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Sean Clancy 
Wow. What a day of racing. It starts in Dubai, rips through Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds and finishes at Charles Town. The Dubai World Cup, Florida Derby, Carolina Cup, Louisiana Derby…send the kids out to play in the yard and hunker down on the couch.
Where did the winter go? Even after months of snow and frigid temperatures in the Northeast, it seems like the jump season has come around quickly. Aiken already? Aiken, already.
I was arguing with another writer about my adoration for the horse trainer. Not necessarily an adoration of a particular horse trainer but the adoration of the horse trainer as a whole. The eclecticism, the individuality, the melting pot of the profession. The other writer – just kicked around by a trainer – wasn’t getting what I was saying.
Reality. The Cheltenham Festival has come and gone for another year. Home now, jet-lagged and wide awake at 4 in the morning, shoulders and shins sore from riding out each morning at George Baker’s, broke from gambles and gambits and deflated from knowing nothing will get my heart racing like seeing Valdez rise with the leaders at the second-to-last fence in the Arkle. It’ll be fun when it is our turn.
Drama. Daryl Jacob wins his first race of the meeting, then breaks his knee when Port Melon crashes into the running rail on the way to the start of the next. Davy Russell, fired in mid-season by Gigginstown, wins three on the day, two for Gigginstown and the Gold Cup on longshot Lord Windermere for … Read more
Three down. One to go. Gold Cup Day. Bobs Worth and Nicky Henderson try to win a second straight while Silviniaco Conti tries to salvage a tough Festival for Paul Nicholls and erase a going-well-at-the-time fall in last year’s Gold Cup. Bobs Worth has proven it – albeit on softer ground – while the others still need to prove it.
Three down. One to go. Gold Cup Day. Bobs Worth tries to win his second in a row while Silviniaco Conti tries to salvage a tough Festival for Paul Nicholls and erase a going-well-at-the-time fall in last year’s Gold Cup. Bobs Worth has proven it – albeit on softer ground – while the others still need to prove it.
Dad and Sheila on their way home. Annie and Stella about to be on their way home. It’s about to be my Cheltenham again. I’ll see horses today. Another classic day at Cheltenham yesterday as the father/son team of Gary and Jamie Moore combined to win the Queen Mother with Sire de Grugy. As we … Read more
Dad and Sheila on their way to Heathrow. Annie and Stella nearly on their way to Heathrow. Two down, two to go. Another classic day at Cheltenham yesterday as the father/son team of Gary and Jamie Moore combined to win the Queen Mother with Sire de Grugy.
I’ve said it over and over, a mantra learned and relearned – all you want in this game is that moment when it can actually happen. That moment when your horse is in the right place, he’s traveling, it’s going as planned, you can see it. Many times, you don’t get that moment, things are going asunder from the moment the flag drops, the gate opens, and you can’t possibly imagine a positive outcome. You don’t shout, hell you don’t utter a sound, you stand in utter disappointment, without a moment. In with a shout. That’s all you want.
