News and Notes for February 17, 2017

REQUEST YOUR PRINTED 2YO TEXAS THOROUGHBRED SALES CATALOG NOW
The 2017 Texas 2-Year-Old In Training catalog is about to go to press. Because of rising postage and printing costs, the TTA will only mail printed sale catalogs to horsemen who request them.  We have found that the majority of buyers and consignors instead prefer to access our online interactive catalog, featuring photos and videos at www.ttasales.com.

If you would like to continue receiving sale catalogs by US mail, please let us know right away which catalog(s) you wish to receive. Contact us by calling 512.458.6133, fax to 512.453.5919, email to maryr@texasthoroughbred.com, using the online request form at www.ttasales.com, or send a note to us at 4009 Banister Ln, Ste 230, Austin, TX 78704.

TWO ALTAZANO AND JIM’S ORBIT ON TAP FOR SATURDAY AT SHRP
On Saturday evening, two six-furlong stakes for three-year-old Accredited Texas-breds will be contested. The Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series includes the $65,000 Two Altazano Stakes for fillies and the $65,000 Jim’s Orbit Stakes for colts and geldings. The Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) renamed the showcase series to honor the late Clarence Scharbauer Jr. who passed away in 2014.

Tom Durant’s talented homebred Raising Rumors will make his Texas debut in the Jim’s Orbit as the 5/2 favorite. The gelded son of Sing Baby Sing out of Loveyasister broke his maiden last June at Churchill Downs and has won four of his seven career starts. Trained by Randy Morse, the dark bay has tested the waters in graded stakes company and ships to Houston off a solid $50,000 allowance victory at Oaklawn Park three weeks ago. 

Chuck Fisher’s Imma Wild Bling (Too Much Bling) won the $65,000 Texas Stallion Stakes at Retama Park on November 5 before facing tough open company in both the Springboard Mile at Remington Park and the Space City Stakes here on January 29. Bred by Hall’s Family Trust, the colt is trained by Charles Haverkamp and has odds of 7/2.

Bob Young will saddle Fletcher Properties Inc.’s homebred Rumpole (Too Much Bling – Dehere’s Dream), at 4/1 odds.

An interesting longshot at 15/1 is Contrarytoordinary, a Valid Expectations colt out of Frieda Frau that is co-owned by Danny Pish and Dennis Foster and trained by Pish. He ran Saturday, February 11 and will return just seven days later in the Jim’s Orbit. Pish bred and raised this colt and stated that if he came out of last weekend’s race in good order, he would wheel back.

Completing the field are Shaded (Too Much Bling – Fast Find) 6/1; Checker Czech (Valid Expectations – Smokin N Jokin) 8/1; My Expectations (Valid Expectations – My Girl Bess) 12/1; Too Much Gone (Too Much Bling – Going Away Baby) 10/1; Witt Stamp (Drums of Thunder – Melodic Escapade) 20/1; and Comanche Hopper (Grasshopper – Comanche Wind) 30/1.

A very talented group of seven fillies has been assembled for the Two Altazano Stakes. Keene Thoroughbred LLC’s Country Candy (Intimidator – Trifolium) is the high-earner in the field and the 2/1 favorite. Bred by Keith Asmussen and trained by J. R. Caldwell, the gray filly has only had one off the board finish in seven starts. That came in the $125,000 Dixie Belle at Oaklawn Park on January 21.

Trainer Bret Calhoun sends in three fillies, starting with 5/2 Gold Shock (My Golden Song – Sock Time).  Bred by Clarence Scharbauer III and owned by Douglas Scharbauer, the filly will make her seventh career start with four previous stakes appearances.

Calhoun also trains 4/1 Archer City (Silver City – Pete’s Five) for Scharbauer; she will make her stakes debut off an impressive allowance score here on January 28.

Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch bred and own 9/2 Kat’s Infatuation (Silver City – Red Thread), who brings a two-race win streak into Saturday’s Two Altazano. Calhoun is the trainer.

Trainer Steve Asmussen won three previous editions of the Two Altazano with Color Code in 2012, Makeshift in 2013 and last year’s stakes with Thievery, a Valid Expectations filly owned by the Ackerley Brothers Farm. His entrant this year is Pure Grey, a Too Much Bling filly out of Folksy that he co-owns with Clark O. Brewster.  She has odds of 6/1.

Completing the field are Mighty Ferrari (Special Rate – Hermighty) 15/1 and Too Much to Bear (Too Much Bling – Real Bear), also at 15/1.

In 2005, the Texas Thoroughbred Association renamed each of the Texas Stallion Stakes races to honor a famous Texas Thoroughbred. The colts and gelding division at Sam Houston Race Park has been named for Jim’s Orbit, who won the Grade 2 Ohio Derby and started in the 1988 Kentucky Derby. The fillies division is a tribute to Two Altazano, winner of the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks in 1994. The accomplished mare, owned by the late Harold V. Goodman, was inducted into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.

C’MON TIGER TO STAND IN TEXAS AT SEVEN S FARMS
C’Mon Tiger, a stakes-placed son of Storm Cat, has been relocated to Texas for the 2017 breeding season and will stand at Seven S Farms in Mission. He will stand for a $800 fee as property of Marco Sandoval.

After making one start in Ireland, C’Mon Tiger won three of his first four starts in the U.S., breaking his maiden going a mile and then winning two allowance races at Santa Anita. He also finished a close second in the Santana Mile Handicap at Santa Anita, defeating Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Wilko.

He is a half brother to Horse of the Year, two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner and leading sire Tiznow and to multiple graded stakes winner and $2.8 million earner Tizbud. His female family includes Grade 1 winners Oxbow and Paynter.

C’Mon Tiger previously stood at JEH Stallion Station in Oklahoma.

EXPANDED RACING STATS NOW AVAILABLE ON EQUIBASE.COM
Equibase Company has announced the expansion of racing statistics available on equibase.com with the addition of complete starts information for every jockey, trainer and owner as well as the top horses ridden, trained or owned, respectively, by each person.

In addition to the statistical expansion, equibase.com has also transitioned to a responsive design technology to enhance the user experience when viewing the data from a mobile device.

Complete lifetime starts information for jockeys, trainers and owners can be accessed by year and are searchable and sortable by the following categories: track name, race date, race type, purse, horse name, and finish position.

Individual profile pages for jockeys, trainers and owners now offers a “Top Horses” section that provides the Top 20 horses lifetime (ranked by purse earnings) that the person rode, conditioned or owned. Users also have the option to view the Top 20 horses by year and to rank the data by other categories.

WE HAVE YOUR MONEY – YOU HAVE OUR INFORMATION
The TTA has compiled a list of breeders and owners who have earned money through the Accredited Texas-Bred (ATB) Program for 2015 racing and for various reasons, has been unable to pay. Usually the problem is very simple to correct. Perhaps we need a tax identification number, a Transfer of Accreditation Form or copy of a Jockey Club Certificate. View the list at https://texasthoroughbred.com/we-have-your-money-you-have-our-information/ and call the TTA at (512) 458-6133 so we can complete your paperwork and you can collect your ATB earnings!

NOTES: Friday, February 24 is the deadline to cast your vote for the 2016 Texas Champion Claimer.  For more information and to vote, go to https://texasthoroughbred.com/vote-now-for-the-2016-texas-champion-claimer/… The next Roses to Ribbons event will take place at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday, March 4.  For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1393875473977197/. .. Foaling season has begun and we would love to share your foal photos. Send these photos in by posting to or messaging our Facebook page, or emailing ttafoals@yahoo.com. Please include the sire, dam, breeder, foaling date, and any other information/stories you would like to include.