The crowd was buzzing on this afternoon’s SmartPak course walk, asking both Allison and Boyd to pose for numerous photos between fences, wishing them lots and lots of luck. It’s not every day you get to walk the course with two of the top-ten placed riders.
Though Allison had just finished her test on Arthur within the hour, she hustled out to meet us on course, and both she and Boyd meticulously walked us through several tough combinations.
Notably, Boyd predicted we might see a right run-out or two at the duck D element of the Water Park (“Now hopefully I won’t do that,” he joked), said the coffin has to be jumped out of confidence and understanding, not aggression and momentum, and that he’ll aim for opposite sides of the double-edged brush corner C element of the Normandy Bank—Remington to the right and Otis to the left—to account for each of his horses’ weaker sides (Otis drifts right, Remi drifts left).
Allison said the distance in the bottom of the Sunken Road was quite forward and will require positive riding, noting that the combination looks trickier than in years past, and that riders had to keep themselves from looking too far ahead at the C-D bounce out of the Head of the Lake; take your eye off the bank too early and you could cause a scuffle over the big brush out, she said.
Both riders spent time taking questions and chatting with fans, receiving a big, cheering send-off at the end of the walk.
Is it Saturday yet? Go Allison and Boyd.
