by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — She arrived in Jim Dailey’s shedrow from a combination of luck, faith and hope. Although one never knows exactly what to expect in this sport and can easily be disappointed by a twist of fate, My Tweed Heart has not only satisfied her connections, she has thrilled them.

“I cannot take any of the credit for making her into the horse she is,” said Dailey. “That all goes to Tye Loy. We are the same age and I’ve known him for years. He bought her as a baby and brought her along. She was ready when I got her because he is an excellent horseman and I completely trusted him.”

The now 3-year-old daughter of Manhardt and the Towner’s Big Guy mare Tweedle D was a $2,500 yearling purchase on behalf of Loy. Her ownership was then transferred to Carl Atley when he signed a check for a much larger sum after the filly’s impressive debut victory in Ohio Sire Stakes company on July 3 at Northfield Park. In her first season of competition, My Tweed Heart banked $132,252, amassed a record of 6-3-2-1 and set her speed standard of 1:54 at Scioto Downs on Aug. 5.

My Tweed Heart is the fifth foal out of her dam and to date is the only one of Tweedle’s D’s offspring to earn a check. That mare collected just under $300,000 during her racing career and was managed as a youngster by Jim Arledge.

Conrad photo

My Tweed Heart banked $132,252 as a freshman.

“I always liked the filly’s mother,” Dailey said. “Jim trained her and I helped him out with her. I actually had her for a little bit and enjoyed driving her. She is a big, strong mare and very nicely gaited. Whenever you are around a horse you like in that way, you always look forward to seeing what kind of babies they have. Before this filly she did not have anything that worked out, but when we heard there was a filly out of her for sale I was excited because I thought maybe she had produced something like herself. When I looked at this filly I was immediately pleased.”

Unfortunately, Dailey had to scratch My Tweed Heart from her first engagement under his tutelage. The filly was sick and could not appear in her $40,000 Ohio Sire Stakes event on July 25. All the people associated with her were dismayed, but their emotions were soon bolstered after Kayne Kauffman steered her to victory in an Ohio State Fair race at Scioto Downs the following week.

“I was definitely upset when we had to scratch her out of that race,” Dailey said. “But what can you do? Carl (Atley) and I went to high school together and have run around with each other ever since. We were very excited about racing her and when something like that happens you hope you don’t end up encountering other problems. Also, because of my relationship with Carl, I didn’t want him to be dissatisfied after he just got her. Thankfully, that is the only real bump in the road we have had with her. She is a very sound filly and we really thought we had an excellent chance to win the Sire Stakes final with her.”

After capturing her first two trips for Dailey and Atley, My Tweed Heart was third in an OSS race at Scioto Downs on Sept. 4 in a blanket finish. Her next appearance was the following week in the $225,000 Sire Stakes final and the filly came up just shy of catching winner Miss Me Yet in the stretch. Her final performance of 2015 was in a $35,811 division of the Ohio Breeders Championship for her age, gait and gender. Once again she could not overhaul the same rival prior to the wire and finished second.

“She flattened out in those two starts,” Dailey said. “She was a little sick for both of them and that race in (Columbus — the third place finish on Sept. 4) took her edge off. That trip was hard on her and she did not bounce back for the final quite like we had hoped. We really liked our chances to win that race and the one at Delaware, but we were very proud of her to race as well as she did on both occasions. She certainly did not disgrace herself and in fact, put forth a very nice effort just to be second in that Delaware race. Nothing went right for her from the start and she made up so much ground just to finish where she did. Of course you always want to win, but when horses race like that you are always pleased with it.”

With her winter vacation now officially over, My Tweed Heart is currently being prepared for her sophomore season.

“She has not grown any taller, but she has filled out and physically matured,” Dailey said. “She always has an excellent attitude and she enjoys racing. Because she has been so good to us, we also took a chance on her younger sister Tweedledtweedledum. That filly is by Art Official.

“I have not really developed an opinion on these Art Official horses yet, but like My Tweed Heart this filly has done everything right training down. She has the same mindset and she is very nicely gaited. We are really excited about both of them racing this year and are looking very much forward to participating with them in the Ohio program. It’s always a great feeling when you have horses like these that are competitive and have some quality. Especially when they are connected to people like Carl and Tye, who I have had relationships with for quite some time.”