Pixie finished 8th of 18 yesterday, again beaten just four lengths so very frustrating. She ran correctly and had a decent finish, but got boxed in when it was time to accelerate. There was a hole near the end, but she didn’t have enough in the tank to take it and at best it would have left her 5th. To make matters worse, she hurt herself in the truck on the way to the track, breaking through the door that separates the stall from the back part of the two-horse vehicle. I debated scratching her, but it was essentially superficial, so I decided to go ahead. It was the sort of injury that will prove more problematic in the days after than the day of – she scraped the front of her left fetlock. As I expected, today it’s pretty sore, but I don’t think it affected her run. I am, however, extremely unhappy with the transport company because that sort of accident should not happen and I won’t be using them again. To add injury to insult, I got knocked in the eye with Pixie’s knee while I was trying to treat her leg and she snatched it up too quickly for me to get out of the way. Now poor Tim has to put up with all the bad husband jokes prompted by black eyes. (It’s not the first time; my mare Well Done Clare smacked me in the head a few years ago and I looked like Rocky for a good couple of weeks.)
It’s been a very disappointing and frustrating August, with horses just not quite getting the job done. I’m trying to keep optimistic for September, when we have more chances to come. Hard Way and Skid are entered for next week, so we have to look ahead.