Island Dreaming

Black Star's 2016 foal

Charcoal on the beach in Maryland

Chincoteague marsh grass

Indigo bunting on Assateague

Jojo's new colt in Maryland

Raking clams in Tom's Cove

From left: 2016 foal of Cody 2 Socks; 2016 foal of Thetis; Thetis

Assateague Sunset

Crushed - At the Bakery

Yesterday started off pretty well, and, I thought, went well.  Got up, had cereal for breakfast, fed my kits, cleaned their litter boxes, spent two hours on the computer checking e-mails and my schedules, plus looking at news and the few comic strips I read.  Then I put together a neighborhood wildlife watch bulletin about the recent incursions of prairie dogs in the Githens Acres neighborhood and sent it out to the 60 folks who receive it.  Set off for work and visited three homes, feeding and watering various pets, gathering news papers, watering flowers and plants.  Stopped by at Rosie's at our usual time, and took her out for a slow one hour stroll.  Got home just before noon, and washed and dried two loads of laundry, and swept and mopped the floor.
  About three in the afternoon, one of my usual clients called and asked if I would feed her critters that evening.  I told her she had set up feedings, and walks for the dog, for Friday through Monday due to her meditation retreat schedule.  She had forgotten setting up the work...  Then she asked if her daughter had called, or sent an e-mail, regarding her arrival at Denver International Airport on the red-eye flight from LaGuardia.  I told her, no - it was the first I'd heard of it; the last I knew her daughter was here in Boulder.  The Mom insisted that the daughter was flying back "on her usual 1 a.m. Frontier flight," and begged me to be there to pick her up, because she, the Mom, had the meditation retreat and needed her sleep, plus wasn't supposed to speak to anyone until the retreat was over.  I agreed to pick up the car a little after 9, once I left Rosie's, and drive to DIA.  Then it was time for my afternoon rounds, so I went to three houses and fed and walked critters; then I went to the Mom's house and fed her animals; then on to Rosie's for a visit until 9 p.m.  After that, I walked over to the Mom's house, let the dog out for a few minutes, and then took the daughter's car to my apartment. I tried to take a nap before leaving for DIA, but I couldn't sleep.
   My one thought through all of this was that I would treat myself to two doughnuts with chocolate icing for breakfast today, this morning, as I went over to the Jack Russells' house.  I got up, checked the DIA flight schedule and saw the flight from LGA to Denver was on time.  Due to road construction, I left the house with a 20 minute "cushion" in case of road blocks or traffic stoppages.  I arrived at the cell phone waiting lot 15 minutes before the plane was due to touch down, but I went inside to check the arrivals boards.  The flight was on-time.  I went back out to the car and began to read the book I taken along.  Twenty-six minutes after the plane was due to land, I went back inside and looked at the arrivals board again.  It stated that the plane had landed and where luggage could be picked up.  I went back to the car.  After another 15 minutes, I called the daughter's cell phone.  It went straight to voice mail.  I  left a message asking where she was, and telling her where I was.  I drove over to the Arrivals pick-up point, but there was no one in sight.  I went back to the cell phone lot, sat a few minutes, then call the Mom's cell phone.  It went straight to voice mail.  I explained where I was and there was no sign of her daughter.  I asked if the daughter's boyfriend might have picked her up?  I don't have his phone number...  I waited a bit more, and tried to call the daughter again.  No luck.
  So I drove to the economy parking lot, and went inside the terminal.  The flight the daughter should have arrived on had already continued it's flight on to California.  There was no one waiting near the airline's area; there was no sign of the daughter in the rest rooms; there were no unclaimed bags from her flight.  I walked back through the arrivals area, but saw no one who looked remotely like the daughter.  I went out to the car, called the Mom on her landline number - and it went straight to voice mail.  I told her everything I'd done, and that I was driving back home and would return the car before 9 a.m, when I was due at my first job of the day.
   Drove back to Boulder, arrived about 4 this morning - Beatrice was worried that I hadn't come home yet, and was still awake, since I didn't have the sense to call my room mate.  I got into bed at 4:10, and closed my eyes, promising myself chocolate iced doughnuts.  I got a recorded call from a telemarketer at 5:45  - and I'm on the National Do Not Call list.  I was not happy.  Then the Mom called me, in hysterics, asking where her daughter was, at 5:53...  I explained everything all over again, and she hung up while I was talking.  Apparently, she called the boyfriend, as she called me back at 6:20, saying that the boyfriend said she'd spent the night in NYC.  Mom was calmer, but still in a panic mode.  I was almost asleep again when the daughter called me from NYC, to tell me her side of things....  Her flight is tonight.  She will arrive at DIA Sunday morning at 1:04.  Kevin, the boyfriend, will pick her up.
   Mom called me back to be certain I'd feed the critters and walk the dog today.  I got up.  I stopped at the bakery on the way to feed the Mom's critters - they did not have any chocolate iced doughnuts, they did not have any regular glazed doughnuts, and they did not have any sugar-sprinkled doughnuts.  I bought a blueberry bagel and fed the Mom's critters....   *sigh*  ....

