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Sean Clancy 
The last chapter is the hardest one to write.
Five-time champion jockey Paddy Young wanted to ride another season, he had been saying that for several years, “Just one more, maybe another, OK but this is it.” Every time the engine stalled, he somehow found a way to turn it over, jump start it and go out the driveway. The motives varied – money, necessity, thrill, history – but the result was always the same.
Is there life beyond Pimlico Saturday? Of course, there’s life beyond Pimlico. We’ve got action from Newbury to Hazel Park, Bangor to Charles Town. Weave this into the Pimlico card and you won’t miss a thing, here’s your Saturday Special.
Iroquois morning.
Blacksheep just went for a swim and wrestles with a broken rocking chair. George Baker, in a towel and a dress shirt, looks over the back deck like the lord of the manor. James complains over the American coffee. Brits.
Cyril Murphy made the long, slow, contemplative walk toward Irv and Diane Naylor’s house on a cold March morning. There is nothing like a trainer delivering bad news to an owner. And this was bad news.
Ten-time champion trainer Jack Fisher has made a living out of converting hurdle horses with ability and/or potential to timber racing – quickly. Saluter, South Of Java, Atomistic, Bubble Economy, Syros, Doc Cebu…the list runs long and deep. It does not include Schoodic and will not include Schoodic.
“Just going back over the mountain after schooling one. I’ll call you back if it cuts out.”
The classics season gets in full swing Saturday – the Kentucky Derby in the U.S. and Two Thousand Guineas in England – and we’ve got it all covered in this week’s Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud.
The emails arrived in my in-box about an hour apart, three days before the Kentucky Derby. One was about artificial intelligence to help handicap the race and the other was about applied sports psychology.
“It’s a dream come true.”
That’s how race chairman Roger Smith described the Tryon Block House Races at its new course in Columbus, North Carolina. Held April 15, the six-race card delivered for horsemen, fans and, certainly, the Tryon community.
