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JPinMaryland
03-06-2005, 06:27 AM
I was sad to learn that Snack was euthanized after he broke down in the Santa Catalina so I decided to find out who he was...

Snack was foaled 4/8/02. A chestnut colt by Afternoon Delights Out of the Fred Astaire mare Miss Riverton, who also produced stakes winner Kwik as a Wink and Grade 3-placed Gottabeachboy.

The breeder was Penny Lauer and trainer was her husband Michael Lauer. Under the husband and wife team, Snack ran his first race at CD in July and there began a pattern of being bumped and squeezed at the start and was finally forced to check up in his first race. He ran twice in the summer at Mountaineer, hitting the board each time. He finished strongly in all these early races and then under new jock Rod Prescott he broke his maiden at Hoosier Park, making another strong rally on the turn on Sept 3, 2004 at Hoosier Park.

He came in third at the Hillsdale Stakes on Oct 2; also at HOO. And then began a three race win streak in November winning the IN futurity (6f at HOO) under Prescott. He beat Bruce on the Loose, a horse who had previously beat Snack in the Hillsdale. He got another jock this year, Ramsey Zimmerman, and under him on Jan 8.he won the Turfway Preview Stakes by 3 ¼ lengths (6 1/2 f) and on Feb 5, the WEBN stakes (8 f). These latter two were won in the slop at Turfway.

He must have been exciting to watch since he won all his races in come from behind fashion, he typically got off to a bad start often bumped or jammed and raced near the back; He made a 4 wide rally on the turn at the IN futurity and a 5 wide rally in the Turfway Preview.

In the WEBN race Zimmerman kept Snack at the back of the eight-horse field through the first half-mile before making a bold six-wide move. Snack went off the second choice at odds of 2.30-to-1, overtook Visionary and led by a half-length through six furlongs, then drew clear, winning in a drive by three lengths in 1:38.06 for the one-mile test.

Snack was trying two turns for the first time in the WEBN, but Michael Lauer had no doubts about his ability. "That was never a thought in my mind,” Lauer said. "He has a half brother [Kwik as a Wink] that won at a mile-and-a-half, so I wasn’t worried about it. He’s got the pedigree. I wasn’t worried about the two turns. Now, how far [beyond that], I don’t know. But he ran very impressively today."

IN the third week of Feb. 2005; the Lauers sold Snack to J. Paul Reddam, also owns Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Wilko, whom he purchased privately from European interests last year, and Kentucky Oaks (G1) prospect Sharp Lisa, whom he purchased from Steven Dwoskin after a maiden victory last summer at Calder Race Course. Snack definitely showed promise earning BSF of 79 and 89 in the latter two races.

The colt was soon flown out to Southern California-based trainer Doug O’Neill. at Hollywood Park where he began training for the Santa Catalina-his last race. His new jock Corey Nakatani apparently had Snack right where he was supposed to be: last place on the back stretch about 6 or 8 lengths off the lead. Approaching the turn he took a bad step and was eased by Nakatani: ABC said an air cast was put on it and that he had cracked sesamoids. He had apparently broke his right front ankle and was euthanized shortly thereafter (Bloodhorse).

Career record (exclusive of sat’s race): 8/4-2-2 earnings $97,400.

Heart, hooves, head.

Vinnie
03-06-2005, 08:43 AM
JP,

Thank you for mentioning Snack and saying some nice things about him.

It is a very sad thing when they have to euthanize a horse.

All the BEST!

Vinnie

Valuist
03-06-2005, 08:52 AM
I know he hadn't faced the top competition before yesterday but he was a solid colt. When he won the Prevue at TP, he was very visually impressive but they went extremely fast early and were backing up late. But his win at a mile was definitely legit and he made a monster move.

I have a friend who writes for the Indianapolis Star and I emailed him about this horse after the Prevue win. They were going to follow him as he saw how he stacked up against possible Triple Crown contenders. Not many Indiana breds have won in open company.

