a half-sister to two stakes winners, including graded winner Adcat ($435,597), and to the stakes-placed dam of stakes winner Ruthian ($212,592), whose winning offspring include Grade 1-winning millionaire Rutherienne ($1,126,471 to date).

7/8/09 Custom Care prepared Hangingbyathread rallies to take Do It Fast S.
Courtesy of www.nybreds.com

Photo: Photo: Adam Coglianese

HANGINGBYATHREAD

In a talent-laden field of eight six-figure-earners, three open company stakes winners, and a multiple graded turf winner, Flying Zee Stable's homebred Hangingbyathread overcame crowding on the rail to pull clear to a length and three-quarter victory in Belmont's Do It Fast Stakes. It was the first stakes victory for the five-year-old gelding, who had placed third -- beaten only a neck for everything -- in Belmont's $150,000 Mohawk Handicap on New York Showcase Day last October. He had won his 2009 debut on turf, a mile and a sixteenth Belmont starter allowance outside state-bred company, by 3-1/2 lengths on May 22, but had been blocked and was unplaced on yielding sod in an open N1X Belmont allowance on June 6. The field that Hangingbyathread faced in the Do It Fast was significantly more formidable than in his open allowance outing, and he again was blocked, but this time the gelding's talent came through.

Well-respected as the 2.20-to-1 second choice among eight and race-ridden for the first time by jockey Jose Lezcano, Hangingbyathread was reserved near the rail in fifth and sixth place for six furlongs while 1.95-to-1 favorite Mission Approved -- a multiple graded turf winner -- set an erratic pace. The connections of Mission Approved obviously wanted the lead at all costs, which in this case cost an opening quarter-mile in 23.02 for the nine-furlong event. When second-place pursuer Pennington backed off the pressure, Mission Approved's second quarter decelerated significantly to 24.99, but when pressure resumed, the favorite cranked up his third quarter to 23.76. At mid-stretch, those two were still one-two and a half-length apart, with Hangingbyathread seemingly boxed in on the rail, but Lezcano angled his willing mount outside, employed brief left-handed urging, and quickly sent the long-striding gelding to the front. Hangingbyathread's individual final furlong was under 12 seconds flat, putting him at the wire in 1:48.44.

Victory in the $67,200 Do It Fast -- named for Little M. Farm's maiden-breaking winner of the inaugural (1978) Mohawk Stakes when it was a six-furlong main track event for juvenile fillies -- increased Hangingbyathread's earnings to $231,002 and improved his record to 6 - 1 - 4 in 19 starts. Trained by Carlos Martin, who had given him two half-mile workouts on Belmont's training track in the latter half of June, Hangingbyathread is a homebred for the Flying Zee Stable of Carl Lizza Jr., co-owner (with Joseph Bartone) of Highcliff Farm in Delanson. Flying Zee Stable also is the owner-breeder of multiple graded turf winner I LOST MY CHOO ($442,740), a Western Expression filly who two days earlier had placed a close second in Philadelphia Park's $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap at a mile and a sixteenth on turf.

Hangingbyathread's four-year-old half-sister, Flying Zee Stable's New York homebred Hangingonaprayer, placed third in Belmont's Wednesday nightcap turf sprint two races after the Do It Fast -- and 53 days after having won a six-furlong sprint on Belmont's inner turf for her second career victory. Hangingbyathread, who is by Giant's Causeway and is inbred 3 x 4 to Storm Bird, is the first offspring produced from former juvenile turf winner Hangingbyamoment, a Thunder Gulch mare that Flying Zee Stable had purchased for $45,000 at Keeneland's 2000 September yearling sale. Hangingbyamoment is a half-sister to stakes winners Senate Appointee ($543,330) and Mercedes Miss (dam of $546,899-earning stakes winner Missme) and to the winning dams of other stakes winners Bagshot ($729,104) and Go for Cat ($224,704). The mare has a 2009 New York-bred filly by Fusaichi Pegasus and is in foal to Johannesburg.

6/24/09 - SO N SO, a 2 year old filly by Freud out of the Distinctive Pro mare So Far So Good, broke her maiden first out in a MSW at Belmont, winning off by over 9 lengths under a hand ride. She was sent to trainer Thomas M. Bush from Custom Care Equine about 2 months ago. She is a homebred for Donald Newman.

6/14/09 - Custom Care prepared OUR GOLDEN DREAM, f, 3, by Medaglia d'Oro - Adorahy by Rahy set the pace under pressure along the rail, shook off a brief challenge midway on the turn, opened a clear advantage in upper stretch and edged away under steady urging in an allowance race on the turf at Belmont. She is owned by John Confort and Albert Weissand was bred by Gallagher’s Stud (N.Y.). She is trained by Thomas M. Bush.
Lifetime: 7-2-1-0, $76,504.

5th Race - Belmont - Starters Allowance - 3 Year Olds and Up - 1 1/16 Mile Turf - Purse $44,000 Courtesy of www.nybreds.com
HANGINGBYATHREAD #7	Winner: HANGINGBYATHREAD Owner: Flying Zee Stable Trainer: Carlos F. Martin Jockey: Eibar Coa Breeder: Flying Zee Stables   This colt was prepared by Custom Care Equine and won first out after his return to the track.

