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Travers Day with Harlem
Rocker
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Harlem Rocker at the
barn following the Travers |
After a day at
Saratoga spent cheering for Harlem Rocker in
the Travers, my friend Melissa (whom I met at Travers
day) asked if I wanted to go to the barns to see
Rocker. I said sure. I'd never been to Saratoga and
didn't know you can just walk back there. But you have
to know which barn to look for. Melissa is a
photographer who lives in New York and knows her way
around there pretty well. First when we got to the
barns, Rocker wasn't back from the test barn, I
suppose. So we continued on, and went over to see
Curlin. You couldn't actually go up to that barn, but
we just walked by and saw him from a distance in his
stall. He was staring at us, probably amused.
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Then we went back to Pletcher's
barn and there was Rocker being cooled out.
Melissa asked if we could take photos and
the assistants who were there said sure, no
problem. They put Rocker in his stall. He
was very tired-looking but still curious
about all the goings-on in the area, and the
antics of his neighbor, Red Giant.
The road behind the barns was full of
post-race-day-drunks heading back home, and they were
very loud. That set off Red Giant, who started kicking
the stall wall and jumping around. Rocker reached out
and sniffed noses with him as if asking "Dude, what's
up?" |
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Harlem Rocker and
Red Giant |
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I went up to the stall and was able to pet Rocker, after
getting permission, of course. I was amazed standing
next to this gorgeous colt. He is awesome, so strong
yet so calm and cool. Nothing bothers him, the
assistants told me. He's not afraid of anything. He
didn't mind me at all, just kept looking at everything
going on, wondering when he'd get dinner perhaps. The
assistants said that Rocker might look for peppermints.
He loves them. Too bad I didn't have any!
Then the vet showed up to scope him. The vet said his
airways looked clear, and that he was just a very tired
horse. Then the groom went in and applied his poultice
and leg wraps. They take excellent care of those
horses. The folks were so nice, answering all our
questions as they worked vigorously cleaning tack and
getting things put away. Since things were wrapping up
for the evening, Melissa and I said our goodbyes after
chatting with the assistants, who were very bummed that
Rocker didn't win. But they said that he tried his
best. He gave his all.
~Janice MacKenzie |
