JC / Railbird

‘Riches Misses Work

Rags to Riches spiked a temperature this morning, forcing the cancellation of a scheduled work and imperiling her planned start in the September 8 Ruffian at Belmont. “She’s acting perfect, she’s bright, sharp and aggressive, but the thermometer’s a little bit off,” said trainer Todd Pletcher (DRF). Later in the day, Sherry Ross caught up with the conditioner, who reported that the fever was gone, the filly’s bloodwork fine, and that he might breeze her on Wednesday, “but it’s premature to make any decisions yet.” Two things: Is anyone else beginning to doubt that we’ll see Rags to Riches race again this year, never mind as a four-year-old? And is it possible that a mild bug is sweeping through Pletcher’s New York barn? That would explain the trainer’s Spa slump, which resumed in force after Wait a While’s Ballston Spa victory.


1 Comment

My antennae went up yesterday afternoon when I didn’t see a work for her. I have slight obsessive-compulsive issues when it comes to record keeping, and when I pull out her card from my file, the front (race results) is blank and the back has a neat line of workouts going down it: 8/5, 8/12, 8/19 … math is not my forte, but I’m good enough to know that 8/26 comes next in the sequence, and I’ve noticed that for the most part, Pletcher is consistent. They’re either jumping at shadows or slowly working their way up to an announcement (I’ve had a bad feeling that one is coming for quite some time now).
Last night my father and I had a gossip session in which I mentioned the missing work, and said ‘just watch’. I usually get a sort of perverse pleasure from saying ‘told you so’. But when I did it tonight, it was with a mix of sadness, disappointment, and disgust … feelings that horse racing, of all things, should *not* elicit.

Posted by Nellie on August 28, 2007 @ 1:32 am