John Banrock - Race 3 (Horsebert's Revenge)

Race 3: Horsebert's Revenge

Drew was pretty beat, angry in defeat, and I was trying to put his mind at ease. I said "don't give up too soon. It's such a lengthy afternoon and the racing form is holding all the keys." Value’s hard to find with just a field of five and this one had a mortal lock. Horsebert was always close but he was always burned by the stove. Chef of the Future was solid as a rock. Horsebert had his eye on a seven-panel high but Chef was cooking up another storm. The six times they'd met the Chef was the bet but Horsebert always seemed to be in form.

Although we both said he's due, meaning Horsebert would break through, we thought we saw the future for the Chef. Although the price was short we both thought he'd be holding court in the winner’s circle with a little something left. 4 to 5 was pretty hard to take so early in the card but I thought morale was running kinda low. I didn't play to win, but bet trifectas pretty big. It was like a win bet on the show. The top two spots were keyed with Horsebert’s old disease. Seconditis is difficult to shake. So we played trifectas pretty large and readied for the charge promised by the Tappan Zee Bridge stakes.

The chef was hot, blasted straight to the top and relaxed quite a distance from the pack. He knew his old friend would be coming at the end but Horsebert was just chilling in the back. As they thundered down the stretch the lead was just two lengths and Horsebert was closing pretty fast. As they both hit the finish it was too hard to distinguish if Horsebert had finally gotten past. So the photo sign went up but that was not enough. The inquiry sign was also shining bright. The photo news came first, the Chef had beaten ‘bert. At least one thing had finally gone right.

It felt like the longest 7 minutes while the stewards debated the fairest finish. If it stood Drew and I would finally hit a bet. But life ain't fair and Chef was punished for swerving in the stretch. Horsebert had his eye on a seven-panel high but Chef cooked up a different kind of storm. And through an inquiry Horsebert got the victory. And Drew reacted by ripping up his form!

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