But it wasn't until the evening of March 25 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, as she looked up at a bustling grandstand that echoed with the crescendo of excited fans awaiting the start of the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup night, that Raabe realized the dream had been achieved.

It was just a new version, with a showjumping stadium swapped out for a racetrack, and instead of her jumping around a course aboard her own off-track Thoroughbred, it was her walking out as the assistant trainer and exercise rider of Sibelius (Not This Time), who would go on to win the Dubai Golden Shaheen and become the first Group 1 winner for his trainer Jerry O'Dwyer.

“I looked up at the grandstand and burst into tears. I couldn't even control it, I literally started sobbing. It was just such a big moment,” said Raabe. “I was always that person that said, 'I'm going to do something really big,' even though I was mostly at a disadvantage. I just had that flashback to me as a little girl daydreaming about standing on an Olympic podium and I'm looking up at these fans and all of these people and these cameramen, and thought 'Wow, this is a dream come true.'”

Sibelius wins the G1 Golden Shaheen | Erika Rasmussen

A native of Oxford, Ohio, Raabe grew up on her family's 100-acre farm where ponies and horses were a constant as she participated in 4-H, FFA and rode as a member of the local Pony Club. From there, her passion for the sport of eventing led her to two-time Olympic rider Dorothy Crowell, who Raabe spent the summers with as a working student in Frankfort, Ky.

After graduating from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in integrative studies, Raabe headed south to Ocala, Fla., working various jobs in the horse industry before landing at Bridlewood Farm. That venture kickstarted her first endeavor into the training and racing side of the Thoroughbred business.

“While I was working at Bridlewood, I absolutely fell in love with racing and that farm. At that time, we had Tapwrit and just so many nice horses. I didn't even realize how nice so many of the horses were that I was around, until much later, because it was so new to me. But I just liked that there were so many different types of races and different types of horses and how new and interesting it was,” she said. “I went from never touching a real racehorse to learning how to gallop and I ended up being one of the traveling assistants, where I was traveling around the country and running horses. I was able to learn a lot quickly and whenever I wanted to learn more, I was always able to do those things there.”

After nearly three years at Bridlewood, Raabe moved on to work for trainers Jonathan Thomas and later Michelle Nihei, before returning to Ocala for a stint at Red Oak Farm.

By the spring of 2022, after working through the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic in Florida, Maryland and Delaware, Raabe felt she was at a crossroads when it came to her future in the Thoroughbred industry. It was then she decided she'd have one final hurrah as an exercise rider, riding out for Todd Pletcher in Saratoga that summer, while also working for track photographer Adam Coglianese.

“I loved working for Todd. It's definitely what I needed at that point in time. It was a low-stress, good job with good horses,” she said. “But you do get really burnt out. It is a hard life. It's grueling, it really is.”

As summer winded down, Raabe began looking into housing as she planned her return to Florida, until a phone call from longtime friend Alison O'Dwyer, Jerry's wife, changed everything.

“Jerry has this really nice horse; he just won the Lite the Fuse [at Laurel Park] and we're going to run him in a Win and You're In [the Grade II Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix] at Keeneland. He's thinking about sending a string but doesn't really have anyone to oversee it, so we're still trying to figure out the details,” Alison O'Dwyer said.

“Ali, if he wants, I would love to go do that for you guys. I would love to go to Keeneland for the fall meet,” Raabe immediately replied.

It was a full circle moment for Raabe, who had met Alison O'Dwyer during her time working for Crowell in Kentucky. The two have been close friends ever since.

“Alison is one of my best friends, so that's actually how I met Jerry. It's always been kind of inevitable as to when I would be working for him. It was never a question, I knew that I'd end up in that barn at some point,” said Raabe. “He would say, 'You always have a job with me.'”

And that 'nice horse' Alison had mentioned? It was none other than Sibelius, a striking chestnut with an enchanting white face and chrome on his legs to match, who had just become a stakes winner with a rousing 7 1/2 length victory over Grade III winner Jaxon Traveler (Munnings) in the Sept. 10 Lite the Fuse.

“My first ride on him in September, I remember getting off of him, looking at my co-worker Ricardo [Barajas], who I had known in Delaware, and saying 'Ricardo, this horse is going to be a freak, but he's not a freak yet,'” she said.

The pair have spent each morning together since. Continuing on with his 4-year-old season, Sibelius wound up fourth in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix, by two lengths, and second in the Bet on Sunshine Stakes that November at Churchill, before heading back to Jerry O'Dwyer's home base at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla. He closed out the year back in graded stakes company at Gulfstream Park, facing 10 others in the Dec. 31 GIII Mr. Prospector Stakes and prevailing by 2 1/4 lengths with regular jockey Junior Alvarado aboard.

