Turf to Dirt Does the Trick for Live Oak Filly

by Alan Carasso
   Well, as it turned out, the winning time did not establish a new track record as originally reported, but the team at Live Oak Stud will take the maiden victory from Forever Loyal (Malibu Moon) all the same. 
   “[Trainer] Christophe [Clement] called and said he was very, very pleased,” commented Live Oak General Manager Bruce Hill, who was in transit and did not get the see the race live. “Tongue in cheek, he said, ‘Your trainer should have run her on the dirt earlier.” 
   Indeed, Thursday’s performance was the antithesis of her Jan. 10 debut over the Gulfstream turf, where very little went right and she finished a distant 10th in a field of 11 as a 9-2 shot. 
   “She just didn’t handle the turf first time out and what you saw there [at Tampa] is exactly what we were hoping for,” Hill stated, adding that the trip to Florida’s Suncoast was meant to boost the filly’s confidence. “We were just a little disappointed in the way she ran first time and we were just trying to soften things up a little bit,” Hill admitted. “Mrs. Weber has never had any issues starting against softer competition before working your way up. And Christophe is very good about shipping and uses Tampa quite a bit, it’s just as simple as that, really.”
   He continued, “We weren’t really surprised that she improved with the surface switch. She had some nagging little things like so many racehorses do, but Christophe is patient and Mrs. Weber is patient and so hopefully this is the beginning of some nice wins.” 
   Forever Loyal hails from a family familiar to Live Oak, as the operation purchased Scoop (Gone West), a half-sister to first dam Kings Lynn, for $2.1 million at Keeneland November back in 2005. Despite the obvious attraction to the filly’s pedigree, Hill said their decision to go to $360,000 for Forever Loyal at Keeneland September in 2012 was based on her appearance. 
   “We’re always just looking for balance in racehorses,” Hill offered. “So much of this is gut feel and the whole team liked her. All three of us on the team were very pleased with her, and Mrs. Weber put her final stamp of approval on it and that was it. She was just very, very balanced, beautiful long neck and a good shoulder.” 
   Hill admits that Mrs. Weber have augmented their approach to purchasing horses over the years. 
   “We’re just looking for athletes,” he stated. “[Well-pedigreed] fillies used to be [Mrs. Weber’s] M.O., but we’ve kind of shifted gears a little bit, and we’re certainly not opposed to the Brilliant Speeds and To Honor and Serves, given the success we’ve had with those colts. So, we just try to find racehorses and we’re looking for a depth of quality, that’s all.”