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Sean Clancy Just like old times, I woke up worrying, fretting, irritable. My wife, Annie, recognized it, she had seen it in 1994 after we had our first date. Misdirected stress, snapping at anybody in the way, kicking the cat, the dog, hell, anything I could find. Self indulgent, ridiculously self-absorbed, it was how I handled the pressure of riding races, well, handled, would be a stretch. I rode races for 13 years and have spent the next 18, apologizing for how I acted on race days.
The tour begins in Bill Mott’s office near the Oklahoma Training Track. The Hall of Famer shows some photos and paintings hanging on the wall of the spacious standalone office building. The walls and shelves contain a variety of Mott’s horses – Cigar, Theatrical, Royal Delta, Drosselmeyer and Singleton, winner of the Hazel Park Mile in 1979. In the photo, the gray gelding streaks across the line in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Michigan track. (Originally published in Sept. 1 edition of The Saratoga Special.)
After being stood up by a young trainer who had actually scheduled a Stable Tour Thursday morning, The Special had to scramble.
The day before the Woodward, Bill Mott stood in front of Yoshida’s stall and explained his outlook on switching surfaces with the Japanese-bred 4-year-old.
Jonathan Thomas shook hands with Javier Castellano in the paddock before the Travers Stakes.
We pick our spots. One of our regulars on the Stable Tour, Jimmy Jerkens began the meet slowly. We didn’t go near his barn on the Oklahoma side. When he went 5-for-6, we showed up.
Shug McGaughey stood at the end of his barn as rain began to fall Friday morning. Turf works were in full gear, the final set was cooling out and assistants Robbie Medina and McGaughey’s son, Reeve, readied horses to paddock school later in the day.
Bob Edwards took a break from his charity bartender duties at the Sipping For Seniors fundraiser for the Saratoga Senior Center Monday night at Bailey’s Café in downtown Saratoga Springs to bend the ear of Alysse Jacobs.
Bas Nicholl called me last week. The longtime assistant trainer for D. Wayne Lukas has called me twice before. Once, Nicholl called to thank me for leading the Travers feature with Will Take Charge and him and once when we misquoted Nicholl in Here & There. One out of two ain’t bad.
George Handy decided to go for bigger things, closing his stable at Lincoln Downs in Rhode Island to try his hand at Liberty Bell Racetrack in Philadelphia. It was 1970. Handy’s assistant, Ned Allard, figured he better leave too. Without a job and with just a $1,500 claimer, Handy allowed him to train on the side, Allard began to make plans to hit the road. But, Fleetness Rules was ready to run, the owner wanted to run, Allard got talked into staying to run him, just once.
