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For a brief moment due to the position of the clouds and the bright lights... I thought the grandstand was literally on fire. XD

Art Collector wins the 2023 Pegasus World Cup

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Which is kind if sad because an earlier interview with his trainer said they had no intentions of retiring him and running him at 5. Then in a later I interview with the trainer a few weeks before the BC he said something along the lines of "We'll see, but they're already running stud advertising on him on TV so I guess there's the answer."

It sounds like his trainer really wanted to run him next year but his owners just saw dollar signs.

I really wish there was an overhaul of the Jockey Club to become more stringent of breeding requirements like the Trakehners or Friesians. It would fix a lot of problems in the sport and the breed, but they will never do it because it would make the rich people angry. They already tried with limiting a stud book to a certain number of coverings a stallion to diversify the future gene pool, but so many stud farms and owners threw a fit and threw out legal proceedings that they had to abandon it. =/

Disappointed but not surprised to see Flightline is retired

I definitely get it – he’s been a hard horse to keep sound and won the biggest races of the year for an older male and is a G1 winner sprinting, at a flat mile and at a mile and a quarter over honestly one of the strongest groups of classic horses we’ve had in a while. The only way to make his resume any more impressive would have been to take to the turf and prove he’s the best on any surface by going to Europe and winning a big G1 over there. 

And let’s face it, turf racing doesn’t really increase stud value in the US. 

But at the same time we only got to see him run 6 times. Such an amazing talent – the most impressive I’ve ever seen – but so few chances to really display it. 

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Inktober day 2; Mindless

I’m more active these days at instagram, i’m Korppipoika there too!😘

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coolmorestud

GALILEO 1998 - 2021

Regretfully our world-renowned Champion Sire Galileo was put to sleep earlier today on humane grounds owing to a chronic, non-responsive, debilitating injury to the left fore foot.

“It is a very sad day,” said John Magnier, “but we all feel incredibly fortunate to have had Galileo here at Coolmore. I would like to thank the dedicated people who looked after him so well all along the way. He was always a very special horse to us and he was the first Derby winner we had in Ballydoyle in the post M V O’Brien era. I would also like to thank Aidan and his team for the brilliant job they did with him. The effect he is having on the breed through his sons and daughters will be a lasting legacy and his phenomenal success really is unprecedented.”

Following Galileo’s strikingly impressive Epsom Derby success the front-page headline in the Racing Post was the single word ‘PERFECTION.’ It could not have been more apt.

Bred in the purple by Sadler’s Wells out of ‘Arc’ heroine Urban Sea and unbeaten in his first six starts, Galileo proved an immediate success at stud siring Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Nightime from his first crop. Appropriately he became the most successful Group 1 sire of all time when his daughter Peaceful won the same race in June of last year.

His total of individual Group 1 winners now stands at 91 while no less than 20 of his sons have sired Group 1 winners on the flat, headed by Frankel and Australia.

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Great Prospector quite literally fighting Golden Derby in the 1980 Tremont Stakes. Photo by Bob Coglianese. “The Savage.”

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stealing horses seems like the easiest and hardest crime one can commit at the same time

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RIP Goldikova 💔

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We lost such a good one...Heartbreaking. Rest in peace, Arrogate. You’ll be so, so missed.

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A heartfelt goodbye Forty Niner, a hearty horse from a bygone era of racing. The stallion had just celebrated his 35th birthday on the 11th. What a life and what a legacy.

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Man O’ War (1920)

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Heartbroken…But so, so glad the world had him for such a long, beautiful time. Such a special horse. He’ll be so sorely missed…We love you, Indy.

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Scenes from Magic Millions

Beach racing looks amazing

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A new Year: A Fresh Start

Hello to everyone who follows me across several different blogs and topics! On many of my blogs I don’t really make much personal posts, so to many it may seem that I’ve kinda disappeared or slowed down in my postings. I’m gonna be reblogging this across all my active blogs, and I will also list all my blogs below for those who may want something new to follow! But I’m kinda gonna explain my recent inactivity, and what’s ahead.

In short: 2019 sucked.

Really hard.

