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It’s Kentucky Derby day in the United States. For the past few years, I’ve been contributing a Franco-American (well, American-Franco, really) perspective to The Rail blog at the New York Times, my former employer. Every year, I have the same nostalgic feeling. I grew up glued to the television on Derby Day, watching Jim McKay on ABC’s Wide World of Sports interview trainers, owners and jockeys leading up to the big event. Today, I’m sure I’d probably find the interviews corny and not very enlightening, but back then I was fascinated. I never imagined that one day I’d be a part of the racing world, a half a world away.

But ignorance is bliss, of course, and back then I had no idea of what went into training American race horses – namely needles. Lots of them. And we’re not talking about acupuncture. Everything I know about training horses I learned in France, with some crash courses in England, Hong Kong and Dubai. The more I learned about American racing, the more I was appalled. I have become a voice for eliminating race-day medication in the United States and an advocate of other reforms that might make things better for the American thoroughbred. When Eight Belles came crashing down on two broken ankles after the Derby in 2008, I thought maybe, finally, change might come. After all, we’d already been subjected to the saga of Barbaro. There was a flurry of talk, but no action. But now, finally, it seems action might come. What used to be a closeted minority against the rampant use of drugs has finally become a vocal call for change, and legislators have introduced a bill that would finally close Pandora’s chemical box. The prospect is stirring predictable outrage among the veterinary community, who will see their incomes slashed, and many trainers who might actually have to learn to train rather than medicate. But owners, who might see their monthly bills cut in half and their horses have longer careers, should be popping Champagne. If this passes, I know I will.

Like many anti-medication lobbyists, I have been accused of concentrating on the negatives in the sport. Yes, it’s true that horses snapping legs in front of a worldwide television audience is certainly negative. I’d love to concentrate on the positive. I would love it if Rosie Napravnik would pilot the wonderfully named Pants on Fire to the winner’s circle. I would love to see Master of Hounds be the first European horse to win (even if he is on Lasix – Aidan O’Brien doesn’t have much choice if he wants to compete against all the other drugged horses). I would love to see horses in America getting an average of more than four starts a year. But most of all, I would love to think that when I finally get a horse capable of running in international Group 1 races, I could put the Breeders’ Cup races or the Kentucky Derby on my wish list of races to win. I’ll be rooting for the legislation to pass, so that the United States can join the rest of the world in racing horses, not crowning the most innovative vet.

As if being rained out in Guernsey wasn’t enough, the Guernsey contingent were in for still more frustration with Strictly Rhythm’s race at Longchamp yesterday. I expected her to easily be in the money, and instead we settled for sixth after a horribly run sort-of horse race. Fabien Lefebvre settled our filly just behind the leader, perfectly placed. Then things went wrong. Stephen Pasquier, out front, started backing up the pace and soon they were going no more than a hack canter. We were stuck. Too late to go around (and I really didn’t want her bowling along in front as she did at St. Cloud) and nothing to do bit sit. As soon as they came out of the turn, Pasquier started a full-out sprint. Strictly Rhythm was not made for that sort of race, and while she tried to keep up, she couldn’t do it. We just missed fifth (still dismal but a check anyway) by a nose.

If it’s any consolation, the hot favorite, the Aga Khan’s filly trained by Royer Dupre, finished behind us. And Strictly Rhythm came back wondering what, exactly, happened out there. She was hardly blowing because she really only ran about 800 meters. So we will go to St. Cloud in just over two weeks, still a maiden, to rectify the situation. She is a good filly and will win…soon!

Hi Shinko, meanwhile, confirmed what I suspected after last time: a mile on the turf is just out of his reach. He lead until about 75 meters from the end, but couldn’t hang on. The problem is there aren’t many choices for him. While he did have an entry in the 1,400-meter claimer yesterday, I was worried he might be eliminated and the company was tough, so I thought we’d try the mile one more time. He’ll now go for the 1,400-meter handicap on the 19th, again at Longchamp. I don’t think that track suits him, either, but we have no choice. Really sick of being stuck in these Tierce handicaps, but until I find a claimer, I’m stuck.

It’s been sunny for weeks in Guernsey, as it has been in France. Until today. It started to spit this morning, and by early afternoon the wind had come up and it was pelting down rain. We loaded up George anyway and headed to the course. It was miserable. Tents were practically being blown away, and – more importantly – so were the bookmakers. The first race was supposed to have six runners; in the end there were three, and one got left at the start. Four horses went out for the second race, but only three came back. One injured himself on the bottom turn, apparently seriously. That was enough for the vet to advise the stewards to call it a day, even though he acknowledged to me that the track condition probably played no part in what had happened to the injured horse. The jockeys were furious – they all wanted to ride and didn’t find the track dangerous. In the end, the cancellation stood, so it turns out that George and us had made a long trip for nothing. The most frustrating part is that an hour after racing was called, the sun came out. With the sandy bottom to the track, we could have more than safely run the rest of the races with just an hour’s delay.

