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Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
MINE FOREST Owner/Trainer: kywildcats Record: 57-16-7-7, $7,544,958
Win: Breeders’ Bowl Classic-G1, ASR Cup-G1, X Stakes-G1, Gotta Fix the Sprinklers Classic-G1, Bill Naskra Tribute-G1, Movieland Turf Cup-G1, Eviscerator Stakes-G2, Bluegrass Cup Classic-G2, Maxxed Platinum Plate Cap-G3, X Stakes-G3, Mike Wallace Handicap-G3, What a Pleasure Special Stakes, Key to Content Special Stakes. Place: Swamp Thing Stakes-G1, Out of the City Handicap-G1, Man o’War Stakes-G1, Kinsho Kho Classic-G2, Grumpy Old Man Marathon-G2, Alflora Handicap, Unbridled Handicap. Show: Gotta Fix the Sprinklers Classic-G1, Token Delpenn Liberal Politics Handicap-G1, Glenn Handicap-G1, Big D Park Handicap-G2, Tis for Infinity Stakes-G3, Stage Door Johnny Stakes. A handsome chestnut, Mine Forest ran up to his looks early in his racing career. After breaking his maiden at first asking, he would leap to G1 competition in only his fourth lifetime start. While he spotted his foes some experience, he didn't concede anything in the talent department, breaking alertly to open up a three length lead, and never let Huge Tale get any closer to him than that. Final time for the 10 furlong Movieland Turf Cup was a brisk 2:01 3/5 (113 SF). The five year old returned a bit sore from that headstrong effort, and ended up floundering in his next two stakes attempt. The decision was made to switch Forest to the main track, and the results were not much better. But, the turf to dirt angle has worked for many a trainer, and it proved equally effective here, as Mine Forest made a bold return in the G1 Man of War Stakes, but weakened late, and was unable to hold off the late charge of Her Dances. A disappointing effort at 9 panels followed before Forest once again showed he was something special at 10 furlongs, this time on the dirt, as he blew away a nice field in the Key to Content Special, earning a 110 SF. After a disappointing outing at 1 1/16 miles, Mine Forest once again returned to what was quickly proving to be his best distance, winning the G3 Mike Wallace Handicap by six lengths in what was his best performance to date, defeating a nice field in the process and earning a 117 SF, despite literally cantering across the finish line. The five year old would conclude his campaign by rebounding from a dull effort in G1 company with an easy win in a California allowance. Mine Forest was starting to make a name for himself, but the main headlines were still in his future. Given a brief winter freshening, Mine Forest returned to the racing wars in good form. Feeling great, he pulled his way to the lead in the G3 Tis for Infinity Stakes, and couldn't quite maintain that pace to the wire, having to settle for third in the final furlong behind Lass Appeal and Pan Jay. He would finish third again in the G1 Glenn Handicap, and off the board in a G1 two weeks later, although he suffered a minor injury in that race. Given seven weeks off, he returned with a bang in the G1 Bill Naskra Tribute, making every pole a winning one, and steadily increasing the margin of victory to 3 1/4 lengths at the line, defeating Enough Knock and New Slew. The pieces of the puzzle hadn't quite yet come together, as the six year old would finish off the board in his next three starts. But, returned to 10 panels in the G1 Out of the City, Mine Forest would once again set the early pace, opening up a ridiculous 6 1/2 length lead, only to blow it in the stretch and watch One the Naked come from behind to get the win by 1/4 length. Mine Forest had put up a sparkling 118 SF for the 10 furlongs, but hadn't conserved enough for the final furlong. The headstrong horse once again pulled his way to a 6+ length lead in the G3 Grumpy Old Man Marathon, only to see victory snatched away in the final quarter mile, as Writer Orange passed him, and Forest had to settle for the runner up spot. In the next race, his connections gave the jock strict instructions _ keep him close to the rest of the field. In the G1 Gotta Fix the Sprinklers Classic, the change in tactics worked like a charm, as Mine Forest rated just behind the early leaders, surged to the front with a narrow lead, and dueled with New Slew down the stretch to prevail by 1/4 length. His saddle slipped in his next start, so he was never a factor. But he redeemed himself with a pair of smart wins, taking down the G2 Bluegrass Cup Classic by three lengths (117 SF, 9 furlongs), and capturing a G1 at his favorite 10 furlong distance. For reasons known only to his connections, Mine Forest would make his Breeders' Cup prep race in a sprint, the first of his career, and he was never a factor. Disoriented by the race tactics, Mine Forest would finish an even fourth in the Breeders' Bowl Classic, while never threatening the winner. It had been a season of ups and downs, but the horse had still managed to add three more grade 1 wins to his tally. Like fine wine, Mine Forest got better with age, and things came to fruition in 2001. Now seven, Mine Forest would finish off the board in a 2 mile marathon, then romp home a ridiculously easy winner in a G3 event, slowed to almost a canter at the wire, in a dominating performance that still was good enough for a 13 length score and a 105 SF for 14 furlongs. He would bounce off of that effort next out, then return with a new win streak, capturing a 10 furlong stakes with a 115 SF over Pan Jay, and hanging on for a gutsy score in the G2 Eviscerator Stakes (116 SF) over Junior Rule and Aragon Ransom. Four losses would follow, and his connections began to despair. It took a single confidence booster to turn things around. Dropped into a non_graded stakes, Forest would battle gamely in a much improved effort. The losing streak would continue, as the horse had to settle for second, but the tide had definitely turned. Sent back into a marathon, Mine Forest won the G1 ASR Cup, earning a 103 SF for the two miles, then parlayed that into a G1 double, capturing one of the richest and prestigious races on the calendar, the G1 Breeders' Bowl Classic. Back at his favorite 10 furlongs, the son of Pine Bluff, rated from well off the pace, before making a late charge to win going away, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Stormy Prospector and earning a 115 SF for the win. His last start of the season would be anticlimatic, but Mine Forest had compiled a remarkable record, winning two of racing's biggest events, and pulling in two other stakes wins to finish off the year. From there, things didn't go as well. Mine Forest opened up his 2002 campaign with an easy 4 3/4 length score in the G3 Maxxed Platinum Plate Cap (116 SF), but that would be the last time he entered the winner's circle. He would run nine more times that year, all in graded stakes, but would add only a second and two thirds to the tally. In his final campaign, five races in 2003, Mine Forest would place second in a G2 stakes, and hit the board in two other stakes from five starts. He was still putting up fast times, but the spark wasn't quite there, the legs a little less able to keep up with the heart and will to win. And so, Mine Forest was retired, a G1 winner on both surfaces, a horse who was probably best at the classic 1 1/4 mile distance, but capable of winning from 9 furlongs to 16, on both turf and dirt, an amazingly versatile horse when so many of his competitors were limited to a certain distance range or surface. |
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