Prepping for race day

By Chad Courrier
The Free Press

SHAKOPEE June 18, 2006 01:22 am

— Amid the organized chaos in the morning at Canterbury Park, the 2-year-old bay colt gallops by, its head held high, the exercise rider easing him down the backstretch. From the viewing stand, trainer Todd Hoffrogge watches keenly for any signs that Bold Bulldog isn’t ready to race.
There are none.
“He’s done everything right,” said Hoffrogge, who is from Sleepy Eye. “He doesn’t look like a superstar, maybe a middle-of-the-road horse. He’s not run too fast, just average. But on race day, sometimes they find another gear and surprise you.”
Therein lies the intrigue of owning a 2-year-old race horse, an animal about to embark on a racing career. Bold Bulldog carries the hopes of its 20 owners, seven of which live in Mankato, who are taking their first chance at running for some of the larger purse at Canterbury this summer.
Lee and Sara Beske, Steve and Beth Weisbecker, Rick Cauley, Mark Boone and Chuck LaGow have spent three summers watching their horses run in low-level claiming races, earning enough in purse money to cover the expenses.
However, they’ve invested more in this horse than any of the others, and perhaps this week, the untested, well-bred Bold Bulldog may make his debut.
“He either needs to work or race,” Hoffrogge said.
The ownership group, named Hector Bulldog Racing Partners because the original group included only graduates from Hector High School, paid about $10,000 for Bold Bulldog, the son of Tahkoda Hills and Bold Cherokee. Tahkoda Hills was training toward the Triple Crown races in 2000, finishing third in the Florida Derby, a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby. But he didn’t qualify for the Kentucky Derby, then had a productive stakes career with earnings of nearly $600,000.
The Kentucky-bred Tahkoda Hills, who took his first shot at breeding two years ago in Minnesota, has about 30 2-year-olds in training, none of which have run yet.
“This year will tell the story,” said Russ Sampson, a member of the Hector Bulldog group whose family owns and manages Canterbury Park.
The mare Bold Cherokee was outstanding as a 2-year-old, receiving horse of the year honors at Canterbury Park in 1992, winning its first five races to earn about $100,000. But the next year, Canterbury closed, and Bold Cherokee did some racing at other tracks over the next two years.
Bold Cherokee has a long history of breeding, though none of her offspring have been as successful as she was.
“It’s disappointing, no doubt about that,” Sampson said. “It’s like if a guy wins the state wrestling champion, everybody thinks his sons can all do the same. Sometimes, that don’t happen. She’s never lived up to her potential (as a mare).”
Bold Bulldog, and his ownership group, hopes to reverse that trend.
Bold Bulldog began training in December when Hoffrogge took his stable to Arkansas, getting his young horses used to carrying a saddle and rider. The horse worked out twice in February, three times in March and once in April before returning to Minnesota on April 22. At Canterbury, Bold Bulldog has three gated workouts with average times: four furlongs at 51 seconds on May 3, four furlongs at 49 seconds on May 17 and five furlongs at 1:05 on May 27.
Hoffrogge said he carefully monitors the workouts because 2-year-olds haven’t fully developed, and Bold Bulldog, who is tall and lanky, may take time off after his first race because of shin soreness.
“The young horses need more time off between workouts,” he said, adding that Bold Bulldog stays fit with daily gallops on the track.
Hoffrogge has already recognized some of the horse’s traits, adding blinkers because the horse seemed uneasy running next to horses, especially those on the inside.
“He’s not real aggressive,” Hoffrogge said.
Though he certainly hasn’t given up on Bold Bulldog, he’s not expecting much early. Hoffrogge works his horse in packs of three and four, changing the group to see which one runs the fastest. Bold Bulldog has not been the fastest.
“He might be a better horse next year,” Hoffrogge said. “The 2-year-olds are forced to run (shorter races), and he may need to go long.”
Still, Hoffrogge likes working with Bold Bulldog, who does what’s asked of him with little complaint.
“He wants to please,” Hoffrogge said. “Sometimes, they want to fight you. We put them through a lot, and some don’t handle the stress. They don’t eat, they get scared of the track.
“He’s handled everything, and handled it well.”
Now comes the time to see how the horse reacts while racing, in a pack, with a crowd hollering.

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