“Good evening, this is Noisette French, coming to you live at the Rochemont Equine Institute. This stable has been bustling with an overly robust racing string this season, and we’ve arrived to catch an update on things behind the scenes. Have you been noticing some rather . . . interesting entrants in some races recently? Have those horses frequently belonged to the same stable? Have you scratched your head, asking yourself, just why is this horse here? What was this trainer thinking? I’m not sure I love this, but I’m not sure I hate it either . . . Well, look no further, because the crazy lady behind the madness is not shy whatsoever in wildly waving her arms for attention at the track, as she’s doing now, approaching the interview chair. (Just . . . nobody give her a megaphone, okay?) Isabelle, nice to-”

“Hi all you lovely people! It’s your favorite neighborhood glitter spaz, Izzy! Luvs to all!!! (special luvs for Frosty!!!)” *heart hands*

“Isabelle, if we may-”

“Just a shout out to my girl Ren for all the homebred luv, I’ll have to sneak another one in your barn soooon.”

*ahem* “Isabelle.”

“Kennie I’m sending kisses for all my unborn fuzzies at your farm!”

“Isabelle.”

“Cavvie I’m coming to camp out at Italian Lover’s stall soon, jussayin!!”

“Isabelle!”

“Ripley I need a really super duper special homebred from you sooooon since Smolder’s retired it’s not the same at NDM! Y21??! Y22?!! Call me!” *thumb and pinky at ear and mouth*

*AHEM* “Isabelle! Are you finished?”

“Mmhmm, yep, I’m good.”

*unbelieving pause*

*awkward silence*

*crickets chirping*

*further awkward silence*

“Isabelle, it’s nice to chat with you again. It seems you’ve been making some interesting race selections for a few of your horses, would you care to spotlight them?”

“I’ve been sitting here waiting forever for you to ask me that!”

*shoulders slump and eyes roll*

*clears throat and sits up straight* “Yes, my trainers and I have sat down and decided a few of the racers we have, have needed some tough love, shall we say? They weren’t giving out that shining appeal that they could be. I suppose you could say they’re kind of stuck in a rut. So we wanted to go big, go crazy, and mix in some fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants competition to not only wake them up, but get them noticed.”

“That’s not a new strategy for you, is it?”

“Well no, but it’s not the norm, of course. We definitely want to always prepare our horses so they can perform their best, and select the most favorable races for them that are in their comfort zone and level to appropriately compete. However, sometimes it feels like that can become somewhat mundane for a few horses, and we want to spice things up.”

“Even if you expect they will be outperformed on the track?”

“It is difficult to know ahead of time that last place is the most probable outcome, but we like to envision it as a training strategy. Some horses can really respond to being beaten by some really fabulous Grade One stars with a renewed sense of competitive fire, and really strike out with fresh energy in training and at their next races. We’ve seen a few other stables employ some of this, and in general, we want to become a lot more aggressive in our racing style. For too long we’ve been too tentative, it’s high time we really became a presence on the strong HOTY front.”

“Please highlight some of the horses you’re using this strategy on, why, and what you hope it gives them.”

“Well, Dancing Fool for sure. He hadn’t competed in a HOTY race for two years, and has only placed in one once, when he was a classic racer. Being seven now, this is his last chance to get a full season in, and we definitely intend to give him the fullest season he’s ever had. After he came to us last November, he did a few nice undercards, but his performance slipped early this season when we had expected a win to graduate him to grade two. It felt wrong to simply throw him in undercards without really planning a strategy for him. Since he’d been doing that for so long already, something else was needed. So we recently raced him in an open HOTY, and he came last, which we expected, but we’ve put him into a grade specific HOTY Cup race at the end of the month. After that, he will spend March back in undercards. Our hope is that he’s gotten a good shake up, and seen some of the best out there, and also that he got a chance to be seen. We certainly wouldn’t keep him in open company now, but if this succeeds, and his results improve, you can definitely expect to see him at the occasional grade specific HOTY, and the rare open race.”

“So you’re using these races as what’s known as a springboard?”

“We sure are. He has the pedigree and the physicality to perform out there, he just needs the time, opportunity, and a few risks. I’d rather take a few of those risks early, rather than too late for them to provide him benefits for this last season racing. He is the oldest horse on the tracks now, you know. He does not have time to burn.”

“Who else is receiving this strategy?”

