Sea-ing The Stars and Some Juvenile Hopefuls (Hot Dixie Chick and Dublin!)

So hard to pull myself out of the cool sheets this morning. Even though autumn doesn't officially begin for a few weeks, there's a kind of post-Labor Day malaise hanging over this Tuesday morning. I think part of it is that I'm still kind of spinning from my weekend in Saratoga Springs...what an idyllic place to celebrate the end of summer.

Yesterday I'd written about the possibility of Mine That Bird's connections winning a kind of double crown (of the Kentucky Derby and All-American Futurity), which, in the end was not meant to be. I watched the race on television and it was an exciting one, won by Running Brook Gal, but I'm going to have to say that I much prefer thoroughbred racing to quarter-horse racing. Both are beautiful animals and incredible athletes, don't get me wrong, but the quarter-horse races are just too short. (I know, they're quarter-horses...that's the point.) It just doesn't allow for as much of the strategizing or gamesmanship of thoroughbred racing, in my opinion, at least. There's no place for a late closer, or a stretch running wonder. Those quarter-horses are the equine equivalent of Usain Bolt--they are speed demons!!

All fun to watch, in any event...I'd never even try to handicap a quarter-horse race, but their power and strength is admirable and beautiful.

Incredibly, there were some really well-contested races over the weekend that didn't feature Rachel Alexandra! And some of them were on the other coast, even! (That never-ending battle between Oriental and Occidental goes on!) I kid, of course. Though I must say that watching the Pennsylvania Derby (Gr II), won pretty handily by Gone Astray, I wondered if Rachel's camp had ever really seriously considered running her there. It just seemed a much smaller and certainly less prestigious race than The Woodward (G I).

Einstein, one of my other favorite horses, ran a strong race in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar but was defeated by long shot (24-1) Richard's Kid. Rail Trip ran valiantly in between them, but it was a real battle. I'm always going to be cheering on Einstein, but was very impressed with the off-pace run of Richard's Kid and Mike Smith's ride as well.

Two juveniles that I'll be keenly interested in over the coming months are Dublin (out of the athletic Afleet Alex) who won the Grade I Hopeful Stakes on Monday at Saratoga, and Hot Dixie Chick who won the Spinaway (also Grade I) Stakes there on Sunday. She's a two-year-old stable mate to Rachel Alexandra and she's won her last three races convincingly. I was amused to read that she's a very laid back youngster, because she certainly seems to be all business on the track. It seems wrong to be thinking about next spring already, but with so many talented two-year-olds, it's fun to keep an eye out and start to settle in on some favorites.

Now for a pipe-dream: I'd love to watch Sea The Stars race over here. He won the Irish Champion Stakes on Sunday--in convincing fashion--and has cut quite a swathe through European turf racing this year. As a three year old, Sea The Stars now has won five straight group I races, and has improved his overall record to seven victories from eight starts. Pretty impressive. While he seems pointed toward the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) at Longchamp in October, his trainers have not ruled out a trip to Santa Anita this fall. One of the writers or commenters on a blog weighed in that he would be a great stallion to match up with Rachel. With his love of the turf and hers of the dirt, the possibilities could be endless.

Something new to me is blog-talk-radio. It's an intriguing thing and while it's maybe not new to you all, I'm enjoying investigating it. If you haven't heard enough about Rachel and Sea The Stars or weighed in on Calvin Borel's ride on Saturday, then tune in to ABR blogtalkradio tomorrow, where they will be discussing all that and more.

And on a final note, congratulations to Linda Rice for her historic achievement--winning the training title at Saratoga and marking the first time in the 145 years of racing that a woman has taken that title. She's in pretty good company this summer with a large cast of talented equine females. You go, girls!!

A Double Eagle Double?

I'll fully admit that Mine That Bird never really captured my imagination, despite his being ridden in the Derby by one of my favorite jockeys, Calvin Borel. Nothing against the little guy, he's clearly got a huge heart and lots of gumption, but he just never caught my eye. None of the "Bird" horses have, and if I'm totally honest it probably has to do with Birdstone's upset of Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Nothing like having some sort of weird sire-grudge, is there?