“I really value teaching the horses how to relax while they train. I feel like when a horse is relaxed, a horse can think, and across any sport I've been involved with–I've helped with driving horses, western horses, showjumpers, dressage and eventing horses–the one thing that every horse needs to be successful in any sport is relaxation,” said Raabe. “I have really tried to carry that over in the way I gallop, the way I train horses to gallop. As I've come to know that horse, he really thrives in knowing his people and having a close relationship with them. I've been riding him for months now, and he's one of the easiest horses to ride in the barn now, but in the beginning he wasn't. It just took him time to learn how I wanted him to train and once he started catching on, he was much happier and I'm much happier.”

Following a resilient victory in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, where he won by 1 ¼ lengths in a final time of 1:08.75 going six furlongs over a fast track on Feb. 11, Sibelius and his team were officially invited to Dubai for the $2-million Dubai Golden Shaheen.

The prep work off the track became just as important as the training on the track, as Raabe took two weeks to prepare the gelding for the long walks they would be making to and from the track when stabled at Meydan.

“Since we have such a small stable, we're able to customize what we do with each horse if we need to, so I just started walking him and getting his body used to carrying weight for that long. By the time I left for Dubai, he was already used to having that 30-minute walk before and after he trained. He really enjoyed it,” said Raabe. “We would march up and down the paths at Palm Meadows and we would have people coming out to visit him, specifically to say 'hi' to him and give him a pet. He loved it because he was getting attention, and of course he's a smart, relaxed horse anyways so he really enjoyed that part of his day.”

The work the O'Dwyer team put in, and the bond Sibelius has with Raabe, were the ideal foundation for a seamless transition to life over in Dubai leading up to the big race. With the pair both making their first trips outside of the United States, Raabe arrived March 12 and Sibelius shipped in the following day.

“As soon as he saw me, he took this deep breath and put his head against my chest. There was all of this madness going on around him, everyone's trying to rip wraps off of the horses and get them walked and get them bathed and in that moment, it was like he said, 'I'm just glad you're here,'” said Raabe. “I quietly took his wraps off, it was just me and him there, and I hung out with him for a few minutes. Once the barn quieted down, I walked him out, gave him a bath and took him for a little walk and let him do his thing. It's little things like that that he really appreciates.”

All eyes were on Sibelius each morning at Meydan, where the gelding established himself as a local celebrity of sorts with his routine of standing in on the rail, taking in his surroundings with ears pricked and head on a swivel. Raabe said his awareness of every situation he is in, regardless of the change in scenery, is a testament to his intelligence and ability to thrive in an ever-changing environment.

“Since everyone around him was relaxed, and the whole situation was relaxed, it was just easy for him. He's a horse that always stands in when he goes on the track. I think he's always done it and he's always been allowed to do it, because he loves just taking in the world. The closer he gets to a race, the longer he wants to stand in. I swear he knows what the routine is the closer he gets to a race and how many times he breezes before he's going to run,” said Raabe. “This was the easiest time I've ever had traveling with a horse, so you just knew something special was going to happen.”

Special indeed. With Ryan Moore aboard, Sibelius ran the race of a lifetime, overcoming a poor start and making up ground as he found a spot on the inside rail and fought until the very end, coming out a nose ahead of defending champion Switzerland (Speightstown). Jerry and Alison O'Dwyer, along with the gelding's owners Jun Park and Delia Nash, were all there to witness the magnificent feat, but it was Raabe who there to collect Sibelius as he came off of the track.

“I had so many people tell me they were going to watch the race and I felt like as many fans as we knew he had, I felt the entire world screaming, propelling him forward. Hundreds of people from my hometown watched that race that have never watched a horse race in their lives. People I didn't even know cared about horse racing tuned into that race. He's made such an impact on people, but maybe it's a little bit of our partnership too. It's a really beautiful bond and I think it's obvious to people, even people that don't know about horse racing, and it's something they can connect with,” said Raabe.

Chelsie Raabe and Sibelius | Sara Gordon

The emotional impact of the moment washed over her again, running through a mix of shock, relief and most importantly, pride, as she watched the culmination of hard work put in by the O'Dwyer team pay off in the most rewarding of successes. Raabe also gave the utmost credit to Alvarado, who had ridden him in his six previous starts, four of which he'd won.

“Junior has done an excellent job riding him. I think with what I do when I gallop in the morning, being really adamant about horses training relaxed, on the bit and using themselves, that's really complimentary to the way Junior rides. Junior has been able to take him from being a horse that was a little nervous and hot in the races to a horse that is very relaxed and really able to think about what's happening. He grew from a horse that wouldn't really pass other horses to a horse that will confidently go by traffic, and he's never had to go by as much traffic as he did in the Golden Shaheen,” said Raabe.

Returning to the states in early April, Sibelius enjoyed a few weeks of downtime on a farm near Lexington, Ky., before shipping to Keeneland to join Jerry O'Dwyer's small string being stabled there, overseen by Raabe. He resumed training April 25.

With three published works at Keeneland under his belt, most recently breezing four furlongs in :50 flat over the main track on May 27, the 5-year-old gelding is set to make his stateside return in Saturday's Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs. He'll be reunited with Alvarado and once again face off with Gunite (Gun Runner), third in the Golden Shaheen, who is one of four others entered in the six-furlong test.

