Sean Clancy
Good Morning
Sometimes I forget. It doesn’t take long to remind me.
Silence is Good
It’s been a week. No phone calls. Which is good news. As an owner, you know phone calls only bring bad news. Like waiting for the draft.
Counting the Days
There it is in cold, hard print next to Valdez’s name. 1204. Yeah, 1,204 days since his last run. We knew it had been a while, since that fateful day at Chepstow, two, three, four years ago…yeah, the day he fell, slid, strained, the day the house of cards came down.
The Fisher Eclipse
A barn divided…
Nah, not really, but around the Jack Fisher barn in Butler, Md., hearts were with Mr. Hot Stuff, heads, if pushed, were with Scorpiancer. The latter, with a 2-for-2 season that included a dominant win in the Grade 1 Iroquois, won the Eclipse Award as champion steeplechase horse for 2017. The former, riding a one-hit wonder in the Grand National, wound up third in the voting. The Jonathan Sheppard-trained All The Way Jose finished second, an independent between Fisher’s bookends.
The Monday Special – Jan. 29
The second Pegasus World Cup Invitational went into the history books Saturday, along with the brilliant career of Gun Runner. Last year’s Horse of the Year made quick work of the $16 million Pegasus, rolling home to beat 2017 champion 3-year-old West Coast to highlight the weekend of January.
Crack of Dawn
There is nothing that will wake you up quicker than a European horse sale. Well, there is nothing that will wake me up quicker than a European horse sale. The texts started beeping at 5:05 Tuesday morning.
Want to go see Arrogate?
“You should have been here yesterday.”
That was the general theme as we arrived in Lexington, Ky. on a relatively mild Wednesday last week. The Keeneland January Sale. There’s nothing glamorous about Keeneland January, whether you’re selling or buying or spectating. We sold two fillies, deciding to “stop the meter” rather than “spin the barrel.” Love the expressions in the horse business. There are so many, “Your first loss is your best loss” is another favorite, that one rang in my ears last week.
Sharing a Derby Sandwich
It was 2001, my first spring off the steeplechase circuit and I had gotten to the Derby. Getting to the Derby and enjoying the Derby are two different things.
My friend, Tony Reinstedler, said he had a place for me to stay. He did – in a tent in his backyard off Baxter Street. No problem, we weren’t sleeping much.
Postcard from Woodbine
It’s cold up here.
