Simplification’s road to the Derby

Simplifying the Road to the Derby

BY LOUISA BARTON

Tami Bobo entered the thoroughbred racing industry only 11 years ago after spending the early part of her career training quarter horses and being involved in website development. Bobo is Ocala-based with her husband, Fernando de Jesus, and together they operate First Finds, a smaller boutique pinhooking operation. Pinhooking is an old Kentucky tobacco term used when a speculator would buy a farmer’s young plants and later identify them with a pinned note at market. Buying the plants low and selling high would return a substantial profit.

In terms of thoroughbred auctions, pinhooking yearlings describes the practice of buying yearling horses at auction or privately, overseeing their breaking and training, and eventually re-selling them as 2-year-olds in training. The same practice can be done with weanlings to resell as yearlings, but they are only brought along, taught some ground manners and prepped by their consignors as they are not old enough to be trained under saddle yet.

Bobo owns one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby this year, a Florida-bred horse by the name of Simplification, who was the winner of the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream and runner-up in the Holy Bull Stakes. Bobo had another Derby horse during her career, 2012 Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy, the first thoroughbred she ever bought. She has also had many multiple graded stakes winners and Grade 1 winners, but Derby points are not easy to earn and being in the top 20 horses out of tens of thousands on the Derby trail is never easy.

Bobo originally bought Simplification by private sale from Tristan and Valerie de Meric. He did not vet for the sale because he had some sesamoiditis, so the First Finds team decided to buy him and keep him with a plan to race him. That decision has definitely paid off as we get closer to the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby. Bobo says that sesamoiditis is very typical of young horses and, in her opinion, it is just growing pains.

Simplification’s trainer is Antonio Sano, and he is like family to Bobo and her husband. Actually, Sano calls Bobo his sister and she could not be happier to be on the Derby trail with him. Simplification, Bobo says, is getting better and better and his bullet works show just how sound he is now.

With Simplification being sired by Not This Time, one must ask, can he get the distance for the Derby? With his dam Candy

With Simplification being sired by Not This Time, one must ask, can he get the distance for the Derby?

Ride being a two-turn horse, Bobo says that she has no concerns there.

Bobo says she feels blessed to own Simplification and believes he is a very talented colt. Bobo says they are always open for discussion when the offers come, which they often do with horses of this caliber, but they feel God has a plan and that’s for Simplification to make it to the Kentucky Derby and take them all on the ride of their lives together.

Ocalans delight in seeing a Florida-bred horse make it to the Derby – and one that was also started here by one of the local trainers is just an added bonus. The Horse Capital connections show up strong each year in the Run for the Roses and the hope is to see this Florida-bred colt showing the other horses just how he can simplify his trip to the Winners Circle in the Kentucky Derby.

Louisa Barton is the Equine Initiative Director at the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership, Showcase Properties of Central Florida Farm Realtor and host of the Horse Talk Show on the Sky 97.3, Audacy.com and Equus Television

SETTING A NEW STANDARD OF CARE FOR CANCER TREATMENT

Advanced treatment options offer faster, more precise radiation therapy

If you are diagnosed with cancer, it’s important to learn about all of your treatment options. Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) is at the forefront of science and research, providing the most up-to-date treatments personalized for your unique needs.

Shorter courses of radiation treatment are quickly becoming the standard of care for prostate, lung, breast, bone and brain cancers. These advanced options are available from FCS, many offered exclusively in Marion County.

Targeting tumors with greater precision

Successful radiation therapy depends on delivering the proper amount of radiation to the cancer in the best and most effective way, destroying cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

A treatment technique known as hypofractionation delivers the total dose of radiation more precisely and in fewer sessions, compared to standard radiation therapy. Patients can complete their course of radiation therapy much faster with optimal outcomes and a better overall experience.

Shorter treatments for prostate and lung cancer

One in six American men can expect to develop prostate cancer in their lifetime; the average age at diagnosis is 66. The good news is that the survival rate is extremely high, thanks to a range of advanced treatment options. Traditional prostate treatments are time intensive (typically requiring daily treatment for nine weeks). Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that the use of shorter treatment schedules (daily treatment for five weeks) results in similar positive outcomes, no increase in side effects, fewer trips and less expense. In select cases, another emerging treatment — stereotactic body radiotherapy — can be delivered in as few as five treatments as an alternative to surgery for patients with prostate cancer and early-stage lung cancer.

Advanced technology [to better target tumors] offered exclusively in Ocala

Advanced techniques use SpaceOAR gel to reduce the risk of rectal damage during prostate radiotherapy. FCS is the only provider in Ocala offering SpaceOAR to protect healthy rectal tissue.

Breast Cancer

FCS is the only cancer center in the area to provide two modern treatment techniques that protect the heart during radiation treatment for breast cancer. Traditional methods of blocking the heart may place patients at higher risk for a heart attack. Deep inspiration Breath Hold creates more separation between cancer and the heart, making treatment more precise. This video demonstrates the specialized deep inspiration breath hold technique.