Despite the added pressure and pressure that tends to comes with being a Group 1 winner that currently holds a three-win streak, it's business as usual for Sibelius and his partner, Raabe, who is just happy to have one of her favorites back in the barn.

“Riding him through the fall and riding him into some of the races, I just fell back in love with the sport. I fell absolutely in love with him and just had so much respect for him as a soul in the world and he really connected with me, and on top of that, I'm working with people who are my family. Jerry has created a healthy space for all of his employees, where it's family-friendly oriented and everyone gets along, everyone is friends,” said Raabe. “All of a sudden, any bit of that sort of resentment or feelings of exhaustion I had melted away. I didn't even realize I had completely fallen back in love with doing what I was doing and it's all because of Sibelius.”

When Sibelius won in Meydan that fateful evening in late March, he did more than win a $2-million Group 1 race. His victory signified the devotion of his trainer and his small crew of staff members, the belief of his owners, and the support of fans, new and returning, that span across the globe. Raabe will never forget her experience with Sibelius in Dubai, but most of all, she'll treasure the precedent they set together.

“I think I've gotten hundreds and hundreds of messages from people, wishing us well, saying they were crying watching us win, or they were screaming, and that part has been really cool. Horse racing needs a horse that the people can relate to and I hope Sibelius can become that horse and our story can to. I think it's really important. We need that, the people need it, racing needs it,” said Raabe. “No matter what happens the rest of the year, or during this horse's career, what matters is that his owners are so nice and kind and just want the best for him, and want the best for Jerry. His story will never become bitter, and the sport really needs that, so that part I take pretty seriously. I hope to keep cultivating his story because we do have a following now.”

Take a bow, Chelsie Raabe.

The post A Fateful Pair: Chelsie Raabe And Sibelius appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“We have accepted an invitation to go to Dubai,” trainer Jerry O'Dwyer said. “He came out of his last race good and is doing really well.”

Sibelius, the winner of the Lite the Fuse S. at Pimlico last fall, followed up his New Year's Eve Mr. Prospector score with another victory in the Pelican S. at Tampa Feb. 11.

“He put it all together that day,” O'Dwyer said. “The Mr. Prospector worked out a bit different than the way he had been running. He was in behind the speed getting dirt in his face and had to rate a little bit and then tip out and go do it. He had to do everything like a proper racehorse does. He didn't get everything his own way.”

In the six-furlong Pelican, Sibelius set a stakes record 1:08.75, just .08 off the track record.

“I was very impressed with him, because he really had to battle off and fend off that other horse [Doctor Oscar] that put it to him the whole way,” O'Dwyer said. “He really had to dig in deep to put that horse away towards the wire.”

According to O'Dwyer, Sibelius will continue his preparations at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, before leaving for Dubai next month.

“He'll have a couple breezes here at Palm Meadows and then he'll ship out. He'll probably have his last breeze on [Mar.] 10. He doesn't need a lot of hard training,” he said. “He'll have a couple of half-mile breezes. The plan is to breeze him on the 10th, check him over on the 11th and, if all is well, get on the plane on the 12th. He might have a little blowout, maybe an easy three-eighths in :38 [seconds] or something, just to let him stretch his legs over the track out there.”

Previously, O'Dwyer traveled to Dubai in 2020 with Grade II winner Shotski, fourth in Gulfstream's GII Fountain of Youth S., to contest the UAE Derby. The card was ultimately canceled following the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.

“We're excited. I love shipping horses, but I don't like shipping them anywhere unless I think they're live, and I do think he's a very nice, genuine horse and hopefully, he can get a nice piece of it out there,” O'Dwyer said.

He added, “It was kind of our target all along if everything went according to plan,” he added. “Our long-term goal since the end of last year was to go to Dubai with him if he kept continuing to run well and progress.”

The post Sibelius to Golden Shaheen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Just how good, exactly? That question will be answered in Keeneland's 'Win and You're In' GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. on opening day Oct. 7.

“I'm a big believer in horses getting confident when they win,” trainer Jerry O'Dwyer said. “When they back it up, back-to-back like he has, he's walking around there with his chest out and looking and feeling good.”

The Jun H. Park and Delia Nash colorbearer ended a five-race losing skid with a sharp victory over a trio of next-out winners while cutting back to six furlongs in an optional claimer at Saratoga Aug. 10, good for a 100 Beyer, prior to his aforementioned 7 1/2-length romp in Baltimore Sept. 10.

The chestnut gelding also ran well in defeat in his two previous trips to the post while third with first-time blinkers behind subsequent GIII Monmouth Cup winner Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) going a one-turn mile at Belmont May 28 and also filled that same slot behind GISP Baby Yoda (Prospective) in upstate New York going seven furlongs July 16, respectively.

