The Sport Of Kings

The last time my mother's horse ran- and came in second to last- the jockey predicted he'd win the next one.

Yesterday he got his chance. He was competing for final place with another horse from the same stable when he bumped into the first hedge and fell over. The trainer says he may not have recognized it for what it was...

Back Story

Horse-racing comes near the top of the list of things I'm not the least bit interested in.

Having had that thought I've been asking myself what, if anything, might rank higher. Sudoko, perhaps? ballroom dancing? Train spotting?

We weren't a horsey family. My parents didn't buy their first horse until long after I'd left home and made a life for myself. Breeding and racing horses was their retirement hobby.

My father ran it as a business. I don't suppose he made money at it but I don't suppose he lost much either. He was too canny.

In the early years they were quite successful. The house is full of pictures of horses jumping over obstacles on their way to winning something or other. I resist the impulse to sweep them all away and replace them with pictures of family members.

The last ten years have seen steady decline.

Why am I not interested?

I dunno. Just not my thing. Nor my kind of people- rich folk with money to burn, chancers, gamblers, fox hunters, the royal family.

Up until recently I was living 200 miles away and didn't have to take any notice of what was going on. But now I get to see the bills. The two horses my mother still maintains eat money by the bale. One is in retirement. The other falls over hedges.