Author: grarick

We’ll start our year off with a couple of runners in Deauville, but the focus is really shifting toward Cagnes sur Mer, which starts on Jan. 15. Gorki Park will have his second run tomorrow in Deauville in a 1,500-meter maiden. The distance will be too short for him, but he needs another lesson before he heads south. There is a better race for him in Deauville on Jan. 12, at 1,900 meters, but then he’d have to truck south in the next day or two, and that is too much stress for a young horse. So he’ll have a schooling session tomorrow instead.

Magical Flower will run Saturday in a condition race that she has no business being in, but because she is barred from everything else, it’s that or nothing. She needs 3,000 euros in earnings over the past year to avoid being the first eliminated, and she is at 2,900 euros, which in Deauville is the kiss of death. There are 10 runners Saturday  – five deserve to be there, and five, like me, are hoping that one of the good horses is having an off day and that we can nose into 5th place to break the curse. Magic will soon head off to do some jump racing, but as long as she is here and working so well in the morning (as always), we might as well try to do something on the track, as futile as that effort might be.

After that, we hope to debut Blue Lilac and Santarini (who would be debuting for us, anyway), in claimers in Deauville on Jan. 12, the last chance before having to go south. If they get in, great, but if they don’t, they’ll go directly to Cagnes.

Deep Ocean and Hard Way, our two old stalwarts, both got eliminated in the handicap on Friday. Because it is a “Quinte” race divided into several divisions, priority entries don’t count, which leaves Hard Way out in the cold. It is extremely disappointing, because there is no other race for him now until spring, so I have to send him on vacation despite his being 100 percent ready to race. The program of winter racing in France defies all logic. With the exception of the one Quinte handicap, every other race is closed to horses who have won more than 20,000 euros last year except for claiming races. Since neither Deep nor Hard Way run claimers, we’ll have to wait. Deep, at least, can go to Cagnes, where there are races for him. Hard Way could go, too, except there isn’t a rider on the planet who would be able to hold onto him every day in training, so there’s no point in taking the risk. Instead, he’ll go to grass in Normandy for two months and come back in March.

The rest of the Cagnes line-up consists of Grey Falcon and Eternal Gift, who horses who could do very well down there. Grey Falcon has been the revelation, and I can’t wait to see him run again. Eternal has all the ability he needs to win a Quinte handicap, providing he can overcome his hormonal issues. He’ll have to be gelded at some point, but I really don’t want to stop for that now.

So we grit our teeth for a few more rainy trips to Deauville with the promise of sun in just two weeks. Not that I’m counting.

We had another somewhat successful day in Deauville on Christmas eve, with Eternal Gift running fourth in a “D” race, and acting like the horse I had hoped to see first time out. He is a very nice colt with plenty of speed, but he is a bit lazy, and I’d been telling him all week that unless he showed us something, he’d have a Christmas Day rendezvous with the vet to relieve him of the burden of manhood. Apparently, he got the message, because he did show us a bit of style on Monday. We’ll have to be careful with his handicap mark, and I’m not sure if he’ll run again in Deauville or go directly to Cagnes sur Mer.

Deep Ocean finished only fifth, squeaking into money in a race he should have won. It was very frustrating, but it turned out my worries about drawing the No. 1 gate hole were completely justified. It was a strange race, with five horses setting the pace in a line and then everyone lined up two-by-two, like a nightmare Noah’s arc, behind them. Deep found himself 20 lengths off the pace coming into the stretch, so he did remarkably well to take a check. It was really too bad he got such a bad trip, though, because he seems very in form at the moment. I would like to get him straight out again, but there is very little choice. The next really good race for him isn’t until the end of January in Cagnes, and I really don’t want to wait that long since he’s well now. So that means I may have to race him against Hard Way on Jan. 4 over a trip of 2,400 meters. He’s run that distance before, but he’s best at 2,000. Hard Way, on the other hand, is a specialist at the longer trip and I’d think Hard Way would certainly beat Deep; they are practically identical in the ratings so they’d carry the same weight, give or take a half kilo.

Magical Flower ran the gentleman rider’s handicap, and it was a predictable catastrophe. I couldn’t put up the rider I wanted because she had too light a weight, and I ended up with someone who couldn’t really do the job of getting her out front at any point in the race. So she did what she does, which is chat with her friends and stretch her legs a bit. I really do need to move her on, but since she’s here and fit, I’ll keep trying to get her into some sort of race before she goes off to do some jumping.

