So I finally tested negative last Saturday and Monday so I'm considering the COVID baddies to have moved out of our house. It's nice to be back to normal here at home - no more worrying about someone else's germs and watching where I go and what I touch, especially in the kitchen.
The Derby was yesterday and, as usual, not without controversy. Four horses had been euthanized for various reasons in the days before the big day, two from trainer Saffie Joseph's barn, which led Churchill Downs to suspend him and scratch all his entered horses, including one in the Derby. Another 2 were euthanized on Oaks Day. But the big one came Saturday morning, when the Kentucky state veterinarians examined Forte, the favorite, and determined that he would be scratched due to apparent lameness. He had been fighting a bruise and Pletcher had reshod him that morning, Apparently the switch from 3/4 shoe to full shoe was not accepted. Horseplayers all over social media were complaining, including one who opined that Mage's win warranted an asterisk because he had lost to Forte twice before. The man just doesn't understand that these are living, breathing animals, who do not turn in the same performance every time they enter the starting gate.
The feel good part about Mage for me was that jockey Javier Castellano finally got his Derby win. Plus, there was a photo of Jose Ortiz and another jockey carrying one of Mage's ownership group over to the winners circle celebration because her wheelchair wasn't able to negotiate the terrain. What sportsmanship! And the first person on the ground to congratulate Javier? Todd Pletcher.
In the preliminary races on Oaks day, Caravel won her race and is headed to Ascot next. Not a fan of her trainer (Cox) but love the horse. Sad that she didn't find success with Graham Motion. And that she was sold twice. But it is the business.
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