August 2009

THE HOARSE WHISPERER By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  19 August 2009, Wednesday

Carriedo, Azcarraga Win Juvenile Stakes

Once again, Herminio S. Esguerra’s Herma Farms & Stud dominated the season’s elite juvenile campaign with the impressive wins of two of its produce, Carriedo and Azcarraga in last Sunday’s Philippine Racing Commission juvenile stakes races at the San Lazaro Leisure Park.

Carriedo (Deputy Bodman – Astuce), ridden by jockey Karvin Malapira, beat stablemate Brother Barrack in the 1,400-meter Juvenile Colts, grabbing the lead in the stretch to win by two. He clocked 1:29 with with splits of 12′ 24′ 25 27.

Manchester came in third, followed by Pinakamagaling (another Herma-bred), and Conquista Roll.

In the 1,400-meter Juvenile fillies, Azcarraga (Untouchable – As Tears Go By) grabbed top honors, also under the guidance of Malapira. The island-born Azcarraga came from behind to overtake the fading speedsters to stage a convincing win, with quarters of 12′ 24 25 28 for a total time of 1:29.6.

Herma-breds have dominated the juvenile ranks for several years. Who can forget the 2YO performances of Indelible Ink and Go Army, to name just a couple? Yet a shadow has been cast on Azcarraga’s accomplishments by the question surrounding her true age.

Based on the Australian breeder’s records, specifically the last date of service by the stallion on the broodmare, and going by the usual thoroughbred gestation period of 11 to 11.5 months, the filly should have been born in November 2006, making it technically a 3YO and ineligible to race against 2YO.

But Mr. Esguerra, in a phone conversation, maintained that Azcarraga’s mare carried her for 12 months and 28 days, and that such an extended gestation period is not unknown or even that unusual. Azcarraga is registered as having been foaled in January 2007.

Questions by other horseowners to the Philracom have caused the launch of an investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, under “due process” laws, Azcarraga is considered “innocent until proven guilty” and may be declared to run in races, although any Philracom prize money she may earn shall be placed on hold until the issue is settled.

Mr. Esguerra has offered many times to open all Herma Farms’ stud books and records, facilties, and broodmares to inspection.

With Azcarraga having won the Juvenile Fillies stakes last Sunday, “it is all the more imperative,” said a director of a prominent horseowners’ organization, “that this matter be settled satisfactorily and soonest.”

Meanwhile, the Mayor Ramon D. Bagatsing Memorial Cup Division II runs tonight at the Philippine Racing Club’s New Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite .

The 1,700-meter race pits likely favorite Don Enrico, owned by Lorraine Uy Wi, against David Lee’s Fairy Queen, Herminio Esguerra’s Miss Abby Kat, Tony Tan’s Tiwi Magic, and Don Antonio Floirendo’s Traditional.

All races running this week shall have added prize money for all races, with P22,000 the minimum. All winning grooms shall receive a cash award of P3,000 and a sack of rice.

Said congressman Amado Bagatsing, “This racing festival is not only to honor my late father, who was a horseman, but to give recognition to the ordinary folk who were close to his heart when he was mayor.”

Former congressman Ramon S. Bagatsing Jr. added, “We shall be making this an annual event for race participants and fans to look forward to.” ***

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THE HOARSE WHISPERER By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  12 August 2009, Wednesday

Hygain Feeds Seminar Tonight

Racing, breeding, polo, and equestrian industry stakeholders will benefit from the Hygain Feeds nutrition seminar 6pm tonight at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.

Hygain Feeds is the one of the premier horse feed brands in Australia, having gained success in racing and breeding circles with their special blends of supplemented feeds.

The speakers at the seminar include C. Mano of Singapore’s Mano Equestrian Services Pte. Ltd., which provides tack, medicines, and other equine supplies; Greg Manley of Hygain Feeds; and the main speaker, American equine scientist Steve Duren.

