First impressions
Spend roughly 14 hours in the car yesterday driving from Lexington to Saratoga – thanks for the accident Cincinnati, costing me an hour – and wondered what things might look like back home after two-plus weeks on the road.
Turning 18
Standing on the hill at Keeneland, outside Doug O’Neill’s barn and waiting for Blue Grass winner Irap to go to the track for his final workout before last weekend’s Kentucky Derby, a colleague pitched a question that got me thinking.
Winning at Losing
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.
Rain on the Parade
In an ideal world, it would rain every Thursday and the sun would shine every Saturday. A drum-beat rain – steady, soaking, settling, soothing. And a guitar-solo sun – just enough to keep the rhythm.
Going Racing
I wonder about the disconnect, the distance often. I wonder how it happened, why it happened. I’ve spent my life in both, actually it doesn’t feel like both, it’s one for me. Racing. Not flat racing or jump racing – just racing.
Irish War Cry delivers an answer in Wood
I know Graham Motion well enough to know when he doesn’t want to answer a question, or when he can’t really conjure a 566th answer to a question he’s been asked 565 times. But I usually ask anyway.
Last Tuesday, I asked. “So why was that last race so bad?”
Time will Tell
And so it begins. The travel season. Up early this morning for a trip to Monkton to see some jumpers and flat horses train. Then to Aiken. Then to Camden. Then home. The Orange County Point-to-Point Sunday, hopefully, a showing of Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Hill School Theatre in between. At least, that’s what Miles expects. It is simply that time of year, when horses disperse and weekends are overbooked. I like it.
Worlds Apart
What a difference a week makes. Cheltenham Festival. Piedmont Point-to-Point. Although, looking at the overnight for our local meet, field sizes are comparable – 17, 14, 20, 19…the times have changed, the world has changed but still the interest in country sport continues. Long may it continue. Miles and I share the Saturday couch. The Dubai … Read more
Goodbye Cheltenham
Homeward bound. Four days have come and gone. Defining moments. Lifetime memories. Seems like a long time ago when Mullins and Walsh were on the floor. They rallied. Sizing John rallied, closing an open Gold Cup. Cue Card crashing out again, again at the same fence. Douvan has a broken pelvis. That explains that. Horses, … Read more
Stopping by the farm
Mostly, I had time to kill. What I got was a great morning and a reminder of a few things. One, horses are cool creatures. Two, horse people work hard. And three, I need to get out of the office more often.