“He's a horse that we've always liked and he's always shown some natural ability,” O'Dwyer said. “I think now being a 4-year-old, he's reaching his peak performance, maturity and strength wise. Mentally, he's in a great place. He couldn't have been any more impressive in his last win at Pimlico. Just the way he jumped out and traveled nicely and opened up in hand. After running a big number in Saratoga the time before, you like to see them back it up to something equivalent. He stepped up again, which is nice.”

The six-furlong Lite the Fuse was Sibelius's first attempt versus stakes company since a trio of disappointing stakes tries last season, including a distant fifth in a sloppy renewal of the rained-off GIII Penn Mile S. in his first go versus winners last May. He was previously a big-figure maiden winner at second asking at Keeneland, site of this year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“I think it took him a little while to get his confidence back,” O'Dwyer said. “His works at home were always very good. You could tell he had a lot of ability. I started stretching him out a bit because in the sprint races, he wasn't traveling strongly on the bridle like he is now. Even when we stretched him out, he ran super [finishing second] over the one-turn mile at Aqueduct [Apr. 2].

O'Dwyer continued, “But then his works just started getting so much stronger and sharper. He's been giving us all the right signals. We started gradually cutting him back in distance and he's been showing us that he's just an out-and-out sprinter now. Super fast and sharp.”

With six starts at three and already eight attempts under his belt this season, Sibelius isn't the kind of horse that needs a lot of work in between starts. Currently residing at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Kentucky, Sibelius is slated to join the South Florida-based O'Dwyer's Keeneland string Friday.

Bred in Kentucky by Taylor Brothers Properties LLC, Pollock Farms, Patrick H. Payne, et al, Sibelius brought $100,000 as a KEENOV weanling. He subsequently RNA'd twice–for $62,000 at KEEJAN and for $75,000 at KEESEP. Out of the unraced Pulpit mare Fierey Pulpit, he is a half-brother to MSP Dypsy (Broken Vow), dam of MSW & MGISP Edwards Going Left (Midnight Lute). Sibelius is one of 22 stakes winners for promising young sire Not This Time.

“He's very straightforward,” O'Dwyer said. “He's not a big, robust horse. He looks very muscular and doesn't carry too much excess flesh. He'll get a lot out of his gallops if you let him. So, we keep him under wraps a little bit. He'll just have a blowout on Friday, maybe an easy half mile in :49 or something like that. I'll see how he is over the next couple of days.”

After beginning his career as a jockey in Ireland and England, O'Dwyer came to the U.S. to gallop for trainer Al Stall, Jr. He also worked under trainers Bill Mott, Michael Matz and Andrew McKeever before going out on his own in 2014. Shotski (Blame) became the first graded winner for O'Dwyer with an upset victory in the 2019 GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct.

Should Sibelius earn his way to the Breeders' Cup Sprint via next week's Phoenix, it would be the first starter in the World Championships for O'Dwyer.

“We want to be there on the big days,” O'Dwyer said. “We're fortunate that he's given us a bit of a highlight this year. We're hoping he can continue to do that.”

The post In-Form Sibelius Sets His Sights on Breeders’ Cup Sprint appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Alison O'Dwyer and Kubo Cat offer great lessons about the extreme nature of Thoroughbreds and the challenges and benefits that go along with riding this roller coaster of equine experiences.

O'Dwyer won the 2021 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover in dressage. She also won the dressage discipline in 2019 and 2017, the previous two years that she entered.

Kubo Cat, Alison's dressage champion in 2021, is a 2016 chestnut Thoroughbred gelding bred in Louisiana who raced 16 times in his home state from Aug. 2018 to Dec. 2019. He never won, but he was second five times and third four times.

The five-minute freestyle test that Kubo and Alison did during the Thoroughbred Makeover Finale included a mix of higher-level movements like counter canters that showed off the horse's upper-level potential and foundational movements like simple lead changes fitting for a horse with less than a year of full-time dressage training. Present during the entire test was a calm, steady demeanor in the nerve-wracking competition setting inside the high-stimulation TCA Covered Arena.

Because Kubo Cat was for sale, Alison's phone started, well, I want to say “ringing off the hook,” but I realize we all use cell phones now. You get the idea. The market for OTTBs has grown exponentially because horses like Kubo Cat are tremendous ambassadors for the talent and versatility inherent in the Thoroughbred breed. My last two “Horowitz on OTTBs” columns have explored the nature side of Thoroughbred genetics and nurture side of the breed's development through a first career in racing.

Alison's experiences with Kubo Cat showcase a side of the breed that often gets lost when witnessing the breathtaking mix of beauty and athleticism of a Thoroughbred like him or the other horses that excel at the Thoroughbred Makeover.

For those that love Thoroughbreds, the extremes are worth it. Anybody that gets a Thoroughbred should be prepared for that.

Kubo Cat and O'Dwyer take a victory lap after their Makeover win

“It's a tough conversation to have with people,” O'Dwyer said. “My horse looked so quiet in that indoor. The flood of phone calls was all amateurs, and yes, he's an incredibly different creature than he used to be, but he had a legitimate behavioral problem when he came to our farm that it actually intimidated me.”

