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Description

When Archie stomped onto Belmont's dirt track for the first time, the press began to swarm. Who was this horse? When had we purchased him, and from whom? Why had we purchased him? Would he be up for stud soon? For how much?

...

Was it even a horse? Or a ship, perhaps? A large, bulky freighter.

No no, everyone. He is in fact a horse.

It took some convincing, but the four legs and occasional whinny reassured the press. However, none of them believed he was a freshman 2yo. Not a single news hound believed. He was simply too... big. All over; his muscles' muscles had pet muscles.

But he was only 16hh. Thus, all that bulk packed into the average thoroughbred frame was intimidating. Awe-inspiring. Scary.

And kinda wierd.

Archie, in all his colossal glory, had unfortunately not grown out of his tendency to stomp. The stablehands around the track barns nicknamed him early on as the Goliath, with good reason.

Suffice it to say, when he drew post number 1 for his maiden debut, they had a field day.

As owners, we were excited and hopeful of the outcome. This was Mara's first BCC-bred foal to race. Archie had potential, we knew.

But he also had "new blood"--his sire, Yellow Canyon, was a green sire whose foals had not yet made many waves and his dam, Aramara, was an unknown thoroughbred with an unknown pedigree. Meaning... there's no one in it. No one of importance in the racing world, anyways.

No Northern Dancer or Mr. Prospector graced sweet Archie's pedigree. No Hail To Reason or Nasrullah.

Thus, despite his coloring (for colorful BCC foals were often automatically favored), he went off at the wonderful odds of 32-1.

A bad break (the damn gate was too narrow for all that muscle) found our giant sitting quite happily in last place. All that muscle, however, gave him the horsepower needed to surpass the leaders in the stretch and he sailed home with his first win, a length and a half over the pack.

We were not as lucky the second time. Stiffer competition in the allowance race found him in fourth place. His third race was much the same. Thus, in an attempt to give him and his bulk more time to catch up before the stretch, we took a chance and entered our colt into a mile and an eighth allowance race.

The second place finish was far more satisfactory, but we knew his potential had yet to be reached. All that muscle had to be good for something, right?

Right.

Thus, we hunted far and wide across the country before stumbling upon a mile and a half long allowance. 12 glorious furlongs. Never before had we had entered a 2yo in a 12F race before. That was... Belmont territory.

The distance helped, though. It helped a lot. Not only did our brute win the 12F race, he won it with style through a seven and a half length lead over the competition.

You see, the time his opponents began to fade in the stretch, Archie was just getting into his fifth gear.

The last quarter was 5 seconds shorter than the opening one.

Oh dear God.

Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
5 starts--2/1/1
$62,022
Important Wins: None

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 5 starts--2/1/1
Graded Stakes Wins: None
Career Earnings (in US currency): $62,022
Racing Style: Closer, distance (11f-15f)
Titles: None

Art and Character (C) Me
Ref: this beastie

Description

When Archie stomped onto Belmont's dirt track for the first time, the press began to swarm. Who was this horse? When had we purchased him, and from whom? Why had we purchased him? Would he be up for stud soon? For how much?

...

Was it even a horse? Or a ship, perhaps? A large, bulky freighter.

No no, everyone. He is in fact a horse.

It took some convincing, but the four legs and occasional whinny reassured the press. However, none of them believed he was a freshman 2yo. Not a single news hound believed. He was simply too... big. All over; his muscles' muscles had pet muscles.

But he was only 16hh. Thus, all that bulk packed into the average thoroughbred frame was intimidating. Awe-inspiring. Scary.

And kinda wierd.

Archie, in all his colossal glory, had unfortunately not grown out of his tendency to stomp. The stablehands around the track barns nicknamed him early on as the Goliath, with good reason.

Suffice it to say, when he drew post number 1 for his maiden debut, they had a field day.

As owners, we were excited and hopeful of the outcome. This was Mara's first BCC-bred foal to race. Archie had potential, we knew.

But he also had "new blood"--his sire, Yellow Canyon, was a green sire whose foals had not yet made many waves and his dam, Aramara, was an unknown thoroughbred with an unknown pedigree. Meaning... there's no one in it. No one of importance in the racing world, anyways.

No Northern Dancer or Mr. Prospector graced sweet Archie's pedigree. No Hail To Reason or Nasrullah.

Thus, despite his coloring (for colorful BCC foals were often automatically favored), he went off at the wonderful odds of 32-1.

A bad break (the damn gate was too narrow for all that muscle) found our giant sitting quite happily in last place. All that muscle, however, gave him the horsepower needed to surpass the leaders in the stretch and he sailed home with his first win, a length and a half over the pack.

We were not as lucky the second time. Stiffer competition in the allowance race found him in fourth place. His third race was much the same. Thus, in an attempt to give him and his bulk more time to catch up before the stretch, we took a chance and entered our colt into a mile and an eighth allowance race.

The second place finish was far more satisfactory, but we knew his potential had yet to be reached. All that muscle had to be good for something, right?

Right.

Thus, we hunted far and wide across the country before stumbling upon a mile and a half long allowance. 12 glorious furlongs. Never before had we had entered a 2yo in a 12F race before. That was... Belmont territory.

The distance helped, though. It helped a lot. Not only did our brute win the 12F race, he won it with style through a seven and a half length lead over the competition.

You see, the time his opponents began to fade in the stretch, Archie was just getting into his fifth gear.

The last quarter was 5 seconds shorter than the opening one.

Oh dear God.

Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
5 starts--2/1/1
$62,022
Important Wins: None

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 5 starts--2/1/1
Graded Stakes Wins: None
Career Earnings (in US currency): $62,022
Racing Style: Closer, distance (11f-15f)
Titles: None

Art and Character (C) Me
Ref: this beastie