I <3 Ipi Tombe
It wouldn’t take a psychologist to figure out why I like the horses I do: I tend to favor the ones that prove me right.
I was at a Burger King eating lunch on the first Saturday of May 1998 handicapping that year’s Derby undercard when a local asked me who I liked in the big race. “Real Quiet,” I said. He scoffed, and me being the whippersnapper I’ll never stop being said, “Well, it’s your money, but he’s going to win.”
I never saw that guy again, but I bought the person who would eventually be the best man at my wedding eight years later dinner that night with my winnings.
Five years later I was in Las Vegas with another friend (who also would end up in my wedding). All weekend I had talked about one bet I wanted to make: Ipi Tombe in the Dubai Duty Free. The race was going off around 8 a.m. Pacific time. There were four of us on the trip, but only my future groomsman forwent sleep after a night of partying to hit up the Bally’s sportsbook to watch and wager on 4-to-5 Ipi Tombe with me.
There may have been a dozen people in the sports book, and we were clearly the only ones cheering for the odds on Ipi Tombe as she opened up a three-length lead in the Nad al Sheba stretch. It’s kind of embarrassing to think about how loudly we were cheering for a $3.60 winner, but we were young and in Vegas and having the time of our lives.
And now Ipi Tombe has done it for me again. I’ve had some stinker picks on this blog since I started writing Derby week. Going against Big Brown twice certainly hasn’t made me look smart, but I got all that losing money back and then some after Monastic Springs rallied late to defeat He Struck It Rich (out of Desert Stormer) and pay $50.50 per $2 across the board. Now let’s get this pick four home. :)
2 Comments