Of course, no one, O'Dwyer included, gets a Thoroughbred hoping to be challenged or intimidated that way. It usually starts as love at first sight.

“When I saw one picture of this horse, my gut just said that's a really nice horse,” O'Dwyer said.

We're in the midst of an online-dating-world of buying horses. People have more opportunities to find OTTBs today than ever before through social media and listing organizations like CANTER. Much like online dating, it's possible to fall in love with a horse from a picture and fantasize about what the future holds.

The people that reached out to Alison did that with Kubo Cat, but Alison knew better.

“He came to me very sour—like very, very sour,” Alison said. “I would get on his back, and I could maybe get him to trot one circle a certain direction, and as soon as I would go to change directions, he would just slam on the brakes and come to a complete halt with ears pinned. Then, he would start backing up and gave me that feeling that if I gave him a heavy correction, he was going to go up.”

Remember, this is coming from someone who retrains horses off the racetrack for new careers as sporthorses about as well as anyone.

“My first horse I ever had was a Thoroughbred mare that tortured me when I was a kid,” Alison said.

She laughed saying the word “tortured,” in appreciation of the totality of experiences, positive and negative, that a Thoroughbred can offer.

“I'm not sure I knew any better,” Alison said. “I think she bit me the first day I got her. She was way too hot for what a kid should probably have. It's not something I'd recommend for everybody, but in the end, I had such a wonderful partnership with her because I had to take it really slow and go back to basics.”

Alison described a “safety net” of rules and working with more-experienced riders that made the partnership work. She and Something Special IV competed up to eventing's Training level of 3-foot-3 in 2003 when the mare was 21 and Alison was 15.

Then, her next horse, Rhythmic Drum, was also a Thoroughbred, a Montana-bred bay gelding who raced 21 times at tracks like Great Falls, Metrapark, and Playfair, won four times, and was in the top-three 11 times. Alison and Rhythmic Drum competed up to the FEI 1-star level.

With Kubo Cat, Alison asked her husband, the racehorse trainer Jerry O'Dwyer, to step in, calling him her “crash dummy, if I don't really know anything about the horse.”

Alison: “When Jerry came and got on him, he just sat on him at first and didn't do anything. I'm expecting fireworks, but he just sat there and took it slow and rewarded him any time he would go forward.”

Jerry: “I used to ride very loose on him, let him adapt that he's not going to be grabbed up and be asked to go fast anymore. It was just a case of letting him go forward and enjoying his life. They're very smart, the Thoroughbreds. They're like us, and sometimes they get a little sour to the same things. If you can freshen up their minds a little bit, they're going to work for you again.”

Alison: “I would go really slow and keep everything his [the horse's] idea.”

Jerry will also sometimes apply Alison's dressage techniques to race training to help his racehorses become more supple and evenly muscled. Or, he'll send horses to Alison's farm for cross-training in dressage.

Jerry: “I think the dressage is great for the horses because it does make them turn left, turn right. They get to relax a little bit and put their head down. It is a great benefit.”

Alison: “He'll send a horse in the chute back behind the starting gate and have it just do flat work and figure eights and serpentines with the riders, and I know he sees a lot of value in that.”

The teamwork has paid off for the O'Dwyers.

Kubo Cat and O'Dwyer at the Kentucky Horse Park

“Alison is a very good rider, and she puts a helluva lot of work and time and effort into it,” Jerry said. “What people saw at the Makeover with that horse was hours upon hours of her working with him. She used to take him off the farm to have a look at other things, and the two of them just got on well after that. The proof is in the pudding.”

Making the pudding is hard work, and people that get Thoroughbreds should be prepared to meticulously follow a recipe. Alison uses this mentality with selling her Thoroughbreds that she's trained off the track as well.

“I say I'm going to talk you out of this horse first, and if you're still interested, then you can come ride him,” Alison said. “That was really hard to do, especially with Kubo Cat last year because he looked so quiet, which was great for me because he won, but the flood of phone calls was from inappropriate people. This is not a horse that I can just sell to Sally Sue's mom. He was just a professional's horse, and it was very hard to convince people of that.”

Alison sold Kubo Cat to Leah Lang-Gluscic, an upper-level eventer who has taken the OTTB AP Prime up to the highest level of eventing at the 5-star level at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2021.

“She's got a real love for the breed,” Alison said. “That's where I wanted him to be. I really think he has the talent to be an upper-level horse, and he has the attitude of an upper-level horse. I don't think he's going to be happy just sitting around with someone that just wants to hug him and brush him because he'll bite you. That just worked out perfectly.”

Kubo Cat's first USEA recognized event with Lang-Gluscic was a first-place finish at the Beginner Novice level of 2-foot-7 at the Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks in Florida earlier this month. They finished on their dressage score of 30.6 and had double clear cross country and stadium jumping rounds.

