The Davona Dale

Horse: Connachan
Jockey: Erin Hanvey 
Location: Gulfstream Park, Florida
Pole Position: 2 
Race: Davona Dale Stakes, TJC Major Race Qualifiers (March)
Placing: 1st! Results

Featured:
Tap Haus, Pole Position 1 

References: 
Background - One
Horses - Poses mostly from memory, Tap Haus Tack 
Shading - One Two Three Four & some muscle reference 
Videos - One

Artwork Notes: 
Canvas Size - 14" x 10" 
Medium - Watercolour & coloured pencil 
Comments:

Went for something a bit different to my usual, more background. Yeah there's not a lotta horse there, but I liked this angle and it made for a better piece overall. I tried to focus on details with jockey/tack but apparently I can't do details regardless of size so THERE YA GO. Other than that, I loved painting Tap haus she is BEAUT and a shinyshiny Connachan. Also PLZ ignore the grey mush of shading that is my jockey's face.

Also this takes place in my AU at the end of the month, after the Nassau Stakes 

I did the story like an announcer's call, hope it makes sense! 

Story: 
(793 words)

TG: “What a beautiful day here in Florida, and you’ve joined us here in Gulfstream Park for the days racing. I’m Tom Gloster, and I’m here with Bob Charter, retired trainer, and we’ll be discussing the field in the run up to the Davona Dale Stakes. First, welcome Bob -“

BC: “Thanks for having me, Tom.”

TG: Just to name some of your accomplishments, award winning trainer turned owner, now retired, we’re privileged to have Bob announcing for us today. Notable horses, Bob - champion filly Bowling, stakes winner Miz Mitte, and most recent winner, up and comer Plymouth. Now Bob, you really now you’re fillies - what are we looking at in the Davona Dale now, Bob?” 

“Thanks Tom, kind words. We’re looking at a strong field this afternoon. These are the tougher fillies coming in this race. This is the grade two prep race for the Oaks. We know the Santa Ysabel is also coming up, that’s a grade three, and I expect we’ll see some late contenders for the Oaks there. Right now, this race will separate the real cream coming into the Oaks this year. It’s some of the country’s classiest, it’s bound to be a close race.”

“We’re here in the parade ring currently, and what we can see on our monitor, viewers at home, the field’s just been called, and soon we’ll see the runners coming out. There she is, our first runner, Tap Haus. Bob?” 

“Now here’s a nice filly, from an exceptional emerging female family.  She’s a daughter of Tapit, out of No One’s Saint. A half to last years Belmont Stakes Winner Saint Laurent, - now that’s a mare we all remember. An exceptional dirt mare, still racing into her fourth year, won 11 times, including six grade ones. The dam’s a stakes winner, and this little grey is already a Group One winner in her own right, we saw her at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile. Now, she’s gonna be the one to beat here, literally, she’s unbeaten, she’s got the pedigree, she’ll have the rail, and as long as she breaks nicely, my money’s on this girl.”

“She really is a beauty. She’s got that Tapit grey, red mane and tail, that’s just gold these days. She’s a homebred, god knows what they’d have got for her if she’d gone to the sales, Bob. Really a top class filly.”

“Right, Tom. She’s just what you want, plus with that grey, she’s eyecatching, she gets the crowd’s attention, she’s easy to follow in a field. She’s going in the favourite to this field, and I can see why. 

Now, at number 2, here we have an unusual one. The chestnut filly, the European bred Connachan whose come over from Scotland. Strange choice for a British farm, but she comes from the team behind The Gremlin, we saw him at the Triple Crown two years ago, with that tragic performance in the Belmont Stakes. And this is their second horse they’ve thrown into the American arena. We saw this filly at the Las Virgenes, and she’s had two starts since. But if you’re looking at the breeding, no doubt she’s a fine filly but she’s a turf horse on paper. She’s lean for a dirt horse though she’s speedy. She’s won her first two starts, a grade three winner. Though she’s a solid performer, I’d struggle to back her before the Tap Haus here. “ 

“It’s really British Invasion here, can’t see the punters backing the foreign horse over a classic American like the Tapit.”

“I’d say similar Tom

"Number 3, Lioness of Brittany. Now here is a machine of a filly. Surprisingly, another British bred. Daughter of freshman sire Shadow Fox, out of the impeccably bred Tortuga, by Blackbeard's Got Some Ink. We can see she's a feisty filly this one, she'll have her size to her advantage in this field, only Connachan rivals her. A powerful filly, we can see that distance breeding, though she's also more turf based so we'll have to wait and see. She's also the least experienced, but she's proved herself thus far. She might be the upset here in this race.

“As for the rest of the field, number 4, Corunna. Dark bay Curlin daughter of the stakes winning mare Latour, who also won the Davona Dale. She’s a nicely made filly, a real sweetheart, she’s won twice as a yearling, narrowly beaten in her last start. I think she’s got places to go, and we’ll see of lot of this girl on the run up to the Oaks. 

“Thanks, Bob. If you’re just joining us we’re here with Bob Charter, here at Gulfstream Park for the Davona Dale Stakes. We’ll be back after these messages.”