Dr. Duren has years of extensive practice and research in equine nutrition. He has worked as a technical services equine nutritionist for McCauley Brothers, Inc., an equine-only feed manufacturer in Kentucky. In that role he was consulting nutritionist for Adena Springs, Darby Dan, Three Chimneys, and Gainesway Farm, famed thoroughbred ranches in the area.

He was also consulting equine nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research, and later worked with feed manufacturers in Europe, Australia, and Canada.  Lately he formed Performance Horse Nutrition, LLC, where he consults with horse owners and feed manufacturers throughout the world, among them LMF Feeds and Poulin Grain in the United States, Otter Co-op in Canada, Hygain Feeds in Australia, and Bussan Biotech in Japan.

Dr. Duren is also a published author, having co-written “The Concise Guide To Nutrition In The Horse”, and the the upcoming “The 101 Most Frequently Asked Horse Nutrition Questions” which is currently in press.

He also consults directly with large horse farms including Darley Farm and Shaddai Stallion Station Farm in Japan and Golden Eagle Farm in California. He will be available for farm visits on Thursday. Interested horseowners may approach him for consultation after the seminar proper.

In other news, the entire racing industry is looking forward to the Mayor Ramon D. Bagatsing (RDB) Memorial Racing Festival on 18-23 August at the Philippine Racing Club’s New Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.

The highlights of the festival are the Philippine Racing Commission-sponsored Mayor RDB Cup Division I for local horses on Sunday, Aug. 23, and the Mayor RDB Cup Division II for imported and local horses on the late mayor’s birth anniversary, Wednesday, Aug. 19.

These two races echo the Manila Jockey Club Gran Copa de Manila stakes that Mayor Bagatsing promoted during his time as mayor, especially during 1970s and ’80s. Sadly, with the transfer of MJC’s track to the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, this centuries-old tradition (it was begun in 1986) is no longer being run.

The Mayor RDB Memorial racing event is a revival of those glory days of racing, with added benefits for the unsung heroes of the track – the grooms.

Grooms are the horses’ caretakers, the ones who directly care for them, from feeding to bathing to hotwalking to first aid to braiding of manes and trimming of hooves. The sons of the late mayor, horsemen themselves – Manila congressman Amado S. Bagatsing and former congressman lawyer Ramon S. Bagatsing Jr. – have allotted P3,000 in prize money and a sack of rice to all winning grooms for the entire racing week, or 59 races.

“This is the first time,” said congressman Bagatsing, “that these many incentives are being given directly to the grooms. They are overlooked and unrecognized. My late father always had a special place in his heart for the marginalized. In this way, we honor his memory by giving recognition and prizes that are long overdue.”   ***

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THE HOARSE WHISPERER  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today, 5 August 2009, Wednesday

Equine Nutrition        

Ask any equine specialist the number one factor for horse performance in racing and chances are she’ll answer, ”Nutrition.” As in any sport, athletes need to be well-nourished to reach their peak condition and and sustain it, something that goes for horses as well as humans.

 The debate on type and quality of feeds has raged for decades in racing circles. Some trainers and horseowners advocate the simplicity of locally-produced feeds such as oats and ”matamis” (sweet feed), while those with bigger budgets may opt for imported brands.

Is there a difference between local and imported formulas? Many veterinarians say a slight edge in performance is noted with the use of imported feeds. Says veterinarian Dan Arreola, ”I used to be in the feeds business before I started my veterinary practice. Whether it’s feeds for horses, pigs, or other animals, the quality of local feeds depends on the availability of ingredients -which aren’t always available.” If money were no object, which would he recommend? “I’d say go for the imported for its formulation and quality control.”

One of the brands gaining many fans here is Australia’s Hygain, especially for their racing blends Racetorque and Powatorque.

Racetorque is a complete micronized sweet feed with added bio-available silicon (for strong bones), Vitamin E for antioxidant and immune system benefits, chromium (reduces lactic acid build-up after races and workouts), and selenium (prevents fatty oxidation that may cause tissue damage). Rice bran oil, omega essential 3, 6, 9, and other nutrients are included to improve skin, hoof, and coat condition, and provide other nutritional benefits that maximize horse health and boost performance.

