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MARIE MCCABE |
Weblog: The wife of leading all-weather trainer Alan McCabe with her weekly diary.
Caspar Netscher: Gimcrack and Mill Reef winner has raised stable profile
PICTURE: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)Caspar provides high on holiday tinged with sadness
Well, if you are reading this it means I have finally navigated my way around what is proving to be the most frustrating broadband connection ever installed.
I will not bore you with the details, but it seems that planets have conspired against me these past few weeks, logging me
off whenever I tried to send an email, re-directing my telephone
calls to a retired gentleman in Staythorpe and regularly shutting me out of internet connection completely.
None of this could have happened at a worse time because I have actually had quite a bit to write about.
Firstly, we managed to get away on our first proper family holiday in three years. We went to my parents' house in
Florida where our family of seven can eat out for under £50 and
petrol comes in at an average 48p per litre.
It was far cheaper to spend two weeks there with the children than to try and entertain them at home, even factoring in the extortionate air fares and two days of theme parks in Orlando (aka 'Little Britain').
The good part of the holiday lasted approximately five days before taking serious downward turn. I had been in Florida for three days when darling Caspar won the Gimcrack.
Even now it seems strange to write those words because, despite my new year wish for a Group winner, I could never have imagined that a race of such magnitude may fall to our
little yard.
I was following the Racing Post's written commentary of the race on a laptop in my parents' Florida kitchen when all the
phones in the house started ringing and I knew, without the
commentary having completed, that he had won. Much jubilation followed, albeit from a very long range and I found myselftaking calls and messages from almost everyone I know.
The remainder of the day was just about perfect as we spent most of it at our beautiful local beach (which is always
almost completely deserted) before a big, family meal out that evening and I went to bed feeling elated and very, very lucky.
Unfortunately, by the Sunday afternoon the mood had changed somewhat as my beloved Nan, to whom I have been extremely
close all my life, suffered a bad fall at home in London and was
taken to hospital where she passed away during that night.
Waking up to such unwelcome news on Monday morning pushed Caspar's achievement to the back of my mind and, try as I might, I could not enjoy any more of the holiday.
Alan joined us for the second week of our break, which did nothing to lift the mood as it meant the remainder of our
time in Paradise was spent with 4am alarm calls (to do his
declarations) and work-related phone calls, usually on loudspeaker via the laptop from around 5am, which did not enamour him to the rest of our party, comprising his brother, sister-in-law and two teenage nieces.
He is now banned from family holidays because he is too
annoying.
I suppose his dedication to the job repays in different ways because, on Saturday 17th September (the day before our 18th
wedding anniversary) Caspar Netscher became the first horse to win both the Gimcrack and the Mill Reef.
The margin of his victory belies theease with which he did it as he simply pulled himself up in front, allowing his pursuers to get within striking distance without actually letting them upsides.
He has earned himself a run in the Middle Park before heading off to Churchill Downs for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Babu,
his devoted lad, reports him to be feeling better than ever. The trip to Louisville has been arranged and, I must say, I am really looking forward to it.
If someone had told me two years ago that we would be in this position, I would never have believed them. Now it is really happening, it's very hard to take in but a very welcome turn of events.
I know, as the old adage goes, that 'This toowill pass', but as long as it continues I'm happy to go along for the ride and I'm hoping it goes on for a while yet.
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