We should have a few more runners in Deauville before we head down to Cagnes. Hard Way, as mentioned, will run his handicap on Jan. 4 and they he is definitely off on vacation because he can’t go to Cagnes. Deep, I hope, gets in the same day, and Gorki Park is likely to have another go on Jan. 4, too. He’s entered in a 1,500-meter maiden that will be too short for him, but he needs another lesson before he goes to Cagnes. There is a better race for him in Deauville on Jan. 12, but he’ll have to take the transport south two days later, and I want to give him time to recover from his race before he gets the stress of the trip. There will be plenty for him to do down south, and I want him in top form for the task.

Blue Lilac also hopefully will debut soon, although the race I had targeted for her on Jan. 5 might be too hot and we may have to wait, yet again. Grey Falcon is in great form after his efforts, but I’ll probably keep him ticking over until Cagnes without another run in Deauville. That leaves Santarini, who should have one run for us in Deauville before Cagnes but I’m not sure if that will happen or not. She is a huge, huge filly, and it’s been a little difficult to get all the parts working together at the same time…and she’s also excluded from most races because she hasn’t won enough money AND she’s come from England, so she has two regulatory hurdles to overcome before we get a better choice of races. So once she’s right physically, I’m hoping the stars will align and we’ll get a race.

 

Grey Falcon has turned out to be a proper racehorse, but he almost didn’t get the chance to show us that yesterday. Less than two kilometers from the end of the autoroute in Deauville I thought gee, the truck seems to be handling a bit funny. Maybe it’s my imagination. Thirty seconds later and BAM, the right rear tire blew to pieces. I got us to the side of the road just next to an emergency call box and we jumped out in the pouring rain to call for help. The response? Someone will be there within two hours. I’ve never really been able to take “no” for an answer, and this situation was certainly no different. We had a half-hour at the maximum to get this tire changed and get to the track, which I explained, trying to stay calm and limit my use of profanity, to the emergency operator. He seemed to understand.  A half-hour, he said. Not good enough, I said. Fifteen minutes. Or perhaps our live cargo might find their way onto the highway to cause some serious damage. (An empty threat, of course, but he didn’t know that.)

Meanwhile, we started to attack the problem ourselves. We had two men in the truck, but the pathetic tool that passes for a jack was not going to get the job done. We had to wait. I had Pierre, who owned the other horse in the truck (and who would go off the favorite in the race) call and harass the tow-truck company. “They said they’re coming,” he said. “Call again,” I said. “Call every five minutes and tell them the horses are starting to kick the truck to pieces.”

The horses, mind you, couldn’t have been better. They didn’t move. I used the time to call the insurance company. “Ah. Sorry, we can’t help you just now. Everyone is at lunch.” “Really?” I said. “Well, I’m on the side of the road in the rain next to a truck with two horses in it trying to change a tire. Tell them bon-fucking-appetit!” I hung up. The tow truck came. After nearly amputating his fingers on the first try, he got the truck jacked up (he had a much more serious jack) and the tire changed. He looked at the spare. It was as bald as my friend Mark’s head. “You won’t get far with this,” he said, to which I replied: “It’s got air. That makes it better than what we had.”

With no help from the insurance side, Mark, luckily, had enough cash to pay the tow truck. Who needed, of course, to make sure all the paperwork was filled out. “Listen, I really don’t have time for this. Here’s the money, I’ll deal with the paper later, and bet on the horse because he’s going to win,” I said, giving him the name of Pierre’s horse. “What about the other one?” “He’ll be fifth,” I said.

We made it to the track in the nick of time, although the horses really didn’t seem to know or care. Grey Falcon is a calm sort, and he wasn’t fussed at all. It was only his third time out, and he still ran a bit green in the home stretch, but he tried hard and finished third of 15 runners, just beaten a nose for second and a half-length overall – by Bunook, his companion in the truck.

I chased around trying to get a new tire after the race, only to find out the wheel was broken, so there was no hope. I would have to get home on what we had. The rain was getting heavier. Don’t go too fast was the advice from the garage. “Don’t go too fast because we don’t have any tread, or because the tire will explode?” I asked. A little of both was the answer. We loaded up and set out. It was sheeting rain most of the way. I did my best to drive slow. Anyone who knows me will understand how difficult this is.

We all made it back in one piece, the horses in far better shape than the truck tires and all of us wet and tired. (Except the horses, who were dry as a bone and munching hay the whole time.)

