Winning a Challenge Series is incredibly difficult according to Shotgun_mike- and yet he's won 37 titles!

Shotgun_mike has the most wins, earnings and titles to his name and yet he still finds winning a Challenge incredibly difficult. 

What does it feel like to win your Challenge race?
Which one? (; 
I actually don't want the races in real time, instead I open windows for every consolation and final each day and then start with the least interesting consolation, going onward to end the night with the 6 finals - saving the best for last. Not sure which final I watched last on Tuesday but seeing that my best mate Conny (Team Johansson) and me only were up against each other in the Sprinters Challenge for fillies I'm pretty sure that we saved that final for last (got to give the lad the impression that he can win a final against one of mine... lmao). My 1st final winner out of 3 this challenge meeting was Utinam Barbarium, which also is the most surprising final win I've ever experienced. I usually use stadium cam to watch the races and also remove the standings, everything to make the races as exciting as possible. Both him and my other horse in the Nunthorpe final were off to bad starts, so I didn't watch them at all in the beginning. I didn't have any high expectations for neither of them, seeing that Veritas Lux Omnia had an impossible draw on unsuitable conditions and Utinam, I thought, was outclassed - but then again, had an awesome draw and loves fast. Around 3-4 furlongs from the goal I got up on my feet (I usually lay/sit on the floor when looking at finals on my 50 inch plasma) and "screamed": - Look at Veritasgo!!! He will win!!! When the result came up it became awfully silent... how the hell did that happen? Utinam Barbarium wins the final? 

I was delighted,don't get me wrong, but the surprise element was even bigger. Daisy Diamond gave me final win nr 2 and after having laid low for several days regarding her chances Iwent into the race having the big outsider offbottom weight and on suitable going. I had the highest regard for both of Black Deaths fillies, Connys top 1.200-mare and the other 1.400-1.600 fillies, so race could go either way. Luckily Saxon was lurking about and he saw to it that Daisy Diamond could win by a small margin. A wonderful effort, thoughI couldn't help but feel for Conny who didn't even place with his mare. 3rd and final challenge win came on the 2nd day. Up until now I had been lucky winning 2 finals with horses that were born and raised in the Shotgun-stable thanx to some successful dips in the sales ring, but on the 2nd day I won the Queen Elisabeth with a filly found in an auction. Name was La Diosa Guererra and from an ideal draw and low weight she stormed home to win the final. I've always fancied this filly and when she turned up in an auction I just had to buy her. Price was reasonable and if memory serves me well nobody else bid against me for her that day. She is a very classy classic filly and seeing that several of her competition preferred either 2.400 or a different going she would have had a great shot of winning with a top random. And once more Saxon was kind enough to lend me his whip, the rest is as they say history. 

How optimistic were you about winning and who amongst the competition was your biggest rival?
- Oh, think I've already mentioned a lot in the 1st question. Utinams final was missing some of the best 1.200-colts (as at least 3 of the best were in consolation 1) so I thought that it was anybodys race really. I've always fancied Fleet Signal and Clubbed, but the latter had an impossible draw to overcome so not surprised that he finished among the last. Fleet Signal is a very good horse, which he showed by winning the 1st instance of the Newbury on monday. My biggest fear in the Sprinters Challenge final for fillies was without a doubt Ollala Domingues and Majestic Miracle, but don't think any of them fancied fast going on final day. Finally in the Queen Elisabeth I was mostaffraid of Balalaika - before the draw was published. After it was published I had a suspision some of the inside draws would give me a run for it. 

What routines do you follow before the race / while watching the race?
- Hmm, don't know if I should disclose this but... when I'm not watching a big race on the 50 inch tv I hide behind my desktop chair! (; Anything to keep the excitement alive for as long as possible. (; My main routine is also to not expect anything, so usually I regard most of my horses as outclassedgoing into a final - and hopefully I'm wrong once anda while.  Conny is the 1st person I talk to as we're best mates, but I also communicate a lot of with most top stables on the site as I've gotten to know these people and respect the hell out of them. 

How do you prepare for a Challenge Series?
- Winning a final is incredibly difficult. Trust me, I know. One season I thought that I would win 2-3 finals, but after some nasty draws, goings and jockeys I ended up withone 4th place at best. (; Think that season made me realise that no matter how good your horse is, or how well you do to get that horse into a final of bottom weight, in the end there are other factors that are equally important - and if they are not on your side then it can end very badly. I usually prepare for a final by watching all consolation races first, and after having done so the finals have usually already finished, so after having watched the last consolation I take on the big races in one swoop - have done so for several seasons and think it's the most fun way to go about things. If Ido well I usually have a drink of Pommac... not the strongest drink you brits can image, I'm sure. *lol* Many people come to me for advice on challenge horses and I always help out best I can. Taking on a final is a difficult task, especially if you hope to get your horse into the final off bottom weight - as it can cost a fortune to sandbag in the qualifiers. Everybody makes mistakes with their first couple of challengers, as did I and all other current top trainers. Don't expect too much upon watching a final. Any trainer can win say 20 % of their stakes races, but when it comes to finals even the best trainers around usually don't win more than 8-11 % of their final runs. And if you're inexperienced the % will be even lower, so best thing is to expect nothing - then every dollar/euro/pound made will be a bonus. Best advice is always: don't go for finals unless you have the horse for it, and if it's good enough try EVERYTHING to get it into the final off 120-122 lbs. Never waste wins in small fields, neither qualifiers or stakes races. What I will do differently in the future?
Well... not sure yet. Only time will tell. 

How do you celebrate winning/placing/running the Challenge Series / how are you going to spend your winnings?
- Pommac (about as alcoholic as a Fanta, lol) always comes handy, but after having watched consolations and other finals for 2-3 hours it had gotten warm. Spend my winnings?
If some nice ones appear in auctions I will probably not be able to sit on my hands and do nothing... (; 

Final Comments: 
- See you in the next finals - only 3,5 months away! =)

Shotgun_mike is the future of virtual horse racing @ RaceClubs.com
horses, racing, championships, sponsorships, entertainment 

Posted via email from Raceclubs.com