Updates

The Defense Rests came down with a minor foot bruise earlier this week. Mike is not concerned, and thinks we’ll only miss a few days of training. Mike’s team is soaking the foot with epsom salts to draw out any inflammation associated with the bruise. He expects him to resume galloping toward the end of this week or over the weekend. If everything looks good, he should return to the worktab within 7-10 days.


Phosphorescent remains on target to ship to Florida to resume training in about two weeks.


Mr. Fantasy remains on target to ship to Florida in about two weeks. He’ll handwalk for about a month after arriving before going back under saddle. Dr. Baker is cautiously optimistic that this horse will go on to have a productive campaign this year. We’ll have to closely monitor his ankles once he resumes serious training, but fingers crossed he returns and shows the same brilliance he showed last summer at Saratoga.

Race Day Update

Brave Monarch came out of his last breeze in great shape. Graham received some intel from the Tampa Bay Downs racing secretary that the chances of us drawing into the maiden special weight on the 18th are very slim. This is based on what is called the "preference system." Since our colt did not arrive to Florida until early January, he has a lower preference than horses who shipped south earlier in the season, and thus have their registration papers on file at an earlier date. Races at Tampa are overfilling frequently, and there are often full fields. The racing secretary did indicate that there is a very good chance we draw into the next three-year-old maiden special weight. We want to give this colt every opportunity to run well in his debut and are very keen on running at Tampa versus Gulfstream. The competition at Gulfstream tends to be much tougher, and we think he'll be much more competitive at this venue.

Accordingly, Graham would like to train Brave Monarch up to the maiden special weight going 1 mile on the turf on Friday, March 4th at Tampa Bay Downs. Graham said, "It's unfortunate that we won't get into this Friday's race, but another couple works can only help him. I plan to breeze him on the turf tomorrow morning at Palm Meadows. We'll take dead aim on this next race at Tampa with him."

Once we ship back north in April or May, we'll have many more options to run with Parx, Delaware, Monmouth, etc. opening their turf courses.

We enter for the race on Wednesday, March 2nd.

Race Day

Brave Monarch worked five furlongs out of the gate in 1.04:00 (16 of 17) on Thursday at Palm Meadows. Graham said, "We accomplished our goal of getting another breeze from the gate with him, and he is ready to run. He was the better or the duo that worked from the gate. I generally give my horses at least one sprinting race before stretching out around two turns, and this may sound unorthodox, but I want to go two turns with him first out. He doesn't have a ton of early speed, and I'm worried we won't get much out of his debut if we go short. He's quite fit, and I think he will benefit from added distance. Maria's Mon progeny tend to to their best running around two turns."

Accordingly, we are pointing for a maiden special weight going 1 1/16 miles on the turf on Friday, February 18th at Tampa Bay Towns. If this race overfills or is not used, we'll use the maiden special weight going 1 mile on the turf on March 4th at Tampa Bay Downs as our backup.

Workout

Brave Monarch worked at Palm Meadows this moring going 5F (Gate) on the dirt in 1:04:00 16 of 17

Updates

Brave Monarch is scheduled to work out of the gate on the dirt within the next few days at Palm Meadows in preparation for his racing debut. Terry, Tom Bellhouse, and Erin saw him train over the weekend. He’s carrying good weight and seems to move well over the dirt at Palm Meadows. Graham said, “This horse has done well for me. I’ve had a few Maria’s Mons over the years that remind me quite a bit of this horse. They trained decently over the dirt, but did their best running on the turf. When the new Tampa Bay Downs condition book comes out, I’d like to take a look at the maiden special weights there. You run for less money than at Gulfstream, but the competition is much easier. I want to give him every opportunity to run well first out. I think we’ll see him in the gate toward the end of this month

The Defense Rests worked three furlongs in 39:66 (11 of 12) on Monday at Belmont. “I told my rider to go nice and easy since it was his first work over this surface,” said Mike Hushion. “He is very healthy and moving well. We’ll keep him on a weekly breeze schedule moving forward.” A March return in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct remains viable.

Phosphorescent remains on target to ship to Florida to resume training on or around March 1st.

Mr. Fantasy had another week of turnout on Dr. Baker’s farm. Clinically, there is very little swelling and inflammation in his ankles, which is a very good sign. He remains on target to ship to Florida on or around March 1st in anticipation of going back into training about April 1st.

Workout

The Defense Rests worked out at Belmont this morning going 3F in 39:66 11 of 12

Workout Update

Brave Monarch worked four furlongs in 53:90 (14 of 18) in company with two other Graham Motion trainees on the turf on Wednesday at Palm Meadows. "Don't be alarmed by the slow time," said Graham. "This was quite a good breeze. He worked in company with two other maidens who have been quite competitive against maiden special weight competition, and he outworked them. I didn't want them to go too fast early. We emphasize a strong finish, and that's just what he did. This colt has really taken to the turf. I plan to work him two more times before running, once on the dirt out of the gate, and the other on the turf."
We'll likely see our grey son of Maria's Mon in the starting gate in the next Gulfstream condition book. This puts his debut toward the end of this month or early March, depending on race schedules. We'll firm up a date within the next few weeks.