THERE GOES VINNY finished 7th, on October 5, 2011, at BELMONTPARK in Race 7. You can view the chart and link to the race replay by clicking here.
His first time out on the track, Vinny looked a little lost and never really got into stride the way he does in the morning.Fortunately, he came out sound and should be fine to continue training and racing.We’ll get back to the drawing board, find another spot for him, and have him back on the track soon enough.
Click here to add THERE GOES VINNY to your Virtual Stable:
Managing a small thoroughbred racing stable comes with many ups and downs, where fates and fortunes can change on the drop of a dime. In an effort to keep our information current and relevant, we have decided to open up a Twitter account where we will post updates on the ongoings of our racing operations. We strongly believe that this will allow us to more comprehensively inform and interaction with you, our fans. For your convenience, we have posted a link just below the picture on the top left of the main page.
If you are not on Twitter or simply prefer the blog format, don't worry - we will be cross posting everything we share. You have followed and supported us for the last 6 months and we want to make sure you are all on board as we continue to move forward. We hope that you enjoy the improvements.
**Vinny is entered as a MTO (Main Track Only) runner. So, he will only be running if the race is moved from the turf to the main dirt track. We’ll know Friday morning whether or not we’ll be running. Pray for rain!
KISSDON’T TELL was scratched from Race 10 at BELMONT PARK on Sunday 9/11/2011
No major issues here - she just wasn't 100% when she woke up Sunday morning. She should be back into training on Tuesday morning and we'll be looking for another race within a week or two. Please stay tuned.
Click here to add KISSDON’T TELL to your Virtual Stable:
KISSDON’T TELL is entered to run in Race 10 (5:50 p.m.) at BELMONT PARK on Sunday 9/11/2011.
Race Type:
For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward Which Have Never Won Three Races Or Three Year Olds Or Which Have Not Won A Race On The Turf Since March 11.
Distance: Six Furlongs(Inner turf)
Post Position: 3
Claiming Price: $20,000
Jockey: J Sanchez
Click here to add KISSDON’T TELL to your Virtual Stable:
Regardless of what happens on the track on Sunday, we will be happy to get our beautiful girl back onto the track and we know that she will give us everything she’s got. We’re looking forward to getting back in the starting gate.
THERE GOES VINNY was scratched from race 12 on September 3, 2011, at SARATOGA.
While he fortunately is dealing with no major physical issues, "Vinny" did hit a slight snag in training that will delay his first start for a couple of weeks. He will be locked and loaded by the time we get back to Belmont. Though we are slightly disappointed, we are racing fans first and owners second. As such we will still be spending the day at the track together, enjoying quality time with family and friends, in addition to a fantastic card of races. There are far worse ways to spend a late summer afternoon than at the beautiful confines at the Spa. Please stay tuned on our runners, who should be back in full swing in short order. Wishing a happy and healthy Labor Day weekend to all.
Click here to add THERE GOES VINNY to your Virtual Stable:
**This will be our first time back to the track since Meese Rocks' victory in the Broadway Stakes in March (her last time out on the track). We can't wait to get back to business and experience the unique thrill that comes with the first time you watch one of your runners compete. And there is truly no better place than Saratoga to experience this sensation. You have all followed us through a truly trying time and we hope to see you all at the track as we start the rebuilding process.
As part of our retooling efforts, we have sought out some less conventional means of acquiring new stock for our barn.For us, this meant scouring the DRF sheets for horses ripe for the claim across the entire country, not just limited to the NYRA circuit (where the claiming game has been decidedly difficult this year).Though we are a locally owed and operated stable, this was no reason to limit ourselves to horses running at only our home tracks.And so, trusting in our ability to scout out under-the-radar talent, we hit the bricks in an effort to make a solid claim in a less obvious corner of the thoroughbred community.Enter our newest stablemate, Johardy.
