RUNNING OUT FRONT 4-27-08

BRIGHT JOURNEY IS 2 MONTHS OLD NOW.

MAMAS BOY - 4-27-08

IT WAS A HOT ONE TODAY. When I got to the farm it was 91 degrees. These two were inseparable. He never strays very far from her. He is sort of becoming a mama's boy. I tried to cox him out to play but he just hid behind her mostly. He still won't eat carrots. Not interested in an apple either.

NEW JOURNEY COLT BORN - 4-27-08

While I was at the farm today, a mare went into labor. Turns out, she was carrying another Good Journey foal. It only took 16 minutes from the time the water broke to the time the foal was delivered. She had a nice brown colt. Here is a shot of his two front legs emerging. His head is still in the sack. He's not breathing yet. Very cool!! Another first crop Good Journey colt. We will have to keep an eye on his progress.

GOOD JOURNEY COLT SELLS FOR $90k IN SYDNEY

THIS JUST IN FROM SYDNEY!! THIS GOOD JOURNEY COLT (A YEARLING) SOLD FOR $90,000 at the Inglis Easter Sales in Australia. He's from Our Egyptian Raine, an extremely good G1 placed mare who sold herself for $900K. He is her first foal.

GOOD JOURNEY SHUTTLES TO AUSTRALIA

BRIGHT'S SIRE HAS NOW BECOME CALIFORNIA'S ONLY SHUTTLE STALLION TO AUSTRALIA! That is a huge deal because that means Good Journey will get more good mares to breed and that means the Australian's really like him, and that means the value of his foals has really shot up!! Indeed, Good Journey is now an internationally recognized producing stallion - and Bright Journey is one from his first US crop. Lindsay Park is owned by one of the leading trainers in Australia, David Hayes, a Melbourne Cup winner. It stands some very fine stallions, including Fraar, winner of the Caufield Cup. Lindsay Park is located 60km outside Adelaide. Its nice country. Good Journey will depart in July, go into quarantine, and then start servicing mares around September. Then he will be back in California in February. How exciting.

ON THE RUN WITH BRIGHT JOURNEY

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THIS? Already, he's striding out in front of Lady. Bright has three white socks. My pal Lou, at Portola Pastures, has told me that three white socks is a good sign. I asked why. He said, "Secretariat had 3 socks - and he turned out to be a pretty good runner." Its hard to disagree with such an understatement of fact. However, for the record, Secretariat has two socks in back and a front right white sock. Bright has two back socks and a left front sock. But its true that they are both red horses. :)

Lady and Bright Make a Nice Pair

WHEN LADY AND BRIGHT SAW ME TODAY, Bright was laying down and Lady was grazing. Then Lady figured out that I had a big bag of carrots. This is a photo of Lady determinedly walking towards me in anticipation of some cold, snappy carrots. This is also an excellent photo of two things: (1) the amount of distance that Bright allows between himself and Lady given his choice, and (2) the general environment of Legacy Ranch where they are staying. They have a nice pasture in the back which they share with another foal and mare. Very pleasant.

LAZY SUNDAY - 4-13-08

When I got to the Farm today, it was 90 degrees and all the foals were laid out flat taking a noon time siesta. Bright was no different. Also - foal coats are too warm and fluffy for all this spectacular weather so they have started to molt. Patches around the eyes and muzzle are coming off in favor of a thinner, lighter coat now. Bright still isn't eating alfalfa with any earnestness, but while he was down, I noticed that he nibbled at some grass. Don't know if he was eating or just playing with his food. He's only 48 days old now - so he's still just nursing.

GRAND JOURNEY WINS GRADE 1!

Grand Journey WON the $500,000 Grade 1 for 3 year olds on Sunday, April 6, by beating a field of colts at 2 miles at Ascot in Perth. Grand Journey defeated favoured gelding Yuro by Fusaichi Pegasus. Grand Journey (a filly) now has 5 wins and 5 placings from 17 starts for $604,850 earnings. Winning sire, Good Journey, who was used almost exclusively in Australia by private owner Written Bloodstock (covering 27 mares in 2003, 44 in 2004, 47 in 2005 & 22 in 2006 for a total of 160 AUS foals) before being exported to the US is the sire of Bright Journey!! (Grand Journey was purchased at auction as a yearling for $6,500. From now on - Journey horses will fetch much more than that).

GRAND JOURNEY HAS NOW QUALIFIED TO RUN IN THE MELBOURNE CUP. That is the most prestigious race run in Australia. Her next race is on April 30, 2008. The Melbourne Cup is in October. If she runs - I will be there.

This is amazing news! When I decided to breed to Good Journey, none of his foals had run yet. He was an unknown quantity. The fact that he has sired one Grade I and Grade II winner in his first crop means that he is a demonstrably prepotent stallion who will stamp most of his foals as runners. That bodes really well for Bright. Many good stallions never get a single Grade 1 winner in their entire career. Good Journey got one in his first crop. This is very exciting. I took a risk breeding to him because I believed in his pedigree and talent. Looks like my faith in him might be well deserved.

This is Good Journey's first crop of runners. From 27 mares bred, 23 foals were born. 16 have made it to the track, and of that number, 9 are winners and 2 are graded stakes winners. For a new stallion, you could not ask for a more impressive debut. Good Journey is the real deal!

The Journeys Start to Win Big!

THIS IS SOUND JOURNEY. He is a 3 year old colt by Good Journey racing in Australia. On February 16, 2008, he won a Grade II race at one mile with a purse of $159,896. Sound Journey is the first graded stakes winning horse from Bright's sire - Good Journey. He's got another horse in Australia named "Grand Journey" who is also doing well. At the current time, 16 Good Journey horses have raced in Australia and 9 of them have won. They have a win percentage of 17.9% which is considered high. The Australian racing press says that Good Journey is "princely bred." Good Journey's half brother, Aldebaran (by Mr. Prospector), is now the leading second crop sire by earnings in the United States. Good Journey's US crop will not be ready to run until at least 2010 and Bright is part of his first crop. This is all good for Bright's future prospects.