Fireball Birdie continues to progress since rejoining the Asmussen barn at Turfway. He’s had a pair of three-furlong works thus far and we’d expect to see him back on the tab this weekend.
Fireball Birdie departed Rebecca Maker’s Shantera Farm last week and rejoined the Asmussen team at their barn at Turfway Park. He was spotted galloping over the synthetic oval this morning (in front of his stablemate). We will allow Steve’s team to let Fireball Birdie get settled in and acclimated to his new location and will be sure to pass along and content or updates as they come to us.
Fireball Birdie remains in good order on the farm. After conferring with trainer Steve Asmussen, we have elected to have Fireball Birdie gelded and that procedure is set to take place today. It’s a pretty logical move to make and we hope it will help him stay sound as his training ramps back up. He tends to be a pretty heavy horse–as seen in our last video check-in–and gelding him should aid in getting some of that weight off and in turn taking some pressure off of his legs. He is not a stallion prospect at this point, so there’s no reason not to go ahead with the procedure.
Fireball Birdie breezed a half-mile this morning in :49.80 at Oaklawn in an effort to get off the vet’s list. He passed the breeze portion of the process, but was off in his left front upon post-work inspection, and will remain on the vet’s list for now. Steve and his team will go over him with a fine-toothed comb and get to the bottom of the issue. He had been sound, of course, leading up to the breeze.
With the Remington Park backside closing last week after the conclusion of their meet, Fireball Birdie moved with the Asmussen stable to Louisiana Downs. He recorded a first breeze there this morning, working a half in :50.60 (11/21).
Louisiana Downs does not have a Thoroughbred meet going at the moment (they race in the spring and summer), but the nice thing about its location is it’s well within shipping distance to Oaklawn Park, Sam Houston and Fair Grounds. This will allow us to shop around for suitable options once Steve feels Fireball Birdie is ready to be entered. We’re not necessarily in a rush to run him back given his last effort, but we’ll let Steve and his team make that judgment call.
Fireball Birdie breezed five furlongs in 1:01.40 this morning at Lone Star Park. Your 3-year-old colt breezed on the inside of his stablemate Tejas, always keeping his nose in front to the wire and galloping out nicely together.
We shouldn’t be far away from another race with Fireball Birdie and will let Steve finalize a spot.
Fireball Birdie had his first work back this morning at Louisiana Downs, covering three furlongs in :39.40. As we recently noted, we have been a little set back due to weather and track conditions but this was just a first step for the son of Uncle Mo who will continue to pick up the pace at Louisiana Downs for the short term. For his first official breeze since August 2023, the Asmussen barn was not looking for anything more. As some of you may have experienced in the past, every trainer has their own method of training and Steve is not one to come with quick times especially in the early stages off of a layoff.
Fireball Birdie continues to progress steadily and has remained in good order while galloping daily at Louisana Downs. The Asmussen team is pleased with our son of Uncle Mo and we expect him to pick up the pace in the coming weeks.
Following a few days at Churchill Downs, Fireball Birdie shipped to Louisiana Downs and settled in nicely in his new digs with trainer Steve Asmussen. Steve reported that our son of Uncle Mo was moving forward in his training while currently galloping as you can see in the video above. Pending a few additional weeks of galloping, we could see Fireball Birdie have his first speed work towards mid-January. We will continue to report on his progress and follow up with any news from the barn.
Unfortunately, Fireball Birdie exited his first work at Churchill Downs with a small ankle chip which will require surgery. The good news is that this is an extremely routine occurrence/surgery and almost always has an excellent prognosis and no impact on future racing ability/viability.
He is scheduled to have surgery on Friday by top veterinarian Larry Bramlage and will rehab at Becky Maker’s farm in Versailles. We’ll get a clearer picture of rehab timing from the surgeon, but typically this sets a horse back 60 days before they can return to light training.