Very special day for a young horse today. Very special day for me too. In the fall of 2016 I purchased a nice Illinois yearling prospect from the Illini Classic sale. As I trained her down during the winter of 2016-17 I really felt she was the nicest horse I ever owned… then a career tragedy struck and she suffered an injury that was diagnosed as a probable career ending injury and most definitely a season ending injury. With only a 50/50 prognosis of a return, I decided to turn her out for the summer and fall and see if nature could put her back together again.
I started training her again the beginning of December 2017 at Pompano Park. I was aggressive with her training as I wanted to know whether I should spend the stake money for the 2018 Illinois stakes schedule. I am really happy that tonight she completed her first qualifying race in 2:01.4. This was the first time she saw the starting gate, the first time in a field of horses and the fastest she has ever trotted.
Here is the 360 video of the race: