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Graybeard

(6,996 posts)
3. Another fabulous nail-biter.
Sat May 19, 2012, 06:51 PM
May 2012

It seemed as if the jockey had waited too long to make his move but I'll Have Another showed amazing strength. Great race.

OnlinePoker

(5,702 posts)
5. Truly an international story
Sat May 19, 2012, 07:48 PM
May 2012

A U.S. sired horse with a Canadian owner and a Mexican jockey. I just happened to flip it to the right channel just as the race started so got to watch the whole thing. Coming down the straight, I was watching the shadows and could see he was catching up, but I didn't think he would make it until he was just in front of the stands. A great race to watch and you can be sure I have the Belmont Stakes on my calendar for June 9th.

Flaxbee

(13,661 posts)
7. Three weeks. Preakness and Belmont are three weeks apart. But no matter when, looks to
Sat May 19, 2012, 09:56 PM
May 2012

be an exciting race!

undeterred

(34,658 posts)
11. From "I'll Have Another's" point of view... (The Onion)
Sun May 20, 2012, 08:46 AM
May 2012

LOUISVILLE, KY—Shaken and trembling Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, who came from behind and outside on the final turn to win the Kentucky Derby in a breathtaking display of speed and panic, is reportedly hoping that nothing like the 1-1/4-mile race ever happens to him again.

"What just—what in the hell was that?" the chestnut colt asked reporters shortly after crossing the wire Saturday to beat odds-on favorite Bodemeister by one and a half lengths and finish in a respectable 2:01.83. "Seriously, with all the screaming, and everyone running, and [jockey] Mario [Gutierrez] standing up out of the saddle, I pretty much lost it. That was, without a doubt, the worst thing I've ever been through in my life."

Although it would end in victory and horror, the day started quietly enough for I'll Have Another, with a brisk walk around Churchill Downs' scenic paddock. But as the afternoon wore on, things became "extremely weird" for the young horse. "Suddenly I realized my old buddy Mario was on my back, but he was really quiet, not talking to me at all, and I was being led somewhere with a lot of other horses—I could hear them and smell them, but someone put something on my face that only let me see straight ahead, so I had no idea who these guys were or where we were going," said I'll Have Another, noting that while he was not exactly scared at the time, "you hear stories about things that happen to horses," and he was "starting to become apprehensive" when led into the gate.

"I thought I was going to have a fucking heart attack towards the end," added the victorious horse, referring to the final turn and stretch, during which he came from five lengths back to take the lead. "Everyone was just running in a big pack. I wasn't even sure where I was going, but the guys behind me seemed to be trying to catch up and the guys in front of me were going as fast as they could. And all of a sudden, Mario started yelling and wailing on me. Like, hard. I think he had some kind of stick. And I was like, oh, crap, if he's scared, too, whatever's happening must be pretty bad. So I just got out in front of everybody, and before I knew it, who or whatever we were running from was apparently gone."

However, I'll Have Another's ordeal was far from over. After a quarter-mile trot in which he tried unsuccessfully to get his bearings and come to terms with whatever was happening, he was surrounded by jubilant fans and owners.

"It was terrible—if anything it was worse than the running part. First of all, Mario was laughing and smiling, and that was pretty devastating, because just a couple minutes before he was beating the crap out of me, and now he's all happy? What the fuck? They put delicious plants around my neck, but they didn't let me eat any, and everyone surrounded me, and I don't remember much after that. All I know is, I hope I never have to go through anything like that ever again."

http://www.theonion.com/articles/kentucky-derby-winner-hoping-he-wont-have-to-repea,28155/

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