More Assateague Island Photos

Storm cloud

Great blue heron

Bayberry

Canada goose

Rosie's Teapot and the 2016 colt I call Milky Way

Oystercatchers at Little Tom's Cove

Ponies investigate a horseshoe crab

Bits And Pieces

Well, let's see.....    Nyquist spiked a temperature the other day, and then his white cell count was elevated, so he has been scratched from running in the Belmont Stakes in New York.
   The news around here has been kind of weird...  A man was seen shooting a handgun into Boulder Creek where it runs by the Public Library on Sunday.  He fired multiple times and was approached by a police team who told him to put the gun down on the ground, several times.  He didn't.  He was shot by the officers and died in the hospital a few hours later.  While the police team were giving the shooter medical assistance, more shots were fired into Boulder Creek, more than a block further east, in Central Park.  That shooter was not caught.  Beatrice and I showed up at the library at 2:45, and were puzzled by the crime scene tape that was in place by the Creek.  We learned later that we had missed the commotion by 30 minutes.
  We've had several traffic accidents that have ended with deaths - including an 8-year-old girl riding her bike in front of her house, with her Dad on the sidewalk.  A 20-year-old under the influence of drugs ran into two cars stopped at an intersection, and killed two well-known Boulderites.  The driver never touched the brakes, according to police investigations.
  We've had at least 10 raccoons killed by cars in the neighborhood recently, with at least two more having canine distemper.  And a young, but adult, bobcat was found in a nearby park with injuries from an automobile - he didn't survive.
  On the plus side, there are more cute foals on Assateague... in both Maryland and Virginia.  And my cousin asked about our Native American background - we've had rumors running through the family for several generations, but I've never been able to produce anything as proof positive.  I finally, this afternoon, found that a distant great grandmother was identified in the Shawnee Nation Register as an Arrohatok-Powhatan Native American.  The family rumors were that this lady was a relative of Pocohantas - but she would have been from a later generation, I think (one or two), unless the older men took young wives...   Then, there's a tale of my great-grandmother being 1/2 or 1/4 Cherokee, which I have yet to prove; and the tales of Whealtons and older Chincoteague families having taken local Natives as wives - from among the Accawmacke.   Time will tell, I guess.

A Few 2016 Chincoteague Pony Foals - Photos

The majority of these photos were taken, and are copyrighted, by DSC Photography.  If you wish to purchase one, or more, of their amazing photos, please visit their website at http://www.dscphotography.net

Baybe and Prince of Tides' buckskin paint filly

Daisey and Phantom Mist's chestnut colt

Diamond Jewel and Riptide's paint colt (he has two blue eyes)

Poco's Starry Night and Riptide's paint colt

Riptide telling his daughter out of Grandma's Dream that she needs to go to her mother

Black Star and Wild Thing's bay paint filly - what a great facial marking!