A 3-year old, NY-Bred grey gelding, Johardy is wonderfully bred (Johar – Sister Concern, by Concern) and even-tempered, showing a willingness to get to work from the minute we got him in the barn.We claimed our new grey from Neil French’s barn out of a maiden claiming race at Del Mar.While he has shown flashes ability in his two lifetime starts, we feel that he may be due surface change to best bring out his full potential.Owing to his breeding and composition, we intend to switch him to grass and possibly add some distance to his workload at some point in the future. So far, he has acted like a complete professional and done everything Barker has asked of him in training.We are delighted to welcome him to his new east coast family and excited at the prospect of having a new horse whose potential may have yet to be realized.
After a long period of relatively light activity at the track, the Terranova Racing Stable is just about ready to get back to business.Following the unfortunate passing of Meese Rocks earlier this year, we were forced to take a long look at our operations and decide if we wanted to stay in the business, and in what capacity.Ultimately, we were not ready to turn the barn lights off for good.Yet, without a steady earner, the strategy would have to change.We would need to clear out the stock and get some new blood into the barn.
After a healthy amount of research we arrived at the farm Jim and Katy Chapman in Ocala, FL.Jim and Eddie Barker have worked together in the past, and Eddie has said that he’s consistently impressed with how well the Chapman’s prepare their horses for the track (both physically and mentally).We felt strongly that we were in the right place to retool our operations – and we were not disappointed.The moment he lead a big, strapping, dark brown 2-year old out to meet us, we knew that we had found our baby.A NY-bred colt by graded stakes-winning Western Pride, out of the Afternoon Deelites’ mare Super Deelites, he was big, balanced and solidly built.Headstrong and exuberant (yet still friendly and playful), we knew that he was the one.We closed the deal that night and a week later, the van to Ozone Park, NY dropped him off at the Barker barn.
Since arriving at the barn, our Western Pride has been in steady, consistent training.As smart as he is big, this brawny baby colt has taken to training like a fish to water.He handles himself on the track like a hardened professional, and has seemed to genuinely enjoy his training regimen.When not playfully running Eddie up the walls of the barn, our boy could be found flipping his hay, whipping his tail at the grooms, and sticking his entire face into his water bucket.In essence, we have a 13-year old boy trapped in the body of a 1200 pound animal.
Whole face in the water bucket
Of course, there was one more important aspect to consider before our boy became an official part of the Terranova racing family: What to name him?And while we received a tremendous amount of feedback from family and friends, we really wanted to name our newbie in a way that would bring good karma to our stable while also serving as a tribute to a beloved member of our extended family.In the end, we decided to name our baby after our dear friend Vinny, who has fought against some serious physical ailments for many years, all the while maintaining a vibrant spirit and positive attitude.His propensity to dig in and fight against long odds is a testament to his courageous character.He is a true fighter, a gamer, and we’re confident that our baby boy will embody some of these attributes.This is why we hope for and expect great things from our new 2-year old colt.Everyone, we introduce you to There Goes Vinny:
We are sorry to inform you that the Meese Rocks Stakes, which was scheduled for Monday, July 25th, did not fill and therefore will not be on the program.Despite the best efforts of PJ Campo and the NYRA secretarial staff, there were simply not enough horses available to run.Needless to say, it is a tremendous disappointment to our stable.For the first time in months, we had a reason to be excited to go to the track, only to come up a nose short.However, though we will not be in attendance on Monday, we will continue to support the leaders in the older NY-bred fillies and mare division, such as Ava K, Lots of Stones, Minerologist, and Catchapenny K, just to name a few.We are hopeful that there will be future occasions to spend the day at the track amongst family, friends, and fellow race fans.Sadly, it will not be on Monday.
We’ll be providing an update on the rest of the stable in the coming week and will keep you all up to speed on any future entries.Enjoy the beginning of a Saratoga meet that appears to be chock full of talent and excitement.We’ll see you all soon.
We were informed last week that the classy folks at the New York Racing Association have named a stakes race at Saratoga in Meese Rocks’ honor. Scheduled as the 7th race on Monday, July 25th, the Meese Rocks Stakes will be run over 6.5 furlongs and will feature fillies and mares, aged 3 and up, bred in New York state. It is an appropriate choice of races to name after our late mare, as this is likely a race we would have been targeting for our girl. We are incredibly thankful to PJ Campo and the rest of the NYRA secretarial staff for giving us a chance to gain a small amount of closure on what is still very much an open wound. As a local stable, we train, stable, and race in New York and continue to keep a close eye on the New York racing and breeding circuit. It will be an honor to see the best in Meese Rocks’ New York division compete for a black-type win in her honor.
