Where Alph, The Sacred River, Ran

As some other TBA bloggers have noted, there was a lovely New York Times article on Karakorum Racing over the weekend. I've never loved the way they name their horses (Karakorum Insert-Name-Here) and would be excited to see them named after Silk Road archaeological sites (or even after bits of Coleridge – wouldn't Stately Pleasure be a great name? I will concede that Stately Pleasure Dome is probably taking it a bit far and that most Americans would think of the film or the Broadway musical of the film before the poem or the city in question, alas), but I suppose subtlety isn't the point of branding. Nevertheless, I've always admired the fact that they named their stable after a traditional horse culture and will spare you my ruminations on the interesting genetic links between Mongolian and Icelandic horses. But getting back on topic, it would seem that thoroughbred partnerships are all the rage; Karakorum is quite an affordable proposition (about $500 and a $29 monthly fee) by most standards. Of course, if you have deeper pockets, you have other options: Team Valor - $12,500-$22,500 minimum investment West Point Thoroughbreds - $10,000-$40,000 plus $500/month fees Dogwood Stable – A lot, apparently Turf Club USA – the Rick Porter-founded club used to have a price breakdown, but at the moment the site is silent In other news, it’s time to start thinking Derby trail again later this week and The Green Monkey is trying the turf on Wednesday. Brass Hat is back in action over the long Thanksgiving weekend too -- it's always nice to see him. Garrett Gomez will be undertaking quite an adventure for Thanksgiving -- he's riding the aforementioned Green Monkey at Hollywood Park, then heading to Churchill Downs, on to Keeneland, Hollywood Park again and finally on to Aqueduct before heading back to Hollywood Park. He's a busy man. Would you fly across the country for The Green Monkey?