JJ's Stable

[Frank J]

One dimensional. Never good for any horse. Weaver is playing weatherman by trying to get the best draw. We may be here for a bit....lol

[JJ$]

September 19, 2026

Reputation: Workout

Reputation worked a bullet five panels this morning at Saratoga in 1:00.35 ahead of her start in the G2 Gallant Bloom one week from today. Enjoy the accompanying video from her rider Emma Nordin's perspective. Entries for the Gallant Bloom will be taken tomorrow.

[JJ$]

September 20, 2026

Reputation to Bypass Entry

*Private and confidential* Reputation was not entered today in the Gallant Bloom. Some blood was detected when she was scoped after yesterday’s breeze, and for obvious reasons trainer George Weaver was not comfortable attempting to run her next week. This is poor timing for sure, and running yesterday clearly would not have gone well either so at least we bypassed that spot. We’ll let Team Weaver monitor her for now and discuss alternative options when the time is right.

[JJ$]

Good Luck, Reputation!!!
Reputation

Twixt S.

Saturday, October 3rd 3:22 EST | Laurel Race Course, Race 8 - Dirt
Jockey Jorge Ruiz


Distance 1 Mile


Purse $100,000


Trainer George Weaver


Race Type Stakes


Post 4

[JJ$]

Finished 4th.
Reputation

Twixt S.

Saturday, October 3rd | Laurel Race Course, Race 8 -
Jockey RuizJ


Distance 1M


Earnings $6,000


Trainer George Weaver


Race Type Stakes


Time 1:38:42

[JJ$]

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Reputation Follow Up

As we prepare to offer Reputation in the Keeneland November sale, we wanted to share how we’re approaching the decision and address common questions and comments we’ve received since Saturday’s announcement. Admittedly, we were envisioning a much different season for Reputation on the track, but all we can do is continue to roll with the punches and make the best decisions for her and the ownership group with the information we have at that moment. We hope the responses below will help explain how we got here and where we’re going. What is Reputation worth? Our team’s very conservative estimate of her value at Keeneland November is $200K, but we’re hopeful that she’ll bring more and would not be surprised if she went well past that price. Her year-older half-sister Yatta, by a lesser sire in Yoshida and also graded-placed but not a stakes winner, sold for $175,000 last February as a racing or broodmare prospect (she subsequently RNA’d for $575K that November in foal to Nyquist). Reputation has a ton going for her as a broodmare prospect--in addition to the black-type she’s earned and pedigree she boasts, she sold very well at two and possessed dirt speed. Why not offer her strictly as a broodmare prospect rather than a racing or broodmare prospect in order to ensure she finds the softest landing? It's important to note that the listing in a sale of racing/broodmare prospect vs. simply broodmare prospect is not binding and does not preclude a buyer from racing a horse--it just means that the seller does not have to provide X-rays. Including the listing as a racing prospect does, however, get more eyes on the filly, which could impact her value. Given her current racing form and appeal strictly as a broodmare prospect, our team believes her chances are far greater of being purchased solely for breeding anyway (her vet work, which must be completed no sooner than 21 days before she sells, could also be such that it will put the chances of her being bought as a racing prospect at closer to 0%). Given the valuation we’ve outlined above, if she were to somehow be put back into training, there would no risk of her falling down the class ladder because her broodmare-only value far exceeds any claiming tag available. On the again very off chance that she were to remain in training for new connections, we do not believe that she would be at any additional risk of injury based on what we currently know about her physical status. Is the current state of her expense reserve dictating the decision to sell? The cash a series has available for training, care and other expenses is sometimes a consideration when we manage a horse, but it is only part of the equation and comes into play far less frequently than some might think. Our model allows us, as manager, to lend money to a series so a horse can continue racing, be bred or pursue another opportunity. We do this fairly frequently, particularly when we believe there is a strong likelihood of repayment. In Reputation’s case, a $200,000 valuation would put the series’ existing 50% interest at approximately $100,000 before selling costs and other obligations. That potential sale value gives us confidence to advance additional funds if we believe doing so could create more value for owners. For a horse with limited residual value, a depleted reserve could carry more weight. Here, Reputation’s broodmare value gives us flexibility, so the reserve is not what is driving the decision to sell. Why did Reputation take so long to make it back to the races after being given time off for what was believed to be a minor ankle issue? Like we see with young horses training towards a debut, older horses can take varying lengths of time to come to hand and return to fitness and full strength. Thousands of horses have made it through the program at Wavertree, and we have complete confidence that Reputation was brought along at the speed in which her condition throughout the process dictated--with that being said, we honestly don’t believe it took much more time than one would’ve expected. Keep in mind that once Reputation was back at the track and race ready, we also had trouble getting races she was eligible for to go. Why the trainer change for this season? Did the barn change have anything to do with her form tailing off? It’s impossible to know whether staying with Gustavo Delgado would have produced a different outcome, but our racing team does not believe the trainer change explains her disappointing season. George Weaver is an experienced, successful trainer, and our racing team has been in close contact with him throughout Reputation’s campaign and felt she was managed and cared for very well. Both Gustavo and George are qualified trainers who we’ve enjoyed working with. When Reputation was ready to return to the track, our partner expressed a strong preference for a barn change for reasons unrelated to this filly specifically. Gustavo was expected to focus on summer racing at Gulfstream, while we felt the New York stakes schedule offered more appealing opportunities for Reputation. We supported the change and agreed as a group that George would be a good fit. Although the season hasn’t produced the results we hoped for, we still believe that was a reasonable decision based on what we knew at the time. Reputation improved from a 61 to 77 Beyer Speed Figure in the Twixt S., and jockey Jorge Ruiz said she didn’t like the track--doesn’t that warrant giving her another chance? Reputation did improve significantly from her first start off the layoff. The question is whether further improvement would make another racing campaign more attractive than selling her this November at her anticipated broodmare value. Her limited allowance conditions are a real hurdle. The races she’s eligible for rarely fill, and when they do, they often attract strong competition. The last two third-level allowances in New York were won with 94 Beyers by fillies who subsequently finished second and third in the G2 Honorable Miss. A recent allowance at Churchill was won by graded stakes winner Nooni with an 89 Beyer. Selected listed stakes like Saturday’s Twixt, which was won with an 84 Beyer matching Reputation’s previous best, look like more realistic targets based on her current form. With further improvement and thoughtful placement, she could be competitive in those races. That possibility remains part of our assessment, alongside the opportunity to sell her this November. We also considered Jorge’s comments about the wet track, but to both George and our team, she appeared to move comfortably over it, and she has previously earned a graded stakes placing on a similarly rated surface. It’s possible she could have done a little better on a dry surface, but in our view, the track wasn’t enough of a factor to suggest a substantially stronger effort under different conditions. Is there a world in which you would buy her back at Keeneland November? We certainly wouldn’t completely rule that out. We will always protect a horse’s value and, while we’ve outlined above why we believe her racing upside is somewhat limited, there is always a price at which the balance changes and the appeal of giving her more chances becomes greater. We will keep all options open in the lead up to the sale, and will consider her vetting and the level of interest she’s receiving during the inspection process before we set a final valuation and further consider the possibility of buying her back--either to continue racing her or putting her in foal and selling her later.