Ah, it’s a glamorous profession. I hope those tow-truck guys got their bet in.

I’m blaming Facebook. And, to a much lesser extent, Twitter. I’ve gotten into the habit of posting short blurbs on all the stable news on Facebook, which is why this blog has laid fallow for so long. So let’s catch up.

The results, recently, have been good. The Deauville winter meeting is the usual horrendous mess of entries, with hundreds of horses entered for every handicap and dozens eliminated. We have had mixed luck getting a run, but the horses who have made the cut have run well. Hard Way was second, again, Magical Flower finally managed to take a check and Grey Falcon surprised us by running a cracker last week. Deep Ocean is sitting on a win, but sitting at home, because he was eliminated and now has to wait until Christmas Eve – and hope we get in. He seems in excellent form and it is getting increasingly difficult to hold onto him in the morning.

Surrey Storm, who we knew as Milly, ran a great second in Lyon in her swan song before going to the breeding stock sales in Deauville on Monday. She is now on her way to Ireland to have foals. We were very sorry to see her go, because she was a very tough little racehorse, but pleased that she should have a bright future as a brood mare. She deserved a break, in any case, after running an absolutely tough season with a win and six places from 15 starts. The little kid ran all over France, and made money at Cagnes sur Mer, Lyon, Lion d’Angers, Vichy and Longchamp. If her offspring are as tough as she is, they will be very interesting to watch.

Our new recruits from the Newmarket sales in October have settled in well. Eternal Gift will debut for us in Deauville on Friday, but we hope to get his handicap mark down before doing anything too serious with him. Our other purchase, Santarini, should run at the end of the month. And Gorki Park is finally going to make his debut, also in Deauville on Friday. The goal for all these horses is Cagnes, and we’ll all head south in mid-January. It can’t come soon enough. The deep freeze has started around Paris, and it’s always a challenge to train when you never know what the gallops will allow you to do from one day to the next. Luckily, everyone is fit and ready to race, so we only have to keep them ticking over on snow days.

Anyway, mea culpa for neglecting my blog for the three of you who still might be checking it. Facebook is evil, as we know, but it is a decent tool for communicating tidbits of yard news. I will try to be better about catching up here, too. All three of you deserve it!

We are in transition and gearing up for the winter season and Cagnes sur Mer, and that always means the semi-annual pilgrimage to my favorite Horses in Training sale in Newmarket. I got back last night, just before our first new arrival, Santarini, a three-year-old filly who had been in training with Richard Hannon. She is a nice big filly who has run a few places in England and is eligible for French premiums, so I’m sure we can have a bit of fun with her here. She is still a maiden, so it should be easy enough to find races for her. We’ll take her for a test drive tomorrow and get a better idea of how she’ll settle in.

She’ll be joined by Eternal Gift, a three-year-old colt who looks very interesting. He is being repatriated after starting his career in France and then being shipped to England, where he ran a couple of places but wasn’t good enough to prompt the owner to hang onto him. But he is a winner here, so clearly French racing suits him better than that across the pond. He also is eligible for premiums and will be targeted at Cagnes.

The sales were the usual exhausting mix of horrible weather, unhealthy (but oh so tasty) food, plenty of alcohol and the endless parade of horses accompanied by the ceaseless patter of the auctioneers. I do love the sales, though, probably most for the things one overhears: “Yes, he’s a weaver, but not a bad one.” “Oh now that ankle won’t give you a bit of trouble. He’s never taken a lame step.” “He’s just sitting on a win, you know. It’s a real shame the owner wanted to sell because I’d love to hang onto him.” “Sound as a pound, he is.”

And better, from the podium: “Make no mistake, sir, you’re going to lose him to the lady at the door…” “Sure to win, I’m told.” “Good-looking colt here, unlucky in his last start.” “C’mon, lads, don’t let him go for that!” They really do put on a show at Tattersall’s, but by the end of the second day I was hearing the auctioneers in my sleep, as usual. In any case, it’s all over now until July, so we have to get down to work.

Coming up on Monday is Milly (Surrey Story), who will have another run or two before she goes off to the breeding stock sale in December. We’re trying her back on the fibersand because the ground is so dismal everywhere. She didn’t handle the surface well in Cagnes, but she’s a different horse now and might do OK.