“Dark Intentions. He’s a year younger than Dancing Fool, and has a somewhat more rounded career, but he’s only participated in one HOTY race in his lifetime. He was a juvenile, and placed fourth. Now as a six year old, he’s been racing consistently out of the money for us, except for two thirds late last season. He hasn’t won a race for well over a year. I’ve been thinking his poor performance may be related to becoming too bored with the same routine and the same type of undercard races for so many years. If you always have bread and butter for breakfast, it doesn’t take long before you stop enjoying it, and putting in effort to make it anything but the most basic. So he’s going into two grade specific HOTY races, at the end of February and the beginning of March. I’m really not sure how he’ll do in them, he might break the bank and finally clinch a win when being faced against some spicy competition, or he might not. It just might be that wake up call he needs, that strawberry jam on toast rather than that stale bread and butter that gets him moving again. We’ll see what he can do – I never put a horse’s record before he makes it. He’ll get two HOTY quality races, then a few undercards, and we’ll go on from there, and make decisions based on his results.”

“You’ve worked well with both of their pedigrees, I wish you all the luck with redirecting their careers. Is there a new pedigree you have?”

“Yes, we have taken Mochachina for a while. She is co-owned with us by New Hope Pastures, and while they are too busy to give her enough track time, we’re lending a hand until they can return. We’ve never worked with foals from her sire, Confianza. Her dam Shot Of Mocha is mother to our recent G1 winner Chocolatier, who will be jumping into HOTY only the rest of the year. She was a foal for a stable who went defunct, a late running girl who is now five but only a soft grade four. Without much time left for Mochachina, we originally planned on undercards only, but happened upon a small HOTY race with only two other entrants this past week, so we couldn’t resist putting her in that instead of an undercard! We also selected one of the GHF Cups for next week, hoping her age will help give her a boost. After that its undercards to build her up – but we’ll definitely be giving her some grade specific HOTY as she goes along this year, and maybe an open race if the field seems favorable. Chia is a sweetheart, and between us and NHP, we’ll get her two solid years in before she needs to retire.”

“People have been noticing that Ghost has taken some wins recently, he’s been a sluggish racer for you.”

“He has, it’s been difficult to figure him out. We extended him, surface supremed him, and threw him into a few HOTY races last season, and then he began this season with two wins! His last race this month he slumped back to fifth, but we’re not losing heart. He’ll get some HOTY exposure, and with some tough love, I really hope to see at him at G2 before the year ends. I thought at retiring him, but he seems to be taking to the longer distances now.”

“There does seem to be a theme for you right now of older, lower grades horses.”

“Ah yes, I’m just a sucker for letting anyone go – and a revolving door. Chasing The Sun and Gallant Pup are back with us, also lower grade older horses. I tweaked their furlong distances. We also have Arrows Away, last year’s Novizio Derby champ, who is catching up after a somewhat disappointing juvenile year. He’s four at grade three. As is – surprisingly, Englishman! Our dirt HOTY three year old is taking a few undercard drops to try and gallop into grade two so he can better compete in the open races with his peers. I do hope this small lapse down won’t affect his HOTY performance, but I was concerned being G3 he wouldn’t be keeping up with his G1 counterparts.”

“Seems your fillies then are all on track? You’ve mentioned almost all colts here today.”

“Nutcracker Suite is fairly slow at grading up, but now that she’s grade two, I think we’ll be a lot harder on her this season. She’ll still get undercards, but she’s been placing in open HOTY, so why not give her a challenge! I hope she opens up and blossoms this season. Miss Abilene has lost some steam, we’re working with her. We’ve taken in Took The Night and Infatuation from the finally consolidated stable NR. Those two are behind in experience, so we’re being careful, but they’re also older with low grades.”

“Anyone else that needs a mention?”

*laughs* “Probably not, or we’ll be here all day! This seems to be a day to cheer on the underdogs. Overall we’re just absolutely thrilled with our racing string, both good and bad results. We celebrate the victories and learn to rise back up from the failures. It's so much fun to work with all sorts of ages, grades, and levels of racers. We've got something of everything, and I think it only serves to improve us. With the triple season fast approaching, I’m sure we’ll shed some light on our hopefuls after a few more prep race weeks have concluded.”

“It’s . . . always a pleasure, to sit down with you, Isabelle.”

“Thanks Noisette. And Psssst Cruisey! I’ve been thinking about my future Arctic Fox baby!!! Stay tuned!”

*ahem*

“Hugs and kisses and oreos for everybody!!!! Holly, how's that little angel Devilish Fox-”

*Noisette blocks Isabelle from the camera* “This has been an exclusive from Noisette French, wishing you all smart betting, and lucky horseshoes.”