Street Sense wins the Derby
Last Wednesday over on the Working Stiffs blog, I talked about the Kentucky Derby and I stated there that I liked Tiago. Well, I still like him. He didn’t win, of course. I had written that post before I had a list of the entrants and past performances to study.
Hanging out at Mountaineer has at least taught me to read the racing form. I studied the performance records of all twenty entrants (is that really a horse race or more a stampede?) and narrowed my picks down to five. Not including Tiago. Like Curlin, he had only raced three times and I had a hard time believing that a colt with that little experience could deal with the all the hoopla and spectacle of Derby Day at Churchill Downs. But I still like him.
Ten minutes before the race, I announced to my husband my one pick. I don’t put any real money on horse races any more. But I like to place “virtual” bets. Of the five I’d selected, I decided to place my virtual money on the one with the best post position.
Street Sense.
I also liked his trainer, Carl Nafzger. Remember that scene of Nafzger narrating the 1990 Kentucky Derby stretch run to the ninety-year old owner of Unbridled? This is a man I think I would like were I ever to meet him.
So I picked Street Sense to win. But I also put a few virtual bucks on Tiago. I like him.
During the race, at one point the announcer proclaimed that Street Sense was in nineteenth place. Of twenty horses. I said to my hubby, “It figures. I’ve jinxed him.”
Then came that stretch run. Oh. My. God. What a run it was.
Street Sense won!
Tiago didn’t. But I still like him.
Not only do I think I’d like Carl Nafzger if I were to meet him, I think I’d really like Calvin Borel, the winning jockey. I have never seen a more genuine display of over-the-top joy in my life. Could anyone watch that guy jumping up and down while still mounted on the horse and not smile?
I understand that Nafzger will announce officially today whether Street Sense will run in the Preakness in two weeks. I hope he does. And I hope he wins. I want to see another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. And I want to see Calvin whooping it up again.
Hanging out at Mountaineer has at least taught me to read the racing form. I studied the performance records of all twenty entrants (is that really a horse race or more a stampede?) and narrowed my picks down to five. Not including Tiago. Like Curlin, he had only raced three times and I had a hard time believing that a colt with that little experience could deal with the all the hoopla and spectacle of Derby Day at Churchill Downs. But I still like him.
Ten minutes before the race, I announced to my husband my one pick. I don’t put any real money on horse races any more. But I like to place “virtual” bets. Of the five I’d selected, I decided to place my virtual money on the one with the best post position.
Street Sense.
I also liked his trainer, Carl Nafzger. Remember that scene of Nafzger narrating the 1990 Kentucky Derby stretch run to the ninety-year old owner of Unbridled? This is a man I think I would like were I ever to meet him.
So I picked Street Sense to win. But I also put a few virtual bucks on Tiago. I like him.
During the race, at one point the announcer proclaimed that Street Sense was in nineteenth place. Of twenty horses. I said to my hubby, “It figures. I’ve jinxed him.”
Then came that stretch run. Oh. My. God. What a run it was.
Street Sense won!
Tiago didn’t. But I still like him.
Not only do I think I’d like Carl Nafzger if I were to meet him, I think I’d really like Calvin Borel, the winning jockey. I have never seen a more genuine display of over-the-top joy in my life. Could anyone watch that guy jumping up and down while still mounted on the horse and not smile?
I understand that Nafzger will announce officially today whether Street Sense will run in the Preakness in two weeks. I hope he does. And I hope he wins. I want to see another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. And I want to see Calvin whooping it up again.
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