On Friday, I hope to debut our two unraced three-year-olds, Grey Falcon  and Blue Lilac. They’re entered in the 1,600- and 2,100-meter maiden races on the fiber in Chantilly. I’m not sure who will run which race yet; I keep changing my mind over who would be best over which trip. In any case, I’ll probably end up just trying to make sure we get in, because they both need to get on with it now and we need to see them on the track before we can make any further decisions. There are the usual crowd of big-name owners and trainers entered, but we’re just there to run, so it won’t matter.

After that, Deep Ocean will go back to Chantilly, where he finished second last Saturday. The handicappers cooperated after our race in Longchamp and duly knocked us down a kilo, which allowed us to get to Chantilly with a chance. Maybe we can win it this next time. Hard Way also has an entry over 3,000 meters in Angers, but I haven’t decided whether or not he will go yet. Both of the old guys seem in decent form.

We’ve had to send King Driver out to the country to recuperate further from his tapeworm and the resulting intestinal problems. He was just not putting it behind him here yet, unfortunately, so he won’t be ready for Cagnes after all and we’ll have to forget about him until next year. I hope he makes a good recovery, but we’re still watching him very closely.

Magical Flower is also likely to be looking for a new job since she’s shown very little interest in her current employment. You’d think with the economic crisis going on she’d be motivated to hang onto the work she has, but sometimes there’s just no reasoning with horses. We will try to get her a last run, this time with blinkers, but then she is likely to be moving on. Very frustrating, because she is a beautiful filly and seems physically very well at the moment.

Gorki Park is working his way back from a mild case of shins and hopefully will be ready to try something in December. Sageburg is doing great as a sire, so it will be very fun to finally see him start his career.

It’s hard to believe another Arc weekend has come and gone. As usual, there were big parties, lots of fun and great racing. Our usual table of 24 in the owners and trainers restaurant went well as usual, and put us ringside for some of the best thoroughbreds in the world. Many of our owners were there, and for those of you who missed it, mark your calendars for next year. The hope is always, of course, that we might have something good enough to run that weekend ourselves, and you never know – maybe next year’s the one.

We did have a horse in the money on Arc weekend a couple of years ago when Hard Way was third in the handicap. The racing calendar has since change and his handicap no longer exists, so this year we had to settle for racing on the Monday after the Arc – when good old Hard Way showed he’s still a fun racehorse by finishing second in his handicap there. Surrey Storm also had a run but didn’t care for the bottomless ground (which Hard Way loves). She’s had two off races now and has had a long season, so we are deciding whether to race again before she goes to the breeding stock sale in Deauville in December. At the moment, I think we will try another time, because she is not training like a horse that’s gone over the top. Her jockey in Chantilly, Christophe Lemaire, also didn’t think she was running like a tired horse, but rather like one that would prefer better going. Nothing is on the cards for her at the moment, since she’ll have to go on the fibersand at this point because it’s been raining nonstop and there’s no good ground to be had in France at the moment.

Hard Way, on the other hand, is ready to go again, but there’s no good entry for him until mid-November at Fontainebleau, so we’ll have to wait. Even now, I am dreading the thought of that race – not for him, who should have a good chance to win – but for us, since there are few more dismal places I can think of than the Fontainebleau racecourse in mid-November! I’m still scouring the condition books to make sure there is nothing more hospitable that I missed.

Magical Flower ran a second race on Monday at Compiegne, and it didn’t go too well. She didn’t really like the ground, but she’s just not much of a fighter. She has great action and plenty of ability, but when challenged by other horses, she seems to just say “right, go ahead then, if it means that much to you. See you back at the barn…” She is working very, very well at home, so we’ll next bring out the sheepskin cheekpieces to see if we can’t motivator a bit more, before moving on to blinkers if we have to.

Deep Ocean ran yesterday at Longchamp in a race that was too short over ground that was too heavy. But he is too highly handicapped, and we have no choice but to race until the handicappers show mercy. We only need to come down a pound to run in the race I’d really like next week in Chantilly, and I’ll find out tomorrow whether that can happen. Fingers crossed, because the horse seems to be in fine form and I’d really like to find a nice little race for him.

Meanwhile, our unraced horses are coming on well, and the two three-year-olds are just about ready to try something. Grey Falcon has transformed himself over the past two months, toning up and learning to gallop. He went through the starting gate last week along with Blue Lilac, our unraced Irish filly. The work went well, although the Falcon hardly fit in the gate and I think he was afraid to jump out for fear of taking it with him. He did figure it out, though, and I don’t think either of them will give the gate crew any trouble on race day. They may both go to Chantilly on Nov. 9 for a maiden race over a mile.