Leah's Bayside Angel and Sockett To Me's colt

Molly Rosebud and Ace's Black Tie Affair  produced this boy with four white stockings

A Sunday, Belmont Preview, & Foals

It's early Sunday night, and I was at the Denver International Airport at 6:40 this morning sending Donn back to California.  Lynn isn't feeling well, so when I returned to Boulder, I fed her critters, walked Tessa and watered her plants.  Then I checked in on the bunnies - Chocolate and Blackberry.  Next was feeding and medicating the ABCs - and walking Lola and Cooper.  Then I came home and snuggled with Lovey for 30 minutes.  Then off to walk Charlie - Rosie was cancelled for this afternoon, so Bea and I had a nice stroll with Tess again; then we visited the bunnies, and made a stop at Lucky's Market for our new favorite soap - A La Maison...
   Then I visited Shirley and Gary and got information on the boys - I'll be taking care of Nicodemus and Emmett later this month, and again in June.  Back over to the ABCs to feed and medicate and walk again.  I'm being lazy at the moment, and am awaiting a delivery from Pizza Hut for my supper.
   At the moment, it seems that there will be seven runners in the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.  Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby winner, will once again face Exaggerator, the Preakness winner.Cherry Wine, who did not run in the Derby, but finished second in the Preakness, is also expected to run.  Lani, the son of Tapit, who ran in both the Derby and the Preakness will return.  And three colts who ran in the Derby, but skipped the Preakness, are also expected in the Belmont - Suddenbreakingnews, Brody's Cause and Destin.   Uncle Lino, who was vanned from the track after the finish of the Preakness, apparently suffered only some inflammation to his left fore, as he flew back to California today.
   On Assateague Island, both Carol's Girl and Jojo have foaled on the Maryland side of the island, leaving only Charmed to produce her baby.  On the Virginia side of Assateague, there are 36 new foals so far.  The first was Tunie's pinto colt, sired by Effie's Papa Bear (aka Hoppy); the latest reported was a chestnut colt out of JABATTA and sired by Wild Bill.  I have photos of 31 of the foals, thanks to DSC Photography and various friends.  I am missing photos of Sweet Jane (aka Duckie) and her new foal; of Gidget and Puzzle's red paint filly; of Seaside and Papa Bear's bay filly; of Jessica's Sandy and Neptune's buckskin foal; and the chestnut colt that JABATTA produced.  Riptide and Diamond's Jewel colt is growing into his markings.  The bay paint filly that Riptide and Grandma's Dream produced is an adventurous little lady, always wandering off from the herd.  Poco's Starry Night's first baby, a red paint (by Riptide) has some spectacular markings, and so does the bay paint filly from Black Star and Wild Bill.  There seem to be a greater number (so far) of black and white pintos than in recent years - Ace is beginning to make his mark...