To the family and friends that have supported us along the way, we invite any and all of you to come up to Saratoga to help us enjoy the day. The picturesque upstate New York track is the site of some of our fondest memories as a stable, with a close 2nd place finish in last year’s Fleet Indian Stakes and an open lengths victory in the 2010 Union Ave Stakes in the Saratoga slop. And though things are still not quite back to normal around the barn, nothing would mean more to us that to have those we care about help us continue the process of moving forward. It should be a special (if not bittersweet) day and we hope to see you all there.
It was November 2010 and our stable was fresh off Meese Rocks’ Iroquois win.Riding a wave of momentum and enthusiasm, we sought to bring in some new stock while diversifying our barn.After a bit of legwork, we came across a spunky little 2-year old chestnut filly named Kissdon’t Tell (Badge of Silver—Kirby’s Fuse, by Lite The Fuse), who was running out of Allan Hunter’s barn at Calder Race Track.A winner in her first time out on the track, this late-running lass had the breeding, style, and determination that we were looking for.After brief negotiations, she was on a van headed for New York.She was our first 2-year old.It was quite a thrill to have a horse whose potential was yet to be realized.The sky was the limit.
A January foal, Kissdon’t Tell (KDT, for short) arrived at the barn with a maturity not often seen in 2-year olds.Even more importantly, she was a total professional, both in training and on the track, amongst other horses.Though amazingly kind and gentle in the barn, this filly hit the track with an attitude that said “I’m coming to get you in the stretch, whether you like it or not.”Still, we were reserved.Running a relatively slow 5.5 furlongs in a $16k claimer at Calder is one thing.Coming to New York to run in the “big leagues” was quite another.Many a shipper has found success at regional tracks, only to spit the bit on the New York circuit.
Hoping that talent, grit, and luck were contagious, we stalled her next to Meese Rocks in Eddie’s barn.It worked.On December 8th 2010, we sent her out a relative unknown running for a $25k claiming tag, and brought her home a winner.After moderate early splits and a troubled stretch run, our little filly found her best gear and motored home under Junior Alvarado, running down a $125k Pletcher-trained blueblood to score the win at a largely dismissed 10-to-1.We celebrated like we had just won the Oaks.The sweet rush of promise and hope washed over us like a warm blanket.
KDT out-guts Avanta in the Aqueduct stretch
A little over a month later, we entered KDT into a much tougher race over Aqueduct’s inner dirt course (this race’s winner would go on to place 2nd in a stakes race and 1st in an allowance race).Despite an extremely troubled trip (again), she had enough kick left in the stretch to score the show honors.However, after two tough races in less than 6 weeks, we decided it was time to give our girl some much needed R&R.A 3-year old who had already shown flashes of talent, we decided to take it slow and develop her properly.Too often, 2-year old winners are never heard from again after they are pushed too hard too fast during their formative years.We had a keeper and we wanted to do right by her.Our little girl is now back in training and gearing up for the trip to Saratoga.We hope for (and expect) many late-running thrills from our little filly this summer and beyond.
We wanted to take a moment to send out a special thank you in recognition of a very special tribute to Meese Rocks.Barbara Livingston, a legendary and deservedly well-decorated horse racing photographer, has posted a beautiful piece on her blog at DRF.com, complete with pictures that are novel even to us.Her incredible pictures and kind words capture our girl precisely how we remember here – beautiful and regal, with a gritty determination to destroy her competition.In a show of class and a deep understanding for our industry, she also highlights the unique bond that jockey Jorge Chavez had with Meese Rocks.“George-y” was with us from the beginning and has been along for some of our greatest moments as a stable.He loved our mare just as we did and it’s touching to see that Barbara has captured this connection in such great detail.
