I didn't watch the Kentucky Derby, and I'll probably miss the Preakness, too. But I grew up reading Walter Farley, appreciate the prose of Cormac McCarthy, lived briefly with cousins-in-law who work horse tracks in California, and still think Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit ranks as one of the best nonfiction books ever.
So it was a joy to here trainer Bob Baffert describing a horse from another stable in this Preakness preview:
Like everyone else, Baffert thinks Rachel Alexandra is the horse to beat.
"She's extraordinary," he said. "She's very dangerous in here. She has a lot of speed, a beautiful way of moving, she's fluid, she just skips over the ground, a great athlete.
"What is really scary is that [Kentucky Derby winner] Calvin Borel says she's the best horse he has ever ridden and that he's never turned her loose. I just hope Calvin's got a short memory. If he's right, then we're all in trouble."
POSTSCRIPT: I got to see the race, after all (pics from Fox Sports here; pic with this post was taken by Lloyd Fox of The Baltimore Sun).
Way to go, Rachel Alexandra! And Borel sure knows horses! Former jockey and current NBC reporter Donna Brothers made me laugh when she said of the winning filly right before the race that "I like her because she runs like a girl."
Bill Dwye wrote a nice profile on Borel, and the New York Post published a fine race recap. I also like the Baltimore Sun's story because that paper's Sandra McKee let Borel talk about his race strategy.
UPDATE, September 9: Neither horse nor rider is a flash in the pan.
0 comments:
Post a Comment