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Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
BLUE ANT Owner/Trainer: tfv Record: 71-28-9-8; $3,852,392
Win: Breeders’ Bowl Sprint-G1, Tri-City Sprint-G1, Sand Castle Golden Sprint-G1, ASR Sprint-G1, Sooner-Husker Stakes-G2 (2x), Count Fingers Sprint-G3, JFK Street-G3, Yors Numras Sprint-G3, I’m a Dash II Stakes, Premier Racing Year Round Stakes, Louisiana Racing Fest - Mad Dash Stakes, Alfred’s Choice Stakes, Just a Swangin Stakes, Panoramic Special. Place: Pablo Verces Handicap-G2, Wicker Sofa Stakes-G2, The Robb G Loves Show-Me Stabels Super Special-G3. Show: Breeders’ Bowl Sprint-G1, ASR Sprint-G1, Precisionist Sprint-G1, Jim’s BB Sprint-G3, Steinlen Handicap. Unlike most of the horses in the Hall of Fame, this future star raced for a $50,000 tag early in his career (no other superstars lurked in this group), and it was not until his 13th career start that the Ant was truly given an opportunity to do what he did best: sprint. He would conclude his second season of racing with two solid sprint allowance victories, and the look of a horse who could probably handle stakes competition. Despite the early promise sprinting, tfv took his time with his charge, and Blue Ant handsomely rewarded his trainer’s patience. After several allowance scores, the 5yo won his stakes debut with a 115 SF, holding graded stakes winner Dyna Lard safe by a length after battling with that rival most of the way. However, this was no ordinary stakes event. Also left in the Ant’s wake were graded stakes winners La Hana, Lever Sparky (who had earned the title of Champion Sprinter the previous year), Forty With Polar and Solar Storm. Blue Ant followed that scintillating score up with a one length win in the G3 Count Fingers after dueling with Forty With Polar most of the way. Somewhat surprisingly, after that pair of victories, the Ant returned to the allowance ranks, winning four of his next five with ever_increasing speed figures. A gate to wire win in the Just A Swangin Stakes that left the rest of the field gasping (6f, 117 SF) followed. Unfortunately, the Ant’s saddle slipped in his next start, eliminating him from contention. Blue Ant would rebound by winning four of his next five, including electrifying triumphs in the G2 Sooner_Husker, beating Prospector Tackle and Lever Sparky over a track rated good (112 SF) and the G1 Tri_City Sprint with an amazing time of 1:14 3/5 for the 6 ½ furlongs (124 SF), defeating Down the River. The horse tossed in another clunker in his Breeder's Bowl prep where he faced a date with destiny and defending champ Lever Sparky. The big race turned out to be everything fans hoped for, the crowd screaming itself hoarse in the stretch as front running Blue Ant held off Sparky's late surge to win by almost two lengths (119 SF). One last stakes win capped off a stellar, lengthy season, a near textbook lesson in how to manage a horse to a Eclipse Award, and earned the Ant a narrow victory over Sparky in the voting for Champion Sprinter. Blue Ant finished the season with a record of 20-15-1-1, a remarkable achievement in a division typically known for its inconsistency. The champ kicked off his 6yo campaign with a respectable second in the G2 Pablo Verces Handicap. An unsuccessful turf try followed, but it served as the perfect prep for the G1 Sand Castle Golden Sprint, the star charging through the heat and sand for to win by 1 ½ lengths, once again defeating Prospector Tackle and Lever Sparky, and breaking the 120 SF mark once again, this time with a 123. Blue Ant bounced after that grueling effort, and in his next three starts, he would have to settle for second or third, all graded stakes, all against the best that the sim sprint division had to offer. After being just necked for the place in the G1 ASR Cup, behind Prospector Tackle and Phat Seattle, Blue Ant returned to defend his title in the G2 Sooner_Husker. The track was rated fast this time, which resulted in the Ant earning the repeat victory with in track record time, posting a 120 SF. The horse was given two easy preps in defense of his Breeders' Bowl title, winning both, and was sent off the 7/2 favorite in his bid to pull off the repeat. However, after dueling with Square Fuzz early, the Ant could not withstand the late run of Smokey Project, and had to settle for third, but was hardly disgraced in defeat, as he posted a 117 SF in his losing effort. The roan speedball would ease some of the disappointment by finishing 2001 with a sharp score in the G3 JFK Street over Prospector Tackle. In a well-spaced campaign, Blue Ant ended the year with an 11_5_2_3 record on dirt. Blue Ant had an even more abbreviated season in 2002, making only seven trips to the post, but accomplished quite a bit. The roan earned Equinics bronze in his second start of the year, over a distance probably a half furlong beyond his best (117 SF). Two starts later, the Ant would emerge the best from a protracted speed duel to win the G1 ASR Sprint by a resolute ½ length, following up that performance with a one length score in the G3 Yors Numras, earning a 114 SF for the six panels. The Ant would suffer an injury in his next start, and would return from that layoff to finish third in the Steinlen Handicap, his final race of the season. Blue Ant would race two more years, but did little to add to his stellar sprinting record. 2003 was a disappointment, as the roan star failed to win in 12 starts, although he finished second in four of those tries, including the G2 Wicker Sofa Stakes (115 SF). In 2004, Blue Ant got a long awaited victory in his seasonal debut, a six furlong allowance, but then his old 2002 injury flared up in his next start, and the Ant never fully recovered, failing to hit the board in his final five starts. Where most trainers would leap a horse up to stakes and keep him there, Blue Ant’s connections took a different approach, running him in big races, but also allowing him to work his way through his allowance conditions. In an era when it was not surprising to see a horse run 20 or more times, the Blue Ant was sparingly raced after his championship season, and delivered a high level of performance the next two seasons in one of the toughest divisions in the sim - the dirt sprint. Over a three year span, the Blue Ant won most, if not all, of the major G1 events for sprinters - the Breeders’ Bowl, the ASR Sprint, the Tri-City Sprint, and the Sand Castle Golden Sprint. |
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