Category: Updates from the yard

I’m in my last week down here, and things have sort of taken on an end-of-days feel. Fiona and the Moore horses went back today; four of the five horses next to me leave tomorrow night, as does Shinko, who runs the Tierce tomorrow and then goes home. I’m here through the bitter end. In addition to Shinko tomorrow, I’ve got Belle again on Saturday, then Turfani and Strictly Rhythm in Marseille on Monday. I’ll head home from there, leaving when they leave.

Belle ran yesterday and did OK, all things considered. She bowled along out front in her blinkers and lost steam in the last 100 meters. I thought she might hang in there for a place, but she finished eighth. She’ll have another shot on Saturday. The distance is better, at 2,150 meters, but it’s on the turf, which is sure to be either sticky or heavy, neither of which will help us. But we’ve already decided to sell her on, so this is sort of a last-chance effort.

Shinko, on the other hand, would have had a real chance tomorrow until I saw his draw: 18 on the far outside. I suppose 1 on the cord would have been worse, but this is not doing us any favors. No one drawn wider than 12 has won on this mile course. No one in the press gives us a ghost of a chance, which is fine by me – if I win, I like the odds to be long. Keeps the pressure off and my faithful “turfistes” happy.

Falling off was bad enough. Having my fate announced to every ear on the track over the loudspeaker was worse. Spidello, with me up, and Shinko were just finishing up a hack around the main track when Fabien warned me that a canter was coming on the inside. I moved out of the way, but Spidello – who was very, very fresh – decided he definitely was going along with fast horses. I said no. He said yes. I said no, and he said but yes, I am, and he got his nose down between his knees and launched into a series of bucks that finally sent me flying after about the third. He was due to have a canter yesterday, but we decided against it because of the horrible track condition (which we later ended up racing on – and shouldn’t of). Spidello races in the Tierce on Saturday, so he decided he needed that final workout after all. The track was still quite deep, so I didn’t get hurt, with the exception of pulling my shoulder a bit trying to hang onto the horse – unsuccessfully. So as I watched the backside of my next Tierce horse galloping full tilt down the backstretch thinking “oh, f*ck,” the sirens went off, the barriers went down, and the track announcer fired up the loudspeaker: “Loose horse! loose horse!” He then proceeded to give a play-by-play: “The loose horse is now galloping up the home stretch. I repeat: The loose horse is now galloping up the home stretch.” I stayed where I was, knowing Spidello would come back around, which he did (and that was confirmed by the announcer). But we were unable to stop him, and he took off for a second lap (again, with play-by-play). He finally pulled up at the main track entrance (of course), where the ground crew picked him up. “The loose horse has been caught. I repeat: The loose horse has been caught.” Thanks for that. So I cut across the infield to go get him, enduring all of the “you all right?” inquiries.

By the time I got back on, trotted him out on the main track and headed home, 20 people must have commented, including a few trotter drivers. Shinko, meanwhile, gave Fabien quite a circus once he realized he was on his own. Fabien stayed in the saddle, but it was touch and go for a bit. Spidello is no worse for wear, and he probably needed the work, so it all ended well. I’m sure there will be quite a few more remarks made at the cantine tonight. So far, everyone I know has come off at least once, with the exception of Big Kate and Fabien. Considering the circumstances, it would have been a minor miracle if I hadn’t fallen off at some point down here. Lucky the only thing hurt was my pride.

Mudville was the operative word today. It has been raining here for 48 hours now, and when it rains here, it pours. The track here is essentially a bowl at the bottom of the Alps, and there is no drainage. All morning, jockeys were saying racing would be canceled. I rode out first lot. Spidello has quite light action; while there was water standing on the track, he seemed to skim over it. But then I took Belle out for second lot. She is a heavy horse, and on her, I sensed we were finding the bottom of the track (that said, she seemed to enjoy it, which is more than I could say for Spidello). Strictly Rhythm and Turfani were really my two best chances of this meeting, and it was all being scuppered in the rain. The tractors were out and working the track from 11, but it wasn’t enough. The piste was completely waterlogged, and I would have done better to declare non-runner for the two of them.