As with any relationship, it's about finding the right match and then putting in the hard work to make the relationship flourish. It's easy to fall in love at first sight with a horse. It's wonderful for the horse racing industry that more people are now doing that with Thoroughbreds. With many great aftercare organizations and resellers, there are many attractive dating profiles out there. But, making a life together takes a lot of hard work. As a standard, wanting a Thoroughbred that's not sensitive would be like wanting ice cream that's not cold.

With their expertise in racing and dressage, the O'Dwyers are the ultimate marriage counselors for Thoroughbred-lovers.

Jerry: “It's about trust for the horse and you and for you and the horse. To gain that trust, you have to go along slowly at the start, especially if you have a quirky one. With a couple weeks in their new discipline, you can see the calmness in their eye and how they settle down and start really enjoying their new life.”

Alison: “If you just take your time and keep the faith, I think all these creatures can come around and be great athletes and be great minds to work with.”

The post Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: ‘Quirky’ Kubo Cat Dished Out Challenges On Path To Success appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The temporary closure of Laurel Park and its backstretch for racing surface repair has scattered its horsemen to tracks and training centers in the surrounding area, and the fairgrounds will absorb some of that horse population as a training center — a role the track doesn't regularly play on a full-time basis.

Racehorses shipped to the fairgrounds from Laurel on Monday, after a few days' turnover from when the final 2-year-old sale tenants vacated the premises last week. Training will commence over the five-eighths oval on Tuesday.

It's a quick turnaround for the property, which hosted the 2-year-old sale horses for about 2 1/2 weeks, between ship-in and prep for the breeze show, the breeze show itself, pre-sale inspections, the two-day auction, and shipping out. However, the recency of the sale also ensured that the property would be ready to host its long-term guests.

Andy Cashman, general manager of the Maryland State Fairgrounds, said the negotiations between the fair management and the Maryland Jockey Club were relatively swift, taking place a couple weeks before the sale.

Cashman said it takes all of six weeks for the fairgrounds' roughly 20-person staff to get the property ready to receive the 2-year-old sale horses in early May, both in terms of the stabling area and the racetrack, so having that inertia helped make for a more seamless transition for the training horses that will follow.

“I think we've always been good about being a good neighbor,” Cashman said. “We've always gotten along with everybody to make that work. There's a lot of infrastructure around here that's more handy to use for them than some of the other tracks.”

The recency of the auction also proved to be a boon for the fairgrounds in terms of number of horses it could take in. The bricks-and-mortar barns feature 531 stalls and 48 tack rooms, but the property gained an additional 60 temporary stalls under a tent at the back of the barn area to accommodate the Midlantic sale catalog, and that tent will stay in place for the new tenants.

Among the trainers who planned to ship horses to Timonium was Jerry O'Dwyer, who said he'd send 15 to 20 of his Laurel-based horses to the fairgrounds, and the rest would go to Delaware Park.

O'Dwyer acknowledged the headaches caused by leaving Laurel and having to ship from the fairgrounds to run at nearby Pimlico Race Course instead of stabling at the track like some other relocated trainers, but he said the potential benefits outweighed the temporary setbacks. The trainer said it was important for him to keep a string in Maryland to stay involved with the state's racing circuit, even if he wasn't on-site at the live meet.

“I'm glad they're re-doing the track at Laurel,” he said. “I know it's a pain for everybody to get out, but if we all get out, they can do the job properly, and when we go back, we'll know we've got a safe surface, and hopefully it'll be good for years to come.”

O'Dwyer said he had run a handful of horses in Timonium during the Maryland State Fair meet in the late summer, and he said the tight-turned bullring was definitely one for specialists when it came to racing. He wasn't sure if the layout would change the way he trained his horses, as opposed to the 1 1/8-mile oval at Laurel, and the one-mile main tracks at Pimlico and Delaware.

“I don't know, to be honest,” he said. “I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. We breeze our horses nice and smooth. We don't tend to breeze them real fast, so I think that'll be good. I like to get nice halves into them, and a nice, solid gallop-out, so I think this track will be very workable for us.

“The track should be in good shape after the sale here, and having been worked over plenty,” he continued. “All the horses seemed to breeze good over it, and I've had good reports from people saying this is a good track to train over.”

Moving horses between locations during the upheaval will be one matter, but relocating backstretch employees and exercise riders would be an entirely different challenge. About 35 miles and a drive of 45 minutes to an hour separates Laurel Park and Timonium, making a daily commute difficult to impossible for employees living on-track at Laurel Park.

Cashman said plans called to use a local hotel within walking distance of the track to house stable workers in Timonium, and bussing employees who might not have the means of transportation to relocate to the fairgrounds.

Staff retention wasn't a major concern for O'Dwyer in regards to the move. He said he'd send a smaller crew to Timonium compared to the team at Delaware Park.

“I have nearly a completely different staff up at Delaware, riders-wise, and I've sent a good bit of my grooms up there,” he said. “We have a new bunch of riders and hot walkers up there. I've been very fortunate to get a good crew up there, and that's very beneficial. I have two riders at Laurel and a couple of grooms, and they'll come over here. There is a couple of my hotwalkers who don't want to come over because it's a bit far for them to go, but we'll make it work.”