We’re all very disappointed, except, of course, for George, who has had a fine couple of days being turned out in a nice green paddock and not doing much of anything. We’ll head back tomorrow and look for a race for him back home.

George heads off to Guernsey tomorrow morning for the race on Monday. Having done this trip once, I’m a lot less stressed out about it this year, even if I can’t drive myself or ride him out on Sunday. Our friend Pascal has graciously agreed to drive us over and do most of the legwork. We’re in a tougher race than last year, but there are only four runners and George seems in good form. I hope he can follow in DerringBay’s footsteps and bring back another cool copper Guernsey milk jug. More to come when we reach the island.

I’ve managed to liberate my right hand for typing now that it’s been almost a week since Shinko chucked me off and ruined my shoulder. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t the chucking off that did my shoulder in. It was my desperation to not let him loose after the fact. But never mind, I wasn’t the first person nor will I be the last to make the mistake of trying to hang onto the reins in the futile attempt to stop a 550-kilogram thoroughbred from running off. One broken bridle and one ripped shoulder later, run off he did, having a merry canter down the pavement and kicking in a few cars on the way, just for fun. He’s fine. I’m still not sure when I’ll be fine.

There is absolutely wonderful medical care available in France, but one has to go on quite a scavenger hunt to find it. If, by chance, you have to be scraped off the pavement by the SAMU, or rescue squad, chances are you’ll be quite well taken care of. If, on the other hand, you have the misfortune of being ambulatory, your odyssey is just beginning. I avoid doctors, as a rule, but since I couldn’t raise my arm or grasp anything after the fall, I thought I’d better have an X-ray. I went to a reputable emergency room, but being that it was the Saturday of Easter weekend, the A-team evidently was not on duty. The wait wasn’t too long. I was X-rayed and put into a “box” to await a doctor. About 45 minutes later, an orderly came in with a sling. A man who I assumed to be the doctor looked over his shoulder and said “there’s no fracture. Probably a ligament. Put the sling on for 15 days and I’ll sign you off of work.” The doctor, if that’s what he was, did not come within five feet of me and certainly wasn’t interested in looking at my shoulder, much less touching it. They shuffled me out with some forms, including a prescription for some anti-inflammatories.  I mentioned that this was actually a work accident, and not a pleasure ride. No one seemed bothered.

Just by chance, I had an appointment this week with a specialist to check out the carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands. Turns out it’s very bad, and yes, I should have surgery on the right one right away. Oh, yes, and by the way, you may have a torn rotator cuff. You should get a scan. You might need to operate on that, too. Right. So I tried to get an appointment for an MRI. I couldn’t find anyone to take me in less than two weeks’ time. By then, I figured, whatever it was would be well on its way to healing, for better or worse. Which made me think: What kind of problem that needs an MRI scan can wait two weeks? An MRI is used to diagnose soft tissue injuries and tumors, both of which strike me as somewhat urgent. Ah, but it’s who you know. We kept calling around, and my doctor knew someone who knew somebody else, and we found a cancellation to get the scan done this week. I was now on to my third doctor for the same injury. He did the scan. “There’s a rupture in the ligament that attaches your shoulder blade to the collar bone,” he said. “It will heal by itself, or you may need to have a pin put in – depends on what kind of life you lead.” I ride racehorses for a living, I said. “Hmm. You probably should have the pin put in. See your orthopedist.” Right. So I have an appointment in a week. I’m looking for a two-for-one deal. Since the shoulder is screwed up, I want the wrist surgery at the same time. What are the chances?

 

After a great week last week, I knew this one would be tougher, and it was. Rendition ran in Maisons-Laffitte on Monday and despite the perfect condition of the track could never find her action. Now we know why: She has a metacarpal fracture, and has rebucked her shins to boot. We’ve always been very worried about her legs; she is not straight in front and she came back from her winter break having popped a total of five splints on three legs. She trained up well, but would hang when asked to accelerate. Still, her legs were cold and tight, if not the prettiest in the world. She never took a lame step and was always eager to work in the morning. The fracture is recent, but not new – she probably ran both her races with it, which tells you how amazingly stoic she is. She’ll go out to Normandy now for about three months, with the usual protocol: Blister her front legs, about three weeks on box rest, then turnout. We’ll see how she mends and hope to give her another try for the fall. Ah, the great deception: She was bought at the breeze-up sales and might turn into a decent four-year-old.