Equine nutritionist veterinarian Steven Duren will arrive from Singapore on August 12 to give a presentation that evening about Hygain feeds at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. Admission is free for interested parties from all the equine disciplines. Call Josie at 331-5076 to inquire.

Meanwhile, racing circles are abuzz with the speculation that a 2YO racehorse currently competing in the elite juvenile ranks was foaled two months earlier than its registered date of birth of January 2007. The horse is an ”island-born”, born in this country to a broodmare imported in May 2006 while pregnant.

The Australian breeder of the horse provides a December 2005 “last cover date” or service date for the mare. Since light horses such as thoroughbreds, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual, have a gestation period of 11 to 11.5 months, this would mean that the controversial 2YO was carried by its dam for 13 months.

The Philippine Racing Commission inquired into the matter, and the horse’s connections replied that this particular case was “abnormal” in that the gestation period for this horse really was 13 months. Citing information from one of the foremost breeding ranches in Australia, where cases have been reported of 13 to 14 months’ gestation periods, the horse’s connections contend that such prolonged periods of gestation are not totally unknown in breeding circles.  

Why the brouhaha over this issue? What’s a couple of months here or there? There are railbirds who are vigilant about matters like this, since a couple of months’ advantage in age may mean the difference between winning or losing. More than that, the requirements of a level playing field must be met, for fairness and sportsmanship to prevail in a sport that depends for its income on its credibility with bettors.   ***

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THE HOARSE WHISPERER  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  29 July 2009, Wednesday

Winner-Take-All Carryovers   

It’s what horseracing fans and insiders have been buzzing about recently – the spate of million-peso carryover amounts in the Winner-Take-All events of both the Manila Jockey Club and Philippine Racing Club.

The WTA is a betting event where one picks the winners of seven consecutive races. When race handicapping is particularly brilliant and the resulting fields well-matched in ability, the difficulty of winning the event increases. Carryovers result when no winner is declared. After paying off consolation prizes for six out of seven, the remaining amount from the wagering pool is ”carried over” to the next succeeding day that a WTA event is held, or, to another day soon after if requested by the racing club to further drum up interest and  sales.

Upsets scored last Friday at PRC’s New Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite, resulted in an P815,000 carryover to Saturday’s first WTA set. No one scored that one either, leading to a double carryover of P3.1 million to Sunday’s first WTA. Sales for that event shot up to P8.62 million, not including the carryover amount. This is way higher than the average P2.5 to 3 million pesos in gross sales.

Victories by longshots Par Excellence, Prying Eyes, and King’s Dominion led to a staggering P4.3 million payoff for each of two winning WTA tickets that Sunday.

Two weeks ago, unexpected winners on Triple Crown Sunday at MJC’s San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, were responsible for a P4.2 million carryover to tonight’s WTA set which starts at Race 3, at 7pm. Sales for that event are conservatively estimated to hit P11 million pesos. Add to that the carryover amount and you’re looking at a wager pool of over P15 million pesos. And should more upset wins result, then racing aficionados can expect hefty dividends tonight.

Since Monday, racing fans have been poring over the programs and doing their own handicapping, choosing potential winners. Many sporting fans enjoy wagering on horseracing since there is the element of control, unlike casino games which are mostly up to chance. Analyses are made of the racehorses’ past performances and running styles (sprinter or stayer), their best times over the assigned distances, the riding style of the jockeys, and so on.

Armed with their own carefully culled data and information obtained through other channels, punters then make their choices and hope for Luck to be on their side.

On a somber note, the industry bids farewell to one of its own, horseman Albert Trinidad. One of the founding members and past presidents of the Klub Don Juan de Manila, a horseowners’ organization, he passed away early Sunday morning.

Trinidad was the son of legendary racecaller and broadcaster Tony Trinidad, and owned horses Betchabygollywow, Fascination, and Cross of Fire, among others.   ***

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