The Maryland State Fair hosts its small live meet from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, and Pimlico's meet was extended to the end of June to give Laurel Park as much time as possible to get its surface ready for racing.

If it's needed, Maryland State Fairgrounds chairman of the board Gerry Brewster said the track would be ready to take some pressure off its compatriots, both of which are in varying states of metamorphosis, whether it was to host live racing dates or house training horses. It wouldn't be the first time.

“We've done it before about 25 years ago,” Brewster said. “Pimlico had a redo and brought their races here. Of course, we used to race here 42 days a year. There's some talk of this year of adding a third week of racing here, in addition to the bookend weekends on either side of the fair. We could possibly have a third weekend.”

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The 69th running of the Fritchie for fillies and mares 4 and older and the 45th edition of the $250,000 General George (G3) for 4-year-olds and up co-headline a Winter Sprintfest program of six stakes worth $900,000 in purses. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

In addition to Needs Supervision, a 12-1 long shot on the morning line, Madaket's Sol Kumin also has an ownership stake in the Fritchie's 8-5 program favorite, five-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful. The two horses will break side-by-side respectively from Posts 7 and 8.

Needs Supervision, 5, ran fourth behind Majestic Reason in last year's Fritchie then was third in the Nellie Morse, held in mid-March prior to live racing being paused 2 ½ months in Maryland amid the coronavirus pandemic. Minor issues kept her from racing again for eight months.

“She's never had any major issues, just little niggly things,” O'Dwyer said. “She had a back issue that was bugging her and it was kind of causing her to break slow and she wasn't as comfortable as she could be. We seem to have a handle on that now.

“I think she's moving super now,” he added. “It's hard to find when there's something wrong with her because she's such a tough filly. She never shows any signs of distress or pain, but it's when she underperforms you know there's more there. That's when you really start going over her with a fine tooth comb to try and find something.”

Needs Supervision ran third to Fritchie contender Dontletsweetfooya, a winner of her last five races including two stakes, in the Nov. 28 Primonetta, then stretched out to 1 1/8 miles for the Allaire du Pont (G3) Dec. 26, where she tired to be fifth after setting the pace. Most recently, she closed to be second by a length behind Bella Aurora in the seven-furlong Interborough Jan. 18 at Aqueduct.

“She came out of her last race great. She ran a super race up there. I liked the way she finished up and came through horses. The winner got the clear path on the inside and she couldn't get out until the top of the lane,” O'Dwyer said. “We would have liked to get out a little bit sooner, but I was just glad to see her come back and run a race like that and finish up good.”

Needs Supervision won the seven-furlong Safely Kept in November 2019 at Laurel over next-out winners Hey Mamaluke and Victim of Love, the latter going on to win the Vagrancy (G3) and run second in the Fritchie and third in the Ballerina (G1) before going to the sidelines.

“She's won at seven furlongs, she likes the surface, and she seems to be training good and doing really well,” O'Dwyer said. “It's going to be a tough race, with lots of good fillies and mares in there. I think there's going to be lots of speed in there which should help us. We're not the quickest into stride, but I'd like to see her five or six lengths off them. That'd be nice. You're going to have Hello Beautiful and Dontletsweetfoolya, both of those are very fast fillies and I'm sure no rider will want to take their horse out of their comfort zone. So, I'm hoping it'll set up a little bit for us with something to run at.

“It's going to be a very nice race, very competitive. You just want to see the best horse win and everybody get a fair shake of the dice,” he added. “We still have a lot of faith in our filly, how she is right now. The owners have been great people to me. I'd just like to get her back in a bit of form and to get a graded-stakes win would be huge for her as a broodmare.”

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The 27th running of the 1 1/8-mile du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up, traditionally contested over Preakness (G1) weekend, was moved following racing's return from the coronavirus pause to serve as the headliner on a Christmastide Day program featuring eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses.

Joining the du Pont are four juvenile stakes – the $100,000 Gin Talking for fillies and $100,000 Heft, both sprinting seven furlongs, and $100,000 Anne Arundel County for fillies and $100,000 Howard County, each at about 1 1/16 miles.

Sprinters 3 and up will go six furlongs in the $100,000 Willa On the Move for females and $100,000 Dave's Friend, while the $100,000 Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles rounds out the stakes action. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Eres Tu went winless in three starts as a 3-year-old in 2019, running second to Needs Supervision in the Silverbulletday Stakes, third to subsequent Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and fourth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) behind Street Band, who would go on to capture the Cotillion (G1).

The 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon got a long break following the Fair Grounds Oaks and was moved from Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen to Fair Hill (Md.) Training Center-based Arnaud Delacour, who stayed patient bringing Eres Tu back to the races.

“I got her early in the summer, and she looked great. She's a big filly; she's 17 hands at least. Right away I really liked her,” Delacour said. “Everything she did before me she probably wasn't at her best because she's so big. She probably needed a little bit of time, so the owner gave her plenty of time and she came back really strong. She filled out nicely and to me she's a very nice prospect.”

