Hibiscus Stables is Off and Running in 2008

Hibiscus Stables' start to 2008 has seen an old favorite return to form and a newer stablemate begin to make his mark...and the rest of the stable appears to be lining up for what may be a very busy Spring.

Salt Water Reign, the stable's "big sister", has shown us that her time off was well spent as she's picked up where she left off with back-to-back solid outings. Portuguesmano'war may have "found himself" last race as the plan to get him experience with some sprints and then stretch him out was successful.

With two races each from Salt Water Reign and Portuguesmano'war, Hibiscus Stables has tallied an impressive, 75% in-the-money percentage in the early goings of 2008. Both horses finished a strong 2nd in their last race, showed progress, and have us eagerly awaiting their next tilt.

With Sextant due to return in early March and Mr. Blue Grey's debut close behind, Hibiscus hopes to see four horses in action this March. Rounding out the Spring session with the return of Iron Curtain in May our stable could be clicking on all cylinders. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy the ride!

 
A Visit to Dual Crest Equine Clinic, Florida
Iron Curtain Gets Ready to Return

As we were driving up Route 25A in Ocala last week looking for the red roof barn, I became more excited as we approached Dual Crest Equine. We were finally going to see our “baby”, Iron Curtain. He’d been sidelined recovering from surgery to remove chips from his knees since last October. After the surgery, he was sent to Ocala for rehabilitation.

Ray Flynn, the owner of Dual Crest, grew up in Queens, New York. His father was one of New York’s Finest and his beat was near the Queen’s Riding Academy. By age 10, Ray remembers mucking out stalls and forking hay just for the chance to ride a horse at the end of the day. When he was 13, he was sneaking into the track with the help of one of the trainers (he was in the trunk of the car). By then he was hot walking and galloping horses for several different barns. He would also follow the vets around learning all he could about horse health and disease. By the early 1990s, he had become an assistant trainer for Steve Klesaris. He had a wistful look in his eyes when he related stories about his summers in Saratoga saddling several winners during that prestigious meet. His experience has served him well…he now works as a vet tech in addition to running the farm.

With his sixth sense and significant body of knowledge, Ray and his wife Marla started Dual Crest Equine in 1997. They specialize in short-term rehab for a limited number of horses (1 to 2) providing individual care (and love) after surgery until their “patients” can be returned back to training. They have a permanent resident, Kit. He had foundered and was to be put down but Ray took him in and gave the horse intensive foot care along with a specialized dietary and medical regimen. Ray saved his life. Kit now enjoys his days in the paddock and keeps the other horses company. Dual Crest has not limited itself to equine care. Attila is a Jack Russell terrier who had been run over and sustained a leg fracture. Ray and Marla nursed him back to health and he now has the run of the place.

Marla and Ray met in New York 20 years ago at the Queens Riding Academy. She had gone there with her college girlfriends and she decided to stay for the rest of the summer. Marla graduated Hunter College with a degree in Psychology. She initially worked in marketing at NYRA. Subsequently, she was employed at an equine pharmaceutical firm giving her a strong foundation in equine medicine. For the past 10 years she’s been a therapeutic riding instructor. Working with disabled and autistic children as well as stroke patients has proven to be an extremely rewarding career. It’s also a wonderful way to retire racehorses and keep them useful by giving them a second career.

The day starts with the sunrise at Dual Crest. Once the coffee’s made, Ray takes his first cup and heads out to the barn for “critter care”- feeding, examinations (head to toe), bandage changing or whatever each horse may need. Marla’s busy getting Dylan, their eleven year old son, off to school. Then it’s time to go to their respective day jobs. Ray has a lot of flexibility in his hours as he makes rounds with the vets. This allows him time to get back to the farm during the day for checking on the horses and giving them any needed medications. The day isn’t over at 5 pm., the horses need exercising and sometimes even more meds. Weekends are spent doing maintenance on the property including the barn itself, the fencing, and the paddocks, not to mention Marla’s “honey do” list.

Turning down the long drive, passing tall pecan and oak trees, Attila ran up to meet us without a trace of his past injury. Ray took us right over to see Iron Curtain in his stall. We were amazed at how much he had grown! After some petting Ray took him out for us and let him run around the paddock. He was extremely energetic, frolicking and galloping around.

We were so delighted to see that Iron Curtain was healthy and happy. Ray, Marla and Dylan had taken such good care of him and Ray said that he thinks he’s and exceptional horse...despite the fact that Iron Curtain had bitten him a couple of weeks ago and had given him a large bruise on his thigh. Although dwarfed by the larger farms in the area, Dual Crest is largest in caring and will be the first choice for rehab of Hibiscus Stables' horses in the future.
                                                                 
                                                                            - Doris Ann Hayes, COO Hibiscus Stables

D.A.'s Trivia Corner
In the Saddle: Focus on Jockeys

This month we turn our attention to the "other" athlete in this great sport. The jockeys, whose job it is to give our horses every opportunity to succeed. Often relying on a sixth sense and required to read the mind of a 1,200 pound animal going 45 miles per hour, jockeys can be the difference between smiling for the camera and having the best view of the field. Find out how much you know about them in this month's Trivia Corner....

1. Name the American jockey with the most wins.
     A. Laffit Pincay, Jr.
     B. Pat Day
     C. Jerry Bailey
     D. Russell Baze

2. Name the jockey who’s still number 1 on the lifetime earnings list.
     A. Laffit Pincay, Jr.
     B. Pat Day
     C. Jerry Bailey
     D. Russell Baze

3. Name the only jockey who’s won two Triple Crowns.
      A. Eddie Arcaro
      B. Pat Day
      C. Ron Turcotte
      D. Johnny Longdon

4. Name the oldest jockey to compete.
     A. Willie Shoemaker
     B. Pat Day
     C. Levi Barlingame
     D. Chris McCarron

5. Name the jockey with the largest win/in-the-money percentages.
     A. Raphael Bejarano
     B. Ramon Dominguez
     C. Eibar Coa
     D. Stewart Elliott

6. Name the first female jockey.
     A. Julie Krone
     B. Diane Nelson
     C. Diane Crump
     D. Rosemary Holmeister, Jr.

See end of newsletter for answers.

Doris Ann Hayes, Hibiscus Stables

Client Spotlight - Bill Smith

Answers to Trivia: 

1.  Answer: D. Russell Baze with 10,000 wins (as of February 1, 2008.) Laffit retired with 9,530. Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo was the first to reach the 10,000 mark this January.

2. Answer: B. Pat Day earned over $297 million in his lifetime.

3. Answer: A. Eddie Arcaro won the Triple Crown in 1941 on Whirlaway and again in 1948 on Citation. Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat. Johnny Longdon rode Count Fleet. Pat Day never wore the Crown.

4. Answer: C. Levi Burlingame rode until he was 80 (eighty!) years old. Willie Shoemaker rode until age 59. Pat Day retired at age 52. Chris McCarron was 47.

5. Answer: B. Ramon Dominguez has 26% wins and 58% ITM. What a coincidence-he's our jockey on many Steve Klesaris horses!!

6. Answer: C. Diane Crump was the first female jockey. She started in 1969 and in 1970 was the first female to ride in the Derby (Phantom finished 15th). Julie Krone is the most successful female jockey ever. She won the ‘93 Belmont Stakes with Colonial Affair.

 

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