Hibiscus Adds Two New Horses from the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale

Hibiscus Stables welcomed the two latest additions to its stables in May, acquired at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale.  We are excited about their prospects and interest has been strong.

Boundary Colt - This colt is a son of stakes winner Boundary. Boundary is the son of super sire Danzig. Danzig is possibly the most prolific sire of our generation. Boundary himself has sired numerous graded stakes winners.

Find out more by viewing the Boundary Colt Fact Sheet.


Good and Tough Colt - Part of our Vintage 2007. This colt is a son of stakes winner Good and Tough and a multiple stakes placed mare who banked $213,428 over the course of her career.

Find out more by viewing the Good and Tough Colt Fact Sheet.

The Name Game
An inside look at the horse naming process

You know, it's not that easy coming up with clever names for horses. Like :

Red God + Runaway Bride = Blushing Groom
Clandestine + Retirement = Secret Retreat
Raise A Native + Gold Digger = Mr. Prospector

Clever names all, they may have taken some thought to arrive at the final selection for the owners or may have just "come to them"

Many people take the easy way out and use a combination of the sire and dam such as:

Storm Cat + Hail Atlantis = Stormy Atlantic or
Last Tycoon + Drama = Last Drama

Some people use names that are seemingly irrelevant to outsiders. Like:

Seattle Slew + Weekend Surprise = AP Indy

Others go for the laughs and try and sneak one by the Jockey Club.  Our favorite in this category? Hoof Hearted (say it out loud).

So what about some of the new Hibiscus Stables arrivals? 

Orientate (sire) + Briteonzmyday (dam) = ???

What Britetonzmyday? The sun. Orientate...to find where one is in space. We thought of the poetic Orient Sun from "Paradise Lost". We thought of Sundial but that name was already taken. Then, we thought of Sextant; an instrument used by sailors to find their orientation using the sun or stars. Sextant it is.

 
Boundary (sire) + Still Secret (dam) = ???
     
Immediately I thought of Invisible Fence (clever, no?). Outvoted because it wasn't "racehorse-like" enough. How about DMZ? NOOOO!. Then, Michael came up with Iron Curtain. This was initially declined by the Jockey Club because they already had a registered Thoroughbred named Iron Curtains. She's a 10 year old filly who's never raced and has had no foals. We appealed and won. Iron Curtain it is.

Coming soon......updates on the Mayakovsky and Good and Tough colts....the name game is in full swing!                                                                           
                                                                               

Filly Trivia

In honor of all the June brides, this month's trivia is all about the fillies. 
 
1. Rags to Riches won this year's Belmont Stakes after a 102 year drought.  Who was the fist filly to take the 12 furlong classic?

                 A. Sceptre
                 B. Pretty Polly    
                 C. Regret
                 D. Ruthless



2. What filly came closest to actually winning the Triple Crown?

                 A. Go For Wand
                 B. Winning Colors
                 C. Genuine Risk
                 D. Silverbulletday

3. What filly is the only non-human to make Sports Illustrated's Top 100
   Female Athletes of the 20th Century?
               
                 A. Genuine Risk
                 B. Ruffian
                 C. Azeri
                 D. Regret

4. What three races combine to form the Triple Tiara?

                  A. Kentucky Oaks, Black-Eyed Susan and the Acorn
                  B. Mother Goose, Coaching Club American Oaks and the Acorn
                  C. Mother Goose, Test and Breeder's Cup Distaff
                  D. Spinster, Comely and the Alabama

5. Who was the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby?
               
                  A. Regret
                  B. Sceptre
                  C. Pretty Polly
                  D. Ruthless

See end of newsletter for answers.

Sextant Arrives at Linda Rice's Barn at Belmont

After the races on Sunday, we made our way over to Linda's barn at Belmont to find our newest filly, Sextant. As you can see by the accompanying photo, she's beautiful! She made the trip up in good order and Linda likes her. Marco, her groom said that she's got a sweet disposition, likes to train and she's fast. She's still getting settled in but is making friends with all of her stable mates. Per Linda, she should be ready to race in Saratoga. See you at the races...
 

Thoroughbred Racing Definitions

Did you know....

Walker - is a race which scratches down to only one starter who merely gallops required distance. A formal gesture required by rules of racing.

Spit the Bit - is when a horse quits running against the bit, usually because of fatigue; often said disdainfully: "Luck Lady really spit out the bit".

On the Bit - is when a horse is eager to run.

Black Type - is the designation for a stakes winner or stakes-placed horse in sales catalogues.

Shadow Roll - A roll (usually sheepskin) that is secured over the bridge of a horse's nose to keep it from seeing shadows on the track and shying away from or jumping them.

Hibiscus Stables Partner Spotlight: Doug Matteson

Doug (l.) with son Brant (r.)

This month's partner focus is a close-up of Doug Matteson from Peekskill, NY. Doug has been an avid horse lover since youth. During the early 1980's he was a harness trainer. "Back then there was no money, now the purses have increased due to the slots".

In addition to his partnership with Hibiscus, he has recently bought into 2 harness racers. One, named Mountain Rocket won last week up in Saratoga! I foresee activity at BOTH 'toga tracks this summer!

Doug's wife Anna-Lisa is also a horseracing fan but her first love may be the Rangers (after Doug). They have two children: Jennifer, who's just graduated HS and is starting college this fall at Westchester Community. Brant, their son is going to Pace. They also like to bowl together. Doug and Brant both play in local leagues and are high average players. Will Doug give up his job as a manufacturing supervisor and return to harness training?
Stay tuned.....

Answers to Trivia: 

1) Answer: D. Ruthless-she won the inaugural running in 1867

2) Answer:  C.   Genuine Risk in 1980. The only filly in history to finish in the money in all 3 races she came in first in the Derby and second in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. At age 30, she is the oldest living Derby winner.

3) Answer: B. Ruffian was voted by many sportswriters "the greatest filly that ever raced". She was unbeaten in ten starts before her tragic breakdown during a match race against Foolish Pleasure in 1975. She's buried at Belmont near the finish line.

4) Answer: C. Until 2003, the series in choice B would be correct. The NTRA is considering changing to the series in answer A to more reflect the distances in the Triple Crown.

5) Answer: A Regret in 1915. She received an Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year Honors that same year.