Diddly-Squat

Exaggerator Wins Preakness

There will be no American Triple Crown champion this year.  Nyquist, who was undefeated going into the second leg of the Triple Crown this afternoon, lost to Exaggerator, who had finished in second place, behind Nyquist in their four previous meetings.  Nyquist was the betting favorite, and most people had hopes of another Triple Crown winner, but it was not to be.  Nyquist popped out of the starting gate and was immediately engaged in a speed duel with two other horses for the first half mile.  As it was a wet track, most riders avoided the rail - except Kent Desormeoux, on Exaggerator.  Kent began his racing career at Pimlico and Laurel, and knows the track well. Other jockeys went wide around the track, but Exaggerator stayed on the rail and made up ground until the stretch.  Nyquist was tiring after a torrid pace, but finished in third place, just a nose behind Cherry Wine. Exaggerator, however, came out wide at the top of the stretch, swept by the front-runners and then angled back inside.  Stradivari, who was making his Stakes race debut finished in fourth place, with temperamental Lani in fifth.  The rest of the order of finish was: Laoban, Uncle Lino, Fellowship, Awesome Speed, Collected, and Abiding Star.  Uncle Lino was vanned off the track, after duelling early with Nyquist.  He had some inflammation in his left foreleg, but was not lame after returning to the barn area.
   Unfortunately, there were two deaths of horses in the Preakness undercard.  The first race was won by a 9-year-old gelding named Homeboykris.  He had been claimed last December, and was going to be retired and turned into a riding horse when he lost his interest in racing.  Homeboykris won his race, had his photo taken in the winner's circle, and began walking back to his barn.  He collapsed on the way, apparently from a heart attack.  Everyone was stunned.   At the end of the fourth race, on the turf, Pramedya took a misstep and fell.  Her fall was due to a bad break, and she was euthanized on the course.  Her jockey was taken by ambulance to a local Baltimore hospital, where he was treated for a broken clavicle.
  Breakdowns and injuries are the worst down-side of horse racing, for the creatures involved in running.  It comes with the territory - and it is upsetting and horrendous. I still remember Ruffian, and Barbaro - and I cried reading about Black Gold and other thoroughbreds who had the will to win, but whose bodies couldn't stand the stress.  I love watching horses run - whether in a race, or just out in pasture having a good time.  Having been involved with horses throughout my life, I realize that racing is a business, and money is, usually, the bottom line.  But I also know of pleasure horses that suffer missteps and are terribly injured.  I've lost horses to colic, to laminitis, to lightning, to old age, to liver and kidney failure.  I've seen them cast in stalls, impaled on fence posts, and completely wrapped in barbed wire...  Accidents happen everywhere - on the race track, and off.  On the farm, on rides, at horse shows, and on the road.  Even though our equine friends are generally much larger than we humans, they are still incredibly delicate creatures.  A single blow in a certain spot can kill a horse.  Running free, in pasture, having fun, a horse can turn an ankle, break a bone, fall and suffer a back injury - anything.
   I am never happy about the death of any animal - humans or others.  But death happens all around us, every day, in almost every way, shape and form imaginable...  I mourn for the two horses who lost their lives today.  But I cannot damn the racing industry - I have seen too much in 60 years of life on this planet.

Assorted Photos

If you make the street level in a San Francisco photo, things look strange...

A fantasy grill

The first Muslim cat?

Chincoteague Channel ducks at sunset

Charcoal on the beach in Maryland

Double crested cormorant drying its wings

A female darner dragonfly (the males have a blue body)

The Preakness Runs Tomorrow

Time has really gotten away from me.   The second leg of the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred Racing will be run tomorrow at Old Hilltop, or Pimlico Racetrack, outside of Baltimore, Maryland.  The distance is 1/8 mile (or one furlong) less than the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago.  There are eleven entries for tomorrow's race, as it was decided that Gun Runner, who finished third in the Derby, would not participate in the Preakness.  Nyquist, who won the Derby, drew post 3 in the small field.   The entries are, by post position:

1.    Cherry Wine, a grey/roan colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Paddy O'Prado
2.    Uncle Lino,   a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Uncle Mo
3.    Nyquist,    a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Uncle Mo
4.    Awesome Speed,   a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Awesome Again
5.    Exaggerator,   a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sire by Curlin
6.    Lani,   a grey/roan colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Tapit
7.    Collected,   a chestnut colt bred in Kentucky, sired by City Zip
8.    Laoban,    a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Uncle Mo
9.    Abiding Star,  a bay colt bred in Florida, sired by Uncle Mo
10.  Fellowship,    a chestnut colt bred in Florida, sired by Awesome of Course
11.  Stradivari,   a bay colt bred in Kentucky, sired by Medaglio d'Oro

There are three runners from the Derby - Nyquist, the winner; Exaggerator, who placed second; and Lani, the Japanese trained colt who's grandsire is Sunday Silence.  Awesome Speed is the son of Awesome Again, while Fellowship is the grandson of Awesome Again.  There are the four colts sired by Uncle Mo - Nyquist, Uncle Lino, Laoban, and Abiding Star.  Nine of the eleven colts were bred in Kentucky, and two in Florida.   There are two grey or roan colts; two chestnut colts; and seven bay or brown colts.
   Will there be another Triple Crown Champion this year?  We'll find  out the possibility tomorrow....