5/10/09 - Banrock wins Kingston by 4-3/4 for 2nd annual score in that event
by Rab Hagin
Courtesy of www.nybreds.com

Returning from a great season off a restful layoff, on soft turf, under his favorite jockey, and on his beloved Widener weeds, Nyala Farm's homebred BANROCK probably deserved shorter odds than 1.35-to-1 while winning Belmont's mile and a sixteenth Kingston Stakes for New York-breds on Sunday, May 10. At the finish, the top-weighted favorite among seven starters was 4-3/4 lengths in front for his fifth stakes victory under Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, leaving two graded winners in his wake as he became the first back-to-back Kingston winner in 11 years. A year ago, the carefully-campaigned current six-year-old had scored his first stakes victory in the Kingston, but that had been a battle, whereas Sunday's repeat performance was a breeze.

Banrock even was blessed with a rival that was willing to set the pace, which the Nyala Farm homebred prefers not to do, allowing 14.20-to-1 sixth choice Mission Approved to take the early lead off careful fractions of 24.62, 25.42, and 24.99. Then the pace picked up, as Banrock advanced from fourth place along the rail to challenge Mission Approved after angling into the clear at the top of the stretch, taking command a furlong from the finish off a fourth quarter-mile split of 24.41. Utilizing his smooth, ground-devouring strides over the soft sod (produced from a week of rain), the bay gelding covered his final individual five-sixteenths of a mile in close to 30 seconds flat. Mission Approved, a graded grass winner in 2007 and 2008 by using front-running tactics, placed second, and the contest's other graded winner, 2.20-to-1 second choice Giant Moon (who does not even appear to like wet main tracks), faded over the soft going in his turf debut.

Desormeaux, who in seven races aboard Banrock has guided the gelding to all five of his stakes wins, described his latest trip as a joyride: "Dream trip," summarized Desormeaux. "The horse was full of run; it was an armchair ride. The second-place horse (Mission Approved) leading the field died right when it was time for me to go, so it was a nice filtration to the lead," concluded the three-time Eclipse Award-winning rider (once as an apprentice), who piloted two New York homebreds to victory on Belmont's Sunday card.

Winning trainer Thomas Bush, who also sent out Gallagher's Stud's New York homebred TULIPMANIA ($106,926) to win Sunday's allowance opener at Belmont -- boosting that filly's earnings into six figures -- obviously enjoys training Banrock: "Can you find me another one like him?" rhetorically asked Bush. "We were trying to get started on the right foot in this race," continued Bush, who had given Banrock eight workouts at Belmont spaced six-to-eight days apart starting in mid-March and concluding with an easy five-furlong turf drill on May 3. "We might try one of the marathon races down the road, because he's done well at a mile and three-eighths (winning an Aqueduct open allowance at that distance and placing third in Aqueduct's Grade 2 Red Smith last November), but honestly, we weren't looking past this race. He doesn't race too much, so he stays healthy."

Banrock's Kingston victory off a six-month layoff represented his fourth stakes tally on Belmont's Widener course (which the $108,500 event had been switched to after being scheduled for the inner turf), increasing his earnings to $517,213 and improving his record to 9 - 3 - 4 in 25 starts. In his final start of 2008, the lawn-loving campaigner had beaten Grade 1, Grade 2, and Group 2 turf winners while placing third in his first open stakes outing, the Red Smith. He then had spent a relaxing winter at former trainer Donna Freyer's Custom Care Equine in Camden, South Carolina. The only previous back-to-back winner of the Kingston was Francis Santangelo's homebred New York Thoroughbred Breeders Champion Turf Male of 1997, Draw Shot, who captured the event in 1997 and 1998.

A homebred for the Nyala Farm of Connecticut residents Kathleen O'Connell and Ruth Bedford, Banrock is a half-brother to Nyala Farm's New York homebred Finlandia ($326,015), who won mile and an eighth turf stakes at Saratoga and Belmont under Desormeaux's guidance and Bush's care during the summer-fall of 2006. The son of New York-conceived Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin is the third winner produced from Nyala Farm's New York homebred It's a Gherkin, who won three times on Belmont grass -- twice in restricted allowances -- and is by the late New York sire Ends Well. It's a Gherkin is a full sister to two New York-bred stakes-placed winners, including Bien Sucre ($124,206), who is the dam of New York-bred stakes winners Homerette ($263,411) and Dulce de Leche ($195,324 in U.S. and France). It's a Gherkin's dam (Banrock's maternal granddam), winner Sweet Dilemma, is from a Greentree Stud family and had been acquired by Nyala Farm in the early 1990s. Banrock is inbred 3 x 4 x 5 to Greentree Stud/Stable's homebred 1968 Belmont Stakes winner, Stage Door Johnny, to whom dam It's a Gherkin is individually inbred 3 x 4.

4/26/09 -CUSTOM CARE PREPARED WESTERN FABLE GOES WIRE TO WIRE ON THE GRASS AT AQUEDUCT

4th Race - Aqueduct - Allowance - New York Bred - 3 Year Olds and Up - NW1X - 1 1/16 Mile Turf - Purse $44,000 Courtesy of www.nybreds.com WESTERN FABLE #4 Winner: WESTERN FABLE Owner: Flying Zee Stable Trainer: Carlos F. Martin Jockey: Eibar Coa Breeder: Flying Zee Stables