On May 17th, Workin For Hops ran a game 3rd in a race we
SHOULD HAVE WON!
Back racing in Illinois after a 2.5 year break, the Hopster was ready, entered in a 100k Allowance Optional Claiming Race for a tasty purse of $44,000. We were on the turf at a distance of a mile and were assigned the rail, breaking out of the one hole.
Usual RRR jock Eddie Perez was unavailable to us as he was riding a Team Block mount named Suntracer in the same race. (For the record, we tore Suntracer's heart out mid stretch and left it beating uselessly at the 16th pole.)
So, we employed lady jock Rosemary Homeister Jr. to ride our steed and she looked resplendent (and more than a bit sexy) all dolled up in Red Rabbit Racing's iconic racing silks. Rosemary had breezed our boy a week earlier and was very happy to get the mount. As post time approached we were bet down as the favourite in the race at 8-5.
Rosemary broke our boy sharply out of the gate and took the Hopster back about 4 lengths off the lead tucked in on the rail. She roused him at the head of the lane and the Hopster ripped down the lane on the fence. Alas, there was no room on the rail causing Rosemary to check our boy and swing him out. Once she did that, damn if she didn't have to check him a second time and swing him around the eventual winner. By the time the Hopster had only racetrack in front of him, he was running out of real estate as he tried to mow down the 2 horses in front of him - even though he was the fastest of all as they hit the wire. He finished off the lead by less than a length.
Trainer Chris Block lamented that we should have won, but we are happy to cash a check and get our boy back to the barn safe and sound. As the race was on the weekday, we didn't have the usual contingent of Rabbit Lovers with us. In fact, Jean and Peggy both couldn't make the race.
However,we were overjoyed that Roy Amos Johnson, son of The Red Rabbit himself, drove up to see us. A Godly Man indeed is Uncle Roy and he favored us with a Biblical Verse from Proverbs 21:31 that he had unearthed that perfectly captures this horse racing adventure:
"The Horse Is Made Ready For The Day Of Battle, But Victory Rests With The LORD."
I love my Uncle Roy. A great Christian Example my whole life.
Finally, as some of you know, Red Rabbit Racing is part of a summer long video feature named "RaceHorse" being produced by Jessica Pacheco and Arlington Park chronicling the fun and excitement of owning a Thoroughbred Race Horse. The first episode is out and can be seen by clicking here.
Jessica even had our girl Rosemary wear a "Helmet Cam" during the race to get the feel of what it's like piloting these majestic equine machines around the track. Make sure that you visit the Arlington Park website at www.arlingtonpark.com throughout the summer and watch the "RaceHorse" episodes. Jessica does a great job.....
