“Where are you going?”
Well, let’s start with where I’m not going.
I’m not going to the Atlanta Steeplechase to see Riverdee’s Yellow Mountain make his reappearance. He gets champion jockey Willie McCarthy for his third start over jumps. I’ll wait for a text. Well, let’s be more accurate, I will stare at my phone as post time nears, boring a hole into the screen waiting to hear how he runs, hoping for a safe trip.
I’m not going to Newbury for its stellar flat card, I won’t see Tiggy Wiggy. I won’t see Ivawood.
I’m not going to Ayr for the Scottish Grand National. I won’t see Puffin Billy, I won’t see Irving, I won’t see 30 chasers travel 4 miles in the big one. I won’t see AP McCoy make his final appearance in Scotland.
I’m not going to Pimlico for the Tesio, Dahlia and other stakes. I won’t cheer on Sam Hoskins’ Lily Carstairs in her American debut and I won’t see the best Maryland 3-year-olds compete in the Preakness prep.
I’m not going to the Grand National in Butler to see horses leap tall buildings. I won’t see Guts For Garters, a horse I sold, prep for his second Maryland Hunt Cup win. I won’t see Almarmooq, Flaming Arrow or Sumo Power, others we pushed into the game.
I’m not going to Charles Town for the Charles Town Classic. Well, I might be going there, if I can juggle, drive and slide into the crowd to see Shared Belief run in the 6:00 feature. Charles Town has always offered night racing, all the way back to when I used to go with Dad to see Money By Orleans go three turns. They switched it this year, makes it hard to manage. My nephew, Ryan, who is game for any adventure, swears we can do it.
And I won’t be at the Little League field cheering on Miles in his first baseball game. Well, I’ll be there at the beginning, on Haske Field for the opening ceremony and for the opening pitch. Miles says he’s not prepared enough for a game – he is his mother’s child.
I won’t be riding Eagle Poise around the farm, I won’t be tilling my garden (maybe Sunday), I won’t be at Hawthorne for the Illinois Derby, I won’t be at Santa Anita for their stakes and I won’t be at Keeneland for the Elkhorn, one of my favorite races.
So where will I be? Two miles out the driveway for the annual Middleburg Spring Steeplechase. We’ll miss Demonstrative in the first, then we’ll settle in to cheer on graduates Sharp Numbers, Brave Prospect, Cornhusker, Super Saturday, Mr. Hot Stuff, Diacetto, Hooping and Prince Ludovic.
So that’s where I’ll be…and, OK, maybe Charles Town for a glimpse of Shared Belief.
