Gates opened on the Royal Ascot in Berkshire, UK, yesterday, where an avid crowd knew unbeaten 4-year-old Frankel would win the Queen Anne Stakes (he went off at a ridiculous 1-10 price)—but judging by his margin (11 lengths), the way folks wrote about it (The Guardian’s Greg Wood called it “possibly the best single performance by any horse, on any track, since three Arabian stallions were imported into Britain to found the thoroughbred breed in the early years of the 18th century”), and the spine-tingling feeling one gets just watching the YouTube replay (try the bottom of this post), the greatness of this already-great horse had (has?) yet to be fully realized. Like the enviable souls positioned beside the Belmont finish line, certain of Secretariat’s impending victory, illusions of grandeur were shattered in mere minutes, trampled underfoot by the very horse who’d inspired them, a horse now thundering toward the finish alone.
So it should come as no surprise, on the day of Frankel’s Queen Anne feat, over 39 years after Big Red swept the Triple Crown, that Secretariat was still shattering illusions. Yesterday at Laurel Park, owner Penny Chenery gave evidence to the Maryland Racing Commission that Secretariat’s official Preakness time—the lone deficit by which he didn’t set a still-held Triple Crown record—was incorrect, the result of human error and malfunctioning e-timers. Heeding a couple hours’ worth of video footage and analysis, the MRC at last decided to drop the time from 1:54 2/5 to 1:53, meaning Secretariat now holds the record in all three Triple Crown races—a mere 22 years after his death. #GoZombieBigRed. [DRF]
*This Just In—The Aussie Olympic Eventing Team has been announced: Andrew Hoy & Rutherglen, Chris Burton & Holstein Park Leilani, Clayton Fredericks & Bendigo, Lucinda Fredericks & Flying Finish, Shane Rose & Taurus. [Top Horse]
With the wrap of the National Para-Equestrian Championship at Gladstone, our Paralympic nominated entry has been named: Rebecca Hart & Lord Ludger, Jonathan Wentz & Richter Scale, Donna Ponessa & Western Rose, Dale Dedrick & Bonifatius and Donna Ponessa & PG Ganda are the top five. [COTH]
Jose Ortelli’s elimination at Luhmühlen squelched Argentinean Olympic Eventing Team dreams, but opened the door for the Irish, five of whom will now compete in the Games. An Irish short list has already been named, and the final five will be determined July 2. [Irish Examiner] [Horsetalk]
Maksim Vakin of Russia won the second leg of the FEI World Cup Eventing series in Belarus last weekend, which puts him second behind Sandra Auffarth of Germany on the World Cup leaderboard. The final two Cup legs are in August, at Malmö in Sweden and Le Pin au Haras in France. [FEI]
The Seattle Times has reported that the death of Olympic eventer Amy Tryon, who passed away in April, was the result of an accidental overdose. [ST]
The Chronicle caught up with the US SJ team: As Reed Kessler “headed for lunch at the Spruce Meadows venue with her boyfriend, British show jumper Tim Gredley, she felt her phone ring in her pocket. ‘Somehow, I just knew it was George,’ she said.” [COTH]
Zara Phillips is set to “mix with other athletes” in the Olympic Village, where she’ll forgo additional security. [Telegraph]
“Frog Juice” joins cobra venom on the list of prevalent drugs discovered at US racetracks, the “more powerful than morphine” presence of which has only recently become detectable. [NYT]
Rafalca Romney Ridiculousness Roundup: “Romney’s Ancient, Difficult Dressage Horse, Rafalca, Going to the Olympics”
“Dressage makes a comeback courtesy of the Romney’s”
Hot on HN: Kristen Kovatch’s Olympic reining case; Katy Groesbeck’s mid-year reflections, autumn CIC3* aspirations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjAYqWS9FQ0&feature=player_embedded
