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Over the past few years of his stud career in New York, my stallion Silver Music -- then the property of Pinebourne Farm -- served a declining book and with spotty results. So his number of current runners is quite small.But, today I get to extend my congratulations to Steve Zorn and Castle Village Farm, who own one of those few Silver Musics who are presently at the races. Castle Village Farm's Talking Blues (Silver Music-Time to Chat, by Gallant Hour) broke his maiden on the day he (and all thoroughbreds) officially turned 4, taking the sixth race at Aqueduct on New Year's Day.
Talking Blues and jockey Rosie Napravnik stalked the pace at the outset of the $12,500 maiden-claimer for New York-breds, going a mile and 70 yards on the inner dirt, then came on to win by a strong 5 1/2 lengths. The gray or roan gelding breaks his maiden in his eighth lifetime start, having finished second in three of seven prior races. His lifetime earnings are now $21,705.
Formerly trained by Billy Turner, when that conditioner moved his string to Gulfstream for the winter, Castle Village Farm transferred Talking Blues to Bruce Brown's barn at Belmont in order to take advantage of the many NY-bred opportunities at Aqueduct during the winter months. Looks like the decision paid off.
The Pinebourne Farm-bred horse is a full brother to Silver Music's highest lifetime earner, Time to Rap. A chestnut gelding also bred by Pinebourne Farm, Time To Rap won seven of 17 lifetime on the New York circuit, for $169,894.
Congrats Glenn!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Glenn...Good looking horse!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sid and Elizabeth. And yes, he is a handsome horse. That photo must have been while he was in the care of Billy Turner, and Talking Blues certainly looks fit and happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug, Glenn. Hope we can win a few more and give your stallion a boost. He definitely has some quality, but most of the horses raised by Pinebourne suffered from the bad soil and water in northern New York. We bought Talking Blues as a yearling, when he looked like a runt (mine was the only bid) then shipped him to Ocala where he got some good nutrition and grew up into a decent size horse.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll do a lot better with Silver Music in Virginia.
Congrats to Steve and The Chief.
ReplyDeleteQ: how many horses were transferred to Bruce Brown for the winter?
Congrats Glenn,
ReplyDeleteNothing like a winner to start the new year. Is Silver doing any better with numbers in Virginia?
Well, Byron, last year the number was one. :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't know why I smiled at that.
He did have some physical issues that inhibited his ability to mate, and we worked through those successfully with a good vet and equine chiropractor. But there wasn't a lot of interest.
We lost some interested parties to the big discounts being offered (during a bad economy) last year in Kentucky. The economy lost us a chance at a couple of other mares whose owners didn't breed them at all. And another person with two mares had some difficulty with their foalings last year, causing one to be retired completely from breeding and the other to be given 2009 off.
Because of the low interest, we took our time working him back into condition, and actually he's feeling splendid now and did a super job late in the season with the one mare he was presented. My mare Bushes Victory (Spartan Victory-Below Broad Street, by Kokand) is in foal and hopefully I'll finally get to keep one from her. ... Her 2007-08 pregnancy to Fast Play slipped and her 2009 filly was killed in an accident in November. (Tough business, as we all know.)
There is some interest brewing this year. In Virginia, it would be almost a miracle to get a half-dozen or eight mares, let alone double-figures. But I'm hopeful that someone will breed to him beyond the two mares I'll give him; Bushes Victory again and Lady's Wager (Valid Wager-Lear's Lady, by Lear Fan).
He really does sire some handsome horses. And I remain shocked that a multiple-stakes winner on turf as he was (with a full brother who was a G2 winner on turf) is yet to get a winner on grass after all these years. If he can stay in service and get any kind of book in Virginia, hopefully that will eventually change as his late-career get begin running at Colonial.
Thanks so much for asking!
-- Glenn