Tons of Blame to go around

I know I am more than a a little late with, but thee combination of the previous post along with some other personal problems drained the creative energy from yours truly. But with the help of a brief freshening, I'm back with renewed fervor. Today's post will hopefully be the beginning of a steady series of posts for this blog. I will be aiming to keep a schedule of posting thrice-weekly, while maintaining, and hopefully improving, the quality of the posts. With that out of the way, onto sharing Blame!

When Blame crossed the wire first in the Stephen Foster, i sort of felt like a proud father after seeing his boy win something, as strange as that sounds. Blame broke from the outside post in the field of eleven in the race. He worked his way into a good stalking position, sat 3-4 lengths off the tepid pace pace, made his move going into he far turn and won by a measured 3/4 of a length over the lone speed of Battle Plan. (Unfortunately for Battle Plan, injury has ensnared him once again, and this time for good. He has been retired due to a tear in his suspensory. Stud plans have not been made yet.)
(chart here; video below)


With the win, Blame is now a Grade 1 winner, and officially enters the discussion for Horse of the Year. However, he is well behind the two front-runners, Quality Road and Zenyatta. Preparations have already begun for Blame's next race. He worked an easy 1/2 mile in 49 flat at Keeneland on Sunday June 27th. He is being pointed to Grade 1 Whitney Handicap on August 7th at Saratoga. Also being pointed to that race is the aforementioned Quality Road; I Want Revenge, who makes his return from a 15-month layoff in this Saturday's Suburban; Mine That Bird, who makes his seasonal debut in the Firecracker Handicap on grass at Churchill Downs this Sunday, after the allowance race he was being aimed for failed to fill; and Redding Colliery, who was a stylish winner of the Lone Star Handicap last out. That race should be a good one.

Now that Blame has gotten that Grade 1 win, this blog can only hope that it is just the first step to a sterling 2010 campaign, ending with another Grade 1 victory come the first Saturday in November right back there at Churchill downs in the Breeders Cup Classic.