In the end, Strictly finished sixth in a race she could have won, and Turfani finished eighth. We also could have done without the starting gate problems. Strictly was No. 1 in the gate, which would mean, in theory, that she would be loaded first. But she wasn’t having it, and instead of loading another horse first, the gate crew insisted, using a blindfold. She found herself alone, panicked and broke out the front leaving Fabien behind. But being a sensible horse, she didn’t run off, and he was able to catch her. By that time I had run down to the gate and told the crew to load another horse first. They hesitated, then finally did it. After that, Strictly loaded fine, and waited a good long time for everyone else to get in. Still, it would have been best to avoid the situation in the first place. I was called in by the stewards later (not a surprise, really), and I said everything would be fine as long as there was another horse first. They agreed, and it was no further trouble.

I’m not sure where either horse is going next, but there are races for the two of them in Marseiile on Feb. 28. It all depends on how they are tomorrow. It is supposed to stop raining tomorrow night, and the sun will return. And then everything will change, again.

Strictly Rhythm runs the first tomorrow, as Ian points out, Post 1, No. 1 in Race No. 1. That can only mean one thing, we hope. It’s a field of eight; two should not be a factor, three finished ahead of her last time out, but she has made tremendous progress since. The most dangerous should be, as usual, the Rouget, a filly who debuted 2eme here at the end of January.

Turfani, meanwhile, runs in the 7th. Poor mare can’t catch a break – she ended up in the first half of her handicap at bottom weight, meaning the competition is tougher and Fabien is too heavy to ride. We have Flavien Prat on board, who is OK, but I’d have preferred Fabien. But as our numerologist Ian points out, we have Post 7 in the 7th race and she’s No. 14, or 2×7.

Both horses seem in good form, especially Strictly. I know it’s too much to hope, but it would be really, really nice to win two…

It’s been a busy weekend, if not a terribly productive one race-wise. Blessing Belle actually ran quite a bit better than her last time out (well, it would have been hard to run worse), and Thulliez is up for giving her another shot. She’ll go back on Monday in a 2,400-meter handicap on the fibersand. She hasn’t gotten a chance to run on that surface yet because both of her races were on the turf, and I do think she might do something there. She’ll keep the blinkers, which seemed to help.

Shinko ran midfield on Sunday, but it wasn’t really his fault – it was an amateur rider race and I had no expectations going into it. The point was to get our favorite “cavaliere,” Florence, back into racing after a four-year absence. Florence is a wonderful person and she has been galloping my horses for me in Maisons-Laffitte while I’ve been in Cagnes. She was forced to give up her amateur license because of an illness, and the race Sunday was a victory for her in any case, because it marked the end of a long battle back. She’ll do better next time out, and Shinko got a workout under his belt in preparation for another crack at a Tierce handicap on the 23rd.

I, meanwhile, have fallen into the routine of morning work, quick lunch, racing, night stable, cantine bar. It’s the fault of the English contingent, really, that last bit. They all congregate in the bar after night stable, and even Bertrand, Spidello’s owner, has hooked into the routine. It’s a good way to discuss the day’s events, and you never know who might turn up. Tonight, I got a chance to lift a glass with the owner of Makfi. Turns out his uncle, who was also there, has won a bit of money on my horses over the past couple of years, which earned me a complimentary round of drinks. At home, meanwhile, I’ve fallen into the routine of meals consisting of either cheese and crackers or pasta, because I only have a gas burner to cook with and I’m not ambitious enough to get very creative. I’ve had a steady string of visitors off and on, which has thwarted any long-term, and maybe healthier, grocery shopping. But horse boot camp is almost over, and in two weeks I will go back to my real life – and a healthier diet – in Maisons-Laffitte.

