Your attitude toward owing a race horse can kind of be equated to a balloon. Every time your horse (or horses) does well, it is like a giant breath went into the balloon. As more and more air goes in, the balloon gets bigger, but also becomes more fragile. After In Over My Head went win, win, second in Springfield, a Balmoral overnight and Duquoin, his particular balloon was billowing with hot air. Then came the dreaded needle. The same needle that popped our balloon back on July 16th when Mo make a break and took last out in Pennsylvania came and attacked us again on September 19th. He had elevated himself to the status of an ‘Open’ horse. As the last entry had talked about, he faced a big time group that included Annieswesterncard. The fact of the matter was, however, In Over My Head was the best horse in the race that night. I have no doubt about it. Unfortunately, as he entered the final turn (there are 4 turns at Maywood since it is a half mile track), the horses all got bunched up. The one he was following started to back into him just a bit. Mo’s nose was nearly touching the helmet of the driver in front of him. He was loaded with pace and ready to win the thing in the stretch when…he made another break. We still don’t know exactly why. Maybe it was just too jammed up, maybe he got hit in the head with an errant whip, but it really doesn’t matter. He finished last, while Danny and I stood next to the track and got a chance to see it live. The night ended with a resounding POP! I didn’t want to think about racing for a few days. It was a real long trip back to Madison that night.
Luckily for us, another giant breath of fresh air was breathed back into our lives as owners last Saturday. Mo needed one more tightener before heading out to his next stakes event to be raced at the Meadows (Pittsburgh) on October 6th. We entered him at Balmoral and he ended up facing a very tough field that included many of the best older horses in Chicago. We knew this would be a tough test and we also had the added fear of what if: what if he makes another break. Not a fun thought. At least we drew well (post position #3) and had one of our regular drivers (Marcus Miller) at the reigns. We were hoping for a solid race…maybe in the top 3. Generally, we just wanted to make sure he was sharp and ready to ship out east.
The race started in somewhat a surprising fashion. We kind of thought Marcus would take Mo to the front, but instead he dropped him back to 6th. You always have a plan going into a race, but in the end, it is the driver that has to make the decision. They have to read their competition. Read how the horse feels that night. It is a lot of split second decision making and Marcus felt that dropping back was the best move. Coming to the half, he moved In Over My Head off the rail and expected one of the horses in front of him to do the same so he could follow another horse. After waiting for a couple of seconds, it never happened, so instead of being the follower, Marcus and Mo got to be the leader. It is definitely a tougher trip, but Marcus did a good job bringing Mo up toward the front in a very controlled and measured fashion. By the time they reached the ¾ mark, Mo was moving on the leaders, but was still a few lengths from the front.
That stretch at Balmoral is just one long sprint and in the beginning, Mo was his usual self: just grinding away, pacing hard as hell and slowly moving toward the leaders. The problem was this was no soft group. His competition was very tough that night and we weren’t making up a ton of ground. Half way thought the stretch, he had edged closer, but I was still thinking we were in for a 3rd place finish. Luckily for us, Mo wanted more. There just seems to be something in that horse. He loves passing other horses and just doesn’t seem to get tired. He kept grinding away. It was like DuQuoin all over again. First he gets to the back of the leader’s bike. A couple more steps and he’s half way up on the leader. The wire is getting closer and closer. Another horse is coming up on the inside. It is three horses coming to the wire, practically in unison. He’s running out of room and just when you think it is over, he finds one more burst and….it’s a photo for the win! Was it enough? Did he get there? It is a matter of inches between winning and taking third. Waiting for a photo is absolutely excruciating as an owner. We patiently waited for the announcer…”It’s official…the #4 In Over My Head is the winner”. What a race! What a gutty performance! The balloon now has air again!
It is races like that one last Saturday that just continues to build our love of Mr. In Over My Head. He just doesn’t quit. I swear if they moved the finish line another quarter of a mile out, he’s just keep on grinding away. Digging in, swaying his head slightly back and forth like he’s trying to eat up every possible inch of ground he can with each step. I could watch those replays over and over and never get sick of seeing them.
When we bought In Over My Head last January, we knew that this would be the time of year we would have to make a decision about him. We are entering the prime sales season for horses (both yearling and older horses) and the not so fun thought has to come up. Do you keep him? Based on what he’s accomplished, he’s worth a pretty big chuck of money. Probably somewhere in the vicinity of 3 to 4 times what we paid for him. The smart business decision might just be to sell him. Take the money and run. I’ll never forget listening to Grandpa talk about the business end of racing one time when I was just a kid. “It is a business” he said. “You can’t get caught up with emotion and you can’t let yourself fall in love with a horse.” He then paused for a second deep in thought and followed up. “But sometimes, you just can’t help it.”
In Over My Head officially falls into the ‘sometimes you just can’t help it’ category. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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