Amazingly, her blog post went out completely unsolicited!You could imagine how surprised we were to see our girl’s name right up there on the front page of DRF.com.It continues to astound us that so many people have come out in recognition and support of both Meese Rocks and our little family stable.And though the pain of her loss is still fresh in our hearts and minds, such acts of kindness help us begin the process of moving forward.Once again, Barbara, thank you.To see the blog post in full, please visit the site below.It is truly unbelievable:
As a final note, we will be heading to the barn tomorrow to check out a few of our young guns, including a promising 2 year old colt that is just getting into a more intense training regimen.Please stay tuned – we will be taking picture of the newbies and properly introducing them to all of our followers within the next few weeks.
It has been a difficult week for our stable.The pain we felt last Wednesday from the loss of Meese Rocks is still fresh in our minds, even as we now try to collect ourselves and move forward.Emotionally and financially, our stable faces an uphill battle in the months to come.We will now rely on a few of our babies (2- and 3-years olds) to carry us through the next phase of this rollercoaster journey.In the coming weeks, we will highlight each of these horses individually so that you may all get more familiar with the rest of our equine family.For now though, we are still sitting with a feeling of loss.And yet, in this very difficult time, we have discovered one of the most gratifying aspects of thoroughbred ownership.
To our disbelief, in the days following the big girl’s passing, we received an outpouring of support from all corners of the thoroughbred industry.From Brooklyn to Kentucky, Georgia to California, words of condolences and encouragement flooded our inbox and were publicly posted throughout the internet.Perfect strangers went to great lengths to detail how much admired Meese Rocks’ grit and determination, and how they were sharing in our sorrow.
Needless to say, we have been delighted and shocked by the kind words and well wishes.Owing to simple probability, we never believed that we would be so lucky as to have a horse of Meese Rocks’ caliber.Even more surprising (and touching) was that our girl meant so much to so many people outside of our immediate circle.We are amazed and unbelievably thankful to those who supported her efforts from afar, and who were kind enough to reach out to us to share their stories and support.While we truly appreciate all of you for your well wishes, we wanted to highlight a select few that went above and beyond in their tribute to Meese Rocks:
Derby Trail (www.derbytrail.com) – A few days after last week’s post, we noticed a large amount of traffic coming to the blog from this site.Unfamiliar, we investigated, and found a community of the most knowledgeable and dedicated horse aficionado’s anywhere.One of their seasoned members felt compelled to give Meese Rocks here own thread, which you can find at http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2 (thread titled “Farewell, Meese Rocks”).It is incredible to read people just like us speak so highly of our mare.To the member who goes by “My Miss Storm Cat,” whoever you are, thank you.
New York Thoroughbred Breeders (www.nytbreeders.org) – The classy folks with NYT Breeders posted on their site a moving tribute to Meese Rocks.Going well beyond their normal coverage of New York-Bred Thoroughbreds, their article really captures how meaningful our girl was to the New York Thoroughbred community.It is an incredible tribute and gives us tremendous comfort to know that our horse meant so much to people outside our stable.A special thank you is in order to Jeff Cannizzo and Sarah Mace.Your kind words and efforts in getting the story up mean more to us than you could ever know.
Finally, we want to acknowledge the efforts of the physicians and staff at New Jersey Equine Clinic (www.njequine.com).Throughout the tenure of Meese Rocks’ stay, they treated her with all the TLC deserving of a beloved family member.Just as she refused to give in to her ailments, they refused to give up on her, working tirelessly in their efforts to nurse her back to health.A special thank you is in order to Dr. Scott Palmer and Dr. Jennifer Smith.Their near-daily updates were a constant reassurance that our girl was in very good hands.We thank you for your efforts.
As mentioned, we will soon begin introducing the rest of our stable.While we are sorry that it comes under such saddening circumstances, we are happy to have any new followers along for the ride.We hope that you will join us in honoring the memory of Meese Rocks by supporting us as we rebuild our stable and get back on the right track.We know we are in for a tough trip, but we will be empowered by having the additional support riding along with us.Thanks again!
We regret to inform you that earlier today our champion mare, Meese Rocks, had to be laid to rest.