Island Photos

Since it's grey and depressing here - island photos!

Bald Eagle at Assateague Island beach

Storm reflection

Chincoteague (near) and Assateague Islands

Assateague cottontail

Young buck

2009 - Surfer's Riptide, mom Surf Queen, dad Surfer Dude

Yankee and Carol's Girl's colt practices in Maryland, on Assateague

17 May

It's a little after one in the afternoon here in Boulder.  The date is 17 May.  Our usual average temperature is 72 degrees (F).  It's currently 45 degrees - and what the Scots call a "soft day," with overcast skies, clouds hiding the mountains, and an almost constant mist of rain.
   Since the weather is keeping my mood down, I've been concentrating on the animals I care for.  Each one has different personality traits, and they all react to the weather in their own way.  Tess never wants to go out and go to the bathroom unless she's ill; getting her outside in rain is like pulling hens' teeth.   She doesn't like to poop in her own yard, and will very reluctantly pee here.  If I take her out into the front yard, she will happily pee by the mailbox, but wants to move two houses down (in either direction) to poop.  She won't wear a rain coat, and she refuses to step outside if it's visibly or audibly raining.  She will go outside under the cover of a large golf umbrella - but she refuses to "go." The dog must have cast-iron doors that she locks down -  I could never hold my stuff for as long as she does....
    The cats all have it easy, as they have litter boxes available at all times.  My kits do not like thunder, and seek cover under a bed, or behind the toilet fixtures.  Lyra runs to the window to see what made the big noise, while Lily just ignores it.  Pounce also ignores it, but Tipsi  goes into the laundry room in the basement.
    The Brittany Spaniels don't seem to care whether it's raining or not - but Roxie doesn't want to go out if the sprinkler system is on.  Finnie, on the other hand, seems to love running through the water sprays.  Finnie is rather scatter-brained, but she hones in on prey, and it's difficult to get her to break her point unless you can flush what she's pointing.  Sometimes it's a squirrel in a tree, and the squirrel won't move - so one needs to use treats and re-direction.
    Cooper, the English Springer Spaniel, doesn't mind the rain at all - he seems to revel in it; especially when it comes to shaking his body next to his walker.  Lola, the German Shepherd mix, is completely different.  She will run outside into the rain, chasing Cooper, but as soon as she realizes it's raining, she's back inside.  She still hasn't totally recovered from her abuse, and it usually takes a few hours before we can make eye contact...  But she's a good girl, even though she has a ferocious bark.
   Rosie.  My dear. sweet Rosie. She has had her 14th birthday, and is very grey around her muzzle.  Her hind legs have lost a great deal of muscle, and sometimes collapse on her.  She feels no pain, according to the vets, simply can't feel her hind end anymore.  She gets acupuncture treatments every two weeks, along with deep-muscle laser therapy, and she now gets thyroid medication every day.  Rosie detests getting wet in the rain - but she loves to swim...  I always think that's a strange contradiction - but, then, that's Rosie.  A month ago I thought we'd lose her before the end of the summer - with her thyroid meds, she has visibly perked up and seems to be alert and eager.  Maybe we can keep her going for another year....

Miscellaneous Photos

Yellowstone food fight

Squirrel

Buddies

Osprey's lunch

Drum are running!

Oriole

Japanese elk (Sika deer)

Airborne!

