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Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
WESTERN GROOM Owner/Trainer: hijacked Record: 74-20-10-8, $4,669,977
Win: Delaware Mile-G1, Michael-Strike Stakes-G1, Glenn Handicap-G1, Bob Woodward Memorial-G1, West Point Stakes-G1, Movieland Shiny Cup-G1, Upstate BB Stakes-G2, Sanders Stakes-G2, Barkley Handicap-G3, Perfectionist Handicap-G3, NWRC Mile Show Down, The Deep Handicap, Nepalais Special, Status Pending Handicap, Unusual Heat Handicap, Night Club Stakes, NWRC Championship Stakes, Time for a Dance Special. Place: Eclipse Stakes-G1, San Valenzuela Breeders' Bowl Stakes-G2, SHRL Mile, Keen Boy Stakes, NWRC Showdown II, Kenmare Challenge Stakes, Afarrancho Stakes. Show: Delaware Mile-G1, Man o’War Mile-G1, CA Classic-G1, Guiness Mark-G1, Mansur LeRoys Handicap-G2, Race 5 Ramblings Stakes-G3. Western Groom had a variety of physical problems that kept him from making it to the track early, but patience and perserverance were to be rewarded. Western Groom finally made it to the track at four. It would be a brief campaign, only four races long with two wins and two seconds, but he flashed signs of stardom in his second start, breaking his maiden in a one mile allowance, and earning a 107 SF. In his very next start, the Groom would finish second in the Kenmare Challenge, behind graded stakes winner Our Colony, then ran away and hid in his season finale, capturing a 9 1/2 furlong allowance by six lengths. While the race looked deceptively easy, the colt suffered a leg fracture that would sideline him for the rest of 1999 and all of 2000. It would be almost two years before Western Groom returned to the racing wars, but it was worth the wait. The six year old was a tired third in the slop in his return, and desperately needed the conditioning of a race. He returned to the barn and started training like a demon. In his next outing, Western Groom would go postward in the Time for A Dance Handicap, dismissed at nearly 13/1 in the eight horse field. The Groom blazed his way to a 3 1/2 length score, posting a 115 SF. In his next start, he took another jump in class, and again made it look easy, winning the G3 Perfectionistic Handicap by 4 1/2 lengths with a 112 SF. A star was clearly on the rise. A backwards step was taken when he ran a lackluster fifth in a Washington stakes, the first time the Groom had finished off the board. With that, his connections knew what they had, but decided to let him roll at his own pace. Western Groom picked up some momentum when he captured a pair of NWRC races and a minor stakes. Switched to the turf for the first time, he was a distant sixth, returned to the main track with a game third in the G1 CA Classic (107 SF), then exploded in the Unusual Heat Handicap, winning under wraps with a monster 118 SF. Wheeled back two weeks later, the Groom battled through suicidal fractions, before yielding grudgingly in the stretch, beaten 1 1/2 lengths into third, in the G2 Guiness Mark, behind Sewing the Sum and Junior Rule. Two sprinting tries produced little, and he seemed to be getting a bit sour. Given a small freshener, Western Groom concluded the season on a bright note, finishing second in the Zafarrancho Stakes with a 115 SF, just behind the lightly weighted Profitable Bet, who ran the race of his life to upset the heavy favorite. It had been a good year, but the best was still to come. Western Groom began his remarkable run in 2002 the same way he had started the year before, in the slop. This time, the seven year old set the early pace in the G2 San Valenzuela Breeders' Bowl Stakes, but could not withstand the late charge of Derby hero Buda With the Slew, who gave the best performance of his remarkable career and had to settle for second. Final time was an amazing 1:40, and Western Groom had earned an unheard of 125 SF in defeat, having put up a performance that would and should have won 99.9% of the races. Next would come a quest for the gold, but once again, Western Groom would put up a monster performance, but have to settle for something other than the winner’s circle. Duke Ali opened up a huge lead and could not be caught, while Junior Rule would make a flying late move to just nip the Groom for the silver. Once again, his connections would back off, letting him win a minor stakes and a NWRC race, and then it was back to the racing wars. The plan worked, as Western Groom roared home an easy 5 1/4 length winner in the G1 Movieland Shiny Cup, defeating Dusty Dance, Horn Knee Sal, Pleasant Nijinsky, Buda With the Slew and Junior Rule, earning a 115 SF for the 10 furlongs. The horse bounced when raced two weeks later, but then completed a graded stakes hattrick. First came a 4 1/4 length victory in the G1 West Point Stakes, putting up a dazzling 128 SF and leaving Oliver Plus Pit, Buckshott and other top handicap horses in his wake. Next the son of Gone West went east and took the G2 Upstate BB Stakes, again by daylight (4 lengths) and a 118 SF. Finally, Western Groom won the G1 Bob Woodward by more than six lengths, outclassing his rivals, which included seven graded stakes winners. This time, he "only" posted a 114 SF. The streak came to an end in a meaningless race that was intended strictly as a prep. The horse seemed fit and fine, but unfortunately, he disappointed on the big day, burning it up with Kilimanjaro early before fading to fourth in the stretch. Still, the year would end on a high note, as the Groom would smoke some of the finest milers around, including Volotile Nijinsky and Blackjack Shellac, in the G1 Delaware Mile, earning a 126 SF, his fourth 120+ SF of the season. One more highlight awaited Western Groom and his connections, an Eclipse Award as Champion Older Horse. The champ would return at age eight, and somewhat surprisingly, began that season on the turf, a surface he had raced on only once. Clearly, someone knew something, as Western Groom would win the G2 Sanders Stakes over Questing Gulch, posting a 121 SF. A third in a G3 stakes would follow, albeit with a 120 SF, and then a return to a more familiar surface. In the G1 Glenn Handicap, the Groom announced to the world that he was back, winning by 1 1/4 lengths with a 123 SF. While the horse could still hit the high points, his consistency began to suffer, as he would alternate good performances with bad. But still, the good were very good indeed. One was the G3 Barkley Handicap, where he pulled away through the stretch to win the mile event with a 120 SF. Another was the G1 Michael-Strike Stakes, where again he would pull away, winning easily by 4 1/4 lengths, but still posting a 122 SF. That win would be the final one of his career, and yet he still put up some memorable performances in defeat, finishing second behind the brilliant Eruption in the SHRL Mile (with a 125 SF), second in the G1 Eclipse Stakes on turf, and third in the Delaware Mile, again behind Eruption. It had been a solid season, if not quite at the same level as before. The heroics of his brilliant career had begun to take their toll on the champion. He would run 22 more times the next two seasons, managing only one second and one third, both in allowance company. However, this disappointing end to Western Groom's career does little to tarnish the accomplishments he achieved when he was in his prime. For pure speed and sheer exuberance, it is hard to match Western Groom, who threw down 120s as if they were nothing, and would draw off to race the clock, even if no horse could match him, just from the joy of running. |
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