This 4 o’clock post time is different. No rush on a Saturday morning. Working through a Riverdee newsletter. Perusing flat form from Laurel Park (go Cooper!) to Aqueduct. Watching the Colorado King Stakes from Turffontein in South Africa. Birds chirping outside the window. A bit of rain falling, we need a lot of rain.
The first at Sandown going to the post, the trainer’s title going down to the last day. Dan Skelton clinging to his lead, Willie Mullins storming and swarming. Skelton leads by £68,483. Read about it here.
As for our day, the Maryland Hunt Cup offers a whole new experience. I don’t have a routine for the Hunt Cup. No set time to leave, no special sport coat and tie, no short cut into the back entrance to beat the traffic. All new to me.
I was there when Dosdi scraped around to win his only Hunt Cup in 1979, Dad’s horse Mod Man a faller while going well at the 16th. I was there when Paddy Neilson etched and sketched a beauty on Uncle Merlin in 1989. I was there when Guts For Garters, a Clancy Bloodstock graduate, nosed out a thriller in 2014. I was there when Senior Senator fell at the third, I have to look up to see who won it that year. So, yeah, as others count their Hunt Cups by decades, by generations, mine take up a few fingers, a few experiences, that’s all. Today will take it to a new level.
Home safe, all.
