Preakness Biorhythms

John of "The Race Is Not To The Swift" blog recently had a post on "biorhythms". Any effect here on the Preakness?

To achieve the moment of peak performance do we want the biorhythms--whatever that term really is--optimal and aligned? Put another way, a perfect training job may still in the end be affected at race time by the mood and bodily systems all coming to naught or fruition at the whim of the horse. And so, considering the Preakness we might wonder in what sort of physical condition and general mood today is Street Sense and his competitors?

Those who train horses would, I believe, understand the point to be made. For myself, I have two racers. On race morning they've been as different as night and day.

When I get to the barn Saturday morning on race day my Aylward invariable is whinnying at the fillies on the walker, and generally bouncing off the walls. I observe this with the satisfaction of seeing my carefully planned physical, nutritional and mental "peaking" working to perfection. No way this horse can lose today, at least based on his attitude and energy level this morning.

My Groovin' Wind undergoes the same pre-race week routine as Aylward, and yet, as sure as the sun will come up, on race day, when I get to the barn, this high energy horse will exhibit dull behavior. He's just standing there batting an occasional fly, dull eyeball, refusing feed and generally appearing as if he needs a good night's sleep. What gives in the race day demeanor of these two horses?

I'm still trying to figure it all out and of late have added in my own knowledge the endocrine system, thyroid, pitutiary, adrenal and so on, to the equation.

And so, will our Preakness competitors be affected by time of day, time of month, differences in time of racing and training, gut bacteria level, the carbohydrate cycle, travel, lasix, and whatever the trainer might be injecting or feeding, and so on? A definite yes, by my experience, and part of what makes training a horse interesting and perplexing! Let's hope today that everything is aligned for each horse, they're all "up", and we'll get to see them all perform at their physical, mental, and biorhythmic best!

Today's Training:
5/17/07 Thurs. Day 3 Burch: 3 x 1 f riderless nearly full speed.
5/18/07 Fri. Day 1 Burch: 10 min. walk under tack around outside of paddock. Nob says he's got a little more work to do before we're confident trying to trot. Small, potentially dangerous horse here due to size, and we have a "no risk" riding policy.
5/19: Sat. Day 2: yet to come. to post later. Plan riderless slow galloping and tack work.