I’m in the middle of a writing a story about Jeff Runco’s seven-stakes haul at Charles Town a few weeks ago. I asked the Charles Town-based trainer when it hit him.
“It was a busy night,” Runco said. “We didn’t really take it all in for a day. We checked the horses the next day and sat back and took it all in and said, ‘That was a crazy night.’ You’ve got people from all around the country texting you, it’s neat. It was a great night. Crazy, crazy night.”
Three wins at Montpelier and Callaway Gardens isn’t exactly seven stakes wins at Charles Town but I now know what Runco was saying.
It’s a busy day, driving to Montpelier, legging up jockeys in the paddock, trying to figure out where to watch (I still haven’t mastered that), talking about new fences, old fences, working on getting a cellphone reception in the middle of a field, watching seven races live, trying to watch six at Callaway Gardens, checking on the Breeders’ Cup and then, bammo, two wins in 15 minutes and another one a little later.
As Richard Hutchinson texted, “Now, that’s what I call a perfect 15 minutes , marvelous , well done.”
And then another one a little later, “It’s one of those very memorable days…thrilled.”
Thank you, Richard. And thank you to everyone else who called, texted or cheered.
And, yes, I’m still trying to sit back and take it all in. Proud of the horses – Queens Empire, City Dreamer and Twenty Years On. Proud of the team, Jamie Bargary, Graham Watters, Sandra Webb, Emme Fullilov, Troy Lively, Sheila and Jack Fisher and all the Kingfisher team and thankful to all the partners who helped make it happen.
And a shout to Tom Garner, who had a tough day at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. Hope you’re OK.
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