Shark Gesture leaves his first winner

[Duane Ranger]

The former the Breeders Crown, Dan Patch, William Haughton Memorial and Canadian Pacing Derby winner - Shark Gesture - has left his first winner. The now 8-year-old son of Cams Card Shark became a winning stallion for the first time when his daughter Gesturestar won at the Penrith harness racing meeting in Australia last Thursday (June 2).

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=89882

[mango]

Gee Triple has been talking about this horse for 3 or more wks we might have to get him doing the news and updates.

[triplev123]

For me, there are two races that really typify Shark Gesture.
One was towards the start of his career and the other towards the end of it.
They are the 3yo Breeders Crown Final in Canada, because he fell so horribly after the line in the Heat but dusted himself off to then so courageously win it all the following next week....and then some years later it was the 2010 Graduate Final at The Meadowlands where it looked like both Lis Again & Won The West had him cold, they had clear air and dead aim at him down the Big M stretch but he dug in and point blank refused to let them past.
I defy anyone to watch those races & not be impressed. So...c'mon Mr. Smiley, please make the deal with someone, send him on down here again.

[eliteblood]

There is no denying Shark Gesture was a good horse BUT he would never beat Art Official in a lead in class

[mango]

Hi Eliteblood

I look forward to the reply from Triple on your comment as Triple is a Art Official fan lmao.

[King]

Do know another that will be winning within a month.

[mango]

Well don't be shy feel free to share.

[triplev123]

There is no denying Shark Gesture was a good horse BUT he would never beat Art Official in a lead in class

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder my friend and besides, if you were to watch the replay of the 2009 Canadian Pacing Derby where the two went head to head you'd see AO badly gap soft pocket trip cover around the 3/4's & then drop out in the stretch to finish tailed off. In terms of visual appeal, that's not exactly a sight that ranks right up there with a viewing of the Heavenly Choir assembled...is it? :p

[triplev123]

A short while ago Best Ears (br,c,2 - Shark Gesture-Extreme Dream-Jate Lobell) left from pp4 & scored in a 20k 2yo race at Mohawk. He was home by 4 in a sharp 1:52.3. S. Zeron for Jimmy Takter.

[justdoit]

The mare has proven her ability to produce a race horse prior to being breed to Shark Bait.
It is to early to be getting aboard his ship.IMO

[triplev123]

You know something Justdoit?
If you really knew your stuff you'd never have said that.
He may not have been the prettiest, maybe not the point to point fastest/most brilliant and his owner/s may not be the easiest of personalities to deal with however it is an inescapable fact that the horse was...without any shadow of a doubt whatsoever...mentally & physically one of if not THE toughest Pacers to have looked through a bridle in the last decade or more. To refer to him as Shark Bait reflects very poorly, not upon the horse, but rather...upon you.

[triplev123]

...and incidentally, I've no dog in the fight here other than having always been a big fan of the horse and so having a current 2yo daughter of his who will never race because of a bad knee. That's where it all begins and ends.

[justdoit]

Hi TripleV123,
Just my opinion. A good/great race horse is an awesome thing to see, but being a good/great sire or broodmare is a completely different matter.IMO

[triplev123]

No question about that Justdoit.
See...how about that? If we make an effort we can always find some common ground. ;)
As good as they are on the track they'll all go back to a Maiden Grade in the breeding barn.
It's still early days yet of course & making things more difficult is the fact that he only has a very small Northern Hemisphere debut crop (43 current 2yos).
Even so, by around December 2011-January 2012 we'll have gotten a pretty good idea if he has the goods to go on to bigger and better things. After all, the great Christian Cullen made his NZ siring debut with a crop of only 3 more (46).

[justdoit]

Will you breed the 2 yr old filly, if yes to what sire?

[triplev123]

Yes, she'll be bred this coming season.
Still have to go over it with my Dad & my Brotherof course & I've had a few changes of mind as to which horse I think would suit her best. Not all that surprisingly she's a pretty big lump of a mare and is getting bigger, very powerfully built, maybe just a little bit on the coarse side bone wise. The structural refinement that a horse like Shadow Play shows would suit her really well I think. I also like the extension he has to his gait...I think you can see the Matt's Scooter coming through in him there...and I like his leg speed too.
For an idea of what I'm getting at, check out the US Pacing Ch'ship. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QcQTwngrrs and watch as they roll down the backstretch, he takes a leader's back sit from just after the half (?) then in particular watch the speed of the horse's legs when Miller pulls the pocket from behind Bettor Sweet at around the 3/4's. So slick, so quick. That's the current idea anyway.