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Joe Clancy 
Hey, Graham Motion, narrate a workout. “Thirteen. That’s perfect. Right on the money . . . Twelve and four. Very nice. That’s perfect . . . Twelve flat. Very good. You’re doing great . . . Twelve flat. Beautiful . . . Twelve and one. Beautiful . . . Let him finish up if you think he’s going easily, Raj.”
And that’s that.
Trainers of Kentucky Derby horses have heard worse nine-word phrases for sure, but Thursday morning’s call by Mike Goswell over the speaker system at Fair Hill ranks right up there.
“Loose horse, on the dirt, going the wrong way.”
Frank Chapot, world-class show rider, took a swing at the Maryland Hunt Cup. So did world-class event riders Bruce Davidson, Mike Plumb and Kevin Freeman.
Joe Davies has trained plenty of horses. Senior Senator is nothing like the others. A flop (and something of a rogue) on the flat at Penn National for Flint Stites, the now 7-year-old has bloomed into a star over timber. He’s crossed the finish line first or second in every timber race he’s started with … Read more
Look out timber horses, Senior Senator may have learned to harness his energy – relax a little even. Saturday, he delivered a polished victory in the $30,000 Grand National timber stakes at Butler, Md., and the seemingly perfect prep for defense of his 2016 Maryland Hunt Cup score.
Lemony Bay, Drift Society, Two’s Company, The Nephew. They’re bay geldings with two-word names, imported from England, owned by the Bruton Street-US partnership, trained by Jack Fisher. Each won at least one timber race in 2016. One was timber champion. Another ran credibly in the Maryland Hunt Cup. Another won twice over varied cross-country courses. One more won the timber stakes at Nashville.
Can you tell them apart without going to Google? Or at least Equibase? Yeah, neither can we sometimes.
Jack Fisher got his Horse of a Lifetime when Good Night Shirt showed up in 2005. The big, raw Maryland-bred’s meteoric career wound up one of the best ever with eight Grade 1 wins and more than $1 million in earnings, joining McDynamo and Lonesome Glory in the seven-figure club. In August, Good Night Shirt … Read more
The attention, the questions, the optimism around the barn, the random people who stop by looking for a glimpse of one horse – this feels familiar to Adrian Rolls. Because he’s been here before. And doesn’t want to get ahead of himself.
Turney McKnight has been an owner, a trainer, an amateur jockey and more. He won the 1982 Maryland Hunt Cup aboard Tong, a horse bred by his mother June. In 1978, McKnight became chairman of the My Lady’s Manor Races in Monkton, Md. He was an ideal choice as someone who knew all aspects of … Read more
I know Graham Motion well enough to know when he doesn’t want to answer a question, or when he can’t really conjure a 566th answer to a question he’s been asked 565 times. But I usually ask anyway.
Last Tuesday, I asked. “So why was that last race so bad?”
