"Sharp"

     I have come to note on many instances of SIM horses and their performance while under the condition of "Sharp", or without under that condition. There have been many great performances of horses that were in the Sharp condition, but I have also noted horses haaving their lifetime best performances while not being under this condition. O/T Rock 63 has a horse; Dusty Dance, that won the $750,000 Super Derby recording a lifetime high speed figure of 120 while not being under the condition of Sharp. I have a horse; Dynawell, who is struggling to break his maiden and in a recent race recorded a SPF of 91 while only being in a Ready To Go condition. After the race he reported back to the stable in Sharp condition. This horse is a 4yo colt and his recent race schedule had not been that demanding, so I raced him the following week in hopes of a solid performance while being Sharp. Dynawell took a giant step backwards recording only a 63 SPF, while racing on his preferred surface and at a 10.0f distance he should have loved.

     So with such diverse results while a horse is in this condition, I feel it is more than safe to assume that the Sharp condition is not a performancer enhancer. It cannot be used like a Turbo-Charger button in a video game that would give your horse after burners in the stretch. ( That's a whole different game .... I'm still looking for the Super Nova button. )

     Learning how to place your horse in races where it will be able to perform to it's best ability is far more important than adhering to the Sharp condition. do not dis-regard the proper management of your horse because of this condition. If you cannot find a race that your horse needs; Don't race him ... wait for next week, your horse will run just as good next week when Ready To Go , as it would this week when it is Sharp. Your horse won't win when you have placed it in a race that compromises it's ability, even when it is Sharp.

     A horse will only perform to it's own ability, within the realm of it's own form cycle.

     You may have noticed that SIM which have not raced in a while, or if you have just started a stable and have un-raced horses, their condition may be anything but Ready To Go. There are two reasons for this; Every horse in the SIM is "Live", every form cycle has been activated. The other reason; Your horses are in constant training even though you may have though that you had turned them out for a while. Injuries occur all the time during training, in the morning workouts or elsewhere, sometimes a horse needs Lay-Off time to get away from the daily grind. As 5 Star Farms (Nick) would always say; "Your horses are in training and workout everyday .... you just can't see them".

     So; What is Sharp?

     No one can deny what a horse can accomplish while having a positive mind set. If you own horses or work with them or even if you only wager on them, you can't help but notice that each horse is an individual. Just as characteristics of a single human ego cannot be applied to all humans, one horses mentality does not belong to all horses. Sharp is just that, a highly positive mentality, an eagerness, one that has responded to it's training and/or racing in a highly positive way. Horses know what is going on around them more than you might think they do.

     If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you read the SIM File; "Ask Your Horse Questions". Take to heart the quotes of Julie Krone and apply them to what you are doing with your own SIM horse. Horses put up with alot .... especially in the SIM.

Wahoo