Just days after our “Gamechanger” post from May 2nd, she was found to have swelling in one of her hocks.Much to our dismay, this swelling turned out to be an infection that was aggressively attacking her musculature and immune functioning.So damaging was her condition that, upon first arriving at the equine hospital, the physicians feared that they could not contain the infection.They told us that it would be humane to put her down and save her any discomfort.In fairness, they didn’t know Meese Rocks like we did.They had never seen her train. They had never seen her race.They had never seen her run her guts out, for us.We told them to do everything they could, because we knew she had it in her to beat the infection and get back to action.And to the surprise of the doctors (but not to us), she handled her treatment the same way she handled racing: like a complete professional and a true champion.Within 2 weeks, she had beaten the infection completely, with muscular and joint functionality 100% intact.Things were looking up.
Unfortunately, this condition caused her to favor the infected leg, placing increased (and unnatural) pressure on her other legs.As often happens in such cases, she developed a condition called Laminitis in the hoof of her other rear leg.This condition is extremely painful, irreversible, and often fatal in thoroughbreds.The only hope once this condition is detected is to impede the progress from the start and hope for the best.Again, the doctors advised us that the prognosis was not good.Again, we told them to do everything in their power.And, Meese Rocks did what she does.She dug in.She gritted her teeth and got herself better.The infection was gone.The laminitis had stopped progressing.After almost 6 weeks in the hospital, she was ready to return to Aqueduct to start her second career as a Broodmare.She was ready to come home to be with the family that loved her dearly.Preparations were made to transport her back to the barn today, Wednesday, June 01, 2011.
But, she would never make it onto the van.
A complication with her limonitic leg caused the condition to progress rapidly and painfully.She was suffering and would never be able to stand or walk again.She was in a race that she could not win.
There is truly not enough space on this page or words in the world to adequately capture what Meese Rocks meant to our barn and our family.She was more than just a race horse.She was a force that brought our stable to places we could have never imagined.With stakes wins at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga (and one at Monmouth to boot), she was a constant source of excitement.What’s more, through her talent and relentlessness, she galvanized the Terranova family, and built her own following amongst our family and friends.In an era where families too often congregate only for weddings and funerals, Meese Rocks was our reason to be together, excited, and hopeful for the future. The class with which she carried herself was at once touching and inspirational.Anyone who had ever met the big girl can attest to this.
We are saddened by the fact that, owing to bad timing, we were not able to share Meese Rocks with this blog to a greater extent.Little did we know that by the time we were up and running, her racing career would be over.For those of you that came to the track (even all the way up to Saratoga) to support our mare, we thank you.We could never describe how special it was for us to be surrounded by family and friends in the winners circle.We will look back fondly on the pictures for years to come.As we say goodbye to our special mare, please enjoy the pictures below, as well as the video from the 2011 Broadway Stakes, the last time she would ever touch the track.This is how we will always remember Meese Rocks – lightning fast and tough as nails, leaving the competition in her dust.
Meese Rocks was born May 14, 2005, by Robert W. Misa Jr., at Duchess View Farm in Pine Plains, NY.She is by Rock and Roll, out of the winning Grindstone Mare, Meeses Pieces.At two, Meese Rocks was broken and trained at Heather Larson’s Hudson Meadows Racing in Hudson, NY.She finishes with a career record of 9 wins, 6 seconds, and 2 thirds over 22 starts.She bankrolled $443,410 in purse money, winning at ages 4, 5, and 6.Career highlights include wins in the Personal Girl Stakes and Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct, the Union Ave Stakes at Saratoga, and the Iroquois Stakes on New York Showcase Day at Belmont in 2010.She has given us so much in the past 2+ years and she will be missed dearly.
First start, first win (Saratoga)
Barker and the big girl
Our 1st stakes win - the Personal Girl Stakes
Meese Rocks in Saratoga - locked and loaded before the Union Ave Stakes
Romp in the Slop
Beautiful
Simply amazing
The Terranova family celebrates the Union Ave win at Siros
Barker and the boys at Siro's - incredible night
The Champ, ready to roll in the Iroquois Stakes at Belmont