I was raised by my grandparents since I was a baby and their health in the last 3 years wasn’t the greatest. I am their only close relative living in the state, so my work involvement around the house increased as their ability to do things decreased. In March of this year my grandmother fell, and while she didn’t hurt herself outside of bruising, it began a month long medical disaster that ended with her passing in April.

My grandfather was already in poorer overall health then she was, and after she passed his health began a rapid decline. He had four hospital stays over six months, and required almost 24/7 care at home. I was fortunate he was still independent enough that I could still go to work every day, but I had to give up my usual summer activities and things like the Renn Faire to help care for him.

On his fourth hospital stay I was told that there wasn’t much more they could do and he would be placed on in-home hospice. I needed help and drove 6 hours to pick up my mother, (who had no car), to come back and help me with his care once he was home from the hospital. He passed away at home at the end of October after only roughly 5 days home from the hospital.

Since then it feels like it’s been a torrent of never ending paperwork that I’ve been feeling like I’m being drowned with. And while I am staying in my lifelong home, it still needs to be cleaned out and stuff sorted with the keep/toss/donate/sell dance. But the paperwork is slowly starting to trickle instead of pour, and I am down to only one room in the house left to sort through. So there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

And good things are happening too. I have someone very special who is going to come and try living with me for a while and see if we are compatible long term. And three weeks after my grandfather passed I finally achieved my lifelong dream of owning a pet, and adopted two adorable and silly cats that never fail to make me laugh and smile. And soon to be three! :D

So what does this mean for my blogs? It means I’m back. I will be back to posting new content and such for my blogs regularly once the new year hits! :D More funny horse names, more pirates, more pretty puppet guys and of course - more kitties!

So without further ado, here’s a list of all my blogs for those who may be interested in following some more:

@duskreaper Main Blog - Personal thoughts, stuff I love, Warcraft, HTTYD, shitposting!

NEW BLOG!

@wowkitties - Follow the journey I take with my new cats as I work getting these shy little boys out of their shell, and also bring in potentially three other cats in the future!

Horse Blogs: @funnyhorsenames - Sharing the silly and absurd names found in race horses (And some non-racers!) of all breeds! @finalfurlong - My general Non-funny horse racing blog @horseoftheday A new horse every day! Real and fictional, Alicorns to Zebras! @mystichooves - A re-blog blog where I toss artwork and images I love featuring horses, deer and other fantasy hooved creatures!

Aesthetic Blogs: @pirates-ahoy - My blog that showcases my unhealthy obsession with pirates, and also helps serve as an inspiration blog for some of my WoW RP characters and a book I am writing! @hallowedfall - My Autumn and Halloween themed blog @animals-of-autumn - Same as above, but with 100% more animals! @flyintoafantasy - A scenic blog featuring locations that could fit into a fantasy world, as well as fantasy art @ashesofantiquity - A blog focusing on ancient ruins and urban decay.

Fandom Blogs: @thunderboltfantasia - A blog for the awesome puppet show, Thunderbolt Fantasy. Go watch it, it needs more fans! @foreverflareon - A showcase of love for my favoritest Pokemon of all time, Flareon! @mdzs-hell - A newer blog where I toss my favorite art for the series Mo Dao Zu Shi! @voltronify - Yes! It’s Voltron! I don’t post here as often, but I still do on occasion. It’s Ship-free! (Not including space ships) I still haven’t watched season 8. >__> I also really wanna make a HTTYD fan blog but I have no ideas for one.

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Orlov Trotter stallion Perun

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Zellda hit the track with her mother’s Breeders Cup saddle cloth

It’s almost hard to believe that Zenyatta’s big Classic win was 10 years ago already. 

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Due to my grandfather's failing health I had to make an emergency 6 hour drive from PA to NH to pick up my mother and bring her home over the weekend as her only car died. I have never driven more then 45 minutes north before, and with the changing foliage it was a beautiful drive.

On the way up I stopped at a random rest stop and had a brief respite from the stress to nerd out when the rest stop made it obvious I was near Saratoga.

I am definitely gonna make it a priority to visit Saratoga sometime next year as an inexpensive mini vacation.

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“You know, everyone thinks that we found this broken down horse and fixed him, but we didn’t, he fixed us, everyone of us, and I guess in a way we kinda fixed each other too.”