That's Why They Call It A Horse Race

Anything can happen. That's the bottom line when it comes to horse racing. A couple of weeks ago, our boy Pip made his first start and put in a good effort to be fourth. For his second start, he ended up...in a $150,000 stake race for Ontario-bred two-year-olds! Of twenty nominees, only six entered. The horse that won the day he was fourth was favoured. The race was also contested on the first day the inner oval was used for racing. Over the past week, the inner oval, normally a harness racing track, was resurfaced with dirt to allow racing to continue while the main track is transformed into Polytrack.

Pip drew the one hole. While the initial reaction was that this was a good thing, earlier races on the card saw horses from the outer positions doing well. Then, in the race before the stake, Pip's rider took a tumble as the filly he was on stumbled coming out of the gate. Fortunately he was fine, and came back to ride in the stake. Pip went off as an outsider at 17-1.

Well, did he ever show them. He made his way up along the rail, battled and turned away the leader, only to have a horse come up on the outside to catch him at the wire. All the same, a HUGE gutsy effort for our little chestnut! The horse that won, Spread the News, was making his third start and so had more experience -- not to take anything away from him. It certainly was an exciting finish. Lorna and I were cheering so loud the people around us thought we were more than a little daft. Of course, we were representing Un Stable, so one might say our behaviour was justified.

I can't imagine how we would have handled it had he won. Or how about running in something like the Breeder's Cup? We'll need time to work up to that one!

Big congrats to Lorna putting black type on her first stakes starter, not to mention owners Tony and Diane. Not a bad purchase for their first yearling! And we're glad Jerry was okay and scraped himself off the turf to ride!

I left the camera behind today, so thought I'd revisit the star when he first arrived at the farm. He's grown up so much. Here's to continued success for the little guy. Way to go, bub! We're proud of you!