Sep 2017
The Saga of Party Pooper!
Updates:
Party Pooper was acquired by Royal Victory Thoroughbreds in a claiming race on May 13 after winning in impressive fashion. He was lost in a claiming race just four months later on Aug 26. In the brief time that Royal Victory Thoroughbreds owned him, Party Pooper took us on a roller coaster ride of emotions by finishing either first or last in four of his five races. The Poopster, as he became affectionately known, was full of entertainment at every turn and taught us a little humility along the way.
We started with such strong aspirational hopes after witnessing him win a spirited affair; the race we claimed him. The win boosted his career record to a staggering 94% in the money to further propel our optimism. Perhaps we became a bit too enthusiastic as we brought him back on just two weeks rest after the claim. It was a tougher race with classier horses than his last outing, yet he was still one of the betting favorites, further reinforcing our position. As they broke from the gate, amidst a crowd of Royal Victory Thoroughbred supporters, he looked strong and continued to run on into the far turn. As they reached the top of the stretch when our cheers were peaking, he started to lose ground and continued to back up through the finish until he was last across the wire. He truly lived up to his namesake by pooping on his coming out party for RVT. We were beside ourselves. How could this happen? We searched for an excuse until we discovered he threw a front shoe in the beginning of the race. The insider knowledge renewed our hopes. We were sure he would bounce back to form in his next race.
Next race was just a few weeks later and we watched him warm up in the paddock. As the jockeys came out to greet the trainer and owners, something didn't look right. He looked like our jockey and walked over to us, but he was wearing the wrong silks. The Royal Victory Thoroughbred blue silks were on a different rider. Uh oh. Suddenly, the starter called for "riders up" and our horse was carrying the right jockey in the wrong colors. Confusion in the paddock ensued. There was some chatter and scrambling to correct the situation amongst the officials over their walkie talkies. Finally, the two riders realized they had to swap jackets and discretely changed behind the starting gate (except for helmets). When they broke from the gate, our jockey had his blue silks but still wore a non-matching purple helmet. The Poopster meanwhile ran a lackluster 4th out of 6 horses. Improvement from his last but well below our expectations. The experience was humbling as he did not throw a shoe this time around. Time to regroup.
Feeling a bit more desperate, we moved more aggressively by dropped him down in class to a level that was even below the level we claimed him. With the backing of our collective enthusiasm, he raced on the lead as the horses approached the top of the stretch and pointed for home. Could this be the one? Just as we started to yell for him, another horse started to move quickly on his outside, moved up on him and then passed him. The Pooper relinquished his lead. We still cheered but started to feel an inevitable disappointment start to creep in. Then, something amazing happened. The Poopster pinned his ears back and showed us a level of courage we hadn’t seen before. He was coming back at the leader, but it was it too late? He drew closer but so did the finish line. Need. More. Time. They flashed across the wire. Too close to call. Poopster was moving his head down while his opponent was moving his up. Photo finish! We waited, and waited what seemed like an eternity, all the while staring at the word PHOTO that flashed on the tote board. Finally, the tote board went blank and the winner was then posted. Holy Head-Bob Batman, WE WON!! THE POOPER WON. It was an amazing Photo Finish!
It felt like we had crawled from the despairs and devastation of defeat to the epic summit victory, and it sure felt awesome! Thanks to the Poopster's gutsy performance, we stood alone at the top of the mountain with our heads held high. Here was Royal Victory Thoroughbreds standing at the pinnacle spot on the racetrack. With were inside the Winners Circle. The smiles were uncontrollable and the high fives felt meaningful and exhilarating. Suddenly, a lifelong memory became instantly etched within our minds. Closely watching the replay with the assurance of victory was almost as exciting and kept us gaping at the improbability of the miracle that was our fateful head-bob. We were victorious. We felt like the champs all night long! Party Pooper was now the greatest of horses, at least as far as we were concerned on that night.
We carried our renewed confidence into our next race. It was the same class as before and the competition was not overly intimidating. Visions of a second trip the Winners Circle began to fill our heads. It was the second to last race on a Saturday night of racing and even in the Pacific Northwest, the sun had just set down for the night. The Poopster must have had a bed-time snack and warm glass of milk on his mind as they led him from the barn to the paddock. About halfway to the paddock, when he realized he wasn't off to bed for the night, he planted all four feet and refused to move further. All the other horses ahead of him professionally moved into the paddock and began to get saddled. Yet, Party Pooper was being a poop and stood unmoved where he had planted. Chaos ensues. Robert, his trainer, sprints out of the paddock and comes down a few minutes later wrangling with a very unhappy horse. He is saddled quickly while acting like a toddler that was refused that colorful lollipop. He carried his unpleasant demeanor onto the racetrack and throughout the race and finished another disappointing last. After the win in his last race, this was a tough pill to swallow.
After a month off from racing and some therapy, we brought him back in late August during full daylight at an hour far from his bed time. Party Pooper rewarded us with his best performance since we claimed him back in May. His victory was never in doubt as he stalked the pace confidentially during the first part of the race and took a commanding lead down the stretch and then never looked back. No photo finish this time around! The Poopster officially won by a cool four lengths and probably could have won by more. We were back on top. Back inside the Winners Circle. Life was good being back on top in that moment. Our favorite horse, Party Pooper had prevailed once again! However, something felt just a little off and the feeling was validated upon seeing the red tag around the grooms belt. He had been claimed. Party Pooper would be moving to a new owner, new trainer and new home. Before parting, we thanked him for everything he did and wished the best of luck. Thank you to Party Pooper for the great run and to the Royal Victory Partners and Supporters!