A Week Before the Preakness, A Week After the Derby

Here we are, seven days after the Kentucky Derby and seven days before the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Maryland.  I'm running way behind on my reporting.  The complete order of finish for the Kentucky Derby, the full field of twenty horses, was as follows:  1 - Nyquist;  2 - Exaggerator; 3 - Gun Runner; 4 - Mohaymen; 5 - Suddenbreakingnews; 6 - Destin; 7 - Brody's Cause; 8 - Mo Tom; 9 - Lani; 10 - Mor Spirit; 11 - My Man Sam; 12 - Tom's Ready; 13 - Creator; 14 - Outwork; 15 - Danzing Candy; 16 - Trojan Nation; 17 - Oscar Nominated; 18 - Majesto; 19 - Whitmore; and 20 - Shagaf.  Shagaf had an excuse for finishing last in the Kentucky Derby; he just underwent surgery to remove bone chips in both his left knee and left ankle.  The colt will not run again until 2017.
  Barring illness and/or injury, it looks like a field of 12 (possibly 13) for next Saturday's Preakness at Old Hilltop.  From the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist, Exaggerator and Gun Runner, the top three finishers will carry on.  Lani, the Japanese owned and trained colt, who won the UAE Derby will also continue the Triple Crown trail.  The two colts who were on the Kentucky Derby stand-by roster will also run in the Preakness: Laoban and Cherry Wine.  Other expected entries are Fellowship, Dazzling Gem, Uncle Lino, Collected, Stradivari, and Awesome Speed.
  The owner and trainer of Abiding Star have also expressed interest in running for the Black-eyed Susans.  However, Abiding Star is stabled at Parx Racing, and that facility has been under quarantine for EHV since 1 April.  Abiding Star has never shown any symptoms of the disease, and Pimlico is ready to accept him, as soon as quarantine is lifted, which is expected on May 16 or 17.
  So four colts who raced in the Kentucky Derby will meet with eight or nine colts who did not race 1 and 1/4 miles next Saturday.  Then it's on to the Belmont Stakes three weeks later...  Will Nyquist win the Preakness next week?  Will he be a Triple Crown winner on June 11?  He will have to continue racing well, and have great racing luck to do so.  Great bloodlines, great training, great jockeys, good racing luck, and a great heart and will to win are needed to win America's Triple Crown.

Back From a Trip Through Time and Space

Sorry, folks; between pet- and house-sitting and getting deeply involved in three new books, I just didn't get around to my blog.   I'm embarrassed by my back-sliding (not really).  I have been extremely busy in my critter-sitter business, and won't be sleeping at home again until the 26th of May.
   I was up at 4 o'clock this morning, showered dressed, walked the dog, fed the critters, watered the garden and the flowers, and was standing at the end of the driveway at 5 o'clock to travel with clients to Denver National Airport.  When they picked me up, dawn was breaking, the robins and smaller birds had begun singing, and a few of the neighbor's ducks were wakening and quacking.  As we drove out of the neighborhood, there was an oddly-moving eye-shine reflected back in the headlights.  The driver asked what it was, and I was able to answer it was a raccoon - although it was moving sideways, more like a crab than a raccoon.  I didn't give it anymore thought, as we were soon on the Expressway, where the speed limit is posted as 75 miles per hour - the family had decided to sleep in a little later and then rush to the airport.  As we passed one automated signal, it said we were traveling at 98 mph.  Oh, boy....   I drove back to Boulder at the rather sedate 65 mph posted for the Interstate, instead of racing back on the Expressway.
   First, I fed and walked Roxie and Finnie, the two Brittany Spaniels.  Then I went to the house behind Roxie and Finnie's and I walked Cooper and Lola, then fed those two, as well as the two cats, Pounce and Tipsi.  I had already fed and walked Tess and the cats, but I stopped by to allow Tess time to go outside again.  Then I went to my apartment, fed my kits and cleaned the litter boxes, and took a 50 minute nap.  After that, it was off to walk Rosie.
   Rosie and I had decided to visit my sister and brother-in-law's yard this morning.  (She's visited Tess the past three days.)  So we ambled toward my sister's house.  As we approached, I saw a raccoon (this was at 10:25) sidling sideways across the road from Olivier's house.  Rosie also saw it, and wanted to run and grab it.  The raccoon was having great difficulty moving.   It crossed the street, and had a seizure.  Then it licked it's hind legs, which were completely hairless and looked like raw meat.  It started sidling sideways, again, like a crab into the back yard at my sister's.  The (d'uhh!) realization came that this was the same raccoon I'd seen about 400 yards away at 5 this morning.   It had another seizure before it hid inside an airplane wing beside the shed.  I told my brother-in-law and sister what I had seen, and they agreed to call the Animal Control officer....   Rosie and I came over to Tess's house instead.
    After walking Rosie, I have bounced back and forth between the three houses of dogs and cats.  I have walked dogs, watered flowers and gardens, and gathered mail and newspapers.  Tonight is the penultimate presentation of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Boulder Dinner Theater, and Max is back in town to see his Dad on stage.  So I'll be headed over to Rosie's soon to keep her company while her family is out for the evening....   I do have to go feed Roxie and Finnie and the ABCs before I go to Rosie's.
    I just finished three new books, as well as re-reading another trilogy set of C J Cherryh's Foreigner series.  I find myself thinking in the alien language, Ragi, occasionally - and I sometimes throw an atevi into a conversation, because the alien word is a better fit than the English one.  Sometimes I feel that I'd rather exist in Ms. Cherryh's universe!

