22 May 2010
Once they see the big city you can't keep then on the farm
While I am sure that New Mexico is still a fine place to race horses, it's doesn't carry the national prowess that Kentucky, New York, or California does. Shoot, even California is having a tough time staying on the national racing stage.
The only things I know about Chip Woolley is what the racing media has told me about him. I'm sure he's a good trainer and he did do a good job getting Mine That Bird t the winners circle in the Kentucky Derby, the rest I have to presume, which isn't right sometimes, but sometimes it's all you got. Needless to say I wasn't surprised this week when it was announced that Mine That Bird was moving to Kentucky.
Something had to give. Either Chip Woolley was going to have to pull up stakes in New Mexico, or the owners of Mine That Bird were going to have to change trainers. It has nothing to do with the training job Chip was doing, more to do with location. While New Mexico has slots to help sustain it's purse structures, it's doesn't have races like the Haskell or the Travers to keep a horse like Mine That Bird on the national stage. So last year when Chip shipped the horse back to New Mexico, I kind of saw this coming, and you have to commend the horses owners for keeping the horse with Chip for as long as they did. It would have been real easy for them to say that while Chip was going back to New Mexico, the horse was not.
It still has to sting, I'm not going to deny that, but it was Chip's decision to return to New Mexico instead of rolling the dice and making due with a one horse barn and making the sacrafices to stay somewhere like Kentucky or another eastern track and rebuilding his business, I doubt I could do it as well.
The only things I know about Chip Woolley is what the racing media has told me about him. I'm sure he's a good trainer and he did do a good job getting Mine That Bird t the winners circle in the Kentucky Derby, the rest I have to presume, which isn't right sometimes, but sometimes it's all you got. Needless to say I wasn't surprised this week when it was announced that Mine That Bird was moving to Kentucky.
Something had to give. Either Chip Woolley was going to have to pull up stakes in New Mexico, or the owners of Mine That Bird were going to have to change trainers. It has nothing to do with the training job Chip was doing, more to do with location. While New Mexico has slots to help sustain it's purse structures, it's doesn't have races like the Haskell or the Travers to keep a horse like Mine That Bird on the national stage. So last year when Chip shipped the horse back to New Mexico, I kind of saw this coming, and you have to commend the horses owners for keeping the horse with Chip for as long as they did. It would have been real easy for them to say that while Chip was going back to New Mexico, the horse was not.
It still has to sting, I'm not going to deny that, but it was Chip's decision to return to New Mexico instead of rolling the dice and making due with a one horse barn and making the sacrafices to stay somewhere like Kentucky or another eastern track and rebuilding his business, I doubt I could do it as well.
Labels: Chip Woolley, D. Wayne Lukas, Kentcuky, Mine That Bird
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