Bird Bath

Tweet Well it looks like that bird poop was lucky after all and thank goodness as I was getting killed all day long at the Saratoga Race Course on Travers Day 2009. Not only did Summer Bird come through like his poppy, but a lucky break from the stewards gave Capt Candyman Can the King's Bishop in a DQ helping on to a solid Pick 3 and a winning day at the grand ole race course.

To boot I picked up 3 points in the Toga Party contest (standings updated) with the closest $2 tri payout guess thanks to the place by Hold Me Back. Hell yeah. The Saratoga Resident was beside himself as he had Vineyard Haven in the contest (and at the windows) and was beaten by his friends, the stewards, just a week ago.

We had a super weekend with the best accommodations (other than staying with the Saratoga Resident, of course) as I treated the Space Gal to the Batchellor Mansion B&B, which I highly recommend for those looking for a great place with character and charm to bring your own gal for a getaway weekend sometime. We arrived Friday after a modest 4:20 from Buffalo (more on this later) with a stop for some Starbucks and headed over to the track for a Hattie's chicken sandwich (can't go wrong) and a Roast beef Po' boy from One Caroline at Restaurant Row. For the first time in the five years I've been summering at the Spa I didn't watch one race live. We hunkered down in the Jim Dandy bar for the day and it was a revolving door of clients, blogging friends, friends and we made some new friends. It was great catching up with everyone and meeting some for the first time ever. We had a nice dinner at Tiznow (one of my favorite places) and headed to 9 Maple for a nightcap.

Saturday was a great day starting on the backstretch, to the Turf Terrace for a great day of racing, the back yard to see some of my fellow EC alums, and finally to the Lodge for a great dinner. It's amazing that the rain didn't dampen our spirits one bit, we were just out having a grand old time. Who wouldn't bet on Get Stormy on a rainy Travers Day?? Who would've predicted that three of the biggest races of the year (Kentucky Derby, the Haskell and the Travers) would all be run over sloppy tracks. Go figure.

Sunday, I ended up having a chance encounter at the Mobil on Broadway with Steve Crist as we were both heading out town in different directions with sub-4 hour trips on our minds. He actually mentioned our brief conversation on his Cristblog today....comedy gold. This stuff only happens to me....

P.S. I limped home in a 4:15....needing a much needed break (Dunkin' Donuts' Ice Coolata did the trick) at Junius Ponds....oh well, there's always next year.

Some pictures from the trip:

Naughty New Yorker ran a nice second in the Funny Cide Stakes (not my best work).

The jocks heading to their mounts...

Pletcher saddling Cowboy Cal before the Bernard Baruch (G2), where he finished second.

A very dapper Kiaran McLaughlin before the Baruch sizing up the competition on paper for Justenuffhumor.

Tell me Alan Garcia on Justenuffhumor isn't giving me the "you better bet my horse on top" look. We turned that positive vibe into a nice triple.

On Travers morning we met Dan Collins, managing partner of Bona Venture Stables at trainer Leah Gyarmati's barn and got to visit with It's the Big Cat. We had a nice visit after meeting him at the track on Friday and he was the perfect host during our visit to the backstretch.

And they're off on the sloppy track in the 6th on Travers Day! I liked Barcola (the #15) but it wasn't meant to be as The Roundhouse (#3) was the winner.

Saeed bin Suroor of Godolphin Racing putting the saddle cloths on the winner of the Victory Ride (G3) Sara Louise, the last horse to defeat Rachel Alexandra, in the paddock. The Sheikh had a huge day and was one DQ away from three graded wins.