King Driver is still recovering from the intestinal mess his bought with tapeworm left behind. It’s been a long battle, but it seems we may finally be coming out on top. He is such a lovely horse and this setback has been a real blow. We hope very much to have him right for Deauville in December and then on to Cagnes.

Gorki Park is coming along, too; we had to back off for a bit because of shin problems, much as I had tried to avoid that, but I think he’s just about ready to pick up fast work again. I hope to get him out at two in Deauville, and then he, too, will have Cagnes as a primary target.

Hard Way is a quirky beast, as anyone who knows him will tell you, and while he is a willing horse most of the time, he has very strong opinions on things. And if there’s something he’s unhappy with, he does what the French do: He goes on strike.

He has tried to tell us before that he’s not keen on racing in Maisons-Laffitte. This is his home, after all, and it’s fine for training and overall general quality of life, but he’d prefer not to have to actually do any real work here. At least that was the message we got loud and clear when he finished up the field on Friday in what should have been a very easy race for him. Christophe Lemaire, his preferred jockey, came back and confirmed what I had suspected: He just doesn’t like this racecourse. He has run here only twice before, and both were relative disasters. One was clearly pilot error, and the second time he just didn’t fire. I was hesitating between two entries, the one here at home and one in Craon, where he won three years ago. The company looked easier in Maisons-Laffitte, but on Saturday morning, I was very much wishing we were heading to Craon instead.

Or perhaps it was still about that beer incident. Hard Way usually has his oats soaked in Guinness every night. Two days before the race, I ran out, so he had his dinner without his beer. He usually jumps into his food, but that night, he ate the good stuff (apples and carrots) and then stood in the middle of his box with his head down. I continued the rest of the yard work, and a few minutes later he decided to lay down, abandoning dinner. This is not at all like Hard Way, so I was worried he might be sick. I took his temperature and it was normal, so I went away and came back to check an hour later. His manger was licked clean and he was standing there eating hay has if nothing had happened. I was still suspicious, but his appetite was fine the next day. That next night, I had restocked the beer, and he ate with his usual enthusiasm.

He certainly didn’t act like anything was wrong when I was riding him, either. Hard Way has an onboard GPS, and he knows exactly where he is at all times out in the St. Germaine national forest, where he trains. There is a small hill where we usually gallop, and it is now impossible to do otherwise. A few days ago, he was particularly keen going for the hill and absolutely flew up the trail. I admit I was certainly not in control of the situation at that point, but he was. I would have started to worry, but I know that HE knows how long the path is, and where we turn. So sure enough, when we were approaching the corner at still serious speed, he eased up and around, doing his best quarter horse impression.

He’s come out of his race fine, and might go to Chantilly next. At least I know he approves of that track, since he’s already run in the money there. St. Cloud also seems to suit him, and he also likes Longchamp. One thing’s for certain – we’ll keep Maisons-Laffitte off the calendar.

The time has flown by, and I’ve been reminded by more than a few people that this blog has been sadly neglected. So no more: giving in to popular demand (all five of you), I vow to do better. So a general update:

Hard Way the wonder horse will run in Maisons-Laffitte on Friday. I had wanted to take him to Craon on Saturday to run in the same race he won three years ago. It would have been a great story – he’s come back, the entry was good and I might have even tried to put up the same jockey we had then. The track down there is fantastic, and you can’t beat the atmosphere. It’s one of the few tracks in France where people show up and it’s a real event. I entered in Maisons-Laffitte just as a backup, but it turns out that the race here at home looks much, much easier than the one in Craon. It’s a tough decision, because Hard Way has only run twice in Maisons-Laffitte, and both of those attempts went badly. But we’ll give it a third try. If he doesn’t fire in this company, with his preferred jockey, Christophe Lemaire, aboard, we’ll definitely scratch the home track off our list.

Deep Ocean will tackle Longchamp on Saturday if he doesn’t get eliminated. I’m hoping, actually, for France Galop to open up a third division, which would be a good entry for him. As it stands, he might just make the cut and get into the second division of the handicap, and he won’t have much chance there. He is coming off a seventh place in Lyon in a race I had hoped to win. We didn’t get a good trip that day, so I’m hoping for better luck closer to home. Since the entry is questionable, we’ll change jockeys this time, which is probably a good thing. He’s become quite coltish, and he needs a strong hand to remind him what his job is.