Racing today in Cagnes didn’t involve me, but my English stable-mates had plenty of runners so I helped saddle and run errands for them. They finished with a winner and two places, and the winner was claimed, so everybody was happy. My own horses are idling awaiting their weekend entries. Belle worked yesterday with Spidello, but she really called it in and I’m not very optimistic about her chances on Saturday. Physically, she is great – looking shiny and well, veins popping and fit to go. Mentally, she just doesn’t want to know. She will have blinkers this time in the hopes this might wake her up (or make her angry enough to run faster). Theirry Thulliez said he was happy enough to give her another crack, so let’s hope he can find the button this time. Hold your bets, though.

Shinko has been doing very little because he only gets a week between races. That said, he certainly doesn’t seem tired. Because the four other horses all had work to do yesterday, he was the odd man out and that left me to ride him on my own. This is a bad idea for a few reasons, but the biggest one is that Shinko is really a coward and doesn’t like to go anywhere without a buddy, certainly not into a situation that involves dodging trotters. So we did it American style. I walked him in hand to warm him up, then when I hopped on, Bertrand led us down to the track, let go at just the right moment and I hacked him all around the outside (not without a few arguments over direction). I pulled up where we started, turned up the off ramp and then jumped off. Just in time, too, because a packet of sulkies came down the track behind us and Shinko launched into a bucking bronc routine that would have made any rodeo proud. I managed to get him home, unsaddle him and walk to cool out. He was a little confused over the routine, but he got to stretch his legs and nobody got hurt.

Turfani and Strictly Rhythm worked together and both went very well. I rode Turfani and had all I could do to keep her speed down to a reasonable work. When Strictly Rhythm came upsides at the head of the stretch, we flew home, and that’s with Turfani carrying at least 15 kilos more than Strictly. They both seemed well-primed for their entries next week.

Hi Shinko won his mile handicap yesterday down here in Cagnes, giving us our first win of the year. He seemed like he had picked up a bit since his last race, and that seemed to be true. We also learned a little bit more about him, too. He likes to run with the leaders, but once he is passed, he quickly gives up. While he has a very combative nature, he’s also very lazy, so once he decides the game is up, he downs his tools pretty quickly. He got a perfect trip this time, with his old nemesis, All Ways to Rome, setting a very strong pace. But this time, rather than challenge it, Fabien settled him just off the pace and kept him there until the home stretch, when he moved him out to take the lead. He got a little lazy once he got a head in front, but Fabien kept him properly motivated to hang on and win by a head.

We nearly lost it at the head of the stretch, because when Fabien moved to shorten the reins, he got completely tangled up in Shinko’s thick and completely out of control mane. At home, Agata braids all of our runners, but I am useless at it. I tried to pull his mane yesterday morning, but he wouldn’t have it, even with the help of two other people and a twitch. None of us could believe Shinko wasn’t still a colt, because he was certainly acting like one. I’ll have to come up with some solution for next time; if he insists on being difficult I’m not above just hogging it all off with a clipper.

While I’m thrilled to win, I’m less thrilled with the two kilos he has picked up on his already-too-high handicap mark. All being well, he’ll run a condition race for amateur riders next week, and then we’ll have to start looking for claimers because I doubt he can win again off that mark.

I’ve got no more runners until next weekend, when Blessing Belle gives it another crack and Shinko comes back. Belle’s entry was touch-and-go, because she managed to get her leg tangled up in a hay net a few days ago and I wasn’t sure how much damage she had done. Belle specializes in hurting herself, but she also seems to be made of steel, because the leg now seems fine and no structural damage was done. Needless to say, I’ve given up on the idea of hay nets. Turfani and Strictly Rhythm seem to be doing well, too; both of them have entries on Feb. 16. I’m the only one dragging, at the moment. I seem to have picked up whatever cold/flu bug is going around, and I’m planning on spending what’s left of my Sunday in bed!

Strictly Rhythm finished 5th in her maiden race yesterday, just missing fourth by a neck in a race that was really 200 meters too long for her. But she ran very well and will progress from this. She was probably missing a bit of fitness after not having run since Oct. 1 and having to put up with the horrible winter in Maisons-Laffitte. She also was set back about a month when she colicked in December. She seems in great form now, and will run the same kind of race on Feb. 16 if all goes well. I’d prefer a race of 1,800 meters, but there is nothing down here at that distance – it’s either 1,500 or 2,000, so we’ll stick with 2,000. In any case, she was calling for food and cleaning up everything today, and her legs seem in good shape so we’ll move forward.

