Re: The Unbeatable Horse (629 Views)
Posted by:
Topcat (IP Logged)
Date: July 30, 2014 06:56AM
richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ollie:
>
> Finally got around to reading this. The events
> which were chronicled here took
> place a little before I started following the
> game, but to show how much the game
> has changed, note that Haskin comments that Prove
> Out had problem ankles and was
> limited to making "only" 27 lifetime starts by the
> time he was halfway through
> his 4YO season.
>
> Today a 4YO with 27 lifetime starts would have to
> be considered an iron horse of
> sorts.
>
> Besides all the wonderful success the Chief had
> over the years, many New York
> horseplayers will remember his unorthodox workouts
> (was not uncommon to see HAJ
> horses work very briskly on the morning of the
> race, or some of his crack
> sprinters work three eighths in 32 seconds and
> change) and that he had no
> reluctance to use obscure riders (Noel Wynter a
> personal favorite of mine); I
> also seem to recall that the Chief gave a lot of
> business to Robyn Smith (aka Mrs
> Fred Astaire) at a time when female riders had not
> yet been fully accepted.
>
> The Chief was also known for organizing and
> playing in rough football games with
> some of his help, and I also came to learn that he
> had no problem hiring
> backstretch castoffs and characters, and tolerated
> their idiosyncrasies so long
> as they were dedicated to the horses in their
> care.
>
> The article also mentions King Ranch. When I first
> began going to Belmont, in the
> mid 1970s, my friends pointed out to me a
> splendidly dressed older woman who did
> not look like she fit among the first floor
> grandstand riff raff; my friends
> explained that this was the "King Ranch" lady, the
> owner of the famous Texas
> spread and obviously very wealthy, who apparently
> enjoyed pushing four or five
> dollars through the windows each race.
>
> As to Prove Out, not many horses beat both Forego
> and Secretariat.
Those interested in more in this vein from the horse's mouth are urged to read the Saratoga Special daily, online (www.thisishorseracing.com), to read daily historical musings from the Chief, his own self . . . a graduate degree, in six+ weeks . . .
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