The Warhorse

Scores of horses have come through the barn over the years

One thing has remained constant

Standing in back, doing his work when asked, beating back those younger and more brash

He is the Warhorse

The other stalls are empty now

Young horses befallen by a myriad of afflictions

Some worse than others, but all are gone for the season

He is the only one left

The men are talking at the end of the barn

Shaking their heads.  No doubt lamenting about what has happened

Bad luck, fluke injuries, unrealistic expectations on horses that had never proven themselves

The Warhorse has proven himself.  Time after time

Through his own injuries, he has remained strong

He hasn’t been perfect.  Has missed too much time, but he always battled back

He battled back and he won.  Again, again and again

They now look down at him.  A mixture of sadness and hope in their eyes

He meets their gaze from down the row

Not with the tired eye of a weary veteran

But with a flicker and fiery glare

The look of a champion.  He knows it is his time to shine

He needs to carry the weight of the stable on his shoulders and he welcomes this challenge

As he walks out of his stall, he starts with a limp.  Years of battle have left him stiff

As he reaches the halfway mark, the limp is barely noticeable

By the end he is moving as fluidly as ever, old joints lubricated by the impending thrill of competition

As they load him on the truck, he stops and looks back at them

He can make no promises of health, his body has failed him before

He will promise to battle until the end, reaching for every last inch of racetrack

He is the Warhorse and his connections are forever grateful for him

Genuine Happiness

It’s like Christmas morning as a kid.

Is there anything better than that?  The anticipation builds up for weeks and what makes Christmas morning extra special is that it never disappoints.  Santa showed up as planned and those toys you asked for have magically appeared under the tree.  Genuine happiness.  That’s the only way to describe it.  It is probably that way for parents too when they get to watch their kid’s expressions.  We can’t wait for that moment when Jordan is old enough to appreciate Christmas morning.

You know what Christmas morning is for this big kid?  Having the opportunity to watch In Over My Head race.  And much like Santa Clause, he never disappoints.

Before I get into the race, I a confession to make.  I violated rule #1 on Friday night.  Actually it is the only rule you must abide by when following In Over My Head.  It is so easy to remember and I’m embarrassed that I forgot.

Rule #1:  Never doubt Mo.  Ever.

I doubted him at the half mile mark.  “Well, he’s not going to win tonight,” I said to Laura.  Word from Maywood Park is that Danny wasn’t feeling very optimistic either at the half mile mark.  I’m sure most people watching felt the same way.  We all violated Rule #1.  It won’t happen again with me.  That I

promise.

I won’t say any more about the race.  For those of you that just read this blog and have not seen it, follow the instructions below and watch the replay.  Any description I write just can’t do it justice.  Remember Rule #1 when you watch it.

Click on the like below, then go to Friday August 2^nd.  In Over My Head was in race #12.  He was number 5.  If you lose him during the race don’t worry…you’ll know who he is by the end.

http://www.maywoodpark.com/pages/RaceReplays.cfm

While you always hope for a win as an owner, Friday was at least a little bit different.  We felt pretty strongly that Mo would race well.  But he had been off for OVER A YEAR.  That’s a long time.  The horse who finished 2^nd (the #4 horse) was a solid competitor.  My thought going in was the #4 might get loose on the front end.  While I expected Mo to be closing hard, there was a chance he might have too much ground to make up.  It played out pretty close to how I expected it would.  Only the phrase “too much ground to make up” apparently doesn’t apply to In Over My Head.

The feeling after the race was just amazing.  Genuine happiness.  Talking to Danny, who was at the track with Kacy, Kim, Jamie and Andy.  Seeing the feedback from some of Mo’s fans on Twitter (including Marcus Miller and Tyler Butenschoen who were watching from Pennsylvania).  It felt like we won a major race of some kind and not a conditioned race at Maywood.  Heck, it’s Monday and I’m still flying high.  If you take a second and go back to the Christmas analogy, it isn’t about receiving the biggest or most expensive gift out there that brings the excitement.  It is the total experience that makes it so special.  That was especially true for all of us on Team Mo on Friday night.

The winner’s circle was extra special because it was the first time Danny’s sister Kim and her husband Jamie had ever been in the winner’s circle (not including Danny’s wins as a driver at the Iowa County fair of course).  It is a uniquely fun experience and an experience that Mo delivers quite often.  That win gives him 19 victories in 49 lifetime starts with a win percentage of 39%.  Very impressive.

One other person got a very well deserved trip to the winner’s circle with Mo and that was Casey Leonard.  Mo’s driver/ trainer (with his father Terry) has done an incredible job getting In Over My Head back to this point.  While most of Mo’s racing career has been spent with the Butenschoen’s as trainers and Marcus Miller in the sulky, the most recent comeback has been at the hands of the Leonard’s.  We are very grateful and thankful for the work they have done.  They have been patient and have In Over My Head back to his winning ways.

The obvious question now is:  What’s next?

We are still in the infancy of this latest Mo comeback and for the next couple races, we need to keep some perspective.  He’ll step up in class and race in 2 weeks.  If he does well there, he’ll graduate to the Invitation again.  IF he can go a couple more races and stay healthy, there is no reason to think he can’t race for an extended period of time.  He can achieve the ‘Quest for Double Digits’ I talked about last blog entry.  We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves at this point, though.  Just enjoy were we are, enjoy watching Mo race and if you really want to think ahead don’t get into specifics.  Just remember Rule #1.  Mo will write his own itinerary.  The best thing we can do is just follow along. 

Let’s Go Mo!