Turfani, meanwhile, was eliminated from her race Wednesday and I’m absolutely gutted by that, because she has shipped down and seems in very good form. It was not a tough lot and she would have had a chance, but missed the cut. Now there is nothing for her until Feb. 16, and I’m worried she might be over the top by then. I keep wanting to retire her, but damn, she’s got to run a race or two first. I’ve had horrible luck finding races for her – she needs 2,000 meters on the fibersand and there just aren’t many of those around (unless you’re a three-year-old).

Hi Shinko will go back out on Saturday in another handicap. He seems in good form, but he always does. It’s time for him to show us something solid now, but we are still too high in the weights. The handicappers graciously took off 500 grams after his 9th place in the Tierce. Thanks, guys. Couldn’t see your way to come down a whole kilo?

In any case, I’m happier here than I would be in Maisons-Laffitte. It was sunny and 14 degrees here this afternoon, and back home the tracks were frozen and the temperature minus 4. Luckily, Agatha only has three horses to deal with, but it still is miserable in that kind of weather. She has been doing a fabulous job with the horses left behind while I’ve been away, so I’m hoping a little sunshine from down here might find it’s way home soon!

Strictly Rhythm runs in the first tomorrow, post time 12:30. It’s going to be a quick and busy morning; Belle will go out first lot with Turfani, who arrived today. Her accommodations were secured with a bottle of Jack Daniels and the promise that she wouldn’t stay long. Now that she’s here, she’s staying – and the box guy seems to know that, even though he’s been kvetching about it all morning. Second lot will see Shinko work on the main track with Spidello, who runs Wednesday. I wouldn’t work a horse so close to the race, but I’m only looking after him for another trainer, and if she wants him worked, we work. He seems to be doing OK, really, so let’s see what happens. He’ll be in the same race as Turfani, so I do have a vested interest. I’d love to see them both in the money. Our neighbors in the yard, the English trainers Moore and Hollinshead, both have runners tomorrow, too, and we’re all hoping we have reason to celebrate tomorrow night. The Moore string already has some results; Hollinshead and I have come up empty so far. We both hope our luck is about to change.

Prof has become a fixture around our transplanted yard. He’s been coming with me everywhere since the neighbors complained that he was howling when I left him home. Turns out it was only one neighbor, and several other people in the building have since told me he’s causing no trouble at all. He cries for the first five minutes after I leave, then he’s fine. That said, when a basset hound cries, I’m sure most of the building knows about it. Anyway, I’ve decided to take him back home to Maisons-Laffitte tomorrow, when I have to come to Paris to speak at the American Chamber of Commerce. I was going to fly back, but instead bought us both a train ticket – his cost nearly as much as mine. I will miss not having him here, even though the trip from the apartment to the track entrance is frustratingly slow. Prof is 13 and hasn’t spent very much of his life on a leash, so when he gets hooked up, he puts on the brakes. Once he’s loose in the stabling area, though, he can really move. He likes to visit the trotters in their paddocks, and once we get to our area, he waddles around and visits everyone before taking a nap in the hay. He waits patiently in the saddle room while I ride out, and he sits in front of each box as I muck it out in the morning.

George also went back to Maisons-Laffitte, to make room for Strictly Rhythm, who arrives tomorrow morning. He seems happy to be home, I’m told, and actually was asking for food, which is something he surely didn’t do down here. I’m still trying to get a box for Turfani. Every day I go see the guy who is in charge of the boxes. Every day he tells me to go away and come back tomorrow, just like the guard in the Wizard of Oz. Yesterday, he suggested he was thirsty, and today he insisted I have a shot of slivovitz with him. I did, and suggested that perhaps a decent Kentucky bourbon might be better. He agreed. I believe that if I can produce a bottle of Maker’s Mark tomorrow, I just might get that spare box. I am learning to do business the Marseille way.