Difficulties

Superfecta is back from her family emergency and normal updates will now resume.

It has been a busy news week; obviously Barbaro’s condition is the biggest worry right now. The Washington Post details the latest surgery and the problems in the other hind leg; the NY Times covers much the same territory, but with some additional details. The local news is also keeping up with events; there is also a slightly cheerier article on his little brothers. But the official word is that his condition is ‘guarded‘ — fingers crossed it’s only a temporary setback. Let’s remember that Barbaro’s great-grandsire, Hail to Reason, fully recovered from shattering both sesamoids in one of his forelegs, largely through his own good temperment as the state of veterinary medicine at the time was not what it is now. One thing is certain, though — the Maryland Racing Commission has determined that Barbaro’s injury was officially ‘bad racing luck.’

In other news, Lava Man’s win in the Hollywood Gold Cup means he is definitely off to the Pacific Classic in August. The exciting finish of the United Nations saw English Channel beat Cacique (this time around); it will be exciting to see them continue their rivalry. Speaking of grass, Showing Up will be skipping the Virginia Derby in favor of resting up for the Secretariat; it should still be a fine race — I’m looking forward to seeing Steppenwolfer on the turf.

This weekend’s racing at Delaware Park should be quite good; Fleet Indian certainly looks the part for the Del Cap. If the weather isn’t awful, I should put in an appearance.

A few other items worth mentioning: Brass Hat’s bad luck continues — he’s out with a cracked sesamoid and it will be unclear for months whether he will make another comeback. War Emblem still doesn’t have an eye for the ladies in Japan although it’s rumored some US farms that specialize in ‘problem stallions’ have expressed an interest in him. It will be interesting to see where that leads.

Tags:
Horse Racing, Barbaro