Sean Clancy

The closest we came to Black Friday was driving to the Midway movie theatre from Rehoboth Beach. Outlets on either side. Shoppers snaking and sniping. Chaos. Gridlock. Honking horns. A few fingers. And expletives. The giving season. Gladiator II. Not as good as I. Thanksgiving done and dusted. A few … Read More

I like how Kim Bailey writes his blog. He leads with the weather. Every day. Plus 3, windy and raining when driving in. 8mm overnight.. Selective watering on the chase track at Doncaster for this weekends meeting! That’s it, simple. He never has to worry about a creative, pithy, catchy … Read More

No entries. No scratches. The Monday/Tuesday tradition has ceased. Well, paused. The nine-month, 27-meet, 36-stop tour has come to a close. Aiken to Aiken. Until March. Time to diversify. Time to regroup. Time to restock. Working on all three. And a long to-do list which had been shelved until after … Read More

End of the road trip. End of the season. Home for the Eagles Sunday night. Disappointing day Saturday. Penicillin Success and Palio pulling up in their respective races. A lost shoe, a bad trip, a lost weekend. Both seem OK. Perhaps, the ground was too loose and too soft. Perhaps. … Read More

Ballyburn won his chasing debut at Punchestown. Steel Ally lugged top weight in a handicap hurdle at Haydock. The Morgiana still to come. I’ll be on the road by then, trying to stay focused on I-20 in South Carolina and not racing in Europe. The American jump season comes to … Read More

One more road trip before the season finishes. The Aiken Steeplechase offers a crescendo. Seven competitive races. Most of the championships are locked up, the trainer’s title still on the line. It will be the first time to the new course for me. Not many courses I haven’t seen in … Read More

Took the long road home Monday. Option A was I-95, straight and true, 30 minutes shorter than Option B, a route north, winding, through the flatlands of South Carolina. The forgotten towns, main streets running perpendicular, a traffic light in a few. An old man sitting on a bench. A … Read More

Another road trip coming to a close. About to get on the road, the long road home. It’s longer when you don’t win. It’s that simple. We didn’t win. King Tsunami ran hard to finish third, came back lame with a grabbed quarter. Enough to explain his tame finish. Cool, … Read More

Welcome back to Camden. South Carolina. Steeplechasing returns to the Colonial Cup for the first time in eight years. Once a mainstay, the mainstay, of the steeplechase calendar, the Grade 1, title-clinching, race of races was canceled, mostly for financial reasons. Like canceling Christmas. The sport lost its signature race. … Read More

Second leg of the road trip about to begin. Lexington to Camden. Two new recruits from Keeneland, on their way north. Went 2-for-2, then 2-for-6. The anatomy – and art – of a horse sale. As always, I was congratulated for my purchases. And, as always, I thought to myself, ‘Congratulate … Read More