Milly (Surrey Storm) ran a clunker last week in Strasbourg, also a race in which I thought we had a good chance. A few things went wrong: First off, Strasbourg is really (expletive deleted) far away and I don’t recommend trying to drive there. Ever. The only way to get there is by crossing Paris, which in our case took two hours – coming and going. Second, our jockey fell in the first race and broke his wrist, so we had to make a last-minute change. Third, the ground was actually quite hard, rather than soft as listed, and fourth, she has just started to go in her coat, and fillies often fall off form just a bit when that happens. I don’t think she’s over the top for the year, because she is working well at home, so we’ll definitely try to get another win in before she goes to the breeding stock sale in December.

Magical Flower is coming back into form nicely after her very long lay-off with a broken foot. She is almost ready to go, and I hope to race her on Oct. 1 or 2. King Driver is on the easy list for the moment; he was supposed to race last week in Fontainebleau but spiked a high fever two nights before the race. We’re still not 100 percent sure what is happening, but it seems to be an intestinal infection, which could be quite serious. For now, he is responding well to antibiotics and he has just started back in light work. Fingers crossed we can put this behind us soon.

Our new recruits Gorki Park, Grey Falcon and Lilac Lane (well, we’re not sure that’s her name yet, but we think it might be) are working well. Gorki is probably the closest to a race. The Falcon still has some weight to lose and he’s a huge beast that is still growing, so he’ll take a little more time. Lilac went through her growing pains earlier and now seems on track and is cantering regularly. Hopefully she won’t be far behind Gorki. All three of them will have a date soon with the starting gate, which promises to be an eventful morning.

So much for catching up…

Hard Way and Milly (Surrey Storm) did us proud this week, with Hard Way running second in Deauville and Milly third in Lion d’Angers. Hard Way battled hard to the line to grab second in the usual blanket finish of a 20-runner handicap. He’s a great old man to have around the yard, and he always performs when we need it the most. He’ll have an easy few weeks now and probably go down to Craon on Sept. 22 to run the same race he won three years ago. Not bad for a horse that was supposed to be retired!

Milly was a bridesmaid again and keeps knocking on the door. She is tough and consistent, but she couldn’t hold off the winner who came flying on the outside carrying only 49.5 kilos to her 55.5. She was only beaten half a length again and will win one of these soon. Both horses came back well and have good entries ahead.

Meanwhile, we’re at the yearling sales in Deauville over the weekend, mostly to kick the tires and meet people rather than to do actual buying. The prices there will be high, although there may be a bargain or two on Monday or Tuesday. The horses at the yard will have an easy weekend, because a heat wave has descended over central France and there’s no point in pushing them when cooler days are likely just ahead.

Deep Ocean heads to Deauville tomorrow for a return to the fibersand in a 1,900-meter handicap. Looks tough to win, but if he runs to form, he shouldn’t be too far off the mark. We won this same race two years ago with Turfani, and it would be nice to do it again. In any case, Deep will kick off several runs in Deauville in August for us. Hard Way and King have races in mid-month, and Deep will probably go back near the end of the month.

Milly followed up her second at Longchamp with a third in Vichy in mid-July, and she will either go back to Vichy or to Lion d’Angers in mid-August. She is proving to be ever tougher. The ground in Vichy was dismal after a week of racing every day and a good dose of rain. She was outpaced at the start, and found herself shuffled back to mid-pack. Going into the final turn, I thought we were well-beaten because Christophe Lemaire already had to give her a crack to keep her moving. Entering the stretch, he asked again, and she responded, if only a little. He continued to ask, and she started to move, passing horses to be beaten only a length in the end. It was an amazing stretch run from her and a great ride from Christophe, who was blowing harder than the horse when they came back to unsaddle. He could have given up on her, but he didn’t.

She took the race in stride, as usual, and hasn’t left a grain of oats in the feed bin since. She’s had 10 races this year, and taken checks in five of them. I keep waiting for her to ask for a break, but she instead keeps asking for more. Eventually, she will need a break, I would think, but she’s not asking yet, so we’ll press ahead.

Gorki Park, meanwhile, is settling in very nicely. He seems to have a very good head on his shoulders, which will help him once he starts racing. He is working with our unraced (and still unnamed) three-year-old Irish filly.  I’m not sure which will get to the track first, but I think my money’s on him. She is a very big girl and seems to be going through a growth phase at the moment, so we have to be patient for the moment.

Meanwhile, we’re all enjoying the summer, which seems to have finally arrived with some decent weather. I don’t want to jinx it, but it looks like August might actually give us a little sun. Off to the yard for a gin and tonic!