Things went slightly better for Hi Shinko at Longchamp on Tuesday. He ran another Quinte Plus race, again at a mile, but this time with an outside draw and our jockey Fabien back on board. He again went off with the longest odds on the board at 65-1. They started fast and he had to make an effort early from the outside draw (he was 16 in the gate in a field of 18), and then the pace dropped back sharply in the downhill section of the track, which he didn’t appreciate very much. A horse right next to him on the inside broke a back leg and went down; we were lucky to avoid trouble. He accelerated decently in the home stretch, but Shinko is a lazy, fat horse and once he hit the front with a line of other horses, he put the hand brake on a bit before putting in a bit more effort. It was just good enough to finish 7th – the last place with money in a Quinte Plus.  All told, he ran decently, and much, much better than Compiegne. The field was much tougher this time out, too – Longchamp is our premier track and trainers send their best here. I think the mile distance is the very limit for Shinko, and I’m going to bring him back to 1,400 meters next time out, which will probably be a claimer at Longchamp on May 5. Strictly Rhythm has a race that day, too.

George, meanwhile, is packing his bags for Guernsey. His big day is May 2. He seems excited.

George finished a good second at Longchamp yesterday, putting together two decent races for the first time, which is very encouraging. It was a very low-level handicap, but he battled on well just the same in a messy race. He was trapped on the rail and got jostled and cut off two or three times, but sprinted to the finish when the rail opened up to grab second place in a field of 20. A month ago, I couldn’t sell him for 4,000 euros, and he’s earned nearly 7,000 euros since! He will now go to Guernsey, to run in the DerringBay Memorial Handicap (at least that’s what I’ve decided to call it). After that, we’ll reassess where to go with him.

Next up: Rendition gets another try on Monday in Maisons-Laffitte. It will be interesting to see how she handles her second time out.

She’s consistent. Strictly Rhythm finished 3rd of 14 runners at St. Cloud yesterday, again beaten by a filly with Classic ambitions. The race played out completely the opposite of Deauville. Strictly broke a bit fresh and no one would lead, so she was forced to the front and stayed there. Not what you want to see from the stands, but Francois-Xavier Bertras (easier to call him FX, which he seems to answer to) rode a good race, settling back the pace to not take too much out of her and save gas for the finish. She kicked on and hung on well, losing second by a neck. Again, we wouldn’t have beaten the winner, who will show up in Group races later this year. That’s four checks in five races for Strictly Rhythm. She’ll win one soon – most likely when these other Group fillies head off to bigger things.

Tomorrow, George heads to Longchamp. He’s pretty excited about getting to play in the nice park. Let’s see how he does…

Strictly Rhythm will be part of a field of 14 Tuesday at St. Cloud, in a 2,000-meter maiden. My hope is that after this race she no longer qualifies for this sort of thing. This should be an interesting race, because it will tell us whether we can look up or down in terms of where she goes next. The big trainers are bringing out their good three-year-olds with classic ambitions, so the competition is getting tougher, even at this level. If she wins, we can think about the next step up and have a good horse on our hands. If she doesn’t win, we still have a useful horse, but maybe we’ll have to start looking at handicaps and claimers rather than dreaming of black type. In any case, she is in better form than when she was second in Deauville, and she is still not in top form yet. Her coat is coming, but hasn’t come up all the way yet. She has changed for the better physically, but is still finishing growing.

On Thursday, George goes to Longchamp, of all places, for a 2,000-meter handicap. He seems fine, too, but you never know with George. If he can relax, he can run well. He seems to have understood this the past two times out; let’s hope he’s retained the lesson and doesn’t freak out because he’s on grass rather than fibersand.

Our far-flung owners are visiting us this week, too, so it should be fun if nothing else. We get to run two horses at two wonderful tracks and the weather is fine. What more can we ask for?

Hi Shinko lost a race he should have won today because of a bad decision by our jockey. I had to change jockeys because Fabien, our usual rider for Shinko, had another commitment more important (the problem of being a small yard is that I’m often low on the priority list). So I used Greg Benoist, a jockey I’ve had good results with in the past and who I do like. But today, he gave me one of the worst rides ever. The way to ride Shinko is to let him start how he pleases (which will usually be fast) then ease him into a position and keep it. If another horse passes him, he’ll stop. Shinko jumped out fast today and Greg didn’t want to take the lead, which was the right instinct, but he then hooked him back into sixth or seventh position, which was the wrong instinct. He fought with the horse for the first 200 meters or so, and after that Shinko found himself trapped inside with nowhere to go, so he went nowhere. Coming out of the turn we were in horrible traffic trouble, and even if Shinko did decide to participate, he couldn’t have gotten anywhere. So Greg did the sensible thing and dropped his hands and let him gallop out. Best that can be said is that maybe our handicap will go down a kilo.

Shinko came back hardly having broken a sweat, and was kicking down the walls and looking for food when he got home. It was all just a simple piece of gate training for him – he didn’t do much more and probably didn’t lose 500 grams. I’d like to race him back as quickly as possible, but we may have to wait a couple of weeks. I keep scouring the condition book, looking for something I may have missed. What a frustrating day. I’m usually more guarded in my optimism about my horses’ chances, but today I couldn’t see any reason we shouldn’t have been in the first five home.