Friday Photo: Special Double Photo Day! Plus: Preakness chat; Eight Belles necropsy; Pray for Larry Jones; Barack’s not-so-ingenious self; Caspian reviews rolling in; Women in combat; et cetera

Those circumstances may be a regression from the Derby, numerous missed gallops due to wet surfaces, or just plain bad racing luck; no, make that horrible racing luck. He’s good enough to overcome bad luck. Some wonder how he’ll react to having dirt kicked in his face for the first time, but who says that will happen, and even if it does happen, there is no reason to think it will bother him, considering nothing else seems to bother him.

The bottom line is that we’re not foolish enough to pick against him, although we’ve seen many big upsets in past years.

…All we’ll say about Big Brown is that he looks great physically; he’s holding his flesh extremely well since the Derby, and he did have another of his eye-catching gallops on Thursday. Even coming back from his jog in the slop Friday, he strutted along, neck slightly bowed, and ears straight up, as if he knew the whole world was watching. He is as classy looking a horse on the racetrack as you’ll ever see.

The only other challenger left from the Derby? Cubanacan’s Gayego, who had a miserably awful trip at Churchill Downs. He was the only Derby horse other than Big Brown able to boast a Beyer speed figure over 100 (the higher, the better; Big Brown has topped 100 thrice, and Gayego twice), and the shorter Preakness distance might be to the colt’s advantage, with that sprinter’s pedigree.

We’ve lost Behindatthebar thanks to a bruised fit, and hence lose a certain contender. Recapturetheglory was to have run as well, but defected due to a fever. Hey Byrn might be a good choice too, though I also like Tres Borrachos and the Mr. Greeley colt Kentucky Bear. Really, though, the only two horses I know enough about to judge are Big Brown and Gayego.

I do have this to say, having watched this year’s crop of 3-year-olds since they began running last autumn: if Big Brown does win the Triple Crown, we have to admit one thing: it is in part due to a lack of real competition, a lack of horses able or willing to challenge this colt. A lot of horses were scared off by his dominant Derby win, and that’s a real shame.

Larry Jones, trainer of the lost Eight Belles as well as Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell, is going through an extremely, extremely difficult time. This morning in the print edition of The Blood-Horse I read that due to the loss of the filly, his marriage is on the rocks; his wife, Cindy, adored Eight Belles and like many of the Jones barn team, considered the gunmetal daughter of Unbridled’s Song to be something of a pet. There is another article at the Blood-Horse online detailing the trials Jones and his family find themselves in after the Derby tragedy, and it just breaks my heart even further.

Friday morning at Pimlico, Jones said he has found solace from two sources—the overwhelming support from fellow horsemen and his strong belief in God.

…Jones said he has relied heavily on his faith to get him through each day of the past two weeks.

“Nothing has ever hurt me more,” the trainer said. “This is the greatest tragedy of my life…the way it happened, on television, in front of a lot of people. I hated that.”

The following hit me deep within, considering the losses my family has suffered this past winter:

Following the breakdown, Jones said one day at 2 a.m. he was reading the Bible and asked why he had to lose his filly. “God let me know she wasn’t my filly, she was his filly, and she still is.”

Amen, brother. It hurts, but it’s also comforting to know Who holds all in His hands…us included.

I’ll confess to not having known Jones was a believer, but knowing what I do about horse folk, it’s not a surprise. The saying that there are no atheists in a foxhole? The same goes true for many, many horsemen and women. I suppose being around one of God’s more magnificent creations chips away at spiritual blindness.

The article also notes that an necropsy (autopsy) report shows Eight Belles was in perfect health with no pre-existing bone conditions. The trainer believes the filly may have just tripped over her own feet during the breeze after finishing second in the Derby.

“She’s bad about stumbling while pulling up,” Jones said. “She’s doesn’t pick her feet up very high. It’s one reason she could run very fast and far. She had the perfect motion for being effective and efficient. However, those horses who do that have a tendency to want to stumble.”