DerbyTrail
03-06-2005, 09:20 AM
Nice tribute JP.. I had been following him too and was thrilled when Reddam bought him. Very sobering. RIP...

rastajenk
03-06-2005, 01:29 PM
I didn't mind the sale, but I thought, before yesterday, that they should have left him at Turfway. He would've contended in yesterday's Battaglia, and been in a good position to do well in the Beam/Furniture/Spiral Stakes. I'm not saying his fate would have been different, but it might have been. Too bad.

DerbyTrail
03-06-2005, 01:47 PM
I didn't mind the sale, but I thought, before yesterday, that they should have left him at Turfway. He would've contended in yesterday's Battaglia, and been in a good position to do well in the Beam/Furniture/Spiral Stakes. I'm not saying his fate would have been different, but it might have been. Too bad.

Rast.. It's a fair point to bring up.. VERY different surface at SA.

PaceAdvantage
03-07-2005, 12:43 AM
The next time anyone says that horseplayers have no heart...that they are cold-blooded bastards who only live to get that next bet down, I will point them to this very thread as evidence to the contrary...

Thank you JP...

JPinMaryland
03-07-2005, 01:49 AM
what else to add? I knew there was a little buzz about him last month but I had never seen him or knew anything about him so Sat's race was a chance to see what he had. It sounded hopeful on the ABC telecast when they said he had an air cast on it, the sesamoids sounded like Charismatic's injury so maybe he'd be okay. I logged on late last night and checked the news outlets: nothing. But the Delmar site revealed the bad news. I stared at the computer, my wife asleep, nothing but darkness outside. If I had gone to bed I would have laid awake for hours with the unsettling feeling of who he was. I discovered his story and as I did, he spoke to me and then I could let him go. They each have a unique story but this one belongs to him. Snack.

bdhsheets
03-08-2005, 01:04 PM
Nice tribute and thread JP. Any idea how much Reddam payed for him? The Lauers were still listed as part owners in the charts. So sad for all concerned. :(

The buzz with "Snack" revolved around his last race, where he earned a "0.5" figure on Thorograph's scale. It was possibly the fast number given to a two turn route this year. [I'm not privy to all the figs].

Observer
03-08-2005, 01:58 PM
Thanks for the overview.

Sympathies to all involved with this horse.
:(

JPinMaryland
03-08-2005, 03:42 PM
From all the googling around I did, I saw someone said he had paid a million, but that was just internet scuttlebutt. Reddam is obviously a major player so one would expect a price like that. Arent the sales listed on the PPs? I think there is still a PP out there for that race, maybe I can find it.

HOw does the Thorough graph scale work? that'd be nice to know.

Wire to Wire continues to describe the industry's losses in clumsy fashion. When Green Team broke down, Moss first said: "Green Team suffered a career ending injury...Actually life ending..." Awkward.

Willing to chalk that one up to the early season. On today's show they didnt mention that Snack was destoryed when they described the race, but then later they did a short segment and said he was destroyed. Perhaps this is ESPN policy to not mar the race clip by referring to destruction. Still found it a bit awkward.

Also not sure what kind of injury Snack had. ABC said sesamoids, Bloodhorse said broke ankle. ANother source (TT?) said dislocated ankle. Today Moss said "fetlock injury." I guess fetlock is the same as ankle? I have to pull out my Smarty Jones anatomy diagram again.

JPinMaryland
03-08-2005, 04:06 PM
re: sale price. Reportedly one million according to Rick Lochner of Today's Racing Digest.

Hey does anyone know how to decipher that stuff in Todays Racing Digest? There are codes for trouble, handicapping, etc.

bdhsheets
03-09-2005, 11:04 AM
JP wrote:

"HOw does the Thorough graph scale work? that'd be nice to know."

The lower the number the faster it is. It takes into account weight carried [5#= 1pt], variant, trip paths around the turns [each path wide = 1pt] and wind.

The fastest numbers recorded -6 by Ghostzapper.

JPinMaryland
03-09-2005, 01:20 PM
what about the trouble and handicapping codes? Is there a FAQ for that?

Lasix1
03-16-2005, 07:35 PM
JPIN,

Thank you so much for such a touching and moving tribute to a promising colt as well as his human connections. And thanks also to members of the form who responded to it. These beautiful animals make it all possible and when one of them goes down, we are all diminished by the loss.