Its hard not to love the holidays.
After spending the last month buried in the library I've finally turned in my last final and walked outside to notice that the holidays are upon us. Other than the overwhelming dread of last minute Christmas shopping, this means only good things for me. This year it means three weeks off from class, it means hosting the New Year's party to end all New Year's parties, and like every year, it means the Gulfstream meet is just around the corner.
Now, the favorite time of the year for most fans of the running horse is the five week span that holds the triple crown in the late spring. Others enjoy the late summer classics and the Breeder's Cup, which I do as well, but nothing compares to the hype and anticipation that kicks off at Gulfstream.
The Derby trail is in itself similar to a horse race. The yearling sales are the break from the gate as I believe the quality of a horses trip can be partially predetermined by its trainer/owner connections. Consider getting Todd Pletcher or Bob Baffert as a clean break while getting, say, me as a trainer, might read in the form as "bobbled start" or "lost rider early." After the break your speed horses are going to shoot to the lead and hope the pace is light so they can hang on. More often than not they cant (Stevie Wonderboy, soon to be Street Sense) and only a special class of horse can keep on the lead for such a long time. (Limehouse, Came Home) At this point we've passed the grandstand for the first time in the Juvenile and we've taken the turn where the early leaders get their pictures taken. But now we're starting in on the backstretch and we see which horses are laboring and which have found a steady stride. You cant win the race at this point but one stupid move and you can damn sure lose it. At this point I have my eye on the Pletcher Juvenile trio and Nobiz Like Showbiz who is threatening to put Albert the Great on the map as a sire.
I've missed a lot since the last post, which was pre Breeder's Cup. The happenings at Churchill have been much discussed since in the last month and a half but I would like to echo the sentiments of those disappointed to see the lose of Pine Island and the career ending injury to Fleet Indian. Its been an awful year for breakdowns in the big races and it scares me the the public who notices the sport 4 days a year might cast to harsh a judgment. The sport today, i think anyway, is safer than ever with the switch many tracks are making to the synthetic Polytrak surface.
Fair Grounds is back after Katrina. Glad to see it, the meet is always entertaining and it always brings a fun cast of characters in the spring.
Russell Baze breaks Pincay's record for career victories. A lot has been said about Baze's work ethic and Cal Ripken like approach to the sport, which is commendable. He's a great guy and I'm glad he got the record. At the same time, I cant include him in the same sentence as Pincay, Shoemaker, Pat Day, Gary Stevens and Jerry Bailey. Russell Baze is to Pat Day what Crash Davis is to Hank Aaron.
I still haven't found a jockey to follow daily since Day retired but I'm taking applications, so please keep them coming. I don't need a Crash Davis but a Nuke Laloosh could be fun. My finalists are Edgar Prado, Garret Gomez, Julien Leparoux and Jermaine Bridgmahon.
I'm hoping the best for jockey Craig Perret, whose Gulfstream meet will start in jail serving time for his 4th DUI. He's best known for his 1990 Derby win aboard Unbridled. I got to meet him a few years back in Louisville and he was an extremely nice guy. Here's hoping he comes out of this okay.
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