Hassle

[juliab]

Gosh - he's entered in a big stakes race on August 6th! I hope he comes out of this okay.

Then I read my next VS announcement and I see that Winnabull is entered in the same race! That would be a very nice wedding present for you Jen, if we wins

[jenarby]

Yep, that's the same race we ran 3rd in last year with Hassle. I'm really fearful for him. I hope he runs smart (he usually does) and does not hurt himself.
Noone will beat "Outcashem" though. That horse is way too good! He's won 9 out of his last 10 starts if I remember correctly.

[juliab]

Hmm - maybe I'll try an exacta with Outcashem and Winnabull. I'm setting myself a reminder cause I don't want to miss this race

[jenarby]

Julia, did you watch? The results charts made the race seem way different than what actually happened.
The #5 horse barreled into the #4 horse making the #4 check really hard. The ride stood up in the irons and I was worried he might come off but he didn't.
Then the #7 cut across hitting the #3 horse who in turn slammed into us on his inside....and stepped all over Bull cutting his legs up. He knocked us into the #1 horse and we ended up getting squeezed out pretty hard. At that point we lost our momentum and were not able to catch back up. Bull broke right on top, right in front and stuck with it. I really think if all this bumping and checking didn't happen we would have been right up there. The jockey was pretty confident that had we been on the outside (and out of danger) we would have been in the top 3 fairly easily. Which is really nice to hear considering Bull is really a bottom level claimer. They took forever reviewing the tape of the race but decided not to DQ anyone.

[juliab]

Darn it. I set myself all sorts of reminders and still managed to miss the race. I was out bush hogging in the evening when it was cooler and forgot everything. At least I didn't get a bet down because I would have lost. Is Bull okay? Sounds like a very rough race! Poor Hassle came last I hope you can get him back and retire him - he is such a sweetie. I don't think Bull is really a bottom level claimer - he's too tenacious for that! He's the one who is not too nice to handle, right? Sometimes I think they need a bit of a 'tude to be good runners Probably why Indy didn't do that well - he's too nice!

[camille]

Hi guys. Jenarby, I didn't know that Winabull was your horse. My hubby and I never miss Derby Day at Mountaineer, and I ALWAYS put money on the local horses. What a mess that race was...3 jockey objections! Hope everyone is okay. I'll cheer for you guys next time I'm down there.

-Camille

[jenarby]

Julia, that would be the one. He threw himself against the wall in the paddock while they were saddling him. He's pretty rank.
He seems okay now, just beat up a bit.

Camille, Were you near the paddock for our race? If so, I was the one who hosed him off in the paddock and was carrying the flysheet. My fiance was the one walking him.

The race really was a mess. But not as bad as the last race. Our own Jessi P had a horse in the last race. He broke his hind leg and had to be put down. THAT was a mess!

[camille]

Jenarby, I was near the paddock before every race, but didn't notice you guys in particular. I'll keep my eyes open for you next time we're down there, though, now that I know your stable name from the program (I hope I don't sound like a stalker...).

What a shame about that last race, we were there for that, too. I didn't actually know the horse had to be put down until I read this. How sad. I also didn't know the owner was an ex-racer member. I saw in the race program that she was not only the owner, but had foaled this horse as well. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. I love the sport, and always thought I might have one or two backyard racehorses as a hobby someday, but when I see things like that, I just don't think I have the guts for it...

Hope Winabull heals up,

-Camille