Mo Madness Continues

If you are a fan of college basketball and your team is playing for the right to go to the Sweet 16, you are in for a fun day.  The buildup to the game.  Pregame excitement.  Nerves.  It all adds to the experience.  Just imagine that being overshadowed by a large degree.  What could possibly overshadow such a fun sports experience?

A horse race.  A sport where you are the owner, not just a fan.

That is what we were treated to on Saturday night when Wisconsin played Oregon at about 8 o’clock and Mo was scheduled to race at about 11.  Since this isn’t a blog about college basketball, we won’t spend too much time on the game other than to say that the Badgers put in a show in the second half and knocked off a tough Oregon squad.  It was a great start to the sporting night, but it only got better from there.

Given the fact that the Carey-Swenson stable continues to operate out of two regional offices (Mineral Point, WI and Dunwoody, GA), we had two viewing parties for In Over My Head’s first battle at the Invite level in 2014.  He was facing a full field of ten horses that included powerhouse Al’s Hammered along with Fort Silky (Illinois horse of the year last season), Firstclassalltheway (speed demon we know well) and Best Man Hanover (winner last week).  It would be a great early test for him.

While Mo faced a full field, we had full fan bases ready to offer support.  Greg and Danny were in Mineral Point with Kacy, Kim and Jamie.  I was flanked with some first timers who, to my knowledge, had never watched a live harness race.  After lending their support to the Badgers, they immediately became In Over My Head fans.  It's always fun to bring in some new folks to the game, even if its just to watch a race here or there.  It certainly made watching the race a lot of fun for me.

While Mo’s first race back last week was lacking a certain amount of stretch drive excitement, this one was just the opposite.  Todd Warren moved him off the gate quickly and at the quarter he was sitting 3^rd behind Fort Silky and Best Man Hanvoer.  That’s where he stayed until the stretch.  As with most races, it is much more fun to watch and if you are so inclined, follow the link and instructions below to see for yourself:

-          Mo has the green #4 and is wearing a red hood

-          Saturday, March 22^nd, race 9

http://www.balmoralpark.com/Video.cfm?Cat=R 

The stretch drive was, obviously, just awesome.  Just like last week, Mo was searching for a seam and didn’t find one until it was pretty late.  When he did, however, he busted through and had the race won until the very end.  That’s where it gets a little confusing.  I know Al’s Hammered is good…darn good, but the result defied a basic principal of In Over My Head’s career:

Mo doesn’t lose photo finishes.  Literally.  I don’t think he has ever lost a photo.  I know that sounds almost impossible, but it’s true.  So what the heck happened?  Here is my theory:

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/seabiscuit/i-cant-see

Look familiar?  Well, you have to let your imagination work a little bit.  Add a couple sulkies, fast forward about 80 years, set the race at night…I’m sure you get the picture.

No, Mo is not blind in one eye, that although this clip refers to a driver/ jockey, I want to make it very clear this has nothing to do with Todd Warren.  We thought he did an excellent job with Mo in his first time as his driver and were happy to have him.  When you have an eight year old horse and have watched every race of his (probably 5-20 times each…except for the Windy City Pace which we’ve watched 100+) you notice certain traits.  His ability to win photo finishes is one of them.  This situation, however, highlighted another trait.

Mo usually only goes as much as he needs to in order to win the race.  In this one, he thought he had won it.  Al’s Hammered was nowhere to be seen until it was too late since he was far outside.  I’m guessing after they cruised past the wire, Mo was wondering why the heck Todd Warren wasn’t stopping in the winner’s circle.  Picture or no picture, he raced so well it actually felt like a win for us.

Win or lose, the race served notice that In Over My Head is a force to be reckoned with.  This is the first time that Al didn’t “Hammer” the field at Balmoral in quite some time.  Sure he was handicapped the 10 hole, but he also had smooth sailing down the entire stretch and if you look where the horses are coming out of the final turn, he is only a length off of Mo…and Mo had to go hunting for a seam on the inside. 

The king’s crown still belongs to Al’s Hammered and will until he gets beat, but after Saturday’s race, it is clear that there is a new enemy at the gate who wants the crown for himself.  Stay tuned, this could be a fun battle to watch this season.

Let’s go Mo!