Sean Clancy

A friend asked me about my old friends, the band of brothers who went to work when others went to party every weekend. The jocks’ room. I arrived in 1988, as the Hendriks/Teter/Lawrence era was closing and stayed 12 years, creating our own era. It was the last gasp of American-born jump jockeys, the one before the Bentley/Massey era that changed the game. We had fun, we were young and free, riding at long-forgotten places like St. James, Marengo and Brookhill, balancing euphoria and disaster, risk and reward, trying desperately to get on the likes of Victorian Hill, Rowdy Irishman, Flat Top, Saluter or any horse who would change your life. 

Home from another Derby voyage. Deep breath. Regroup. Unpack. Iroquois Steeplechase on the horizon. Better get to the cleaners for a quick turnaround. I came home with four programs, three hit the trash and one hit the mementos pile. Spring time in racing, no rest. 

The first notes of the National Anthem blare. You stand. Then they come again. You rise, pause, look around. Then they come again. You sit.

Kentucky Oaks morning. The sun rose over the quarter pole, now it’s high in the sky, ricocheting off white tents in the infield.

Welcome to Little League. Coach pitch, Kansas City Royals, ages 6-8.

We bought a glove, baseball pants and a bat a few days before the first practice. I threw the ball for Miles, he watched it fall to the grass and then told me about Greek mythology. I picked up the ball, threw it again, he told me more about Greek mythology. I handed him the bat and threw him a pitch, he pirouetted and fell in a heap and, yes, told me more about Greek mythology.

“Where are you going?”

Well, let’s start with where I’m not going.

I’m not going to the Atlanta Steeplechase to see Riverdee’s Yellow Mountain make his reappearance. He gets champion jockey Willie McCarthy for his third start over jumps. I’ll wait for a text. Well, let’s be more accurate, I will stare at my phone as post time nears, boring a hole into the screen waiting to hear how he runs, hoping for a safe trip.