Winning Kentucky Derby & Oaks Photos

Cathryn Sophia winning the Kentucky Oaks on 6 May 2016.  Photo by Anne Eberhardt.

Nyquist winning the Kentucky Derby on 7 May 2016.   Photo by Rick Samuels.

Nyquist in front, on right, with red shadow roll.

Kentucky Oaks & Kentucky Derby Results

As you know, if you've read my blogs before, I do not like betting on a race favorite; so I usually picky long shots and hope for the best.

   Yesterday's Kentucky Oaks was talked about as if there could be no other winner than Rachel's Valentina.  She has a fantastic racing heritage - her dam is Rachel Alexandra, and her sire is Bernardini.  I love her sire; I distinctly dislike her dam.  I could never make myself like any foal from Rachel Alexandra....  For some reason, the mare just rubs me the wrong way - and she always has.  In any event, I looked at the other fillies in the Oaks, and I picked four that I thought were better than R's V.  Looking down the list of starting positions, I chose Lewis Bay, Go Maggie Go, Cathryn Sophia, and Land Over Sea.  I was completely surprised when the four fillies I chose finished in the top four spots!  Cathryn Sophia finished first, followed by Land Over Sea; Lewis Bay was third and Go Maggie Go finished in fourth - I now wish I had bet the Superfecta, picking the top four finishers!
Rachel's Valentina never seemed to catch fire and really run during the Oaks, but she did finish sixth of fourteen.  There was record attendance at the Oaks on Friday.

   I have yet to see the complete list of finish for the Kentucky Derby.  The betting favorite was Nyquist, who was undefeated, followed by Exaggerator.   Of course, I picked three long shots, Gun Runner, Trojan Nation and Majesto.  Today, at Churchill Downs, the attendance was lower than last year's - it was only 167,227 today.  Nyquist stayed undefeated (I did bet on him in the Breeders Cup last year, when he was a long shot); the betting favorite won the race handily.  The second betting choice, Exaggerator, trained by Keith Desormeaux, and ridden by brother Kent, finished second.  Gun Runner, who started the morning at long odds, was 10 to 1 when the race began.  He was third; and Mohaymen, who had only lost a single race (to Nyquist) was fourth.  I don't know where Trojan Nation, Majesto, or Lani (the Japanese trained horse) yet.   I will keep you informed....

New Foals on the Virginia End of Assateague - Photos

Since I last posted Chincoteague pony babies photographs, eight more have arrived in Virginia.  Each of these photos was taken by DSC Photography, and their work is copyrighted.  I share these photos with their gracious permission.  Under each photo is the name of the mother (dam) and presumed father (sire); if the sex is known, it is stated....

Molly Rosebud - Ace's Black Tie Affair   Colt

Leah's Bayside Angel - Sockett To Me

Suzy's Sweetheart - Riptide 

Bay Girl - Riptide   Colt

Tiger Lily - Ace       Filly

Catwalk Chaos - Ajax      Filly

Poco's Starry Night - Riptide

Destiny Feathered Spirit has also had her foal, but, as yet, we have no photos.