At any rate, I am intrigued by the possibility of MTB's connections (Mark Allen's Double Eagle Ranch) winning both the Kentucky Derby (with Mine That Bird) and the All-American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs with their quarter horse, Winners Cartel. It's a very cool thought, winning the big thoroughbred title with a long shot AND taking the quarter horse title with another real contender.

And perhaps the best part of the races at the All-American today is that Mine That Bird will be leading the post-parade, so he'll get to bask in the well earned glow of love from his home crowd. It's a very nice thing that Mark Allen and Chip Woolley are doing to let the hometown fans get a glimpse of the brown gelding who has brought them so much joy. All horses need that victory lap where they can be appreciated and cheered for. And getting him to Ruidoso was no small task...the trip from Saratoga Springs started off with a van ride to Newark, then "hopping" a flight from Newark to El Paso, and a further van trip to Ruidoso.

Good luck to Winners Cartel and all the Mine That Bird connections on winning a pretty major DOUBLE!

Indulgences (not of the Papal kind)

I'm going to beg indulgence right from the start here as my head seems all over today and I suspect today's post will reflect that. At any rate, thank you in advance for being a kind reader and following my scattered thoughts.

I need to first kvetch a bit about the weather here in New England. With apologies to the many places out there who have it worse, this has not been a pleasant June here on the East Coast. RAIN. CLOUDS. And now, the typical summer pattern of warmish, humid days with destructive thunderstorms about the time everyone is trying to get home from work. *sigh* Please, oh powerful weathergods, give all of us, the beach-loving throngs, a sunny little break, okay?

I've not really bothered to comment on Michael Jackson's passing as it really doesn't interest me very much. I'm very sorry for his family and children, but that's where my interest ends. However, I read a very clever piece by BHL on Huffington Post today. Now I don't often agree with Monsieur Levy , but I love to read his work because he's an interesting writer (even in translation) and in person he is literally mesmerizing. (All that gallic charm, that je ne sais quois) His comment on Mr. Jackson's exit from this world stands out as unique among all the talking heads and pundits and is, therefore, worth reading.

And in other news...Calvin Borel is apparently no longer the jockey for Mine That Bird. This was all over the tweets of the horse folks this morning when it was announced. Since I'm just an interested fan and don't have to feign objectivity, I can ponder this development a little. As I've said, not a big MTB fan...BIG Calvin Borel fan. However, in this case, I wonder if Calvin is being 'done wrong' by his agents. I was amazed (and disappointed, frankly) when Calvin didn't have other mounts on Belmont Stakes day...it didn't make any sense. He wasn't familiar with the track and Belmont is NOT like other tracks. MTB surely wasn't the freshest of the competitors that day, but I think he also had a bit of a bum ride when Calvin let him make his move too early--and he did that (in my opinion) because he was not aware of how big and wide those Belmont turns are. At any rate, I don't know who made that crucial choice not ride any of the earlier races that day, Calvin Borel or his agent. Maybe nothing was on offer that day and it wasn't an option, I don't know.

Fast forward to Rachel Alexandra at Belmont and Borel had two other mounts that day, I think. And he and Rachel rode to absolute triumph. He knew (a) how much horse he had and (b) when to pull the trigger. He was clearly confident and had a much better sense of the track than he had back on June 6.

So how does all this factor in to the MTB business? Apparently there's an issue with what mount he will be taking or considering for the West Virginia Derby which is MTB's next big start. Now obviously I don't know if this is Calvin Borel or his agent, but as the MTB connections stated, they need someone willing to commit to their horse for the rest of 2009. And who could blame them? Borel is certainly committed to Rachel Alexandra and that's not to be questioned, but I just have to wonder if he's being trotted down a garden path by his handlers. It just appears that there have been some less than optimal decisions made by Calvin Borel or his people and I hope it doesn't cost him great mounts in the future. I love watching him ride and I'd hate to see less of that big grin of his riding into the winner's circle.

So before the next round of thunderstorms intrudes on my electricity and dsl line, I'll publish this and be off. Stay tuned for some book reviews in the coming weeks (books old and new, equine and not) as well as what I hope will be informative updates on therapeutic riding and the fundraising efforts to bring back the Boston Mounted Unit.