More Linda Rice

Most trainers do a decent job getting youngsters ready to race, as does Ms. Rice. It's a breeze every 7 days, lot's of galloping, and a reasonably fit youngster for the first two or three races. The trouble begins for most of these as the concept of "in season conditioning" escapes their trainers. Bill O'Gorman describes this in his book:
(I'll put it in here when I find it)

What does Linda Rice do with her horses after racing commences? I looked at a few examples.

First there's the interesting case of Russian Prospector who raced 19 times in 2008. How was RP managed?

Besides his races Russian Prospector shows exactly two works for the year:

1/2 :50
1/24 :49.6.

RP was also raced on 1/10 and 1/31 and improved his placing from 6th to 4th.

Thereafter, this is so typical and why I have yet to find a trainer that I can recommend to an owner--without any works at all RP is raced once or twice a month to August. He survives. We have a highly intelligent animal as RP never runs fast enough to hurt himself.

In August they see the light. RP is raced 3 times in August, and then 3 more times in a span of 35 days beginning 9/25. This 6 race sequence in 65 days(with 3 weeks between) results in*** FLASHING LIGHTS*** RP breaking his maiden in his 17th race of the year on 10/9/08. They then wait three weeks to race (no works) and he finishes 2nd. Some residual fitness perhaps. The last race on 11/14 results in a 7th place as the horse has now breezed raced but 3 times in 37 days. RP performance, had they breezed the horse all year, undetermined.

Then the interesting case of Officer Sheila T Rex (hereafter "OSTR"). OSTR gets hurt in January but comes back to the races in July. She shows a decent June pre-race work tab of 5 breezes oddly and inconsistently spaced. The spacing ranges from 9 days to 2 weeks apart. There's 11 days between the last 1:03 breeze in 7/20 and the 7/31 race where, on the comeback, she finishes 5th in a maiden. They wait 20 days to breeze her in 49.2 and whoops she gets a maiden 2nd on 8/27. UNBELIEVABLY(Horse utterly unprepared for this) they race her 4 days later on 9/1 and she finishes 10th. By 9/28 they somehow coax a maiden win, but I'm thinking this is near the end for OSTR. She races twice more in October for 4ths and has yet to be heard from since. I'd think in January OSTR will be a happy broodmare somewhere, and the suspends builds for the naming of that foal.

I need that O'Gorman quote to describe this stuff. I looked at several other Rice horses. Sweet Bama Breeze, Captain Backfire, etc. You can check them out. I'm unable to discern from the workout/race tab any consistency or plan other than that Rice after commencement of racing either declines to breeze at all or for reasons unapparent will suddenly decide suddenly to commence breezing 9 days to two weeks apart. Would a Linda Rice interview shed any light on what's going on? This is highly doubtful from what the website shows. The blog will avoid wasting it's valuable time.

We can peg Rice as another trainer whose breeze/race frequency schedule is 9 days or more. Her injury rate conforms with other trainers on this schedule. It's high.

Training:
Mon. 12/1: Off
Tues: 12/2 We enjoy possibly our last 50 degree day for a while. It's too wet, windy and crazy for gallop. Each horse trots 1 mile and does a riderless 1.5 miles in :15s. They chug the whole 1.5 miles in the riderless, and though we declined to drive them on the mud today--just seems like a day to let them gallop along--this was a nice conditioning workout. Cold coming in. Our ridwer is in counseling.