Jones has also requested a complete drug screening, which the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority has told him is unnecessary. Jones still wants it done, though I will tell you this: Jones is very well-known in racing circles for the care he gives to his horses and his dislike of and refusal to use steroids. The man loves his horses like his kids; indeed, he recently missed his son’s wedding to ensure the safety of a few of his horses at the Breeder’s Cup.

Please keep the Jones family, and particularly the trainer’s marriage, in your prayers. These people don’t deserve the rude treatment and threats they’ve been dealing with since the death of Eight Belles.

As usual, I’ll be live-blogging the day here, but also at my new digs, but there using some really neat software that make it more of a “community” experience. If you’re on my hotlist (a good thing), you can get the scoop on where, exactly, to go here. Otherwise…you’re stuck here at the old place.

Um…How is this at all funny?

Mike Huckabee: clearly not the brightest coin in the ashtray.

What President Bush said in Israel Thursday was right on the money. The oh-so-offensive line?

“Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along,” Bush said. “We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

Well, Bush is right. Of course the Left was immediately sent into a tizzy over this, because it hits home: they do believe a nice chat over tea or coffee with our enemies will make things all better. This is stupid, especially when it comes to Islam.

Crybaby Barack Obama, who has said before he’d meet with terrorists like Mahmoud Ahminarealjihad and Kim Jong Il, is reportedly “furious”, accusing Bush of using those “politics of fear” (something the left never does, you know; no, not regarding “the children”, guns, old people, et cetera). Yes, well, no one likes having their idiocy and childish utopian ideas so clearly pointed out as foolish and dangerous. Nancy Pelosi, who went dignity in hand to Syria and Mahmoud Abbas was piqued as well.

No word from Jimmy Dhimmi Carter, who is notorious for making obeisance to the evil and dangerous in this world; if Bush had anyone foremost in his mind when he spoke the offensive words, I’ve no doubt Jimmy was right up there.

Speaking of Israel, here’s Dr. Krauthammer on Israel, the miracle and its survival.

Libertas has a review of Prince Caspian up:

With Prince Caspian, (director) Adamson steps out with confidence and creates an epic and magnificent adventure that engages and exhilarates from opening scene to closing credits.

…A more fitting title for this wonderful sequel might have been, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lie Of Kumbaya. Caspian’s themes of honor, faith, nobility, and self-sacrifice all come to a single point: confronting and destroying an evil that will not be appeased or negotiated with. This is often a dark adventure, and one that doesn’t ask us to turn the other cheek when it comes to confronting evil — even through war.

Like a great 1940s swashbuckler, Caspian never crosses the line from action into violence, and yet there’s still plenty of suspense and a sense of the real stakes involved in life and death. In the breathtaking climax, which rivals those in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the thrills are a result of your affection for the characters not from anything visceral.

The Christian theme is not only stronger in Caspian than in Wardrobe, but integrated more naturally into the story — slowly building with events until it perfectly climaxes at the end for maximum emotional effect. This is not some new-age Christian allegory where if you fall to your knees in some sun-dappled field and raise your hands to Jesus all your problems will go away. As in life, God is not a deus ex machina. There’s a bigger picture at work — a master plan — and it’s up to us to find our place within that plan, not the other way around. What Would Aslan Do? No. What Would Aslan Want Us To Do.

Everything you could possibly ask for in an adventure film Caspian offers and then some. Photographed with style to spare and set to a rousing score worthy of an Errol Flynn classic, Caspian delivers any number of wonderful, well-defined characters you care about, strong and worthy themes, warmth, humor, and a driven plot determined first and foremost to entertain. With Iron Man I was sure the best film of the summer was already behind us. I do love it when I’m wrong.

Gotta love these reviews, eh?

I have to admit that with the Triple Crown in what could be very serious contention this year, the Wings in the playoffs, and sundry other things, I’d almost forgotten about the latest cinematic installment of Narnia.

NRO has an interview with Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham, who has been intimately involved with the films, and it’s not only interesting but encouraging. Some excerpts:

…we see it in our world today, where we are trying, Western society is trying — desperately almost — to the mistake of rolling over and playing dead, to pander to everyone else who is attacking it, one way or another. Eventually, of course, what will happen is people will dig their heels in, just as in Narnia, and the thing will be forced upon them. I think there are causes which are important to fight for…

It resonates throughout the whole of our society. We have to become more and more conscious of that fact, by the way. Most of us go about our little lives hoping that these things will go away and just leave us alone. Well, they won’t. The forces of evil are always going to be there. We’re always going to have to fight them.

