It's Go Time

I thought for awhile about the proper analogy to use for this entry when describing the current state of affairs with Mo. A final inning baseball comparison? No, too overdone. A last second drive in football? Nah, more of the same. Then I realized something else: hopefully this isn’t any kind of ‘last hope’ at all, but the beginning of a second career. So how about this one:

“I don’t know if it will make any difference…but I figured it was time for me to start playing ball again.”

Can you name that fictional character and movie? It was none other than Jimmy Chitwood in one of the greatest underdog stores ever told in Hoosiers. Now why would I use a basketball movie as an analogy for In Over My Head. First, I had a hard time finding usable quotes from Seabiscuit (maybe because I don’t speak horse). Second, I love basketball and lastly, In Over My Head has always been an underdog story. If he comes back, his story will only be that much better. And if you are a fan of Hoosiers, you will remember that it was after Jimmy came back to the team that Hickory High went on that incredible run that ended with a state title. Now that is an arc of success we would love to see Mo follow.

So you have to be wondering, what’s new with Mo? I really haven’t wrote too much about him and the reason is he really kind of flattened out over the last few weeks. He needed some additional treatment; he couldn’t train at all and has only been swimming. Showtime Shark has stolen the spotlight of the blog that was made for Mo in the first place, but that was really out of necessity. Things are about to change.

As of yesterday, we have been more or less green lighted by our vets to lace up the sneakers and get going. We have been patient, but have been told additional patience will do no more good for him. His leg is as good as it is going to get. It’s time to roll. At this point one of two things will happen: we will be racing in probably four weeks or we will be quitting with him for good. The days of ‘let’s just give him another few weeks off’ are over.

This is kind of a nervewrecking place to be. The basketball analogy comes back into play when looking at the next few weeks. We are entering our conference post season tourney and the only way we have to make it to the Big Dance is to win em all. How do we ‘win’ you might ask? Well, train well this week, and next week, then qualify once or twice, then 2 races, all in Chicago. If he can survive that gauntlet, he will make the Big Dance, which in our case is sending him to John out east at Pocono Downs to race for bigger purses once again. If we come out of any of those weeks and his leg shows major signs of injury again, we’re done. It is a sad thought, but it is as simple as that.

On the eve of Seanie’s third career start, a start he could possibly win, our attention is again back on our former champion who needs a little good fortune so he can get back to doing what he loves: Getting in behind that gate, besting his competition using his superior speed and guts and crossing that finish line first. He is one hell of a good looking horse and one that deserves a few more trips to the winners circle to get his picture taken. Cross your fingers Mo fans, those trips may not be too far away.