Report from the farm (with pictures!)

This is a fun time of the season for horse racing enthusiasts.  We had a chance to enjoy the George Morton Levy Memorial last night at Yonkers.  It was a race that lived up to expectations in my opinion with Razzle Dazzle holding off the incredibly game Foiled Again.  Interesting to see Annieswesterncard, a former victim of In Over My Head, finished a strong 4^th.  We contemplated entering Mo into the Levy a few years back (pre injuries).  You have to bang heads against very tough competition week after week after week.  However, I’m certain he would have held his own, if not flourished.  Maybe if he can stay healthy this season we’ll get out our checkbook and put down that $5,000 entry fee to give him a chance!  In reality I think the days of Mo chasing stakes horses are over.  It is fun to think about though.

In other news from this weekend, the Meadowlands was loaded with future stars, current starts and superstars for Saturday morning qualifying.  The Butenschoen’s had a couple of impressive entries with three year old colts Duel In The Sun and Johny Rock.  It will be fun watching them and all their other horses as they get started.  We wish them and everyone in the Butenschoen stable the best of luck. 

 

Lastly in non-harness racing news, we have the Kentucky Derby next weekend.  The first Saturday in May, which is also Laura and my wedding anniversary every 7^th year.  We may have to take a trip up to Louisville next time they line up.

With all of that exciting racing action going on, what do we have going with Mo and his young stable mate?  Well, we have new pictures!  Greg and Danny headed down to Harvard, Illinois to the Leonard’s farm on Saturday to watch both horses go training miles.  As Danny and I talked about, it is a little bit exciting and frustrating all at once.  We feel great that both horses are getting closer to racing, but it just makes us a little more impatient.  Especially when considering all the exciting racing action going on around us. 

The report from the farm:  Mo looks like a million bucks and everyone around the barn loves him.  That is the kind of report always makes his owners smile.  While the focus of owning a race horse is obviously the results on the track, I never get sick of hearing how much people like Mo’s personality and attitude.  It just makes me feel extra proud of him (and is also a big reason why he means so much to us).  It also makes being 850 miles away even more difficult, but I’ll get to see Mo in due time.  Patience is key on a number of fronts right now.  As for his time on the track, he just went a slow training mile.  That’s all we expect from him right now.  He’ll work his way down in due time.  His leg is feeling great and it has been smooth sailing so far.  Let’s hope that continues.

His new little buddy, Don’t Tell Wayne, is also doing well.  Oddly enough, both horses are on track to qualify in about mid-July.  Wayne’s only 2 years old and has never raced before so I’ll wait to provide much commentary about him.  You have to earn it little man!  We are very happy with his progress and hope he can be a pretty nice horse for us.  Time will tell.

Enjoy the new pictures of Mo and Wayne.  In case you can’t tell, Mo is the perfect looking dark monster and Wayne is the smaller, but still sharp looking, light brown horse.  Don’t feel intimidated Wayne.  It is tough to beat Mo in a beauty contest.

Stay positive and stay patient (the phrase of the day…at least until it is time to say Let’s Go Mo again!).

Mo's New Fan

So what is new with our friend Mo?  Slow and steady progress.  He’s been jogging and swimming consistently for the past two months and is about to begin the process of training down.  We are still two or three months from being ‘back’ so there isn’t a whole lot to report.  For once, however, there is a bigger story for me to tell.

The real news is that Mo has another new fan to add to his ‘stable’.  When I say new fan, I mean really new.  The new fan is Jordan Wayne Swenson, our baby boy who is just over seven weeks old.  Although not technically involved in racing at this point in his life, Jordan represents the fourth generation in our harness racing family.  His first move as a horse racing fan was to put a picture of Mo up in his room.  I was very impressed with his choice…and his ability to hang pictures. 

So how does In Over My Head feel about his new fan?  In a word, he was thrilled.  He’s made it well known how much he enjoys his fans and now can claim an 80+ year gap between his oldest fans (our Grandparents) and his youngest (Jordan).  Not a bad range.

The new addition to our team has also put a little bit more pressure on Mo. 

“Win one for Jordan,” was Mo’s second response when asked what his goals are for the season.  His first response was to just get healthy again, which is understandable.  Ideally, he’s like to see Jordan in the winner’s circle with him, but understands the logistical challenges when it comes to traveling with very young children (especially now that we live in Atlanta).  Mo is hoping that we will be up in Wisconsin for a summer vacation and the timing will work out well for us to make it to a race in Chicago as he gets his comeback going.  If that doesn’t work, Mo had another plan.  He said he’s just has to keep racing and winning until such time that Jordan could make it to a race. 

Whether or not this will actually happen remains to be seen.  However, the thought of our whole group making is back to the winner circle with Jordan in tow is such a fun one that we might as well ‘act as if’.  Act as if Mo will make it through his comeback just fine.  Act as if he will be a monster on the track again.  Act as if he will race this season and beyond.  Lastly, act as if Jordan will not only be able to meet that horse on his wall, but he’ll be old enough to remember the time when he ran into the winner circle on his own little legs with his Mom and Dad, Great Uncle Greg, Uncle Danny, Aunt Kacy and whoever else was at the track that day.  Now that would really be something.

I’ll keep you posted on his progress.  Stay patient and stay positive.