We continue to follow the exploits of four year old filly Paralyzing Eyes. And I'm sure many of you who are new here (along with several of you who are not so new here) are wondering, "Why?". So I'll begin with a brief recap.
Paralyzing Eyes made her debut in this race, a State-restricted MSW at Hollywood Park in June of 2012 that was won by Horsesanddivorces (who, incidentally, has not won since). After the event I commented that there may be two coming out of the race that would be worth watching: Gypsy Friday (who has not raced since) and Paralyzing Eyes.
Well, after watching Paralyzing Eyes in her second career start, it became pretty clear that this was not a horse to be put on any tickets; certainly not at the MSW class level, even when restricted to state-bred only. [By the way, Paralyzing Eyes in not a California bred; she's an Oklahoma bred; but because her sire stands in California, she's allowed to compete in California state restricted contests. Just in case you were wondering.] Indeed, even competing in the Maiden Claiming ranks, running with a price tag of $20,000 on her head, Paralyzing Eyes, in three races at that level (including Saturday's contest) has yet to finish better than fifth.
So the question remains: Why are we following this horse?
Here's why: Paralyzing Eyes was sired by Decarchy, out of an In Excess (Ire) mare; those are some pretty good bloodlines for a thoroughbred to have flowing through her. So while Paralyzing Eyes has little value as a runner on the track, she potentially has significant value as a broodmare; a fact which you can be sure her trainer Bruce Jackson and her owner Marie Jackson (who, together, were also her breeders) are well aware.
So this is the game, a significant part of the overall game, yet a very under-reported part of the game. Every time the Jacksons run Paralyzing Eyes in a claiming race they risk losing her to another owner; another owner who may have zero interest in running Paralyzing Eyes in another race, but is rather thinking long term as to her potential as a broodmare. So while Paralyzing Eyes is not worth $20,000 to someone looking to win races, she may be worth that much to someone looking toward the next generation of thoroughbreds. This is the gamble the Jacksons take every time they enter Paralyzing Eyes in a Maiden Claiming event.
And as the story unfolds, the question becomes: how much more of a gamble do the Jacksons take? Do they drop her even further down the Maiden Claiming ranks? Such a move would certainly give her a better chance to get that first win; but it would also greatly increase the probability that she would be led to someone else's barn after the race was over. Or perhaps the Jackson just call it a day and decide to race her no more. After all, in addition to the risk of losing ownership over Paralyzing Eyes, there's always the danger every time she competes that she may get injured.
Anyway, this is why we follow Paralyzing Eyes. Maybe I'm alone on this, but I find this story fascinating, and I'm quite interested in seeing how it plays out. Hopefully, at least a few of you reading this find it interesting as well.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
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