Eres Tu, whose name translates to 'It's You' in Spanish, worked steadily for her return, which came in a 1 1/16-mile entry-level allowance Oct. 14 at Keeneland – her first start in 19 months. Under Ricardo Santana Jr., she rated off just off the lead before taking over at the top of the stretch and going on to win by 2 ¼ lengths.

“I was not surprised because when you look at her form when she was with Steve Asmussen before, she ran against some Grade 1 fillies,” Delacour said. “She ran against Street Band, she ran against the winner of the Oaks that year. You're talking about solid horses she had to face and be competitive with, so I was pretty confident she could produce a good performance when she came back.”

Eres Tu made her Laurel debut in the 1 1/16-mile Thirty Eight Go Go Nov. 28, where she was overlooked at nearly 5-1 odds. Ridden by Trevor McCarthy, who gets a return call from Post 4, she stalked the leader for a half-mile, took over and opened up before cruising to the wire 1 ½ lengths in front while under wraps.

“She obviously has a good cruising speed and she can keep going. That's kind of what you want when you go two turns on the dirt,” Delacour said. “I'm pretty happy that we're going even longer, a mile and an eighth, because I think she'll be even more efficient. But, that's only a guess. She needs to confirm that.”

Five of Eres Tu's rivals also have graded-stakes experience led by Farfellow Farm Ltd.'s Another Broad. Purchased for $340,000 out of last November's Keeneland breeding stock sale and moved to Asmussen, she is winless with four thirds in seven 2020 starts having most recently finished third behind Grade 2 winners Envoutante and Bonny South in the 1 1/8-mile Falls City (G2) on Thanksgiving Day.

Fourth in last year's du Pont for previous trainer Todd Pletcher, Another Broad will break from Post 2 under Johan Rosado.

Flying P Stable, R. A. Hill Stable and trainer Danny Gargan's Ice Princess enters the du Pont off a runner-up finish behind Mrs. Danvers in the 1 1/8-mile Comely (G3) Nov. 27 at Aqueduct. The daughter of Grade 1 winner Palace Malice won the Maddie May Feb. 23 and was beaten a neck when second in the Fleet Indian Sept. 4, both against fellow New York-breds.

“She should have won the race at Saratoga. She had a really bad trip,” Gargan said. “She got stuck down on the inside and she doesn't like to be on the inside of horses. That's her big thing. She likes to be outside. But she's really never done anything wrong.”

Ice Princess has been first or second in four of her five 2020 starts, the lone exception coming when ninth to subsequent Preakness (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver in the Fantasy (G3) May 1 at Oaklawn Park.

“I shipped her to Oaklawn in a last-minute ditch effort because COVID hit and everything got canceled in New York,” Gargan said. “She got on a van and went all the way from New York to there and it just didn't work out for her. It was probably a bad decision just trying to make something happen. It didn't work out for us there, but she's always done pretty good.”

Ice Princess got some time off following the Fantasy and nearly won the Fleet Indian in her first start in four months. Victor Carrasco is named to ride from Post 5.

“She was a nice 2-year-old. She didn't get to run much this year because after the Oaklawn race I sent her and turned her out and they kind of canceled some races I was pointing toward,” Gargan said. “I didn't run her much before and we skipped a couple races because they were a little too short for her so I think the distance is never going to be a problem. She'll run all day.”

Howling Pigeon Farms, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Madaket Stables' Needs Supervision is a two-time stakes winner, having beaten Eres Tu in the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds and returning home to capture the seven-furlong Safely Kept last November at Laurel Park.

Based with trainer Jerry O'Dwyer at Laurel, where she owns a record of 2-2-2 from seven starts, Needs Supervision has run in 10 consecutive stakes including a third last out in Laurel's six-furlong Primonetta Nov. 28, her first start in 8 ½ months.

“I was a bit disappointed she was laying so far out of it early on. It took her a while to find her feet and get going and come home, but she came home well so I was glad to see that,” O'Dwyer said. “That's why I'm opting to go back to two turns with her. She's won [at] over a mile and 70 [yards] as a 2-year-old and she seems to have a good engine in her. I think she can carry it, so we're going to stretch her out.”

By 2012 Haskell (G1) winner Paynter, Needs Supervision will race for the first time with blinkers, O'Dwyer said. Fall meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell, up for her comeback race, has the assignment from outside post 7.

“She's been training good,” O'Dwyer said. “I do have the blinkers on her now. I'm putting them on her to help her relax and focus in that sense. We've had them on her in the morning and she's pretty relaxed in them, which is nice. So, we're going to put them on her and help her because she gets a little high-strung at times.”

Completing the field are Alittlelesstalk, a multiple stakes winner at Emerald Downs; Landing Zone, who had a four-race win streak snapped when third in the Safely Kept Nov. 28 at Laurel; and Wicked Awesome, winner of Laurel's 1 1/16-mile Twixt Stakes Sept. 5.

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