… In the first book he said “battles are ugly when women fight,” and he was right. But in the second, he did from there on, give them an active role for fighting for truth and justice and what was real.

I’m not entirely comfortable with it, because I do believe battles are ugly when women fight. I think they’re pretty ugly to start with, more so when women get involved. I believe what George MacDonald said was very true, which is that it’s every man’s responsibility to protect every woman, first of all from himself.

I don’t really think women should be involved in active combat. I don’t think it’s fair for the men who are fighting beside them, or the men who are fighting against them. And it’s not fair for the women themselves. I think the idea that women have to become men in our current society is a very bad one.

Wow. Clearly, he learned from his stepfather. I love this man now. Quoting George MacDonald definitely puts one into my good graces.

The short, sweet, snappy interview also includes some wonderful insights into the private life of C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy. Go read it!

In other movie stuff, Frederica Matthews-Green says the film version of Prince Caspian is better than the book, and offers her opinions on the best book-to-film versions. Interesting reading, though I can’t say I agree with her on Gone With the Wind and certainly not the Lord of the Rings trilogy, if only because Jackson interjected too much of himself into the films at the expense of Tolkein’s vision and ideals.

By the way, if you are ever looking for a truly good adaptation of “Jane Eyre”, this one is marvellous. Even Hubby enjoyed it, not in the least because Toby Stephens, though too good-looking, makes a wonderful Mr. Rochester, and Ruth Wilson is downright spectacular as Jane, if indeed one can say that about Jane Eyre. It’s not perfect, but it’s quite excellent and more than worth watching. Quite pleasing. (I’ve heard the Timothy Dalton version is excellent, but we’ve not seen it yet.)

So, what’s Fred Dalton Thompson up to these days? We’ll have to stay tuned.

Kim du Toit has a beef with and advice for the GOP. That said, Lady Peggy was pretty darned blunt about the state of things in today’s column. For one thing, we’ve lost the South.

The Republicans? Busy dying. The brightest of them see no immediate light. They’re frozen, not like a deer in the headlights but a deer in the darkness, his ears stiff at the sound. Crunch. Twig. Hunting party.

The headline Wednesday on Drudge, from Politico, said, “Republicans Stunned by Loss in Mississippi.” It was about the eight-point drubbing the Democrat gave the Republican in the special House election. My first thought was: You have to be stupid to be stunned by that. Second thought: Most party leaders in Washington are stupid – detached, played out, stuck in the wisdom they learned when they were coming up, in ’78 or ’82 or ’94.

…Is the Republican solid South over?

“Yeah. Oh yeah.” He said, “I eat lunch every day at Buck’s Cafe. Obama’s picture is all over the wall.”

Still, I have to say that while everyone is sitting in awe of this column…I’m not sure why. Of course, it is Peggy Noonan, but did we honestly not know this was happening? I know people who not only voted for Reagan but worked on his campaign who now are die-hard Obama supporters and volunteers. Well…who did we expect them to vote for? John McCain?

It isn’t the conservatives that are the problem within the GOP (though I daresay McCain would disagree), and it isn’t “We, the people”; no, it’s the self-serving, apparently thoughtless pols in Washington. They’ve lost touch with not just the people, but with America itself. The result? Well…we see it in both parties.

Finally, a really interesting video via Roosh Five. I happen to love the voice of Luciano Pavarotti, but never knew he performed a duet with Simon Le Bon. Here they are, singing “Ordinary World”. Pavarotti easily outshines the Duran Duran singer, but one has to give Le Bon props for having the guts to duet with the King of the High Cs.

For something a little more traditional, though, here is the great man performing Nessun Dorma.

Una punta di bellezza allineare, affinchè tutti voi sentano.

Have a marvellous weekend. Racing fans, see y’all tomorrow.